Sawtooth

Rant....
This morning on my commute there was a broken traffic light at a mall exit to a fairly quite street. A car was coming straight on to intersect the street so I went straight through the light and U-Turned behind the car just to be safe. The car behind me, however cut the guy off and turned left. When he started whining and yelling, I told him that the light was broken as I rolled by. His wife's response as they drove off was to yell "Hey Fairy!!" followed by a blur of explatives. They were both extremely large and looked comical stuffed into their Ford Fiesta.

1/2 mile later, there they were stuck at the light. I got out my water bottle and prepared to deliver the "douse and retaliate". I was going to ask them "If a lycra-clad fairy can kick both of your a$$es at one time, what does that make you?" But then I got back into my lane, I just don't really want to be that kind of person anymore.

But MAN, it would have been fun to give those fat pieces of Shat some of their own abuse back. Rage is a tough demon to let go.

Probably for the best; for all I know, they could have been sumo wrestlers and would have beat me and my bike into a paste.

Thanks for letting me rant.

shimanopower

i would of went crazy on those fat garbage people

woodcycl

I know it's tough to NOT PARTICIPATE in these kinds of instances, but you know ... you did the right thing. That 2 ton car can kick your 20lb bike's arse any day ... and it just isn't worth. Think of it like this ... don't stoop to their level ... be ther better man/person. They aren't worth your time, effort, or consideration.

The instances where I find myself REALLY struggling not to go off on idiots ... is when they purposelly attempt to cause physical harm to me on the bike. This happened to me back in 99' when a car load of redneck teenage guys threw a 2-litre half-full soft drink bottle out at my front wheel ... aiming mind you ... and I was doing about 22 or so on a flat. It was EVERYTHING I could do to not GO DOWN when that blasted bottle was rolling under my front wheel. Once I realized I wasn't going down ... I was ENRAGED and yelled several colorful statements and BEGGED them to come back, etc. etc. etc. .... just a knee-jerk reaction.

Well, they came back ... they found the parking lot my little group were parked in ... at the finish of our ride. There were 4 of them ... getting out of their car ... one with a tire iron and the other with a bat. I was SO mad ... I almost didn't care. Luckily, one of the guys with us yelled at me asking me if he wanted me to call his Brother with the State Police ... I yelled ... "sure, then let these guys see what a jail cell feels like". They, surprisingly jumped in the car and peeled away.

True story ... just isn't worth the hassle IMO. But, still tough to keep a level head.

CardiacKid

Get a life. If this is the worst thing that happens to you today, I would say you had a good day.
When something like that happens, it's a good time to remember our troops. Think improvised explosive devise. Getting called a fairy by a passing motorist then doesn't sound that bad.

jeff800

Why can't we all just get along? Because some people are just born jerks. Name calling isn't that something we do in junior high? I would be careful you never know when some fat guy and his wife will start hucking old McDonald Big Mac's at you. Really though they call you *&%## and you squirt them with some Gatoraid then they pull out the shotgun and blast your skinny a$$. It's really not worth it, unless someone threatens me or my family with physical danger I just laugh it off, life is to short.

terrymorse 

You should have called the cops on the first assault, the one with the bottle. Don't try to tangle with idiots, let the professionals do that.

mwilding

I laid into an old lady yesterday. She slowed down to block traffic and tell me that I had no business being on the road. I told her that I had every right to be on the road and that I was "a vehicle". She kept on ranting and I snapped and went off on the old bat...

Elvish Legion

/OT rant
I hate people that friggin bring weapons out. If you can't find me hand to hand don't waste my time, sure you may break a rib or so with your tire iron but I'm more apt to want to break your neck for that. Guns are the only weapons that people can pull that really worry me

/end OT rant

I've had a long day already!

bac

You did the right thing. Please just let that type of thing slide off your back. Mr., and Mrs. fatty will get it in the end with no help needed from anyone. The next time just laugh in their chubby faces, and ride on. It's really the sweetest end anyway. I mean, you're not going to accomplish anything by getting into a verbal (and, perhaps a physical) confrontation with anyone on the road.

puddin' legs

...just let it go. They're only guilty of pre-emptive stupidity. You're guilty of returning their favor.

shimanopower

don't listen to any of these people! they're crazy!! at the light you should broke the fat woman's nose, throw your bike to the side and then go after the guy. Be brutal now.... if that guy walks out of the car door, you have to beat him to within an inch of his life.... then ride away.

GrannyGear

Local rider was passed by a car who screamed in his ear, veered close to him, and, I think, threw some fast food crap at him. He caught up to them at the next light, got off his bike, kicked a huge dent in their passenger door with his cleat, and is supposed to have said, "Around here, even sh*theads like you need to respect cyclists."

Not that we should ever emulate him.

Elvish Legion

Bravo! Now if only we could get a gun holster designed for bike frames!

Elvish

shimanopower

exactly! justice, karma, immediate cause and effect, sin and punishment... now he gets to stare at his dented car door and think "hmm... maybe i shouldn't throw fast food at people."

shimanopower

yeah maybe a heart monitor gun chest strap combo... a small glock or perhaps a 9mm bereta strapped under your top tube... speaking of bereta, i saw a bereta jersey. is that an ad for a gun or some sort of pasta?... hmmmm

Velo_Seth

too true.
My reaction is always to smile and/or laugh in a genuine way. It can really unnerve and disappoint people when they see that their antics don't affect you and that you can just keep riding on, unbothered.

oboeguy

I was thinking a water bottle cage adapter, or maybe a small sawed-off shotgun that mounts under the top tube like a frame-fit pump. That way people on the road wouldn't mess with you when they saw that you were riding with "heat".

Duck22

Check out the Safepacker. You could hang it on your frame, but it's probably better used with a nylon belt over your jersey.

shimanopower

i really like that water bottle adapter idea, i bet it be fun to shoot a few rounds off from your bike while flying down the road at 25 mph

Murrays

I like to wave and respond with "Thanks, you have a nice day too", though sometimes I lose my cool like everyone else.

-murray

bigskymacadam

we complain of yahoo's with gun racks in their pickups and now there's talk of gun racks for your bike? that doesn't seem right.

MasterSezFaster

A little hyjack
Funny you mention this. I have one for my .30-.06. I use it on my mtb when I ride the back roads to a friends property who has a firing range. . I just rigged one of the ones off the sadle for my horse. It runs along the top tube and is out of the way. Get some funny looks but there are not many people on the trail I take to get their and the people I have encountered usually ask to see how I have it rigged because it still allows for full travel of the rear suspension.

I do not think it would go over to well on the road bike though

2manybikes

I do the same thing.

I usually laugh at them also while saying "have a nice day too". Idiots can be entertaining. Some people would have to get cable TV or go to the movies to see people that stupid. Cyclists get to see them for free. We could sell this stuff to Hollywood.

Sawtooth

OR.....He could take his rage out on the next unsuspecting cyclist he comes up behind.

Don Gwinn

No, you're right. If you're the kind of snob who looks down on everybody who has a gun rack in his pickup, I suppose that would make you a hypocrite, which wouldn't feel right.

But if you're NOT a snob and you DON'T look down on people just because they have a gun rack in a truck, a way to carry a gun on a bike isn't such a bad idea. Useful for defense, or for the "Bike n' Shoot" events like the one recently held in Colorado.