Thanks for the info - there was a lot of stuff in your post that I was unaware of.

Getting back on track, I think the advice you gave above is the key to survival. I've been cycling for many years, and in my younger days, I would sometimes yell at drivers and get confrontational. One day, I yelled at the wrong guy. He started to follow me down the street, revving his engine and yelling at me to get off my bike because he wanted to kill me. I got up on the sidewalk because he yelled that he was going to run me over unless I got off my bike. We were on a one-way street, so I did a U-turn in someone's driveway thinking that the guy was going to stop following me. Wrong! He turned around and started driving the wrong way down the one-way street just so he could follow me! He even sideswiped 2 parked cars to squeeze past another motorist that was driving the proper direction. I have no doubt that the guy would have killed me if he had caught up to me.

Nowadays, I generally tend not to react at all to motorists. If I yell at a motorist, it would only be if I'm in imminent danger and I want them to know I'm there. And once I'm out of danger, I'll give the driver a quick wave and say "Thanks" to let them know I'm not angry.

If a driver gets impatient with me and honks their horn, I'll give them a quick look to see what the fuss is about. If I'm not in immediate danger, I'll go right back to ignoring them. If they are honking because they want me to move out of the way, I'll move. I don't wave and smile - that's just a passive-aggressive way of saying "**** you" to the driver, and they know that. I do whatever it is I have to so that I can live to ride another day. I almost learned my lesson the hard way and I'm grateful that I didn't have to.

mmm, i'm glad someone said it.

No blazing pedals what I meant was both individuals should be corteous. Should a biker cause a traffic jam because they want to ride in the middle of the lane when it would be easy enough to move to the right a little? Im not saying be a cars *****, Im saying the drivers not yours either.

@ Rbrian your showing what Im talking about with some cyclists. Instead of explaining your point of veiw you make a smart comment. I dont know how the roads are in scotland but in Philadelphia its enough room for both people to have room.

Summed it up best
 

I tried to express the same thing but was only met with ignorance. I drive a car, rode a motorcycle and now ride a bike and on every vehicle try to show respect. Its nothing wrong with letting people pass and acknowledging that just because someone honks at you their not always doing it out of anger.

'

DON'T honk! How are we supposed to guess your intent? Why should we have to? Keep off the horn unless it's an emergency situation. There is no such thing as a "friendly" honk.

That's exactly the reason why it's generally not worth it to yell at a motorist. These crazy people will get full of rage towards a cyclist and they will try to run you over. They aren't smart enough to actually think through the consequences of their actions (vehicular manslaughter, etc.). They are simply really pissed off and want to kill you or seriously hurt you.

It doesn't make any sense but flipping them the bird is enough to flip their switch.

RVD.

*ahem*

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Just saying...Carry on.

Siu Blue Wind
Forum Admin.

To answer the question, "it depends." I'm perfectly willing to be courteous, but not at the expense of my safety. There are lots of situations where 'taking the lane' is a safety strategy.

For instance, if the lane is only 9 feet wide, which is pretty common where I ride, and a car is 7 feet wide, then it's too narrow to safely share. That means the car has to cross the centerline to safely pass anyway. When the cyclist 'takes the lane' in that case, he's merely protecting himself from being squeezed or hit by a mirror.

Or if there are enough pot holes or other obstacles that riding in the middle of the lane is the farthest right the cyclist can be and still ride a reasonably straight line. Swerving unpredictably is a great way to get hit, after all. Another reason for taking the lane would be if there was a line of parked cars. Cyclists can get killed from getting doored.

Of course there are times when taking the lane is not justified. Without seeing what the cyclists are seeing, it can be hard to tell if it is or not.

Honking is generally way too startling to a cyclist. Perhaps if the driver taps lightly at the horn it might be ok. I've been startled a bunch of times because some guy honks his horn really loud just a few inches behind me.

One last thing about fighting...if you can't just run, do everything that's illegal in the UFC if you want to win a fight: http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=LearnUFC.Rules

Fouls:
1. Butting with the head.
2. Eye gouging of any kind.
3. Biting.
4. Hair pulling.
5. Fish hooking.
6. Groin attacks of any kind.
7. Putting a finger into any orifice or into any cut or laceration on an opponent.
8. Small joint manipulation.
9. Striking to the spine or the back of the head.
10. Striking downward using the point of the elbow.
11. Throat strikes of any kind, including, without limitation, grabbing the trachea.
12. Clawing, pinching or twisting the flesh.
13. Grabbing the clavicle.
14. Kicking the head of a grounded opponent.
15. Kneeing the head of a grounded opponent.
16. Stomping a grounded opponent.
17. Kicking to the kidney with the heel.
18. Spiking an opponent to the canvas on his head or neck.
19. Throwing an opponent out of the ring or fenced area.
20. Holding the shorts or gloves of an opponent.
21. Spitting at an opponent.
22. Engaging in an unsportsmanlike conduct that causes an injury to an opponent.
23. Holding the ropes or the fence.
24. Using abusive language in the ring or fenced area.
25. Attacking an opponent on or during the break.
26. Attacking an opponent who is under the care of the referee.
27. Attacking an opponent after the bell has sounded the end of the period of unarmed combat.
28. Flagrantly disregarding the instructions of the referee.
29. Timidity, including, without limitation, avoiding contact with an opponent, intentionally or consistently dropping the mouthpiece or faking an injury.

I especially like the move where you act like you're hurt, then suddenly throw sand into the opponent's eyes, kick him in the groin, etc.

When in doubt, listen to Bas Rutten: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3K-mrlYG7Y

RVD.

^^^ Dude, you better brush up on your Rex Kwan-Do.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKmUsVeKp1o

"Do you think anybody wants a round-house kick to the face while I'm wearing these bad boys?"

I figure a U-Lock to the noggin can't hurt...er I mean it can. hehehe.

That is a crazy story about the jerkwad driver that tried to mow you down. Unbelievable. What a stupid jerk...hope he wound up wrapped around a telephone pole due to his idiocy, IE: so he couldn;t deliberately mow anyone down. Geez. The cagers they give driver's licenses to! :O

A couple things:

1) PLEASE do not honk when passing cyclists; the worst thing you can do in a fundamentally safe situation (people passing who are both aware of each other) is do something loud and unpredictable like honk. No no no, please please.

2) There are basically two rules for fights: (1) Avoid, and (2) Finish quickly. You have no idea of what your opponent is interested in doing to you, what weapons he/she has, etc. I do highly recommend martial arts training under a good instructor for almost anyone. It is very empowering to know that you are able to handle many situations that come up. But weapons, guns, multiple opponents . . . why go looking for trouble that can kill you? Avoid when you can, finish quickly when you can't. But mostly avoid.

I think that happened in Blood Sport 2.

I get very angry when someone pulls out of a sidestreet or stops me when I am in a full speed run. But I try to keep it in. As others indicated there are alot of nuts out there. So I just stop if I have to, Speed up if I have to. As far as the honking of the horn I don't you should signal cyclists that way. There are billions of people out there. Getting mad and getting into confrontations isn't going to change anything. That person that just pulled out in front of you is the smallest of crumb. Go around the corner it's happening again. There is nothing to can do to control it. Luckily I enjoy being on my bike and it feels great after a nice long ride. So my anger goes quickly.