kjohnnytarr

Two starkly different situations and reactions:

Number 1:

Riding down 9th street today (Columbia, MO) I skitched off a car for a bit, on his right side. He knew what I was up to and let me get away with it, and I didn't let go until a door opened a few car lengths up. He even shot me a friendly warning glance ("hey, you see that, right") in his mirror. Later when I saw him on the sidewalk, we stopped to joke about it.

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Number 2:

I was riding home from a long shift pedicabbing, and I was on the usual endorphin high. That high combined with the relative increase in fast-ness after switching from the pedicab to my street whip had me feeling like a speed demon. So of course I raced a sporty looking car. I passed the car, and it responded by going considerably over the speed limit and passing me back, at speed and in the opposing lane. I'm cool with all of this, because it was a totally barren straight-away. No danger. Anyway, a couple blocks later, after two stop-signs where we'd happened to turn the same way, I took the lead again and gave a tap on the driver-side window just to say "hey, I'm still in this." The driver responded to my tap by slamming on the brakes, getting out of the car, and proceeding to act like I'd kicked his dog. I politley listened for a moment, then rode off shouting back something along the lines of "chill out / **** you"

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What I'm getting at here is that these two dudes appeared to be demographically similar: 20-something white clean-cut college kids. But while one took a friendly stance in allowing me to take advantage of his car's presence, the other acted like a ****ing child because I touched his car in a minimal way. Anyone care to share a similar experience, or speculate as to why the reactions vary so drastically?

nathbdp

hehe, sounds like #2 needs to get laid more often.

andre nickatina

The fixed gear ecquivalent to unwarrented boob touching? I think so.












For the record I only touch parked cars (pushing off from/swatting side view mirrors for fun, or brushing my fingers across semi-trucks).

thequickfix

I don't think I've ever intentionally touched a car and I've certainly never skitched. However, I sometimes like to cut turns unnecessarily close to the cars waiting at intersections. Sometimes it's just to make the turn, other times it's just because I want to be an ass. It seems like some people treat their cars like some sort of exoskeleton that defines their personal space and protects them from the world.

dcdude

how is it possible to skitch on a fixed gear without your legs wildly spinning out of control

streetlightpoet

You didn't specify what sort of car the first one was, but in the interest of judging books by their covers I would generally avoid sports cars and SUVs unless I was intentionally being an ass. The '95 Camry and the filthy business truck I would be less likely to worry about touching.
That is all if I were to touch vehicles. Stopped traffic is always tempting to lean against since I suck at track standing, but I generally make use of telephone/light poles instead.

peabodypride

If I am to skitch (I rarely, rarely do and have to be high on adrenaline), I usually only go for cabbies. Drivers here are too crazy. I will also skitch SEPTA busses: the wheelwells have a rubber lip that is an excellent surface but always leaves my hand totally black with road crap.

I also like to hit my hand against vans or busses and run my fingers against trucks.

My view is that I won't touch your expensive Mustang because I wouldn't appreciate you giving my bike a feel when it's locked up and I'm gone, but if you're driving for work you probably care less about the vehicle and what I do to it.

kjohnnytarr

The only other time I've touched a car (other than short skitches to show off) was a few weeks back, when this guy harrassed me for sever blocks, so I punched his window.

I agree with the statement about cars as exoskeletons, for sure. When you get into a box that serves as a status symbol, I guess you tend to be sensitive about it.

Blais

I don't touch cars, really (though I have slapped a fender when cut off). The RTA busses in worcester have a turn signals behind the rear wheels that stick out about 2 inches and make a perfect handle if you don't mind skitching a bus. Other than that, I'll grab on to DPW trucks, work trucks, or anything that looks like the driver won't care if I touch it or try to run me off the road. It's never for very long since Worcester has very few long sretches between traffic lights and I can generally travel much faster than any vehicle I'd be grabbing on to.

Bushman

look at it a different way....would you let someone come up to your bike and lean on it at the stoplight? or as an extreme example some guy walking up and leaning on your wife/GF? the car is not yours to touch or lean on unless you have permission.

just saying, i can understand why some people get irate when a cyclist leans on their car.

crushkilldstroy

As a cyclist, I probably wouldn't give a **** if some dude grabbed a hold of my Jeep for a block or two. But honestly, if I weren't a cyclist, I'd probably get pissed about it. It really is a pretty reckless maneuver (especially fixed), and I'm sure it comes across as such to the person who spent quite a bit of cash on their vehicle. Speaking from experience, there is nothing more frustrating than cleaning hippie blood off of my Grand Cherokee.

Bushman

Its also a safety (yours) and Insurance issue for the driver......its HIS insurance that will skyrocket if you as a cyclist goof up and somehow end up under his wheels..........

THINK before touching.

kjohnnytarr

But that's the interesting thing here. The guy I skitched from didn't get pissed, but the guy I tapped the window of did. Obviously he wasn't thinking about safety and insurance and such; we were racing. It's bassakwards.

crushkilldstroy

Have you thought about the fact that you may have come across as a jackass and he may have treated you as such?

