Nachoman

Remind me not to vacation in Mustang, Oklahoma this summer.

bac

I ride in a very similar environment, and sadly, there is little you can do. The fact is that you are on a 20-40 pound bike, and he/she is sporting a machine that will most likely kill you if enough contact is made.

Understand the risks in your area. For me, the reward offsets even those considerable risks. Your mileage may vary though.

Louman

Wear an American Flag jersey or other patriot colors and see if that helps. It's been joked about before but desperate times call for desperate measures. I would definitely pursue the camera idea and continue working on the city council. In government the squeaky wheel always gets the grease even when reason fails. Good luck.

Bruce Rosar

try a shirt with Ex wife got car on the back.

furiousferret

Next time it happens, make sure you're out with a few other guys, a lot of witnesses, and when one gets real close take a dive for the team. Make sure its a nice truck so you can sue him blind. Once the papers get ahold of it people will be alot nicer...well they'll still yell obsenities...but they'll give you tons of space while they're yelling them!

bmclaughlin807

Too, too funny!!! I love it!

cs1

Where did you live in OH?

Tim

patentcad

>>What really needs to happen is that a couple of these clowns need to get beaten to a pulp by bikers.<<

Thank you for contributing the Mature Moment of the Day. That's very helpful.

jjmolyet

I made it in photoshop

I wonder if I could sell them?

Other Ideas for the back:

"TEAM NRA" "Highway Patrol" "This bike is a pipe bomb"

incipit

You could dress like a bicycle officer! Just don't incriminate yourself....

pgpdlr

whoa there partner!-I've seen more than my share of aggression in NJ! It now seems that at least once a ride, short or long, we're yelled at or threatened-especially by p/u trucks with BUSH stickers on them-no kidding!

clausen

Don't take the honking personnaly. These our the same idiots you encounter while driving. Take your lane snap a picture and report it to the police. If you feel your getting deff ears from the police. Mention it when reporting it that you will check back and do. They hate job performance complaints as much as everybody else.

cydewaze

Hah! Don't try riding in DC with that one!

patentcad

I've been dealing with idiots like this for 20+ years. The best tactic? NO tactic. Ignore them. Defuse the situation - because anything else you do won't help. Trust me. And if it's really that bad where you live - either accept it, find quieter roads or take up another sport. Sad to say.

Air

Or the other way around

woodcycl

Your inquiry was about what you and your club could do to hopefully make the situation in your area better over time ...

1. Attend City Council Meetings -- first talk to your council representative and alert them of the problem.
2. Contact the local media -- quote local ordinances, state laws, etc. Have photos or video available.
3. Contact the local newspaper -- ask for a reporter that works on human interest stories
4. Contact the mayor

Media and local political representatives are your best bet in my opinion. And, nothing will change overnight. The best course of action, though, if you truly want things to change for the better, is NOT to sink down to 'their level'. You want to be able to have conducted yourselves within the letter of the law IMO.

Good luck!

SDRider

Maybe have a sign on your back that says 'Father of two' or something like that? Let these ****tards know that you actually are a human being with a family (assuming you have one that is) and maybe they'll stop and actually think about their actions for a change instead of acting like a child who just had his favorite toy taken away.

BigNoseWhipper

fortunatly im patient with most people

unfortunatly i get incredibly furious when people "mess" with me on the road.

recenty i was riding on a narrow road and a car full of newly graduated teenagers sped by and beeped and yelled at me. at the next stop light i threw my open bottle of water into their car and kept riding. they cut me off and pulled in a driveway as i dropped my bike and ran up to their car. this is when they locked thier doors and sped into the driveway some more to greater the distance between I and their car. i found humor in this, so i left.

anyway, i will be ridin through all of oklahoma in july, through tulsa and OK city. i hope i dont have many problems with this, it sounds pretty negative and i would hate to get in a tussle with rednecks, they play dirty and have guns.

adgrant

Or you could move. There are another 49 states to choose from.

caloso

Cell phone cameras are a great invention.

DrPete 

Cincinnati. Plenty of driver hostility there, at least back when I lived/rode there.

DrPete

banerjek

Don't just get the colors. Get something with a message that will resonate sort of morons that do this sort of thing (i.e. "these colors don't run", something about supporting the troops or a named military unit)

I would not recommend the flag waving trick if you have long hair. And like clausen says, don't take it personally. Think of them like you'd think about some dog chasing you. They're too immature/stupid to know any better. I think that reacting actually provokes them. Use video, memorize plates, take action with the cops or whoever after the fact etc. But don't yell or act scared if you can -- that's what they want.

timmhaan

just like everyone else, we have problems in NYC, but all in all it's much less than harrasment i've recieved riding outside of the city. it seems the less dense the urban area becomes the more hostile and unwelcoming the drivers are.

DrPete 

So I'd love to see this one in action sometime, because everyone touts it as such a great thing. I think most of us could agree that bad things are done by motorists as they drive by, so the car is going measurably faster than the bike, and you only have a second or two to photograph the offender.

So, given a typical 640x480 camera phone, is it really possible to reach into your pocket, grab the phone, open it, flip into camera mode, snap a pic, save it, and still get a detailed enough picture that you can read the license plate on the car AND handle the bike in such a way as to avoid crashing? Nevermind the instance where the redneck moron DOES run you off the road and you're lying in a ditch. What are you going to take a picture of?

And even if you do, what are the chances that you'll photograph them DOING what you want to prosecute them for?

DrPete

bigskymacadam

get the city to buy everyone bikes. let some people drive automobiles only on every odd day of the month. the other's on even days .... so that the jerks can see what it's like to ride in traffic and be more forgiving when they are in a car.

... like that'll happen.