I yelled at a cyclist, today.
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
I yelled at a cyclist, today.
I have complete respect for cyclists on the road as I am one, but when I see a behaviour that just puts everyone at risk, it's too much for me.
Road cyclist riding in the middle of the lane on a narrow road. There was wide side lane for bikes. It was impossible to pass him without getting dangerously close. When the opportunity to safely pass presented itself after about a km, I rolled down the window and let him know what I thought of his unsafe manner. He gave me the one finger salute, I yelled "stop putting lives at risk" and moved on.
My biggest concern is the safety of other cyclists, because when drivers get fed up with riders like that, it puts the safe riders in danger.
I've ridden this road hundreds of times and yes, the side lane is perfectly suited for cyclists
Road cyclist riding in the middle of the lane on a narrow road. There was wide side lane for bikes. It was impossible to pass him without getting dangerously close. When the opportunity to safely pass presented itself after about a km, I rolled down the window and let him know what I thought of his unsafe manner. He gave me the one finger salute, I yelled "stop putting lives at risk" and moved on.
My biggest concern is the safety of other cyclists, because when drivers get fed up with riders like that, it puts the safe riders in danger.
I've ridden this road hundreds of times and yes, the side lane is perfectly suited for cyclists
#2
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Bastrop Texas
Posts: 4,479
Bikes: Univega, Peu P6, Peu PR-10, Ted Williams, Peu UO-8, Peu UO-18 Mixte, Peu Dolomites
Mentioned: 13 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 966 Post(s)
Liked 1,629 Times
in
1,045 Posts
Did this happen in NE Italy?
Cause if it did I am sure its vary narrow road...
Cause if it did I am sure its vary narrow road...
__________________
No matter where you're at... There you are... Δf:=f(1/2)-f(-1/2)
No matter where you're at... There you are... Δf:=f(1/2)-f(-1/2)
#4
señor miembro
Join Date: Dec 2018
Location: Pac NW
Posts: 6,623
Bikes: '70s - '80s Campagnolo
Mentioned: 92 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3888 Post(s)
Liked 6,485 Times
in
3,209 Posts
Here in Seattle, if I feel unsafe to stay in the bike lane, I can legally "take the lane." I make full use of the law where I see fit for my safety and wellbeing, all while maintaining traffic flow and keen awareness of others.
I can only remember a couple times where I was either honked at or yelled at from behind. I remember both occurred as I approached a red light. The driver behind me really wanted to speed up to that red light. This actually happened to me a couple times in Houston while I was driving. I wasn't going fast enough in approaching a red light. Some people really have to get to that red light. They have no use in smooth, fluid movement or trying to time the light perfectly to avoid a full stop.
Every other time a strange driver has yelled while I was on the bike seemed due to bad chemicals, gross immaturity, or personality disorder. So I can understand the middle finger response.
I can only remember a couple times where I was either honked at or yelled at from behind. I remember both occurred as I approached a red light. The driver behind me really wanted to speed up to that red light. This actually happened to me a couple times in Houston while I was driving. I wasn't going fast enough in approaching a red light. Some people really have to get to that red light. They have no use in smooth, fluid movement or trying to time the light perfectly to avoid a full stop.
Every other time a strange driver has yelled while I was on the bike seemed due to bad chemicals, gross immaturity, or personality disorder. So I can understand the middle finger response.
Likes For LarrySellerz:
#6
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Chapel Hill NC
Posts: 1,683
Bikes: 2000 Litespeed Vortex Chorus 10, 1995 DeBernardi Cromor S/S
Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 645 Post(s)
Liked 797 Times
in
446 Posts
I have complete respect for cyclists on the road as I am one, but when I see a behaviour that just puts everyone at risk, it's too much for me.
Road cyclist riding in the middle of the lane on a narrow road. There was wide side lane for bikes. It was impossible to pass him without getting dangerously close. When the opportunity to safely pass presented itself after about a km, I rolled down the window and let him know what I thought of his unsafe manner. He gave me the one finger salute, I yelled "stop putting lives at risk" and moved on.
My biggest concern is the safety of other cyclists, because when drivers get fed up with riders like that, it puts the safe riders in danger.
