Sometimes motorists can be real morons

[Preston Crawfor]

So here I am trying to relax. Taking work in stride, not watching the news' coming home qnd relaxing
to no TV and more importantly biking more than I ever have in a year. Everything is going well.
Pretty much. I'm sleeping again and I feel like I'm getting my shape back after spending the last
year only cycling part time because of work stresses. So I'm riding home last night in downtown
Portland and a car comes up behind me clearly looking like he's goong to run through me. So I take
the lane because we're approaching a spot where (this is a tight one-way downtown street) a deliver
truck is parked partly in traffic. The motorists gets right up to my back end, slams on his breaks,
honks, swerves around then stops in front of me and starts yelling.

Him: "Stay to the right you f***ing moron."

Me: "I have a right to the road too, you were going to run me into that truck."

Him (spoken in your best prep guy try to be a smart ass by talking stupid voice): "You tried to run
me into the truck. Look, stay to the right and there won't me any problems."

Mf: "Clearly you have no idea of the law. I have a right to the road, especially when someone is
going to run me into a parked car."

Him: Mumbles again in his mock-retard voice and drives off laughing.

I was a little anxious because I thought a fight might break out. He kept motioning for me to come
up to the window while stopped in traffic as we argued. I was proud of myself for keeping my cool,
just sticking to the facts and not getting emotional, but man it's times like those that test you.
And what a week to have it happen. Here I am trying to relax, taking a little medication to sleep
and then this guy comes unhinged because I impeded his progress for all of 5 seconds. And *I'm*
the one seeing a doctor soon about my anxiety qnd insomnia. Something tells me he should be
medicated too.

A love cycling, but it's times like that that you realize some people have a real irrational
personal bias. i'm trying not to let it get me down. I know the problem is him. I could have done
without that, though.

Preston

 

[Don Demair]

I like the way you dealt with this situation. It's happened to me, it's probably happened to most of
us. Sometimes, I've kept my cool (like you) and sometimes not. I usually feel worse about it
afterwards when I didn't. I believe that most people actually care about the kind of "karma" they
leave behind. You ran into one or the rare individuals who don't.

Since I've been riding for quite a while now, it seems to happen a lot less than it used to. I
choose my roads carefully, I wear bright, but not flamboyant colors, I try and ride as predictable
as possible and consider the motorists view of things, I signal my turns when it makes sense to, I
generally obey the rules of the road, I give a quick wave of thanks when I'm given consideration, I
use a mirror to stay aware of what's happening behind me (mostly, it helps me to be able to "take
the lane" early enough so motorists don't get surprised) and probably a few other things that I
can't think of right now. Even so, there's no pleasing all motorists since we have been culturally
conditioned to perceive that the roads are for cars.

Can't we all just ride on, Don

"Preston Crawford" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> So here I am trying to relax. Taking work in stride, not watching the news' coming home qnd
> relaxing to no TV and more importantly biking more than I ever have in a year. Everything is going
> well. Pretty much. I'm sleeping again and I feel like I'm getting my shape back after spending the
> last year only cycling part time because of work stresses. So I'm riding home last night in
> downtown Portland and a car comes up behind me clearly looking like he's goong to run through me.
> So I take the lane because we're approaching a spot where (this is a tight one-way downtown
> street) a deliver truck is parked partly in traffic. The motorists gets right up to my back end,
> slams on his breaks, honks, swerves around then stops in front of me and starts yelling.
>
> Him: "Stay to the right you f***ing moron."
>
> Me: "I have a right to the road too, you were going to run me into that truck."
>
> Him (spoken in your best prep guy try to be a smart ass by talking stupid voice): "You tried to
> run me into the truck. Look, stay to the right and there won't me any problems."
>
> Me: "Clearly you have no idea of the law. I have a right to the road, especially when someone is
> going to run me into a parked car."
>
> Him: Mumbles again in his mock-retard voice and drives off laughing.
>
> I was a little anxious because I thought a fight might break out. He kept motioning for me to come
> up to the window while stopped in traffic as we argued. I was proud of myself for keeping my cool,
> just sticking to the facts and not getting emotional, but man it's times like those that test you.
> And what a week to have it happen. Here I am trying to relax, taking a little medication to sleep
> and then this guy comes unhinged because I impeded his progress for all of 5 seconds. And *I'm*
> the one seeing a doctor soon about my anxiety qnd insomnia. Something tells me he should be
> medicated too.
>
> A love cycling, but it's times like that that you realize some people have a real irrational
> personal bias. i'm trying not to let it get me down. I know the problem is him. I could have done
> without that, though.
>
> Preston

