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On a group ride we had a semi run a stop light causing the entire pack to lock 'em up. Much audible grumbling takes place and the guy gets out of the cab (with tire iron) and starts yelling that we should defer to semis like they're handicapped or sumpin....
The future head of the State Bar Association and the spokesman for the Police Department were in the pack. Hillarity and tail tucking ensued. |
I haven't had to much happen to me (yet); the worse was when someone tried to throw their taco bell trash at me, missed so bad that instead of getting angry I just laughed. Although one of my dads friends went on a warm up ride before all four of them were meeting up for a breakfast ride and he came back with a huge red stain on his back; apparently someone threw a whole burrito at him. Another one of the guys got in a yelling match with a police officer about the rules of riding two abreast on a country road, Mister officer ran with his tail between his legs after that one.
Another thing that hasn't been brought up here is cars/bikes sneaking up on you. I know motorcycles can't help it but I've had a huge red diesel pickup with twin top mufflers throw in his clutch until he was right next to me and just slammed on the gas. Needless to say it scared the crap out of me and I almost went of the road with that one. |
Capinporcupine
Funny you should mention that. One of the loudest, rudest rolling yelling matches I've ever been in was with a couple of Chicago cops in an unmarked (but obviously cop car) rolling down Halstead. I've matured a tad since then and now smugly ignore loud d o u c h e b a g s driving cars. |
We went for a road ride this past weekend and on the way home riding through town some jerk in a POS car started harassing us. My SO got so pizzed at the cager that he ripped the grill and licence plate off the front of the car so he would be sure to have the plate number to call in to the police. I think the cop was secretly impressed by that.
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Crazy folks be crazy. Don't let it get you down, get the info if you can and call the cops every time.
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Wow, threads like this make me want to get a camera. I'm planning on starting to commute next week (the plan was to start this week, but rain and then illness made that a no-go).
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Originally Posted by Lewis_Moon
(Post 14612902)
On a group ride we had a semi run a stop light causing the entire pack to lock 'em up. Much audible grumbling takes place and the guy gets out of the cab (with tire iron) and starts yelling that we should defer to semis like they're handicapped or sumpin....
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Originally Posted by spivonious
(Post 14613785)
Wow, threads like this make me want to get a camera. I'm planning on starting to commute next week (the plan was to start this week, but rain and then illness made that a no-go).
Nothing exciting ever happens when I have it on though :( |
Originally Posted by big john
(Post 14612804)
I have seen a few things about road rage on television and would like to see more studies.
The Dr Phil show (I know) had some admitted road ragers come on looking for help. One thing they did was put little cameras in their cars and record their actions. It was pretty incredible. One was a mother with two small kids in the back seat and she was raging a large part of the time she was driving. It was like she really wanted to kill somebody. Around here, road rage has led to deaths in several cases and many of you may remember the doctor who took out two cyclists with his car and felt he was right to do so. Good luck to everybody out there and be nice. :) |
Single paceline, tooling along nicely just to the left of the white line where we were supposed to be. Guy in a small pickup is pulling out and turning right. He waits for us to go by, pulls out, passes us, moves over in front of the line and slams on the brakes. Lead rider went left, number two went right into the ditch and number three went into the tailgate (which was down), over it and into the bed of the truck . The driver started to take off, realized number three was still in the bed of his truck, gave him a couple of secs to roll back out of the bed, then took off. In the stunned confusion up front no one managed to get the tag number, so the guy was never caught as far as I know.
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Another form of road rage that I've witnessed is when drivers are considerate to me but other drivers behind that driver get mad at him for it... or they just don't see me. Especially when crossing busy streets. When a driver stops to let me cross I keep a very close eye on the cars behind him/her.
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Last night on my evening ride a guy threw a full can of beer/soda at me. It hit a few feet in front of me before skidding off the road. I was on a wide shoulder of a divided highway. No reason for them to target me specifically except I was an easy target. Speed limit is 70 and expect that had the can hit my bike or me it could have caused some major damage. The car was long gone before I could react. I raised my hand in a one finger salute hoping to get them to stop so that I could get the license plate but I doubt they were even looking back. There are a lot of sick people out there.
