People who drive cars are A-Holes.
CycleGuy9000
Posts: 290
I'm a fairly new bicycle rider, I ride a mountain bike and go on lots of hills and trails but sometimes I have to go down a road or cross a road and since I have been biking a lot lately ( twice a day for an hour each time ), I feel that people in cars are so rude to bikers and I've started to hate them, just the other day an old man yelled at me " Get The F out of the road " when I wasn't even in his way and I was following the traffic laws. Does anyone else have any thoughts, feelings or experiences on this topic?
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I came this >< close to getting taken out today.
But that happens pretty much every time I ride.
I figure that the average 'driver' takes no notice of any road user that is in or on something smaller than their vehicle.
The bigger the car, the bigger the jerk....0 -
I came this >< close to getting taken out today.
But that happens pretty much every time I ride.
I figure that the average 'driver' takes no notice of any road user that is in or on something smaller than their vehicle.
The bigger the car, the bigger the jerk....
You're so right and I live in Texas where there are lots of big dumbies with big dumb trucks.0 -
I am fortunate to live in a bicycle friendly area. I do a good deal of road biking and most people will give adequate space when passing, however sometimes car drivers can be pains in the *kitten*. I think the worst are those idiots who get even with you and blow the horn.
I once had a conversation with an non-cyclist who was complaining about cyclist. She said she hated bicycle riders because they thought they owned the road and didn't obey traffic laws. I pointed out to her that if she would notice that those were the people who were not wearing a helmet or usually not riding with the traffic.0 -
Where I live if you try and ride your bike on the road they think it's wrong for you to do so and they will run you over.0
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a-hole cyclists aren't making it any easier for us that DO play nice with cars either.
I have an airhorn on my bike. It's... useful.0 -
a-hole cyclists aren't making it any easier for us that DO play nice with cars either.
I have an airhorn on my bike. It's... useful.
I want one of those!0 -
This is just an observation from my riding experience here.
The ones who drive dangerously or who shout rude things to me almost always have a "Obama" or a "Coexist" sticker on their car!
The ones who give me a wide berth, slow down, or give me a friendly wave usually drive trucks or have "Fish" or "American Flag" stickers on their cars!
It's just an observation.
Also, ever browse Twitter or other Social Media? It's the Rosie O'Donnell and Chers out there who hate cyclists! What's up with that? Hypocritical thinking from the elite? Say it isn't so!0 -
I live in SoCal, the worst are the old folks that drive older cars around Laguna Woods. They are so bad that I avoid the entire city.
Next up are the teenage phone zombies. Specifically the teenage girls in white (always white) BMW and Mercedes.
Then you get the tossers in trucks that think it is funny to scare you.
I love to ride, but I hate the three miles that I need to do on the street to get to the trails...0 -
I live in SoCal, the worst are the old folks that drive older cars around Laguna Woods. They are so bad that I avoid the entire city.
Next up are the teenage phone zombies. Specifically the teenage girls in white (always white) BMW and Mercedes.
Then you get the tossers in trucks that think it is funny to scare you.
I love to ride, but I hate the three miles that I need to do on the street to get to the trails...
Used to love the trails here. Now cops hand out tickets to cyclists, and pedestrians walk 4-5 across and won't move.0 -
I try to ride as early in the morning as possible when there are the least amount of cars out. I've been fortunate so far, but you run into the occasional idiot in their car. I've been considering getting one of those cameras that you mount on the handlebars but I always ride with my RoadID bracelet (I don't work for them) just in case something happens. I've had a couple of friends injured (cars/pedestrians) and one fatality (not car related).0
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I live in Portland Or, the most bike friendly city in the US, and have observed that many motorists are fearful of bikes. The other factor is the car drivers are not looking for bikes and there for don't see them when they are ther. Look up the invisible gorilla experiment for explanation of how the brain blocks out unexpected visual stimuli.
For that reason I always have my lights on and flashing when I ride in traffic. I have the best lights I could afford, paying over $130 for both front and rear. Even if people are jerks, few want to go to jail, so they will give me room. I see it as my responsibility to make myself as visible as possible when riding in with traffic, and I always assume that the cars can't see me.0 -
Next up are the teenage phone zombies. Specifically the teenage girls in white (always white) BMW and Mercedes.