I've ridden this road hundreds of times and yes, the side lane is perfectly suited for cyclists
Road cyclist riding in the middle of the lane on a narrow road. There was wide side lane for bikes. It was impossible to pass him without getting dangerously close. When the opportunity to safely pass presented itself after about a km, I rolled down the window and let him know what I thought of his unsafe manner. He gave me the one finger salute, I yelled "stop putting lives at risk" and moved on.
My biggest concern is the safety of other cyclists, because when drivers get fed up with riders like that, it puts the safe riders in danger.
I've ridden this road hundreds of times and yes, the side lane is perfectly suited for cyclists
I have no problem calling out a cyclist who’s being a jackass - besides, he would’ve messed up the front of my car 😟
#7
Mother Nature's Son
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Sussex County, Delaware
Posts: 3,118
Bikes: 2014 Orbea Avant MD30, 2004 Airborne Zeppelin TI, 2003 Lemond Poprad, 2001 Lemond Tourmalet, 2014? Soma Smoothie
Mentioned: 15 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 853 Post(s)
Liked 1,437 Times
in
819 Posts
I, also, would have saluted you, and yelled back. IMO, you were not concerned with anything but your wish to save some time. You had to wait for one whole kilometer? How terrible! Remember this moment the next time you are on a bike, and someone in a vehicle honks or yells at you.
Likes For delbiker1:
Likes For DonkeyShow:
#9
Happy With My Bikes
Join Date: Sep 2020
Location: Oklahoma
Posts: 2,187
Bikes: Hi-Ten bike boomers, a Trek Domane and some projects
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 884 Post(s)
Liked 2,307 Times
in
1,117 Posts
I'd like say I would avoid the finger because I'm not that base, but that is not the truth. Where I am, I don't want to run the risk of further frustrating a methamphetamine maddened motorist even though I have a right to that lane.
__________________
"It is the unknown around the corner that turns my wheels." -- Heinz Stücke
"It is the unknown around the corner that turns my wheels." -- Heinz Stücke
Likes For Chuck M:
#10
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 39,243
Mentioned: 211 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18418 Post(s)
Liked 15,558 Times
in
7,332 Posts
Even though it’s early…
Likes For indyfabz:
#11
Tragically Ignorant
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: New England
Posts: 15,613
Bikes: Serotta Atlanta; 1994 Specialized Allez Pro; Giant OCR A1; SOMA Double Cross Disc; 2022 Allez Elite mit der SRAM
Mentioned: 62 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 8186 Post(s)
Liked 9,098 Times
in
5,054 Posts
I have complete respect for cyclists on the road as I am one, but when I see a behaviour that just puts everyone at risk, it's too much for me.
Road cyclist riding in the middle of the lane on a narrow road. There was wide side lane for bikes. It was impossible to pass him without getting dangerously close. When the opportunity to safely pass presented itself after about a km, I rolled down the window and let him know what I thought of his unsafe manner. He gave me the one finger salute, I yelled "stop putting lives at risk" and moved on.
My biggest concern is the safety of other cyclists, because when drivers get fed up with riders like that, it puts the safe riders in danger.
I've ridden this road hundreds of times and yes, the side lane is perfectly suited for cyclists
Road cyclist riding in the middle of the lane on a narrow road. There was wide side lane for bikes. It was impossible to pass him without getting dangerously close. When the opportunity to safely pass presented itself after about a km, I rolled down the window and let him know what I thought of his unsafe manner. He gave me the one finger salute, I yelled "stop putting lives at risk" and moved on.
My biggest concern is the safety of other cyclists, because when drivers get fed up with riders like that, it puts the safe riders in danger.
I've ridden this road hundreds of times and yes, the side lane is perfectly suited for cyclists
Your concern wasn't safety, that's a rationalization. If he's on the road legally (was he required to ride in the side lane?) "you might hurt someone by angering a driver so bad that the driver goes out of their way to hit a cyclist who's riding legally" is such absurd speculation that it's amazing anyone spouts this. You were mad because he slowed you down and you made up an excuse to tell him off.