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I don't know what it is, but people always seem to mess with me when there isn't much traffic and they have plenty of room to pass.
Once when I lived in Ohio I was riding to work on a quiet 4-lane road and some guy passed me yelling something about sidewalks. There wasn't much traffic at all and all he had to do was switch lanes to avoid me. He started playing games with me at a stop light. When the light turned green he just sat there and blocked me from moving. After a while he started moving and then slammed on his brakes. I was 100% ready for it and I just kind of sat there calmly so he wouldn't get the pleasure of some kind of reaction out of me. That's usually the best way to handle it, but for me that's usually easier said than done. Earlier this year I was in OKC and some redneck in the passenger seat of a truck threw a drink at me. Again, I was on a quiet 4-lane street and all the driver had to do was switch lanes and he wouldn't have had to slow down at all. Fortunately, the thrower's aim was way off and the drink landed about 5 feet in front of me. That was the first time anyone has ever thrown anything at me (that I was aware of, at least), and I got pretty angry. I caught up with the truck in the left turn lane at the next light and the passenger still had his window rolled down. My first instinct was to throw one of my bottles at him right through the window. I calmed down a little bit, rolled next to him, and told him that he threw like a girl. He called me a *** and that was the end of it. Sometimes I think I should have rolled up behind him with my phone to take a picture of the truck's license plate and call the cops. I doubt that would have done much good, though. |
Originally Posted by DXchulo
(Post 14614006)
I don't know what it is, but people always seem to mess with me when there isn't much traffic and they have plenty of room to pass.
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I always get a chuckle out of the motorist's argument that "bikers aren't paying taxes so they shouldn't be on the road!"
Do you really think people riding around on $6000 carbon bikes don't own cars and pay plenty of taxes? |
Top 5 most despised peoples in the US:
1. Child molesters 2. R*pists/Murderers 3. Politicians 4. Lawyers 5. Road cyclists |
Originally Posted by nhluhr
(Post 14614037)
I always get a chuckle out of the motorist's argument that "bikers aren't paying taxes so they shouldn't be on the road!"
Do you really think people riding around on $6000 carbon bikes don't own cars and pay plenty of taxes? |
Considering time and mileage on bicycle vs car/motorcycle/walking, I must say I get the least road rage while on bicycle. Especially considering I do slow traffic down sometimes, drivers have to wait for a gap to pass me on some roads etc.
When I do get road rage on a bicycle I just smile: I am lucky to be able to ride bicycle, instead of the cage. I do HATE driving car in town. If I had to stay in the cage, I'd probably be pissed with cyclists as well. :) Once a truck that had to wait for some 5 seconds to pass me and I made him slow down (he sat on his horn for like 3-4 seconds, but I just ignored him - he had the whole left lane as soon as the car next to him moved on) deliberately stopped some 500 meters away after passing me, waited for me to come to him and start passing, then got going and swerved onto me. I did brake on time, avoided him (luckily I gave him plenty of room when passing him, or he would have knocked me down). Since there was no witnesses, it would have been my word against his, so I just let it go. No use going to prison - too many idiots. Another occasion was while on foot. Walking by the riverside on a MUP. A car was behind me (it is usual here to drive even cars on MUP, though it's an offence). I moved to the right of the path, further right was mud and grass. Since a bike was comming towards me, the car didn't have room to pass me. Had to wait for the bike to go past us first. So the guy sounded horn on me (I was all the way to the side of the road - only mud was further right). That really annoyed me so i showed him the middle finger. He then stopped, got out of the car: "what was that for"). I was just silent, took my glasses off and put them away. He backed up and started some blablabla (then his wife also got into argument, how rude I was and so on). I just asked him if he knew he's not supposed to drive there. And said I moved all the way to the side of the road. Said hes a rude for doing what he did. Then wife told me to **** off and they took off. After that I never try to react. For a second he was considering using brute force. It could have been very nasty situation, for no reason. |
Originally Posted by nhluhr
(Post 14614037)
I always get a chuckle out of the motorist's argument that "bikers aren't paying taxes so they shouldn't be on the road!"