 

[Gary German]

"Preston Crawford" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> So here I am trying to relax. Taking work in stride, not watching the news' coming home qnd
> relaxing to no TV and more importantly biking more than I ever have in a year. Everything is going
> well. Pretty much. I'm sleeping again and I feel like I'm getting my shape back after spending the
> last year only cycling part time because of work stresses. So I'm riding home last night in
> downtown Portland and a car comes up behind me clearly looking like he's goong to run through me.
> So I take the lane because we're approaching a spot where (this is a tight one-way downtown
> street) a deliver truck is parked partly in traffic. The motorists gets right up to my back end,
> slams on his breaks, honks, swerves around then stops in front of me and starts yelling.
>
> Him: "Stay to the right you f***ing moron."
>
> Me: "I have a right to the road too, you were going to run me into that truck."
>
> Him (spoken in your best prep guy try to be a smart ass by talking stupid voice): "You tried to
> run me into the truck. Look, stay to the right and there won't me any problems."
>
> Me: "Clearly you have no idea of the law. I have a right to the road, especially when someone is
> going to run me into a parked car."
>
> Him: Mumbles again in his mock-retard voice and drives off laughing.
>
> I was a little anxious because I thought a fight might break out. He kept motioning for me to come
> up to the window while stopped in traffic as we argued. I was proud of myself for keeping my cool,
> just sticking to the facts and not getting emotional, but man it's times like those that test you.
> And what a week to have it happen. Here I am trying to relax, taking a little medication to sleep
> and then this guy comes unhinged because I impeded his progress for all of 5 seconds. And *I'm*
> the one seeing a doctor soon about my anxiety qnd insomnia. Something tells me he should be
> medicated too.
>
> A love cycling, but it's times like that that you realize some people have a real irrational
> personal bias. i'm trying not to let it get me down. I know the problem is him. I could have done
> without that, though.
>
> Preston

Sounds like you did the right thing, Preston...held your ground, and stated your rights. Well done.

BTW - that's one reason I carry 10% OC (pepper spray) in my right-side jersey pocket.

It works great on dogs. I like dogs, and manage to outride or avoid most confrontations with them,
but on average I have to use the pepper spray about once per year.

I've never had to deploy the pepper spray in a confrontation with a two-legged varmint (while
riding), but it's comforting knowing it's there.

Gary G.

 

[Robin Hubert]

"Gary German" <gary_g@charter_NOSPAMX_.net> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Preston Crawford" <[email protected]> wrote in
message
> news:[email protected]...
> > So here I am trying to relax. Taking work in stride, not watching the news' coming home qnd
> > relaxing to no TV and more importantly biking more than I ever have in a year. Everything is
> > going well. Pretty much. I'm sleeping again and I feel like I'm getting my shape back after
> > spending the last year only cycling part time because of work stresses. So I'm riding home last
> > night in downtown Portland and a car comes up behind me clearly looking like he's goong to run
> > through me. So I take the lane because we're approaching a spot where (this is a tight one-way
> > downtown street) a deliver truck is parked partly in traffic. The motorists gets right up to my
> > back end, slams on his breaks, honks, swerves around then stops in front of me and starts
> > yelling.
> >
> > Him: "Stay to the right you f***ing moron."
> >
> > Me: "I have a right to the road too, you were going to run me into that truck."
> >
> > Him (spoken in your best prep guy try to be a smart ass by talking stupid voice): "You tried to
> > run me into the truck. Look, stay to the right and there won't me any problems."
> >
> > Me: "Clearly you have no idea of the law. I have a right to the road, especially when someone is
> > going to run me into a parked car."
> >
> > Him: Mumbles again in his mock-retard voice and drives off laughing.
> >
> > I was a little anxious because I thought a fight might break out. He kept motioning for me to
> > come up to the window while stopped in traffic as we argued. I was proud of myself for keeping
> > my cool, just sticking to the facts and not getting emotional, but man it's times like those
> > that test you. And what a week to have it happen. Here I am trying to relax, taking a little
> > medication to sleep and then this guy comes unhinged because I impeded his progress for all of 5
> > seconds. And *I'm* the one seeing a doctor soon about my anxiety qnd insomnia. Something tells
> > me he should be medicated too.
> >
> > A love cycling, but it's times like that that you realize some people have a real irrational
> > personal bias. i'm trying not to let it get me down. I know the problem is him. I could have
> > done without that, though.
> >
> > Preston
>
> Sounds like you did the right thing, Preston...held your ground, and
stated
> your rights. Well done.
>
> BTW - that's one reason I carry 10% OC (pepper spray) in my right-side jersey pocket.
>
> It works great on dogs. I like dogs, and manage to outride or avoid most confrontations with them,
> but on average I have to use the pepper spray about once per year. I've never had to deploy the
> pepper spray in a confrontation with a two-legged varmint (while riding), but it's comforting
> knowing it's there.
>