You do understand that drivers yelling out of car windows is one of the major reasons cyclists hate drivers, right? I'm conditioned from all of the random yelling and "get on the sidewalk" type "advice" to flip off almost everyone who does this. Where I ride, it's either just random insults, "boo", stupid crap like telling me to ride on the far right of a right turn lane when I'm going straight, or just incomprehensible gibberish.
Likes For livedarklions:
#12
Tragically Ignorant
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: New England
Posts: 15,613
Bikes: Serotta Atlanta; 1994 Specialized Allez Pro; Giant OCR A1; SOMA Double Cross Disc; 2022 Allez Elite mit der SRAM
Mentioned: 62 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 8186 Post(s)
Liked 9,098 Times
in
5,054 Posts
once, driving through a large intersection in Boston, I saw a cyclist whizzing in from the right, without a care in the world (and ignoring the red light, of course) and on a trajectory that would’ve placed him under the front of my car. I laid on the horn, which snapped him back to the real world and he hit the brakes. A half-mile further on, I had pulled over and was getting out of the car, and Johnnie Biker passes by, screaming and giving me the bird. I give him a wave and a “You’re welcome!” Just another genteel interaction in Beantown 🙄
I have no problem calling out a cyclist who’s being a jackass - besides, he would’ve messed up the front of my car 😟
I have no problem calling out a cyclist who’s being a jackass - besides, he would’ve messed up the front of my car 😟
#13
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Mich
Posts: 7,391
Bikes: RSO E-tire dropper fixie brifter
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6 Post(s)
Liked 2,974 Times
in
1,919 Posts
I get it, the rider would have been better in the middle of the lane rather than in the middle of the entire road.
I see this locally far too often with all kinds of riders. Mostly those on hybrids or those that have a bunch of bags mounted on the back & front with various Tractor Supply Co. reflectors all over the bicycle.
I see this locally far too often with all kinds of riders. Mostly those on hybrids or those that have a bunch of bags mounted on the back & front with various Tractor Supply Co. reflectors all over the bicycle.
__________________
-Oh Hey!
-Oh Hey!
Likes For Troul:
Likes For mcours2006:
#15
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Toronto, CANADA
Posts: 6,204
Bikes: ...a few.
Mentioned: 47 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2012 Post(s)
Liked 409 Times
in
235 Posts
I confess I've yelled at cyclists while on my bike because they've done something to endanger me, especially on trails. Never in my car.
Likes For mcours2006:
#16
Senior Member
I'm with the OP on this one. If there is a Bike lane and someone is taking up an entire vehicle lane instead, whether it is legal or not, is pretty ignorant. It is illegal for cars to drive in the bike lane but apparently it's ok for a biker to ignore the bike lane and block the entire lane making cars go around into oncoming traffic. I agree that it makes things more dangerous and more inconvenient for all involved. I had a similar situation where I was the honker and the biker flipped me the bird as well. Only time in my 30+ years of driving I had ever honked at a biker, because I had never seen one so ignorant. Point is to SHARE the road, not hog it because you can. That is the whole reason bikers get a bad rap in the first place, by being ignorant twats like that. Someday that biker will get splattered on the road either by an inattentive driver or an angry driver, and rightfully so IMO. Or cause a head on collision.
Last edited by nodnerb; 05-06-22 at 07:12 AM.
Likes For nodnerb:
#17
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 39,243
Mentioned: 211 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18418 Post(s)
Liked 15,558 Times
in
7,332 Posts
Heh. I read this shortly before I got off the bus this morning. Not 10 seconds after I hit the sidewalk I almost got hit by two people riding illegally on the sidewalk. I said something but did not yell.
#18
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: 25 miles northwest of Boston
Posts: 29,552
Bikes: Bottecchia Sprint, GT Timberline 29r, Marin Muirwoods 29er, Trek FX Alpha 7.0
Mentioned: 112 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5224 Post(s)
Liked 3,582 Times
in
2,343 Posts
sometimes I take the lane to prevent ppl from passing me, like on a fast hill. but then I move over, so they can pass
Likes For rumrunn6:
#19
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: 25 miles northwest of Boston
Posts: 29,552
Bikes: Bottecchia Sprint, GT Timberline 29r, Marin Muirwoods 29er, Trek FX Alpha 7.0
Mentioned: 112 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5224 Post(s)
Liked 3,582 Times
in
2,343 Posts
I have complete respect for cyclists on the road as I am one, but when I see a behaviour that just puts everyone at risk, it's too much for me.
