Koyote

Gee, you're right, of course. I'm terribly sorry. I mean, bf threads absolutely never stray from the original topic.

Paul Barnard

Interesting.

Cramic

Courtesy goes both ways and it sounds like the OP was correct to give this entitled cyclist a word.

Where I live two cyclists are legally allowed to cycle side by side on any road, ie. taking up the whole lane. When quiet I’ll do just that whilst being mindful of what’s behind and moving single file when a car approaches.

To the people disagreeing with the OP, at what point would you get frustrated? A cyclist is unnecessarily taking up a lane at 10mph below the speed limit? 15mph? 20mph? Just stood there stationary for no good reason?

I’m sure there would come a point so from your high horses you’re criticising the OP for drawing a line in a different place to you.

And hitting the horn is an aggressive act? I guess so, in the same way words are violence.

SurferRosa

smh.

​​​​​​​Did you miss the qualifier of that sentence? It was "if..."

Do I really need to explain this? Don't all cyclists do this at some point?

burnthesheep

Our club TT is on a road that has a “greenway” parallel with a 10 mph limit. Road limit is 25. I TT uphill over the car speed limit and still get knob head “why you on the road in the lane” comments.

Downhill I could probably get a ticket.

Knobs the lot.

Check the post count and topics some of the cagers in this topic have been a part of. Aka…..trolls.

Chuck M 

Dang I must be old. I didn't understand the animosity toward basketball players and had to use the googles to find the urban dictionary definition.

venturi95

The enlightened rider causes no mindless animosity.

Koyote

We're five pages into this, and no one has mentioned the extraneous comma in the thread title?

tomato coupe

Everyone has to reach an agreement on the present issue before we can move on to the big problem of improper punctuation.

rosefarts

I yelled at one once, in Denver. Blocking traffic, totally thought the road was his, looking like a skit from Portlandia.

I tried giving him a honk and he tried the aggro single speed shtick with me at a stoplight. I told him I rode more miles a year than him and for longer, that he was being a jackass, and I’d be happy to race him anytime.

He rode away, hopefully it gave him something to talk about over dinner (organic lemongrass seaweed and PBR, I assume).

rsbob 

I have also yelled at two cyclists riding abreast down a 1 mile winding decent holding up about 8 cars. Told them Ride single file, you are giving cyclists a bad name. The real issue is that there is enough hostility toward cyclists for absolutely no reason, so when cyclists purposefully or absentmindedly block traffic, it potentially can have ramifications for all of us by some hot head looking for revenge or show those damn bikers.

I have also yelled at cyclists while riding for running lights and stop signs in traffic for exactly the same reason. And I really don’t give a rip if you beg to differ.

livedarklions

I'm sure we're all very impressed with the brave motorists standing up for their right to speed unimpeded.

Honestly, I literally never see anyone anywhere riding roads in this manner except for the most rural of situations where it's very easy to negotiate your way around, but we sure get a lot of tough guys telling us about the time they told a guy off.

If I had to guess, the ratio of discourteous drivers to cyclists is something like 10,000 to 1, but boy oh boy, do the car-karens remember the cyclists.

urbanknight

This is just my experience, but I make a habit of counting seconds any time I'm stuck behind a cyclist. Haven't reached 30 yet. Can't say I've ever encountered a cyclist stationary in a travel lane without reason.

On a road trip last year, I found myself behind a short row of cars stuck behind a tractor, three times. Not one of the cars honked, nor did they pass dangerously close. Amazing how they seem to have patience for the larger vehicle, but not the smaller one. Almost like... bullying.

Cramic

The point, regards a stationary cyclist, is that there must come a point at which even the most zen of the posters on here get frustrated. 1mph? 5mph? And it demonstrates everybody is simply drawing a line at a different point.

Your tractor analogy makes no sense and anecdotal evidence is not evidence. The vast number of cars that interact with a bicycle don’t toot either. You encountered three tractors and nine cars. To imagine they’re not tooting because a tractor is a bigger vehicle than a bike is a bit silly.

Who gets tooted at? Inconsiderate users of the road.

urbanknight

Agreed, everybody has their own level of tolerance, but for those with a rational brain it's not a matter of how slow but rather if there is a reason to be doing so.