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Engaging wackos on the roads is not wise. Statistically, you know that a certain percentage of dope addicts, murderers, and people who are literally insane are out there -- and a certain percentage of these have weapons. Very few people go out of their way to bother cyclists, so those that do are by definition extreme outliers.
It's extremely rare, but once in awhile, someone does something weird/hostile to me. If they act unstable, I act like they're not even there. Hostility gets a friendly 5 fingered wave. Hostiles want to get under your skin, so don't give them that. Not all of people who harass cyclists are crazy. I've had a few pull off the side of the highway to try to talk me off. I normally get the schtick, "It's illegal, blah, blah, blah..." to which I reply (if they seem sane) "Actually it is and I checked. The law states ...." The other thing I've said before is "How seriously do you take driving advice offered by random strangers?" |
Aside from many honks and also many "Get off the road" comments, my biggest rager case was when my wife and I were going to turn left onto a larger four lane road from a small residential two lane. The car behind us -like us, waiting for light- just started to lay on the horn, for no apparent reason. He then yelled "Get on the sidewalk where you belong". My wife replied "Bikes have the same laws as cars on the roads (or some extent thereof)". This INFURIATED the man. He laid on the horn some more until a passing pedestrian with some kids in tow yelled at the man "They're right! They have all the rights you do in your car, stop being selfish."
The light eventually turned green, my wife and I made a normal left turn to get into the far right side of the right lane and the dude followed us for what seemed like 1/2 a mile, holding down the horn. I just waved. I came to find out later, he was a regular a the bar down the street and the time of day when we encountered him was his normal departure time after tying a few on... Authorities were notified, but nothing happened. I started carrying pepper spray from the point on. It may not defend against a car, but if an angry motorist gets out and comes at me, I'm spraying them. Stopping or cornering me, then getting out of the car and engaging is a clear intent to harm me in legal sense. |
Originally Posted by SCochiller
(Post 14614053)
Top 5 most despised peoples in the US:
1. Child molesters 2. R*pists/Murderers 3. Politicians 4. Lawyers 5. Road cyclists |
Originally Posted by Grim Ace
(Post 14612354)
Woman in front of me on a motorized bike (like a bicycle with a small motor), suddenly remembers she has to take a left. So without looking, suddenly brakes hard and goes left the moment I want to pass (at a normal cycling speed, near a busy intersection so no high speeds or anything). I almost run into her and hit her with my side. She falls. I get off, help her up " mam, are you ok? " etc. Then some nut comes running, telling me that I should allow people coming from the right to pass (she was not coming from the right, we were going the same direction.)
The annoying thing is that he is holding the saddle of my bike as I am helping the lady up, and tells me I should leave my name and number to cover any damages. Luckily, the lady tells him that it was her fault and she did not look over her shoulder when she took a sharp left (honest people do exist). She even asks me if I am ok. The guy finally calms down. But still stands there holding my bike like I would be lucky to even get it back. I ask him "can I please have my bike back?", and he lets go. On the one hand, I can appreciate him wanting to help the woman. He assumed I ran into her. On the other, physical intimidation and almost looking for a fight is not going to help anyone in that situation. Also, I was helping her up, even if it was my fault, it is not like I was trying to get away. |
Originally Posted by rmr1923
(Post 14612371)
I'm fortunate that I haven't had any issues where I live (Kingwood, subdivision on the north side of Houston). I have a few routes with wide lanes and light traffic, and the benefit of the Greenbelt Trails if I ever need to get off the road for any reason. People around here seem to be pretty friendly to cyclists, although I've had 1 or 2 drivers come pretty close to me even though they had an empty lane to their left. Never had anyone get closer than about 3 ft though, I just don't understand why some people try to attack cyclists with their cars. Guess they don't realize that person that they almost killed might be a mother/father just like they are.
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Considering time and mileage on bicycle vs car/motorcycle/walking, I must say I get the least road rage while on bicycle. Especially considering I do slow traffic down sometimes, drivers have to wait for a gap to pass me on some roads etc. ETA: Similar to this: http://www.aerostich.com/sundry/shir...low-cards.html |
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