work it out in therapy

1. get mad
2. consider doing stupid crap
3. decide against it
4. have fantasies about it
5. ride on
6. forget it even happened

don't involve your karma in his.

^ Sounds about right.

Do you have a mirror? Here is what I do: With my mirror I know when cars are coming up behind me. On the troublesome bit of country two-lane (no shoulder) on my commute, I ride right tire track, maybe a little to the left of it. When a car comes up behind me, I slide right about a foot- an invitation to pass, but they still have to change lanes to do it. If there is oncoming traffic, I instead hold my position and hold my left arm out and down with palm facing back which pretty clearly communicates "do not pass." As soon as the oncoming traffic is done, I slide right and invite a pass. Part of the deal with frustrated drivers is that they don't know what to expect out of a cyclist. Even if they can't pass right away, they seem to be okay with me taking control as long as I communicate. The deal is, if they are frustrated behind me, when I pull to the right and wave them around, my cooperative gesture (waving them around to pass) seems to take all the steam out of their frustration.

Now, if they're already behind me and honking, that's different. But using this method I've managed to so far avoid such an encounter.

I once had a stupid young mother barely pass me then cut across my path to turn into a side street, I avoided falling off the bike then followed her around the corner a proceeded to tell how dumb she was....BIG MISTAKE. She screamed at me with language that would make a sailor blush, all in front of her young kids.
There was no winner there so I rode off very angry, so angry that I decided to ride around the block and kick her doors in, lucky for me....she was gone.

Glad I don't ride in your area...

Because I guarantee the next cyclist that person comes up on is going to get the anger from that behavior.

Sweet blog.

You should post this in A&S. It helps reaffirm their victim's complex and social status as "oppressed persons".

Stupid ahole cagers.

I haven't these sorts of experiences in a very long time. I don't know why. Maybe just lucky. At any rate, don't tick people off when they have the ability to kill you right then and there. Moreover, and I know the "political" cyclists will not like this, but choose your roads carefully. I plan my routes specifically to avoid heavy fast traffic, poor pavement, large trucks, etc.

Not sure what you mean. Since I've been doing that, I don't get honked at, I get waved at.

If you're anything like me, they stopped being a problem when I stopped riding with a chip on my shoulder and started being considerate toward them as well. Little things like waiting my turn in line at a red light, moving to the right when I hear a car approaching, treating a stop sign like (gasp) a stop sign, etc. have made me visibly acting like a vehicle, and most people treat me as such.

Are you on Bimmerforums?

agreed with the above. Picking low traffic route out of town limits the amount of drivers/chances for accidents. I also feel that people out of town generally drive better and give you more room.

Since it seems to be story time: I ride around campus here at night and do hill repeats on a section that has low traffic. Here I am busting my ass up a hill and there is no oncoming traffic. Some frat jackass and his cronies pull up beside me calling me a "lance ****" and all sorts of cool things. I tell him and his buddies to get the **** out of the car repeatedly. they dont. not sure why, im sure 3-4 guys could easily beat my ass. he revs the car and inches toward me so i unclip and step off the road and grab a tire puller out of my jersey pocket and crack his rear window. bass was apparantly too loud to hear it.

funniest thing ive been called is not "lance ****" but it goes to some hick outta town who thought i was african american, apparantly and called me a ******. really? im about as white as they get.

I agree with the above except for waiting my turn at lights. I think people like us to get out of the way, and I think it's safer to get out of the intersections asap. I don't stop behind cars, I go to the side so I can't get pancaked. If I can move to the front, it sometimes allows cars that are going right on red to go to my right and turn.

Folks 'round here are pretty good, but I've extended my longest finger or the "(both arms up) WTF?" look on more than one occasion. No one has ever stopped, or come back to chat. I believe this is because I only use it when it is very obvious the driver has put me in danger, and I think they realize that.

I would extend the same gesture if I was driving a car, and I refuse to act differently because I am on a bike. Perhaps I will regret that at some point, but for now I have my dignity and self respect.

