Here in Mackay, we have the opposite, they'll never slow to let you move right and make a turn, but I rarely have anyone shout abuse or tell me to get off the road.
Peter McCallum Mackay Qld AUSTRALIA
Generally the same in Townsville, same rednecks I suppose. The shouting ( dont know if its abuse or wot, dopler kills the message) and door thumping stops when uni holidays start and resumes when uni starts again. I ride mostly at night so the little dahrlings are on the loose. Learnt to drive in Sydney in mid '60s and its still a pleasure to drive there when I go back. Fast, courteous and forgiving if you stuff up lane - stall etc. Melbourne ! Definition of a split second - the time between the light turning green and the car behind honking.
Very soon some of those intolerant drivers will be on bikes because they cant afford $3 lt for fuel.
My personal favourite in this genre was when I was cycling home from work in Sydney. I'm stopped at the front of the queue at lights when this huge semi starts nudging forward towards my back wheel. I moved forward a little, he nudges closer alternately accelerating and putting on the brakes.
I lost it and started motioning to him to get out of the cab if he was looking for a fight (with every intention of riding off and leaving him in my wake if he did).
All of a sudden a motorist gets out of his car in another lane and walks over to the truck. I couldn't believe it. A complete stranger getting involved and telling the driver what a jerk he was. This was SYDNEY, wasn't it? Well, my regard for the social responsibilty of Sydneysiders was restored when I realised that the driver wasn't telling the truckie to stop harrassing me, he was merely pointing out that the stopping/starting had broken the cables holding down his load of newsprint (rolls of newspaper weighing about 1000kg each).
The truckie then lost interest in me. I spent the next minute or so riding around his vehicle laughing. It was total justice.
Peter
-- Peter McCallum Mackay Qld AUSTRALIA
bwahahahahahahahahahahahahah 😄😄😄😄😄😄
F"position, position. then blamo!"(hopefully 🙄 )"Dutch
Yeah, I had the same experience riding with my son, two abreast on a Sunday morning, multi-lane road, hardly any traffic, get a blast from some idiot behind us who couldn't be bothered changing lanes to pass. He eventually passed us and then stopped at the red light about 100 metres ahead.
I rode up beside him and said that we had a right to ride on the road and two abreast. I expected some sort of angry response but his wife launched into him from the passenger seat, "I just told him that" she says. I'll bet he copped it all the way home, well here's hoping anyway.
Peter -- Peter McCallum Mackay Qld AUSTRALIA
I was riding in a single lane each way shopping area of a street, starting my commute to work, when a BMW drags around me, veers at an angle into the kerb in front of me, and the driver (looking like some young executive) starts screaming at me for *being* on the road. I had been riding only about a foot from the kerb. Unfortunately all those things I should have done, such as note down his rego and reported him, only come later.
<[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
>>> "Andrew" == Andrew Reddaway <[email hidden]> writes:
Andrew> What works for me is behaving as a vehicle almost all the Andrew> time, good positioning on the road (taking the lane when Andrew> appropriate), indicating and otherwise being predictable, Andrew> looking behind, eye contact and generally fitting in with Andrew> the rest of the traffic. At lights in busy traffic, I tend Andrew> to wait in the queue of cars rather than squeeze Andrew> between/beside them. With practice, I've got a lot better Andrew> at anticipating the dangerous situations and finding ways to Andrew> avoid them. Nothing's 100% though!
I've found that's the key. Play by the rules of the road and you get a lot more respect. Yes there will still be [censored] heads, there always will be, but riding like a vehicle and not like you're in a peleton goes a long way. -- Cheers Euan
That may well be why I've had very little grief on the road. I did get a "...f thuh [censored]' roa....!" on Friday from an AU Falcon going the other way. Not entirely unexpected in the middle of Footscray at 11pm on a Friday night though (coming fhome from a late shift). Mostly I get next to no grief at all. I do find myself wondering about cyclists who say they get hassled nearly daily, because I certainly don't.
"flyingdutch" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
Andrew Reddaway said:
<snip> he said "Can't you take a joke mate?" I just said "you passed me very close back there". That was about it. He wasn't aggressive at all, probably just trying to impress his girlfriend in the passenger side - don't know what she thought of it.
hindsight being a wonderful thing, the best retort is one that not only emabarrasses em but shuts em up too, like...
"Well, obviously she can judging by the size of your [censored]".
