I've defended my right to the road in (civil) internet debate, but the only in-person bullying came from my *brother*("Ride on the sidewalk!" My other brother's response: "Uh... side*WALK*?")... who knows I don't drive, ride in the road(and he is even aware that traffic code CLEARLY states I am allowed)... in front of my (semi)niece at the age of maybe 5 or 6. The first time I warned him not to(after I had time to cool off), but he did it AGAIN, this time with my actual niece and nephew present(My mom and youngest brother signaling him a strong NOOOOooooo right before he did it). Oooooh the vocabulary they would have learned if I hadn't already been headed out the door both times....

I don't see any of this as "bullying", which is such an overused and victim-mentality word. Can't people just be ass holes? I've had people yell a few things at me as I've gone by.... some of it I feel is them entertaining themselves and some of it maybe not. Either way I keep an eye on them and make sure I'm out of feasible range. This is has probably happened a total of eight times my entire life.

Either way if I get something yelled at me I ignore it as if it didn't happen or if it was particularly clever I will smile and wave. Doesn't bother me a bit.

Now the brick throwing thing... THAT is certainly a problem. Still not a bullying thing, just people being jerks.

People are getting squeezed by life and they're looking for easy targets to direct their pain towards.

You might want to look into some statistics. Actually, as I recall, cyclists add more to the local economy than motorists.

I've been attacked while on the bike many times, but never thought if it as bullying. It's been french fries and it's been pellet guns.

The only time that seems to stick out as bullying was from a younger cyclist. He deliberately ran his back tire over my front tire to drop me. I picked myself off the pavement and rode on. As I passed him, he stiff-armed me into traffic which ended up dumping us both onto the street when my rear wheel tacoed from the lateral force.

I would have called the cops, but cops had already not responded to my being assaulted by a '64 Chevy Impala years earlier and I suspected that the kid on the bike was a jr. gang member. I learned later that the gang in that area was MS 13 in their early days. I had to ride through that neighborhood five days a week and I thought it wiser to let it go.

Thanks for the welcome, guys!

Doing amazing. Three years out and no issues to speak of. Went for a 50 mile ride yesterday and although I bonked out for the last 5 miles (rookie error, lacked enough food in 90 degree weather) my lungs are never an issue riding. Just legs!

While not bullied, some of my friends give me grief about riding my bikes. They are my age, fat, and out of shape and in far worse condition than I am at 75. BTW I ave about 2500 miles per year, depending on the weather. However they handle their TV remote much faster than I do. :)

Dang. You're a better man than I. I probably would have tried to kick him in the face and/or the nads with my cleats after that.

Someone chucked one of them apple pie things from Mc.Clowns (as i call it) at me..
I work at wendys and was on my way to work.. So that was weird.. I was in full uniform going slow so i did not get sweaty pits.. and i end up with apple pie on me...



It was a McDonald's hot apple pie. They're not kidding. It was hot.

If it any comfort to you I really like a double Baconator with tomato. Thank you.

Sometimes I cycle in regular clothes, sometimes I wear shorts and a jersey. In my experience what you are wearing doesn't matter. The fact that you are riding a bike on the road is what matters to the kinds of ******bags who decide to yell something.

Btw, my favorite was a car full of young Republican looking boys. We waited at a red light together, when it turned green the guy in back yells "****ing liberal". Unfortunately for him they caught the next red. I pulled up next to him and said "I prefer the term communist." he just sat there pretending I didn't exist. I was chuckling for the rest of the day...

Their salads are tasty too, especially when paired with a frosty.

I can say one thing. I hate the bike couriers in Philadelphia. They are a serious danger on the streets. They have no regard for anyone's safety. Those guys cause some confrontations and it gives all riders a bad name. Then people assume all riders are the same as those guys.

things seem to be evening out now because today I got about seven compliments about my bike..

I've only been cursed at by drivers or pedestrians. Sometimes when I ride on a sidewalk for a 20 seconds to get to another road without dismounting someone will make an annoying comment.

I was also once pulled off of my bike from behind while riding by a police officer.

One afternoon when I was riding the subway I witnessed a crotchety older man have a meltdown because of a hipster and his bike. He first nicely asked about the bike and complimented it. Then he said why isn't he riding it instead of taking up space on the train. And then proceeded to start screaming about hipsters, gentrification and old New York.

This.

I think a lot of "bullying" comes from jealousy. They depend upon cars much more than you do. They're in much worse shape than you are. Or maybe they just don't know how much fun it is to ride. I was off my bike for 2 months due to an injury. Now that I'm back in the saddle, I can't ride enough!

You probably wouldn't if you knew what MS13 is. They make Bloods and Crips look like housecats. After we tumbled, I screamed at him and he gave me a mock-surprise "No comprende Inglés" look.

OMG! Moderators! He's not one of us!

Maybe if people were aware than conservatives ride bikes, and 2nd Amendment folks don't like having their lives threatened, this kind of stuff wouldn't go on. There are some people who insist on politicizing EVERYTHING, including bicycles, and they just make life miserable for the rest of us.

dudel

I am a bed rock conservative. So much so that I think that Attila the Hun may have had lace on his under lovelies. Yet the most vocal of my friends that snip at me for cycling is a liberal. Takes all kinds.

Reminds me of the saying that the British way is to drive your Japanese car to pick up your Indian meal, then sit down with your Belgian chocolate and German beer, watching your TV that was made in Korea while wearing clothes made in China, and complain about all the foreigners.

I think that this was less about politics and more about that guy being an a-hole.

I can't wait till this summer when i will bike the whole rail trail.

^ True. A national plague. They'll just as soon cut off your hands as slit your throat for an offense. Ruthless...

Hah, I conjured up something similar about the "American" way, though I put a more positive upspin on it. Personally, I like foreigners. Glad I'm not the only one thinking of that kind of thing...

More OT, I don't think I'd call it bullying but I've had misc. gate guards on base want me to get on the sidewalk coming in during the morning. Including today. I am in no way a hazard - lots of people bike on. I notice that it is more frequent when I ride my junky hybrid than my road bike, though that could be coincidence. There's bike lanes coming into Gate 1, but none at Gate 2 - which I live across the street from :/

M.

The police should just have a shoot on sight rule when it comes to gangbaggers

speaking of anti-bike people watch this video at 44 seconds in:

Is Avril Lavigne a Racist? 5 Things You Missed this Week! - YouTube