TinyL

They install tuners that alters the computers mapping of the engine. This can give them up to 30% better fuel economy...but they will smoke more. I live in farm land and there are a lot of this around my area. 30% fuel savings is HUGE to farmers! You still have to intentionally bump the throttle to roll coal though.

When gas hit highs back in 2006 I bought my first high mileage car...Prius. Sold it after 2 years...just too big a penalty to pay for comfort and occasional hauling capacity I need.



I think you pretty much summed up a best practice!!!!!! A little warning too those who choose to wave the finger or yell at the drivers. Living rural as I do means there is a lot of salt of the earth nice people around...but I can tell you that raising cattle and crops is hard work...there are some pretty stout farmers and their kids. I have also seen some little skinny people dish out some pretty good punishment to some not so ready instigators! Even if you feel justified you better be prepared to defend it.

Wingsprint

The ability to roll coal and tune a diesel engine for better power and economy are two VERY different functions.

Trucks that can roll coal have been modified by the owner to produce the black smoke on demand. Thick clouds of smoke are produced because fuel is pushed from the engine without being completely burned, and then leaves the exhaust as black soot. The truck’s engine management system is modified to pump excessive fuel to the engine on demand. In some cases larger fuel injectors are installed to further the effect. Not exactly fuel efficient...

bakes1

Well said.
I think another thing we learned here is that drama queens get flamed, right or wrong.
Rule #348743890 of the Internet forum official code book

mapeiboy

I totally agreed with you on this one . We should do our part to have less damage to the environment these days . What that person did with the black smoke is nothing short of being a jerk . I still don't understand why you are getting shell at this forum for pointing out these things .

Equinox

I am also.

Equinox

One can't deny that there is an element of self loathing among cyclist that I find objectionable and hard to understand. For example, they cite there impressions that the majority of motorists are cordial and safe, which is true. I will counter that a high percentage of motorists do not know how to interact with cyclists on the road. We throw them off. Many believe that we don't have the right to share the road with them. They might not be overtly dangerous, but they are definitely "off". And the citation of the small percentage of motorists who are truly dangerous is also bogus because when we are unfortunate enough to encounter them, we lose 100% of the time. They get a scratched fender, we end up in a wheelchair. They say "oops" and the cops say "OK". They intentionally fill my lungs with more carcinogens, the self loathing cyclists say "what's the big deal?".

bakes1

Seriously...
Now you are a psychiatrist diagnosing a % of cyclists as "self loathing" ??
What a maroon

RPK79

It is our civic duty to help reduce internet pollution, which is an environmental crime.

FBinNY 

I don't know who's self loathing here. Those of us who are happy riding our bicycles and accept some of the nonsense we may encounter from time to time as the cost of doing business. Or those who are constantly seeing themselves as victims.

I speak for no one but myself here, but if I saw that cycling was the miserable, assault filled activity some portray, I'd give it up. It's bad enough being a victim, it's worse to do so by choice.

Is life perfect, of course not. but we make our choices, and accept some of the negative consequences that go with them. We don't like it, and may try to change it, but we don't take every slight and blow it up to crisis proportions.

The OP started the thread describing a bad day in an otherwise nice place to ride. That's what it was, a bad day with an unusual cluster of encounters with jerks and the like. And that's where it should have stayed, a report of an unusually bad day, followed by a few "I hear you,... post" IMO it doesn't warrant the high drama he's making of it, nor do those of trying to keep it in perspective deserve to be called self-loathing.

exime

Similar to smoking those exhausts are also modified to create very loud sounds. I've been noise-smoked before in a small car enjoying the breeze with my window down so I followed him to his parking spot waited for him to leave and keyed his car.

Equinox

Thats understandable.

banerjek

We're working on this together from different angles. I treat them like little kids who are too dumb to know any better. You aim for the wallet and maybe introduce legal pressure.

For all the excitement surrounding jacked up rigs, my personal experience is that very few people driving them cause trouble and that working vehicles treat me better than the average car on the road.