Yep on the teen texters. THe only time I was right hooked was by a teen boy texting.0 -
Reading this thread reiterates why I live where I live. Chicago suburbs with crap-tons of bike trails. And once I get about 4 miles out of my neighborhood....I have limitless country roads to ride on.
On a practical side, though, know your rights and your obligations so you can be the best cyclist out there. Talk to your village about writing a bicycle safety column for their newsletter (my uncle did this for his town, and the response was overwhelmingly positive). And most of all....DO NOT JOIN A D-BAG BIKE CLUB THAT INSISTS ON OWNING THE ROAD!!! Sadly, some of our best "biking roads" are becoming "bike free zones" due to these clubs.0 -
As is usual on a weekend morning, I rode my bicycle this morning.
As is usual I had the normal close encounters with stupid drivers on the few street miles that I need to ride between various trails.
This morning I rode the 'uphill all the way' route, which includes several miles of climbs ranging from 'kinda tough' all the way to 'really ?????!!!!! WTF'.
After cleaning two of the latter climbs (300ft and 420ft) I reached the point where I had to switch to the road. I was also able to really stretch my legs on a slightly downhill section. I was on my Aerofoil, so the speeds approached ludicrous at times on the run down to the next trail. t one point I found I was spinning out - the later trace revealed 42.8mph. in torrential rain - we had a summer 'shower' that was very much like trying to ride through an ever-lasting waterfall.
Anyway - On one section, I was moving fast, in the rain, in the bike lane. Over all of the noise of the wind and the rain hitting my helmet and glasses and the noise of the traffic I heard a 'BEEEP, BEEEEP, BEEEEEEEP' behind me. I glanced quickly (kinda hard as I was laying a plaid trail at this point), there was an elderly Mercedes behind me in a color that is best described as 'Hearing aid Beige'. The old guy driving it looked to be about the same age as dirt. I glanced again and he was hammering his horn 'BEEEP, BEEEP, BEEEP'. I figured that he was objecting to me. I quickly checked that nothing was falling off the bike and also that my shorts had not split and I was inadvertently mooning him (it would not be the first time), but all seemed in order.
BEEEP, BEEEP BEEEP he went, then he accelerated alongside me and then
and then
the bufoon
Only moved into the car pool lane, forcing me to take to the brakes HARD.
In torrential rain. Now with spray from a 1970's baby poop colored Mercedes.
WTF ???
I missed running into the back of him by about 1.82mm, maybe slightly less.
The clown then continued to brake hard, all the time I was laying on the brakes and hoping that Shimano did their homework on the 105 series and staying incredibly close to his rear bumper. I was braking so hard that the rear wheel was only in vague contact with the road at this point.
Then suddenly he heaved the car right into the entrance to a strip mall.
Because I was so intent on not hitting him, I found I almost followed him in, but rather I stopped at the other side of the entrance.
I had to talk myself down from hunting him down and punching him in the face. It was such an incredibly dangerous situation, I was incredibly lucky that I had selected good brakes over affordable ones when I built the bike up and it was incredibly lucky that the just happened to work as well as they did despite the monsoon conditions.
I rode home fairly slowly, I spent a lot of time calming myself down and thinking about what I might have done wrong. The only thing I can thing of is that I did not really understand why he was laying on the horn at me, until he made his move. Maybe next time I will be better informed ?0 -
@emaren He was beeping at you to get out of the bike lane!? What a crazy old F***!0
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I grew up in Wisconsin just across the river from the Twin Cities. I can't even begin to calculate the number of road miles I logged in and around my town. In all those years and miles of riding, I can only remember a couple of times when a driver was rude to me.
After high school I moved to Florida for college and stayed after I got married. What a difference! People here have absolutely no consideration for cyclists. Drivers passing literally inches away at 60mph on country roads, yelling obscenities at you because you're not doing 50mph in a 30mph zone like they are, honking when you don't instantly get to 45mph after a stop light, and fighting with the soccer moms over parking spaces in a public park because little Johnny plays soccer for six weeks out of the year there.
And, to make it worse, when the civil engineers design the roads, most of the time they don't put in a shoulder, let alone a bike lane. Even if there is a shoulder or bike lane, it's usually so full of glass and debris that you end up having to ride in the traffic lane to keep from running over all the garbage.
Ok, I feel better now. Thanks for letting me vent.
May the wind be always at your back and the sun be always shining on your ride.0
