I'm waiting for the day when we're out riding and the rich 17 year old girl in daddy's benz plows into a dumptruck because she was too busy going "Holy CRAP! fat guy on a bike?!?!?!"

When I worked in the Loop: Peds. Oblivious to most everything but the ground at their feet.
Out here in the burbs: soccer moms/dads. Oblivious to most everything but the cell phone shoved in their ear and their double skim no whip carmellomoachino whatever the hell they are drinking

Amen to that one.. I've seen people blast through red lights yapping away happily on their cellphones not even realizing that they almost T-boned another car in the intersection. horrible, if you ask me.

well, i do a lot of my cycling on a campus w/50000+ students, so peds are definitely up on my list of annoyances. also appearing prominently are BICYCLISTS on cell phones (sometimes i pray for natural selection to work faster), basically any large SUV since chances are pretty good that it's a frat guy/sorority girl driving alone and blabbing on their cell, and taxis (60mph is not the speed limit last time i checked).

bahahahaha I had someone yell at me this morning...I was riding in a lane, no shoulder, no sidewalk...and all I heard was get..................ucker.....that was about it. Ahh that's fine, I have better things to be huffing about...like riding.

Another vote for Suzy Soccermom. Far more dangerous to ride past a school at 7:45 am than past a bar at 2:05 am. (And drink some real coffee for Peet's sake! If it's 90% steamed milk and caramel syrup, don't pretend that you're a coffee drinker.)

But the worst confrontations I've had are with morons driving pickup trucks with ladders in the back. Maybe it's just a coincidence. Maybe it's because they're going to a crappy job where the boss and the customers yell at them all day. Maybe because they're hung over.

Elderly gentlemen (often Asian for some strange reason) driving equally elderly cars and moving stubbornly into the road, regardless of whether there is anything out there at the time. Oh, and anyone with a new SUV, because he/she hasn't got the faintest idea how wide the thing is anyway and won't until they either a) alter the shape of it by dinging a wall/parked car/pedestrian or b) knock me off my bike.

My latest "poll" is counting the number of soccer moms driving SUV's who are NOT talking on a cell phone while driving.

So far, I have struck out. Haven't found any!

Anyone know what they are saying?

Hey, you could count me as NOT talking on a cell phone while driving my SUV. But I don't drive an SUV and I don't have a cell phone. But I am a soccer mom, literally; 3 kids playing, husband refs regularly, I ref occaisionally and I schedule referees and am on the local soccer board.

What are they talking about?--I cannot figure this out either, unless they are trying to find the cheapest gas they can so they can still afford to drive their SUVs. Of course the fees they run up on the cellphones while yakking about inconsequential stuff might go a ways towards their gas bills?

Hey, another thought (dangerous, I know, but I'm a real cowgirl. . .)--maybe it's mandatory for soccer moms to talk on their cell phones while driving their SUVs?

she's solved it....it's mandatory...no wonder.

My three worst? In no particular order.

• Suzy Soccermom in her SUV with cell phone accessory pack.
• 18 wheelers - Wal-Mart trucks are the WORST followed by movers
• Elderly people driving mid-seventies Caddy's (or similar land yacht). <dons flamesuit>

I would have to agree with the soccor mom, but throw in several of the sweaty team members, steamy windows and pouring rain. Not a safe place to be on a bike!

I think it would go something like this:

"Shelly are you coming up behind me? Well, the kids yelling distracted me and I totally missed plowing down one of those pesky cyclists, could you be a dear and nail him good for me?"

Old Asian women with glasses in the fast lane that talk on cell phones.

That and illegal immigrants. I've been in three accidents (fender benders, thank God) in as many years, and each time it was a non-licensed, non-insured Mexican woman. I'm still pissed about "the Governator" not supporting that bill to give illegal immigrants licenses (especially considering that it would have made my insurance bill drop like a brick off a four-story building).

This one would be pretty easy for me, a brand name i think we are all familiar with not ford not chevy, not even an SUV, hows JOHN DEERE hit ya? Cause it ****in hit ME hard! I was run off the road earlier this fall by about a 125 year old farmer, who prolly needed TWO ladders to get into the freakin combine he was driving. It was an extra special treat because he had the 20 FT head on so he blocked BOTH lanes of traffic. When he passed me, YES HE FREAKIN PASSED ME, the head of the combine took me out, hit my shoulder, BANG soggy ass muddy nasty ass ditch here i come! Dislocated my shoulder, (not the first time) and totaly crashed my bars. Oh well i was alive. I think you guys got it easy if you just have to worry about cars and trucks. I laugh at those "little" cars. Seriously dont tangle with the John Deere, you ll get the horns!
Drew

Sheesh, deastin! You're making me reconsider whether I want to do RAGBRAI!

Dont worry about RAGBRAI caloso, thats during the summer we dont let the combines out till late sept at the earliest, plust our fine Iowa State Troopers watch over us riders keep traffic out of our way. This will be my first year doing RAGBRAI and i cannot wait, even with being plastered by the ol John Deere, stuff happens, you could die crossing the street tomorrow right? So just enjoy the ride.
PS if you do go on RABGRAI bring LOTS of sun screen, some semi warm clothes, our iowa mornings can be a little chilly at 6 am, and I hope you like pie!
Drew

Lexus SUVs ... especially that cream color one!

Another to add to the list....

High school kids who just got their drivers license and are driving mommy/daddy's porshe or SUV and think that when the light turns green it means "Floor the accelerator and see how close to the biker we can pass while yelling obsceneties(sp?) out the window."

And the kids in the Japanese cars(no offense to Japanese cars, they actually are nice cars) with the huge spoilers and coffee can muffler. They seem to rank up there with the soccer moms and their SUVs.

2 more to add:

- Don't forget the "Boy Racers" (see Dirt Rag issue 103?) i.e. 16-25 year old males driving lowered Honda's
with loud mufflers. Usually seen laying down rubber in the Walmart parking lot, waiting in the Taco Bell
drive through on a friday night, or cruising down the main drag in town...... Losers

- Drivers of Harley Davidsons or choppers...it's not that they're bad drivers, just f'ing idiots...see rant here

Grenade launchers. You could kill a man if you loaded one of those things with a baseball and had him stand behind it.

Top 3:
1. Rednecks in pos pick-up trucks. Most dangerous around here and most prone to violence.
2. Inattentive chicks in SUV's. Dangerous as they are completely clueless and should not have licenses.
3. "Boy Racers" 16-25 in just about any car, usually 2-3 of them per car. Usually just yell at you and throw things.

Surprised by the Audi problem. Most, but not all, people around here (Western PA) with nicer cars seem more courteous.

Yeah, me too. Around here, most times you seen an Audi, it has a bike rack on it. Maybe I just notice that because I have an Audi A4 wagon myself.

Lately every close call I've had on the bike, the MC or in a car has been due to the other driver not paying any attention to anything but the conversation they're having on their cell phone. And, I'll admit that I used to be one of them. But after seeing how many times I've been close to being hit because of them, I saw the light. I can wait to talk.

SS