Road cyclist riding in the middle of the lane on a narrow road. There was wide side lane for bikes. It was impossible to pass him without getting dangerously close. When the opportunity to safely pass presented itself after about a km, I rolled down the window and let him know what I thought of his unsafe manner. He gave me the one finger salute, I yelled "stop putting lives at risk" and moved on.
My biggest concern is the safety of other cyclists, because when drivers get fed up with riders like that, it puts the safe riders in danger.
I've ridden this road hundreds of times and yes, the side lane is perfectly suited for cyclists
Road cyclist riding in the middle of the lane on a narrow road. There was wide side lane for bikes. It was impossible to pass him without getting dangerously close. When the opportunity to safely pass presented itself after about a km, I rolled down the window and let him know what I thought of his unsafe manner. He gave me the one finger salute, I yelled "stop putting lives at risk" and moved on.
My biggest concern is the safety of other cyclists, because when drivers get fed up with riders like that, it puts the safe riders in danger.
I've ridden this road hundreds of times and yes, the side lane is perfectly suited for cyclists
Likes For rumrunn6:
#20
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 7,884
Mentioned: 38 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6969 Post(s)
Liked 10,966 Times
in
4,691 Posts
sometimes I take the lane to prevent ppl from passing me, like on a fast hill. but then I move over, so they can pass
https://youtu.be/-oetUAGyOW8
https://youtu.be/-oetUAGyOW8
#21
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Lebanon (Liberty Hill), CT
Posts: 8,473
Bikes: CAAD 12, MASI Gran Criterium S, Colnago World Cup CX & Guru steel
Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1743 Post(s)
Liked 1,281 Times
in
740 Posts
I have a question for those who think the OP was just being impatient. If you were riding your bike at 20 mph and came upon a cyclist who was riding at 10 mph and in such a way as to make it impossible for you to pass, how would you feel?
Likes For bruce19:
#22
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Elevation 666m Edmonton Canada
Posts: 2,482
Bikes: 2013 Custom SA5w / Rohloff Tourster
Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1237 Post(s)
Liked 321 Times
in
248 Posts
You FEEL unsafe?? LOL hahahaha
Entitled cyclist was afraid of that SPECK of dirt on the shoulder.
Entitled cyclist was afraid of that SPECK of dirt on the shoulder.
#23
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Posts: 1,268
Bikes: Bianchi Ti Megatube; Colnago Competition; Planet-X EC-130E; Klein Pulse; Amp Research B4; Litespeed Catalyst; Trek Y11
Mentioned: 8 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 605 Post(s)
Liked 480 Times
in
260 Posts
The only person being dangerous is the one choosing to be dangerous, and in the OP's case it's the driver. It's always the driver choosing to do something dangerous.
If you don't want to encounter other road users, stay at home.
You are not entitled to go as fast as you want.
#24
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 39,243
Mentioned: 211 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18418 Post(s)
Liked 15,558 Times
in
7,332 Posts
Video reminds me of the time I was on a descent on a fully loaded bike in MT when there was someone behind me in an RV. Only a small shoulder, if you could call it that. Some tuurns, so I am not sure that he wanted to pass me, but I wasn't going to give him the opportunity to try.. Once the grade cooled out I found a place to pull off the road so anyone behind me could pass.
#25
Tragically Ignorant
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: New England
Posts: 15,613
Bikes: Serotta Atlanta; 1994 Specialized Allez Pro; Giant OCR A1; SOMA Double Cross Disc; 2022 Allez Elite mit der SRAM
Mentioned: 62 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 8186 Post(s)
Liked 9,098 Times
in
5,054 Posts
Happens all the time on the MUP, and I either request they let me pass or wait it out depending on why they may be traveling in the manner they are. I am essentially infinitely patient if there's a child involved. I don't start screaming or whatever the vocal equivalent of honking is.
Likes For livedarklions: