I have what I call "Pedestrian Rage." Yesterday, I was waiting to cross the street (on foot) when I spotted a moron in a car (heh) who was trying to turn right and was clearly NOT scanning the road in both directions ie: to watch for pedestrians/cyclists/other cars/??? I anticipated she would hit the gas when I got near her car and of course I was correct. I slammed the flat of my hand down on her hood as hard as I could and shouted "PAY ATTENTION!" She was sufficiently startled I did not need to use profanities/middle finger as I usually do.

I freaking hate it when drivers don't pay proper attention in intersections and worse, coming out of parking lots/driveways. I've nearly been smeared several times. This has led me to have severe Pedestrian Rage.

Anyway, my Pedestrian Rage has morphed into Cyclist Rage. Everytime some jackass honks at me for no reason (ie: I dare to cycle on the road instead of the sidewalk!) or some other moron does something stupid/dangerous I either yell "#@$% you!" and/or flip them the bird.

Good thing I don't have a driver's license/drive a car eh?

....pedestrians have the right of way. you gotta look out for them.

You seem a wee bit on the angry side.

Yep, motorists should too.

What do you think you're accomplishing by swearing at the drivers and flipping them the bird? The drivers aren't learning to drive better, be more courteous or more aware because someone on a bike is raging at them. If anything, you've been lucky that someone hasn't physically attacked you or tried to run you over.

Stay safe!

I'm a girl, but I "pity the fool" that tries to get up in my grill...I lived alone for quite awhile, I don't generally take any **** either. I tend to get quite pissy when some moron nearly runs me over, eh? I figure I may as well teach the fools a lesson...that lady yesterday I guarantee will pay better attention at least in the short-term.

My mom used to say that people who say they don't take **** from anyone usually end up having it force-fed to them.

You be careful!

No offense, but your mom was wrong. My mom "don't take any ****" either and not many dare to try. Both of us are possessed of ferocious tempers and a strong need for justice. During my first Critical Mass ride I saw this weinie yuppie car driver shove a cyclist that was stopped. I went postal yelling at the guy, I threatened to call the cops etc. Weinie practically left skid marks he left so fast. Guy on the bike was smiling at me after that. I'm physically incapable of keeping my mouth shut.

Having worked the emergency ward for more than ten years and seeing my fair share of abused and beat up women I have to ask just how big you are? I know of more than one that once their jaw is wired shut they can and do keep quiet. Some men as well. But maybe you can do what they couldn’t.

Some drivers honk because they're trying to be safe and let you know they're coming up to pass you. They may have no idea that it irritates you. Others, of course, are just being jerks.

I wonder if you give equal time to courteous drivers? Do you make a special effort to smile and wave at them?

it does not matter the size of the women, its how loud she can roar. I know this, I've met a few crazy ones in my time to know this. I know a woman, who is also a "no $^$% from anyone" that works in the high level psychiatric ward that can take a punch from a nut case and dish it right back........but with a needle. shes not allowed to "hit" them, but has no problem with a knee in the back.

I prefer a honking, angry driver over an oblivious, inattentive driver any day.

At least I know the angry driver sees me.

Word to the wise from the Motorcycle clubs. Don't pick a fight with a car. The car is bigger, it will win.

That's kinda my thinking. If I *really* want to pi$$ off the honkers and yellers, I smile and wave - with all 5 fingers. It drives (sorry for the pun) them crazy because they want to get a reaction from me and all I do is act like they're my best friend - and how can you take retribution on someone who is trying their best to be friendly???

This isn't just for women, but there are a lot of crazy folks out there that can do a lot of permanent damage to any guy or girl if you get into their face and cross the line.

I have seen women cross that line more often than men though. I'm a trained black belt in martial arts and can generally do well in physical combat situations. I study hapkido which mainly uses leverage, and small joint manipulation so it's very easy for me to break the small bonds in a person's wrist or hands. I can also leverage my arms or legs to break a person's elbow, knees, collarbone, etc. Pressure points are also used to immobilize people regardless of size. But I always avoid these situations when I'm alone. The only times that I've gotten into a little bit of trouble is when there's a girl around who insists on yelling in the face of the much bigger guy. A quick wrist lock usually stops the situation but I'm afraid that if the guy is drugged up, breaking bones won't help because of the adrenaline. Chokes and neck holds are effective but hey, I have no desire in actually killing anyone.

RVD.

For some reason these days I've been blowing them a kiss. It usually outrages them even more.

This rage to which you refer is not unique to any particular mode of transport, but is a sign of the disintegration of civility in our culture, which has been replaced with a sense of self-entitlement and an abdication of personal responsibility. The golden rule now ends with the phrase "before they can do it onto you".

