Carbon Unit

I went for a short ride with a friend today and was returning to the starting point. We were riding in the bike lane and had the green light and were about 20 feet from the intersection. A car pulled up behind us, jumped on the horn and started giving us the finger. He wanted to turn right and use the bike lane to do it but we were in the lane. In five or ten seconds were would have been far enough through the intersection for him to turn right but of course he was in a hurry. My friend returned fire with the finger which is usually not a good idea as we were on bikes and he was in a car.

I am sure everyone has experienced something similar. Is my only option to smile and keep pedaling? Is taking his license number and reporting him to the police a good or bad idea?

I think these types need to learn that we have rights to the road too and unless they learn this, we are at risk of being run over.

ls01

There isnt much you can do about it. a cop would most likely get anoyed that you botherd him with this. I have similar problems with motorists. Its a part of cycling. I return the compliment. If they were going to hit you, they allredy would have. But thats just me. but next time slow down and laugh at him, that'll realy send him over the bend.

LanceFanBoy

In our race today we had a guy in an SUV come along side us on a double yellow (hilly course) and yell out his passenger window across his wife (i'm sure she was thrilled). I've just come to learn that humans are indeed rude and obnoxious beings.

urbanknight

I respond to horn blasts by responding (as calm as I can muster) as if asking what they wanted my attention for. Since I'm not starting with an attitude and not even recognizing their actions as challenging, they can only be so much of an a-hole as they take far more time explaining to you their gripe (which they usually know deep down is unfounded) than they would have just letting you go about your way. I then usually respond with a simple "Oh" and get out of their way, usually too late to make a difference for their hurried taste anyway.

If I feel threatened in some way, I'll take a picture of the license plate. That worked like a charm getting this guy to stop buzzing me on my morning commute... around 6:00am on a road with two lanes in each direction and no other traffic around... in his self righteous Prius.

urbanknight

You sure the guy wasn't cheering you on?

Terex

A-holes are A-holes, bike or not. I was driving around the Delaware River area in Bucks County, PA today with my wife. A-holes in pickup trucks yelling obscenities at other drivers, a motorcycle "club" taking over a road near a art festival at Tinicum Park, drivers getting enraged that other drivers in front of them were a little to slow on steel grated, narrow bridges over the Delaware, etc. Nothing directed at me, but I had to "witness" all of this. (Sorry, we're originally from NE Ohio...).

Just be careful out there and keep your cool.

dkoernert

I was about 10 feet from a guy today at an intersection and he looked right at me and pulled out in front of me, he was turning right on red. People around my area are generally pretty bike friendly so this was a surprise.

Flatballer

It really is hard to tell sometimes. The Doppler effect makes things pretty impossible to understand at times. I had a guy yell at me today, he was going 50 one way, I was doing 20 the other. No idea what he yelled, just noise. Could've been cheering me on, could've been calling me an *******, just hard to tell.

patentcad

No, play chicken with the 4000 lb. car with your 18 lb. bicycle.

ls01

like I said before, in another thread. At least if they are swearing at you and blowing their horn, you know they saw you.

Guillotine007

I actually had someone cheer me the other day as I dragged my slow ass up a 10% grade (short climb though, like 1/3 mile)

Carbon Unit

This wasn't one of the options I was considering but now that you mention it, would you care to wager how much damage I could have done to his car? My wife would be living fat and happy off of the insurance.

Just kidding.

cooleric1234

18 lbs? Been riding your titanium bike lately?

kevin695

A friend of mind got hit by someone who was pissed off he was riding his bike.

The woman nailed him with her side mirror and knocked him off his bike - almost killed him because he was feet away from a tree. Of course the b**ch drove away without even stopping.

Nnesseth

For my work, i carry 100-300 lbs. of recycling to and from residences, businesses, and the local redemption center. I haul an eight foot trailer, so it's hard to stay on the sidewalk and thus i irritate a LOT of motorists by taking up an entire lane (hanging out in the left most part) so they don't run me over. I often contemplate buying an industrial air horn so when they honk at me, they'll be a little startled to hear a rather louder 'honk' in return... perhaps more so if the windows are rolled down..

As far as motorists getting angry with me is concerned, i'm content to let them so long as i'm within my legal boundaries. 15mph with a trailer is hard to muster sometimes, so when they get verbally abusive it's a chance for me to slow down and take a breather

Carbon Unit

I have actually had people show concern for me as a cyclist. When I first starting riding, I really sucked at hills. I stopped in the middle of a really nasty hill trying to regain my breath. Twice I had women stop and ask me if I was having a heart attach. I didn't know at the time that I did have a serious medical problem that was causing the hills to suck like they did. Anyway, my point is that there are people that actually care about others.

cooleric1234

Your optimism, ability to see the good, and general sunny disposition are not welcome here. Don't you know this place by now?

Should be obvious, but just kidding. It really is good to focus on the positive.

urbanknight

If she never stopped, how the heck do you know WHY she hit him?


Same here. When I had a guy honk at me and then try to run me into the parked cars on the side (instead of using the other lane which was available), I chewed him out (he actually apologized) and then noticed a couple guys in an SUV stopped behind me shouting "You tell him!" and "That guy's crazy!"

Another time, I was in a paceline when the guy in front of me rubbed the tire in front of him and went down. In 5 minutes, 3 cars stopped to see if we needed help, including a lady who offered a ride to the hospital or his car (which was 40 miles away).

I've also had plenty of fun comments like "Go Lance!" and "I like your shorts!"

ciocc_cat

A similar incident happened recently on River Road in Baton Rouge to a member of the LSU Cycling Team who was working on his PhD. The gutless A-hole left him to die in a water-filled ditch (along with fragments of the A-hole's right-front turn signal which the State Police used to identify his vehicle make/model). Our local cycling community was thoroughly PISSED and helped find the vehicle which belonged to a manager of a local sports bar/restaurant (who was driving with a suspended license due to a DUI). He's currently sitting in parish prison awaiting trial for (among other things) felony hit-and-run and violating Louisiana's "three-foot rule". I surely hope he gets a loooong stay in prison with a sexually over-active cell mate.

wens

I would just assume I was getting a compliment.

urbanknight

Yeah, I'll go with that.