Someone will surely warn that this isn't legal in all areas, but don't let that stop anyone! Don't
let them take away your right to defend yourself!

Robin Hubert

 

[Mike S.]

"Preston Crawford" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> So here I am trying to relax. Taking work in stride, not watching the news' coming home qnd
> relaxing to no TV and more importantly biking more than I ever have in a year. Everything is going
> well. Pretty much. I'm sleeping again and I feel like I'm getting my shape back after spending the
> last year only cycling part time because of work stresses. So I'm riding home last night in
> downtown Portland and a car comes up behind me clearly looking like he's goong to run through me.
> So I take the lane because we're approaching a spot where (this is a tight one-way downtown
> street) a deliver truck is parked partly in traffic. The motorists gets right up to my back end,
> slams on his breaks, honks, swerves around then stops in front of me and starts yelling.
>
> Him: "Stay to the right you f***ing moron."
>
> Me: "I have a right to the road too, you were going to run me into that truck."
>
> Him (spoken in your best prep guy try to be a smart ass by talking stupid voice): "You tried to
> run me into the truck. Look, stay to the right and there won't me any problems."
>
> Me: "Clearly you have no idea of the law. I have a right to the road, especially when someone is
> going to run me into a parked car."
>
> Him: Mumbles again in his mock-retard voice and drives off laughing.
>
> I was a little anxious because I thought a fight might break out. He kept motioning for me to come
> up to the window while stopped in traffic as we argued. I was proud of myself for keeping my cool,
> just sticking to the facts and not getting emotional, but man it's times like those that test you.
> And what a week to have it happen. Here I am trying to relax, taking a little medication to sleep
> and then this guy comes unhinged because I impeded his progress for all of 5 seconds. And *I'm*
> the one seeing a doctor soon about my anxiety qnd insomnia. Something tells me he should be
> medicated too.
>
> A love cycling, but it's times like that that you realize some people have a real irrational
> personal bias. i'm trying not to let it get me down. I know the problem is him. I could have done
> without that, though.
>
> Preston

and sometimes it happens the other way too. I was driving home from my LBS yesterday afternoon when
I came up on this female on a mtn bike riding the sidewalk. Hmmm, must be going in to the
apartments/condos where I live 'cause she's not looking around. I turn on the turn signal, move up,
and lo and behold, she bunny hops off the curb and keeps going straight! As I push firmly on the
brakes to avoid her becoming my hood ornament, I wonder about the brains (or lack of) involved here.

Not once did she even bother to look behind her to see what was going on. I was watching for a good
30sec-1min as I came up on her. There was a clearly marked (and wide!) bike lane right next to the
sidewalk where she was riding. Riding in it would have told me that she was planning on going
straight, because that is where the bike lane goes.

I doubt she even knew that I was trying to turn into the road she bunny hopped across so blithely.
Since I'm one of those anal retentive bastards that insists on using turn signals, I had mine on
before I came up on said bicyclist. She was probably cursing me under her breath for "trying to run
her over." Go figure. If she had even looked over her shoulder, checking traffic to see if it was
clear, I would've slowed down before I got to her. The look over the shoulder would've told me she's
not planning on going right, but intends to go straight. Too bad she'll never understand what she
just did incorrectly: between riding on the sidewalk where there's a bike lane, to not looking to
see what is coming up behind her as she's trying to cross a road that people are going to turn into.
Hope she isn't a hood ornament for someone else!