The last person who gave me attitude is someone I know from church. That was a great moment on sunday. "Hey, always nice to have shouts of encouragement when I'm out on the bike. Remember me in the black jersey?"

By the way, what is it with white cars? The other day on a 20 mile ride in heavy traffic, I got honked at 2X, and not that warning beep, but a long honk, and buzzed 2X, and all 4 cars were white.

I still stay to the side to avoid getting squished, but I wait my turn if it is a practical option. Around here, that usually still leaves enough room for cars turning right. My logic is that every car I pass when filtering to the front means one more car that will have to pass me after the light turns green. There are exceptions, though. I will filter to the front if I think I would otherwise miss the light, if I know a bike lane is coming up, and a number of other reasons.

I agree that generally abiding by the rules of the road is a big help. But when you ride in areas where the people are rude, and they aren't used to cyclists (my home town, not where I live) it doesn't do you a bit of good.

The last time I flipped the bird to a driver who cut me off got the guy really pissed. He sped away from the intersection, slammed on his brakes ahead of me and threw the door open shouting, "you better call 911 'cause I'm going to hurt you bad" or something to that effect. I rode a wide berth around him but he got back in his van and chased after me! Like, he lit it up - squealing the tires and all. I hammered it to the next street which was fortunately a one-way and guy didn't come after me. I looked back after like 50 meters or so and he was just sitting there in his van at the top of the street.

That incident could've ended so, so bad. Really trying to keep calm even in the face of blatent rudeness and dangerous driving. It's hard though.

Op,

Very sorry to hear about your situation.

Although I live in NJ, I rarely encounter aggressive or irate drivers on my routes. I do, however, encounter drivers who just don't pay attention. Every day when I ride to work or go on training rides, I witness kids, moms, dads or regular people using their cellphones. I ride past them and see their faces pointed directly down. Completely disregarding what is in front of them. Then, when I come past them on the right, they feel it's necessary to honk at me. As if I'm the one who isn't paying attention.

We as cyclists are never going to win this battle, but we can reduce the amount of encounters by doing more than getting angry at them directly. I'll be the first to admit that I'm just like you. If someone does something to me on purpose, my "tough guy" temper goes through the roof. Sure, it's not the right way of doing things and I know that. I just can't stop it. There is a difference, however, of those who do it accidentally and purposely. And I can recognize that immediately.

My recommendation is to try and get their license plate number. Stop riding, pull out your mobile and call the police. Of course, doing this one time won't do anything, but if you do this regularly, I would hope police take notice. And make sure the police take you seriously. Call them as many times as necessary and follow up later. Press charges if applicable.

If you're actually able to catch the guy on the road, try a different approach. Rather than, "Pull the F over!" Maybe, "Hey, pull over for a second." Try talking with the guy and helping him understand where you're coming from. Explain that you're someone's brother, father, son, whatever and he can kill you instantly. Hell, I'm probably making no sense or this sounds ridiculous, but sometimes trying something different works.

My buddy is now in the hospital because of a driver who simply disregarded his right-of-way. And this has really got me thinking lately. I was going to start a new thread, but we can keep this one going.

Us cyclists should learn from this stuff and drive differently. Since becoming a cyclists, I've slowed down my driving and just take my time. When I pass a cyclist, I move as far away as possible and slow down. And when my phone beeps, I leave it until I reach my destination or a red light. Thankfully, my car has a bluetooth system, so I don't have to hold anything when talking. I can just drive and pay attention to the road.

As for riding on the road, I've done some things to make me safer. When I commute, I use a headlight and flashing taillight. So far, it really helps. People move away from me and notice me coming from further away.

Sorry to hi-jack this thread. I'm just venting. Your thoughts?

I try not to let it ruin my day.

Any encounter with a vehicle bigger than me that results in me still riding I consider to be a successful encounter.

True, it does depend on each individual situation, but like I said, I noticed the "rude" drivers suddenly become less rude when I stopped riding around with an attitude of my own. This includes Los Angeles, which may not be the worst, but is pretty bad.

Most but not all. I do the same things you mentioned above, most drivers are considerate but not all.

I agree completely. I make an effort to ride legally and courteously.