Originally Posted by
kingston
I have found that the best thing I can do to keep my serenity in traffic is to maintain an attitude that I am a guest on everyone else’s road. That means doing everything I can to prevent drivers from becoming irritated with me in the first place, and being apologetic if I ever inadvertently do something that offends them. Something like “Sorry to have upset you. I’m doing my best to keep out of the way of traffic” usually works to de-escalate the situation. I have even moved to the sidewalk for a short time when one motorist asked me to (that guy had flashing lights on the top of his car, and I’m positive he had a ***). The worst thing you can do is argue with people in cars, or carry an attitude that you have some “right” to be there. Just move over and let them go by. They’ll be long gone soon enough. Cars are way faster than bikes.
This sort of attitude only adds more fuel to the fire among the motoring public to discriminate against cyclists and that we should not be on "their" road.
While I practice many of Forrester's principles, I think a better publication is a small booklet called Street Smarts by John Allen. I got a free copy of it when I attended TS101 as part of my club's ride leader training. In my experience, motorists seem to understand the concept of first-come first-served when I assertively control my space in the lane. If I'm hugging the gutter, they see it as an invitation to squeeze by in the lane or barely moving over the line, if they even see me at all.