It's true that anecdotal evidence is not evidence, yet you present a fictitious situation where a cyclist stretches across a whole traffic lane stationary for no reason? Who's being silly? Glass house/throw stones and all. You might also notice that the whole point of this thread is predicated on one person's anecdotal experience.

I get tooted at sometimes, and I make every effort to stay out of the way of others (because it serves no purpose to me to hold them up needlessly, and even puts me at greater danger if I do). They still toot because they didn't see the glass, drainage grate, debris filled shoulder, etc. So who gets tooted at? People who are just trying to exist in a world filled with ignorant and selfish people.

livedarklions

Look, no one is saying it's bad to feel impatient, but what gets me annoyed about these threads is that people clearly think that it's normal for drivers to express that impatience with their horns, close passing, and yelling, and it's the fault of some inconsiderate rider they encountered years before. Rolling down your window and arguing with someone while driving is moronic unsafe behavior. When people say they engage in it out of concern for the safety of others, I think the hypocrisy is obvious and should be called out. They're doing it because they're pissed off and they know they are protected by their big metal box.

I don't take the lane except where necessary (no shoulder, turning left, avoiding being to the right of a right turn lane) but I take a lot of guff from drivers who think they know what the rules are and what's supposedly "safe". They're invariably wrong on both counts.

When you use a horn to express dissatisfaction or to tell someone to get out of the way, it's the aural equivalent of " eff you". If you express your impatience and hostility on the road, you can expect to have it thrown back at you. People acting in a hostile manner on the road are making themselves and others less safe. This is not rocket science.

I do find it bizarre that people on a bike forum are bragging on their great Karen moments when they told off a cyclist.

livedarklions

​​​​​​That's just wrong.
Do I really need to explain the difference between an aggressive act and an act of violence to you? Screaming at someone is an aggressive act. Violence is a subset of aggressive acts. If I threaten you with words, I'm not committing violence, but I'm definitely being aggressive.

livedarklions

I'd get that looked at if I were you.

WhyFi

You should describe this situation a little more fully, because I'm having a hard time imagining a scenario, like this, where a seasoned cyclist doesn't take the lane and where you don't come out being the bigger jerk.

burnthesheep

They are protecting their property instead of the people. They dont see pedestrians or bikes as threats to their property. They see a farm combine as a credible threat to property damage.

LarrySellerz

The idea that if only all cyclists were courteous road users cars wouldn’t hate us is insidious and flawed logic. Leads to victim blaming. Is it bad to slow down traffic? Sure. But I wasn’t there and won’t blame a cyclist out of principle.

OP you should be careful telling other road users off. I used to ride with some pretty crazy people, that’s how you get your car smashed with a bike lock.

Airfehr

Taking a bike lock to a car fight sounds like a good way to get run over. Or shot.

Fun thread where the OP calls out a cyclist for being an ass and the major response is the OP was in a cage and therefor impatient and rude.

Here is an example of a group of cyclists exercising their right to use up a 50 mph roadway. I bike here frequently. I'd say they have an elitist attitude by having no consideration for those they share the road with. I would give them a honk. The same way I would ring my bell to a group of pedestrians blocking the MUP. Most cases people have no situational awareness.

Kedosto

Wow! Who would have known so many of the world’s most peaceful and patient drivers could be found in a single thread. It’s almost as if some people can’t admit that sometimes - sometimes - a cyclist can be the jackass. Once again, the usual BF Opinion Police are in full force.

Considering that during my lifetime I’ve been both the jackass on the bike and the jackass in the car, I’ll just stick to the facts…

FACT: I wasn’t there so I can’t comment. Anything I say about the incident would be ignorant speculation.
OPINION: It’s best not to allow yourself to get stressed out to the point where you’re shouting at strangers.

BTW, location says Italy. Loved the country, culture, and people. And the food? OMG.

bruce19

[QUOTE=livedarklions;22498100
If I had to guess, the ratio of discourteous drivers to cyclists is something like 10,000 to 1, but boy oh boy, do the car-karens remember the cyclists.[/QUOTE]

I can only comment on where I ride and, to some extent, cyclists in my club. Based on that, in my world, for every idiot car driver there is an idiot cyclist. And, both are uncommon. It's not that big a problem where I live and ride.

bruce19

I always find it interesting to read responses and then go back to the OP. Often there are responses with lots of assumptions rather than responses to what the OP actually wrote.