In terms of hostility from motorists, the group that I see the most of it from is probably thirty-something women. This is a change from the past where it was mostly younger guys.

Hostile motorists don't scare me nearly as much as clueless ones which are more numerous and dangerous on orders of magnitude. Every single day, I see people doing things like applying makeup, texting, screwing around with hot coffee, not paying attention, etc.

RPK79

Is it?

colnago62

One of the posts reminds me of something that happened awhile ago. One the cyclists from a local team lives out on a farm in the boonies. He had a ride from his farm and after the ride, he would serve tea and crumpets (Born and bred in England). It was a popular ride. There was this rider who would show up and ride that looked like he had a broken nose. Big and strong, he could pull for days. The story was that he was a former boxer named Boone Kirkman. One Sunday the group encountered a guy in a truck who felt the need to pull over and threaten to beat some cyclists up. Story has it, Boone took off his cycling shoes and told the guy if he wanted cracked some heads, he could start with him. A couple of punches later, the guy goes crawling back to his truck after losing his lunch. Driver or cyclists; it is always better to live and let live because you never know who you are dealing with.

WNCGoater

This +1. Young-ish women in my experience, are the most hostile and aggressive drivers out there. And my greatest fear is getting nailed by someone dinking around with their phone, texting, dialing, etc.

I think us being courteous towards motorists is the greatest thing we can do towards affecting peoples' attitudes toward us. Heck, on the motorist side of the fence I've experienced plenty of jerk cyclists. Riding two or even three abreast, won't move over so I can safely pass. Or when I approach and gently toot the horn to let them know I'm approaching I get the finger or they spread across the lane forcing me totally into the opposing lane if I'm going to pass. I want to yell, "I'm one of you!"
This type attitude is just as bad as getting smoked by a vehicle IMO and certainly encourages the yahoos out there to harass cyclists. Sometimes I think the rude behavior we experience as cyclists perhaps comes about because of rude behavior dished out from another cyclist. Doesn't make it right but doesn't change the fact either.

RPK79

If you are safely passing a cyclist or a group of cyclists what does it matter if you have to go two feet into the other lane or 8 feet into the other lane?

You honk at cyclists when you get right behind them? Rude. I'd give you the finger, too. Maybe even chase you down and give you a piece of my mind if speeds allow. Why on Earth would you think startling cyclists unnecessarily is somehow polite?

Equinox

Absolutely false. We need to be done with this nonsense that everything will be fine if we would only be nice.
Cyclists defer to motor vehicles as close to 100% of the time as measurable. We take a lane for our safety, or , God forbid, make a left turn, and their heads explode.

WNCGoater

Whoa there friend. You may need to go back and read what I wrote. No one said "honk when you get right behind them". That WOULD be rude and likely scare the crap out of them and potentially cause an accident. I said "gently toot". And naturally that would be at a distance. There is a difference.
I assumed this would be apparent but with regularity I realize too late perhaps others reading a post may not interpret it as meant. I apologize for the confusion.

banerjek

I'm with Goater on this. On open or lightly trafficked roads, it's no big deal for a motorist to go into the other lane. But on busy roads, that doesn't work so well. Anyone who has slowed up for you is looking out for you by definition. Why not shift over a bit and wave them through so they can share the lane (or barely go over so you can work with the oncoming cars)? You get treated MUCH better if you play well. One of the problems I encounter is that a lot of motorists won't pass in such circumstances even if you wave them through. If a bunch of cars stack up behind (this is particularly bad if you're grinding up a hill), chances of abuse go through the roof.

I see cyclists needlessly blocking motorists every day. These idiots wouldn't survive a week where I used to ride. Share the road should mean just that -- we need to help everyone get to where they're going.