Mike

 

[Preston Crawfor]

In article <[email protected]>, Mike S. wrote:
> The look over the shoulder would've told me she's not planning on going right, but intends to go
> straight. Too bad she'll never understand what she just did incorrectly: between riding on the
> sidewalk where there's a bike lane, to not looking to see what is coming up behind her as she's
> trying to cross a road that people are going to turn into. Hope she isn't a hood ornament for
> someone else!

I understand, but I think there is a distinct difference. I drive also. And I also have encountered
stupid cyclists. But there's a huge difference between being startled or annoyed by a bad cyclist
and having someone rage at you then mock you because you're following the law and he has a problem.
In my opinion the second is far more frustrating. Had the lady in the above story turned around,
started yelling at you, mocking you and threatening you, then maybe they'd be similar.

Preston

 

[Mike S.]

Yup, but I thought I'd point out that it goes both ways...

Mike "Preston Crawford" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> In article <[email protected]>, Mike S. wrote:
> > The look over the shoulder would've told me she's not planning on going right, but intends to go
> > straight. Too bad she'll never understand what
she
> > just did incorrectly: between riding on the sidewalk where there's a
bike
> > lane, to not looking to see what is coming up behind her as she's trying
to
> > cross a road that people are going to turn into. Hope she isn't a hood ornament for
> > someone else!
>
> I understand, but I think there is a distinct difference. I drive also. And I also have
> encountered stupid cyclists. But there's a huge difference between being startled or annoyed by a
> bad cyclist and having someone rage at you then mock you because you're following the law and he
> has a problem. In my opinion the second is far more frustrating. Had the lady in the above story
> turned around, started yelling at you, mocking you and threatening you, then maybe they'd be
> similar.
>
> Preston

 

[Preston Crawfor]

In article <[email protected]>, Mike S. wrote:
> Yup, but I thought I'd point out that it goes both ways...

Of course it can. But I've never been threatened, yelled at, or had my life actually endangered by a
cyclist. I've had that happen with motorists.

Preston

 

[Marlene Blansha]

In article <[email protected]>, "Mike S." <mikeshaw2@coxDOTnet> wrote:

> Yup, but I thought I'd point out that it goes both ways...
>
> Mike "Preston Crawford" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > In article <[email protected]>, Mike S. wrote:
> > > The look over the shoulder would've told me she's not planning on going right, but intends to
> > > go straight. Too bad she'll never understand what
> she
> > > just did incorrectly: between riding on the sidewalk where there's a
> bike
> > > lane, to not looking to see what is coming up behind her as she's trying
> to
> > > cross a road that people are going to turn into. Hope she isn't a hood ornament for someone
> > > else!
> >
> > I understand, but I think there is a distinct difference. I drive also. And I also have
> > encountered stupid cyclists. But there's a huge difference between being startled or annoyed by
> > a bad cyclist and having someone rage at you then mock you because you're following the law and
> > he has a problem. In my opinion the second is far more frustrating. Had the lady in the above
> > story turned around, started yelling at you, mocking you and threatening you, then maybe they'd
> > be similar.
> >
> > Preston

I think a lot of people don't differentiate between 'cyclists' and 'people on bikes'. Cyclists, like
I guess most of us would be described, are usually very conscious of rules, traffic and are probably
more careful than even most motorists! But then there are the 'people on bikes'- the kids, the
elderly, the spaced out hippies on old, ratty bikes, the people who ride their bikes once a week,
etc. And I find a lot of them are not very conscientious, don't follow the rules, go against
traffic. I see people riding their bikes the wrong way, on busy streets, at night! ANd there are
some people who are just a menace on bikes beause they don't look where they're going, don't pay
attention, ignore everything around them, etc. Those people aggravate me because they are just as
dangerous to cyclists! Like kids, who just careen around and don't even look where they're going, or
once an old man who decided to pull a u-turn right in front of us until we screamed at him! Anyone
who doesn't look where they're going is a menace, on a bike, car or even walking! ANd unfortunately,
a lot of people think they are somehow above the rules of the road and nothing bad will happen to
them. Cyclists tend to know better becuase we've all been in some kind of accident or crash and have
all either been hit by a car or know someone who has. Unfortunately, we often have to pay for the
idiots who don't look where they're going because motorists lump everyone who rides a bike into the
same category.