Bushman

the first guy most likely knew what was happening, ie: he is a driver with situational awareness.

Bushman

i'm going to give an example of how extreme some people can get when their cars are touched. Tonight i was going to get beers, and rode thru an alley and then waited at the main road/alley entrance for the bus to pass (its on my left). Car does a U turn and gets stuck behind the second bus to my right. So mr Car driver tries to back and then sees me. Im NOT behind his car , i'm beside the rear passenger door waiting for him to complete his bonehead move. He is cranking the wheel and his car hits my front wheel. I tap on his window (passenger side) to let him know i'm there (i guess the twin 50 watt floods were not enough) and he goes BALLISTIC, jamming on the parking brake, flipping the seatbelt off and then getting out screaming "you touch my car? you ****ing touch my car?" .

it is a good idea to not touch cars, because you never know what the driver will do. I was fully prepared for conflict, but used verbal judo to talk the driver down. I eventually got form him that he spent a lot of money on the paintjob, and was upset by my actions as result.
,

Blais

I can see why people get pissed and I agree that they are entitled to their pissyness and totally justified. It doesn't mean that you shouldn't do it if you like it. It is reckless, dangerous, and people will get annoyed, try to stop you, or call the cops but it doesn't matter. Base jumping from skyscrapers and bridges is also a reckless and dangerous urban activity that also happens to be illegal and is bound to piss people off but that doesn't mean base jumpers should stop jumping off of buildings. Just remember, the guy who does get annoyed or hostile is less likely to behave properly for the next cyclist he comes across as long as you are cool with that, do it. That's why I tend to grab vehicles driven by people other than their owners. The driver of a city dump truck seems less likely to get angry than a dude in a sports car.

As for touching cars other than skitching; If I don't know you, keep your hands off my ****ing bike. I'm sure car-owners feel the same way.

Bushman

i think too that we as cyclists are more understanding when we drive, and some cyclist leans on our vehicle. I dont have an issue with it at a stoplight, but dont be grabbing on when i'm rolling. I like my 45% discount (works out to $60 a month for FULL coverage and 6 mill third party liability).

Nick99

I think you shouldn't touch cars.

I try to live car free, but I have to have a car for getting to school, etc.
I recently bought a new car and would be super pissed if someone was skiching or touching it.
I hope to keep the car for many, many years. Little scratched where people say oh its not that bad turn to rust spots, etc in 5-6 years. This produces a problem bigger than a scratch, it means serious repairs down the road.

I wouldn't mind helping fellow cyclists, but never touch my car. I wanna keep it in good condition so I don't have to participate in the 5 year trade in new car shuffle.

Plus it doesn't help the reputation of bikers as cooperative. We don't need any more problems.

Bushman

yea, we already have to deal with fixie hipsters.....

sygyzy

Seems to me the first one put up with you out of fear. Fear of possibly getting hit on the head or his window smashed with a U-Lock. The kind of person that would grab another person's car and use it for a ride and thinks is ok is exactly the person the first person was trying not to deal with.

bexley

This took place while crossing a street in Chicago's loop at rush hour (Wabash/Monroe).

An SUV runs a red to get across the intersection though he barely has space to fully clear it. Pedestrians are used to this and wait a second to give him a chance to get by, then just start crossing behind the car as it's right over the cross-walk. As I walk by, I give the back of the SUV a light double-tap with an open hand to tell him that he's still on the cross-walk--the ass had space to creep forward but didn't care.

The car didn't budge. Whatever. I pass the back of the car, and next thing I know, the driver's side door opens, the (20-something white guy) driver looks back with a completely infuriated expression: he's at a loss for words, pauses and says "...****ING *******", then slams the door shut.

His girlfriend in the passenger seat seemed just as taken off guard as I was.

wearyourtruth

would you like it if he reached out his window and tapped your frame while driving? j/k


my take on the OP situation is that anyone who feels they have to "race" a bike in their car is an ass, and so you should recognize his assness and not touch his car knowing that he's going to blow up like an ass.

the first guy had nothing to prove, the 2nd guy has an ego problem.

PunctualAlex

What is it about this? Lately I can't pass a parked semi without running my fingers down the side, it's... a compulsion. I've even started getting the impulse to do it while they're moving, which is a terrible idea...

cc700

guys with sports cars fell like you feel about your NJS parts and have the idea that everyone's hands have the texture of brillo pads.

there's no need to tap someone's window...

however 'no danger' is extremely false. most serious street racing accidents happen when there are only two vehicles involved. that and he shouldn't have raced you even considering the danger... a car's faster than you anyway so it really shouldn't matter that much.

but yeah... some people don't like it when you touch their cars... most of the time it's people who think their cars are sports cars. i don't even like it when people's clothes drag on my car in a parking lot.