I don't honk at cyclists, but if people are being clueless or obstructionist, I'm not sure how a small horn tap is out of line. Flashing your lights or a quick beep is normal behavior for motorists to remind someone who's lollygagging that they're not the only ones on the road. If we want people to treat us like traffic, we need to act like it and not get our noses bent out of joint when we get treated like any car would.

RPK79

What you may think is a gentle toot from the inside of your metal and glass box might be something completely different outside of it. Your reported reactions from cyclists would confirm this. Don't do it. Horns are not meant for friendly acknowledgement of fellow road users.

WNCGoater

Well, to each his own. But just to clarify, I never said "everything will be fine".
It is pretty generally accepted as a rule of life, and has been my life's experience, that rude behavior begets rude behavior. Don't know why that would be any different in cycling.
I know great strides have been made in recent decades by educating the public, mapping and marking bike routes, "share the road" education, charity group rides, community sponsored rides, etc. I can't see that being a jerk on a bike toward the motoring public can be beneficial toward furthering that cause.
As has been stated in this thread, there is no law against being a jerk so I guess that certainly applies to both sides here.
The problem as I see it is, as a cyclist I can suffer the consequences of another cyclist's crappy attitude. That isn't likely as a motorist or if it does, it doesn't put me in a life threatening situation.

So if you suffer some type of emotional trauma while out biking because Bubba was a "meany", rest assured it wasn't a result of my being a jerk to Bubba while riding my bike.

There are also no laws about being a drama queen or over sensationalizing events during a ride. I just choose not to be/do either. YMMV

banerjek

Thank god for that. Otherwise, BF would probably go out of business.

WNCGoater

Personally, I have a hearing loss. Couple that with wind noise while riding and frankly, while it is rare, I appreciate a quick toot as a car approaches. No, I'm not talking about laying down on the horn right behind me. But at a distance it is welcome. Frankly I do not do it but have in the past with the above mentioned rude response. Many cars are very quiet these days and cannot be heard until they are quite close. I try to keep up with what's behind me with my rear view, but like I said, a quick horn from a distance doesn't bother me.

But then, I don't go through life looking for something to be offended about nor constantly keep my chamois in a wad. Do I encounter the occasional jerk that buzzes too close or try to pass between me and approaching traffic? Absolutely. But I go out to enjoy myself and don't let little things bother me.
But it is apparent from this whole thread that a number of people seem to get on their bikes and themselves transform into uptight jerks, looking for a reason to be offended or flip someone off. Maybe it's good I started with mtn biking. Seems the participants are generally laid back, carefree, just having fun, not tending to be all uptight and unhappy. I just took that attitude to my road biking.
But obviously this isn't something there is going to be any agreement on nor apparently even common ground so I'll bow out with a disclaimer that this is my opinion only which isn't gospel nor a universal truth of every and all situations.... just that, my opinion so TIFWIW.

WNCGoater

banerjek brought up another point that applies here. Terrain. I live in mountainous country. Where I ride, a long straightaway is maybe 1/2 mile. Most of my routes are defined by hilly terrain and sharp, or blind curves.
Moving all the way into the left lane to pass cyclists more often than not, simply cannot be done safely.
If I move out into the center of the lane or spread out to force a motorist to pass completely in the left lane, I'm accomplishing nothing but p****** them off and tempting them to squeeze on past anyway which endangers me. If that car meets another one it could be disastrous for all parties. Why? What would be the point of forcing people into situations when all I have to do is move over to the right side. Nobody's talking about riding on the shoulder, just allow room is all.

When a motorist is trying to safely pass cyclists and they intentionally force them over in this type terrain, yes, they're being jerks and giving us all a bad name.

Flat level terrain with long forward visibility, looking a mile down the road is another thing altogether.

TinyL

No matter what we do there will always be people out for us...either because we are slowing them down, the white of my legs is blinding them, my Jersey rode up give my best plumber imitation...etc.

My greatest fear is texting or otherwise distracted drivers...dog's have been a minor annoyance also. Even though texting is well known to be VERY VERY deadly...people still do it.