Once had a guy so determined to fang past me at lights, as i waved my little finger at him to reflect his endowment, that he was so busy glaring at me in rearview mirror as i inevitably passed him again down the road, that he rear-ended the car in front! 😄😄😄 Didnt stop to smile and gloat. MUCH! bwahahahahahahah
F"justice serves those who remain calm"Dutch
-- flyingdutch
I've had drivers come very close to doing that with no more provocation than the fact that they couldn't POSSIBLY be overtaken by a cyclist. "What the..a bloody BIKE just overtook me! I must be going slow!" *accelerates* "FARRRRK!" *SCREEEE*
Buck> On Fri, 15 Apr 2005 23:47:02 +0800, Tristan Bergin
Buck> My opinion is that the roads belong to cars and larger Buck> vehicles. Anyone who wants to prove that's not the case, or Buck> try assert themselves can live with the danger, stress and Buck> abuse that comes with it. That's a personal choice.
What stress? I suffer way more stress in a car on the roads than I ever do on a bike. I don't have to worry about speed limits, traffic jams and the like. I get loads of exercise which lowers stress even more and I have fun.
There's no point worrying if someone's going to hit you from behind, there's nothing that can come of such worrying so put it your mind and enjoy. I do, every single day :-) -- Cheers Euan
Heh...sounds like you and I have a very similar approach to the whole exercise. You do get the occasional git which does get me [censored], but there will always be idiots in this world. I get a better woekout when that happens too. For some reason I ride a LOT faster when I get a fright. Must be the adrenaline.
I do find myself wondering about cyclists who say they get hassled nearly daily, because I certainly don't.
Don't. It can vary depending on WHERE you ride and a what TIME you ride.
I know places where I can almost guarantee abuse and others where I would be shocked to hear it. Unfortunately I can not always ride in the later all the time.
<snip> he said "Can't you take a joke mate?" I just said "you passed me very close back there". That was about it. He wasn't aggressive at all, probably just trying to impress his girlfriend in the passenger side - don't know what she thought of it.
hindsight being a wonderful thing, the best retort is one that not only emabarrasses em but shuts em up too, like...
"Well, obviously she can judging by the size of your [censored]".
Once had a guy so determined to fang past me at lights, as i waved my little finger at him to reflect his endowment, that he was so busy glaring at me in rearview mirror as i inevitably passed him again down the road, that he rear-ended the car in front! 😄😄😄 Didnt stop to smile and gloat. MUCH! bwahahahahahahah
The other key is to expect bad driving. Once your expectations are sufficiently low, you won't get stressed by others' bad behaviour.
Good point. There's no value in being "right" but injured.
The bad driving that I'm most watchful of is drivers crossing my path ahead of me, from side streets etc. I ride out from the kerb and pedal, even if I'm not applying any force, so they get the message that I'm fast. Being down in the drops probably helps to give them the idea too :-) If I've got any suspicion that they may cut me off (eg their head is turned the other way, or I've got the sun low behind me), then I'm on the brakes to avoid a nasty incident.
Ok, you've twisted my arm. I'll keep a voice recorder strapped to me, and I'll take notes as I go along.
Quoted message said:
I just use my mobile phone.
Aside from the legalities of that being a little 'vague', I do not posses the thumb speed and dexterity of a teenage female P-Plater.
One button operation on a voice recorder is faster, easier, AND I don't have to take my eyes off the road. -- Linux Registered User # 302622 <http://counter.li.org>
>> "John" == John Tserkezis <[email hidden]> writes:
John> Aside from the legalities of that being a little 'vague', I John> do not posses the thumb speed and dexterity of a teenage John> female P-Plater.
John> One button operation on a voice recorder is faster, easier, John> AND I don't have to take my eyes off the road.
My phone comes with a voice recorder which I can activate by voice. Very handy :-) -- Cheers Euan
I know places where I can almost guarantee abuse and others where I would be shocked to hear it.
Definite: Friday/Saturday evenings Rare: before 12pm, when the P-platers are still in bed
I'd clarify that and say 9-12. Apprentices struggling to pay off their SS Utes are frequently spotted from 6am onwards. Typically though, it's NOT the P-Platers that hand out the grief in the morning, more so the sour old [censored] who've inhaled too many paint thinners..
hippy - driving a black Commodore ute today fellas, LOOK OUT! 😄
