downhillmaster

Hi.
What is this thread about?

jack pot 

RULE 1 in ******* when you choose to ride a bicycle (or walk) on a road you are using something designed & intended solely for 4 wheel licensed vehicles
RULE 2 when in the presence of vehicles you are little better than a dog in traffic > some people may avoid you but most don't know you're there & a few don't care if you're there
RULE 3 a bicyclist needs 10+ times the situational awareness of a driver & that includes an acute awareness of everything going on in proximity to the cyclist's situation
RULE 4 if you adhere to rules 1,2,& 3 you are pretty much free to escalate the situation in whatever manner that you see fit bearing in mind that you are the one at most risk
RULE 5 APPLY rule 4 with extreme caution ... escalation can have serious ride effects

Rich76

I agree - u just don’t know!

Inisfallen

Here in New York City, drivers shouting abuse are just part of the background noise, and I treat it like that. It doesn't even register on me.

I don't bother responding in kind, or with threats of violence. I'm a 60-year old man with multiple joint replacements and a history of heart problems. I'm not a threat to anyone. And to those internet tough guys in this thread, there's always going to be someone bigger, meaner or tougher than you. Or someone with a gun. Do you really want to meet that dude? When he's in a car and you're on a bike?

Let it go. Some dipsh*t shouting from the window of his car just doesn't matter.

Wildcat445

Near where I live, bike lanes are another set of painted lines for distracted and/or aggressive drivers to ignore. The laws don't apply to them, and police have other things to worry about. Not only that, a new set of bike lanes on a major thoroughfare from downtown out to the east side frame in pieces of road that even cars would have trouble driving on (our roads are that poor, and the bike lane gets the edge of the road where the pavement is the worst--imaging having to constantly swerve out of the bike lanes to avoid major potholes).

ridethecliche

Just tell them that it goes directly to your phone and is uploaded to the cloud in real time. All that's going to happen if they damage stuff is that the charges against them will be more severe and they'll owe you more money.

Tomm Willians

Although I've yet to encounter such a reaction, I'm a little surprised. I ride primarily with the GF who is a beast and can usually pound me in the ground if she feels like it but her situational awareness is a bit dull. Though she certainly has the right to take the lane and force a vehicle to go around, I prefer to use the approach of sticking as close to the road edge as possible to make it easier for drivers. There have been times I'm quite shocked we have not received a one-finger-salute or more as she commands the lane. She doesnt always ride like that but enough to worry me when she does. I think the best way to look at it is regardless of what the law allows, you will always lose a contest with a car and should ride as carefully as possible even if the law allows you to do something else. I want to ride with her a long, long time and don't find riding enjoyable if there's confrontation as riding is my "Zen" time. Darwin eventually works it all out in the end.

holly77

I have so many bad stories with autos