 

[Mike S.]

"Marlene Blanshay" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> In article <[email protected]>, "Mike S." <mikeshaw2@coxDOTnet> wrote:
>
> > Yup, but I thought I'd point out that it goes both ways...
> >
> > Mike "Preston Crawford" <[email protected]> wrote in
message
> > news:[email protected]...
> > > In article <[email protected]>, Mike S. wrote:
> > > > The look over the shoulder would've told me she's not planning on
going
> > > > right, but intends to go straight. Too bad she'll never understand
what
> > she
> > > > just did incorrectly: between riding on the sidewalk where there's a
> > bike
> > > > lane, to not looking to see what is coming up behind her as she's
trying
> > to
> > > > cross a road that people are going to turn into. Hope she isn't a
hood
> > > > ornament for someone else!
> > >
> > > I understand, but I think there is a distinct difference. I drive
also.
> > > And I also have encountered stupid cyclists. But there's a huge
difference
> > > between being startled or annoyed by a bad cyclist and having someone rage at you then mock
> > > you because you're following the law and he has
a
> > > problem. In my opinion the second is far more frustrating. Had the
lady in
> > > the above story turned around, started yelling at you, mocking you and threatening you, then
> > > maybe they'd be similar.
> > >
> > > Preston
>
>
> I think a lot of people don't differentiate between 'cyclists' and 'people on bikes'. Cyclists,
> like I guess most of us would be described, are usually very conscious of rules, traffic and are
> probably more careful than even most motorists! But then there are the 'people on bikes'- the
> kids, the elderly, the spaced out hippies on old, ratty bikes, the people who ride their bikes
> once a week, etc. And I find a lot of them are not very conscientious, don't follow the rules, go
> against traffic. I see people riding their bikes the wrong way, on busy streets, at night! ANd
> there are some people who are just a menace on bikes beause they don't look where they're going,
> don't pay attention, ignore everything around them, etc. Those people aggravate me because they
> are just as dangerous to cyclists! Like kids, who just careen around and don't even look where
> they're going, or once an old man who decided to pull a u-turn right in front of us until we
> screamed at him! Anyone who doesn't look where they're going is a menace, on a bike, car or even
> walking! ANd unfortunately, a lot of people think they are somehow above the rules of the road and
> nothing bad will happen to them. Cyclists tend to know better becuase we've all been in some kind
> of accident or crash and have all either been hit by a car or know someone who has. Unfortunately,
> we often have to pay for the idiots who don't look where they're going because motorists lump
> everyone who rides a bike into the same category.

I've ranted about this one before. Actually ranked pretty high up there on the troll-o-meter.

Mike

 

[Terry Morse]

Preston Crawford wrote:

> But I've never been threatened, yelled at, or had my life actually endangered by a cyclist.

Give it time. If you ride long enough, you will get yelled at or threatened by someone on a bike.

I was heading home after a group ride one day with another rider, when we approached an intersection
where we had the green light. Just as we got to the intersection, a man riding against traffice on
the sidewalk, crossed right in front of us. We yelled "Whoa!!" (which is the group-ride term for
"Holy ****, watch out!"). We both managed to swerve around the guy and keep going. I turned my head
to see the sidewalk rider stopped in the middle of the intersection, yelling abuse at us.
--
terry morse Palo Alto, CA http://www.terrymorse.com/bike/

 

[Timothy J. Lee]

In article <[email protected]>, Preston Crawford
<[email protected]> wrote:
>I was a little anxious because I thought a fight might break out. He kept motioning for me to come
>up to the window while stopped in traffic as we argued.

Perhaps look at his license plate, and make it obvious that you are doing so...

--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Timothy J. Lee Unsolicited bulk or commercial email is not welcome. No warranty of any kind is
provided with this message.

 

[Paul Southworth]

In article <[email protected]>, Timothy J. Lee <[email protected]> wrote:
>In article <[email protected]>, Preston Crawford
><[email protected]> wrote:
>>I was a little anxious because I thought a fight might break out. He kept motioning for me to come
>>up to the window while stopped in traffic as we argued.
>
>Perhaps look at his license plate, and make it obvious that you are doing so...

Repeating the license plate # aloud can make it plain (even to the pathologically stupid) what your
intentions are.

--Paul