Ok Im new to cycling and have always had a car. Most of my previous experience with cyclist where positive, they either stayed on the sidewalk bike path or in the bike lane. Then there are the a-holes that on a one lane road either by themselves or with a friend choose to ride in the middle of the road and give you all types of attitude when you honk the horn. Unfortunately this sounds like you. When I do pass a cyclist I do beep to let them know Im passing and usually we both give each other a little cushion out of courtesy. When people say share the road it should go bothe ways, just because you dont own a car or like them dont be a jerk about it.

qft

Wow! You sound like the a-hole rednecks that we sometimes encounter on the streets. Taking the lane is the safest way to ride.

Not to bring this thread too off track, but I'm wondering - if people like yourself who study certain martial arts claim they can break a persons bones and use pressure points to immobilize people, why aren't these types of tactics used effectively in mixed martial arts tournaments? It's fairly rare to see someone get their bones broken in the UFC, and the only time I see someone get immobilized or knocked out, it's always from a blow and it's never the result of someone utilizing a pressure point.

I had a chance to talk for a little while with BJ Penn (UFC fighter) who's a friend of a friend here in Hawaii. He was saying that there are thousands of people roaming the streets who think that they're tough because they work out in a gym and maybe occassionally spar with other people in the gym. But he said that's nothing at all like an all-out street fight. He was saying that when there are no pads, no referees and you know nothing about the fighting style of your opponent, it's nothing at all like fighting in a gym. And in street fights, there are often weapons used and quite often, you will have to fight two or more people at the same time.

The advice that BJ gives to all his students is to avoid physical confrontations at all costs unless you or someone you know is getting attacked. Even if someone is messing with your stuff, he insists that his students call the cops instead of fighting. I think this is great advice.

So, 'share the road' to you means that bikes should stay/get out of cars' way?

Clearly.

I had a similar experience on an incline at the end of 30-mile ride. This is a popular intersection where motorists are know for "rolling through the stop sign", taking a very brief look, after being halfway into the turn and just rolling through. I saw the silver Dodge Magnum pull up and start his roll. I signaled my intent to go through the intersection (In addition to having the right of way, I was on an incline after all and was not willing to stop so "Nimrod" could roll through.) To my suprise this guy just kept slowly rolling straight accross the intersection, not turning at all. I could have tapped the brake and passed behind him, but something in me snapped and I passed along the side of the car, the whole time banging on the car, yelling "Stop". "Stop". I made my way around to the front of his auto and stopped there, barring his way. I pointed at the intesection he just rolled though and yelled.

"There's a Stop sign there! you are supposed to come to a full stop and yeild. I don't have a stop sign, I have the right of way", gesturing the direction I was going in. "You have to Yeild". The guy just put up his hands in surrender. I got back on my bike to ride off, but was so upset, I could not clip in.

I don't know where that came from, but it sure came in handy that day.

very off topic...

BJ Penn is awesome and his advice is awesome. The best thing to do is run and that's exactly what I do...maybe not literally run but avoid the situation. I am a huge fan of BJ Penn and I am also Korean like he is (well he's 1/2 Korean I believe).

Small joint manipulation is highly illegal in MMA fights like the UFC because fights would end too quickly. You also can't do direct target bones such as the collarbone, etc. You also cannot directly press and utilize pressure points. Contrary to popular belief, the UFC does have rules.

In a street fight, the best moves are the ones that are illegal in organized MMA. By far the most effective move is a knee to the groin. Eye gouging is also illegal but highly effective (b/c of both the pain and restricting the ability to see). Broken wrists are good because the opponent can't actually punch you anymore.

I watch a lot of UFC (have been watching it since UFC 1) and in the early days, it was pretty wild. But in today's organised UFC, there really are only a handful of moves:

1) Grappling - triangle choke, arm bar, knee bar, rear naked choke, guillotine choke. There are some more less common moves like the omaplata, gogoplata, etc.

2) Standup - muay thai clinch + knees to the body and head, boxing, footwork.

3) ground and pound - get on top of your opponent, move him to the fence, control your opponent's head, arms, and legs, and try to get some elbows and punches in. opponent on the ground tries to minimized distance.

In no way am I saying that it's easy to master these skills but this is 90% of what UFC MMA is about.

In a streetfight, there are generally weapons involved (even if it might only be a rock, hammer, THE CLUB, kryponite lock, etc.), multiple opponents (this is why brasilian jiu jitsu doesn't really work very well in the real world), and there's no tapping out.

The good thing is that in most street fights, if there are no heavy weapons involves (knives, guns, brass knuckles, etc.) usually the opponent is not trained in fighting. This means that they do no know how to punch properly so they will likely tire out very quickly and/or break their hand even if they hit you because the angle will be messed up. In addition, most random street people will simply flail their arms and throw punches so you can wait a few minutes for them to gas out.

In any case, I will reiterate that it's best to avoid these situations and that includes mouthing off. If you mouth off to the wrong person, your decision could be something you regret for the rest of your life. There are lots of crazies out there. Urijah Faber almost got killed in a street fight a few years ago and he was the 145lb WEC champion.

RVD.