People who like to yell at cyclists

I'm use to being beeped at. Unless there is any physical threat to myself, I usually just give the offending motorist a friendly wave. My theory being is that obviously they've had a horrible day & are venting there frustation about life, so responding with anger is not going to help things much.

On my Sunday ride I was riding near the Rocks, Sydney. A car behind me, beeped at me so I waved back. A couple walking near-by saw this, and said to me "You tell him off!". Hey, not everybody is anti-cyclist.

Honestly, it scares the crap out of me.
Right after I posted here today I went for my daily 5 mile loop. As I was turning left into my neighborhood, my 18 year old neighbor was turning left out o fit, and almost hit me! That got my heart rate goin.......:eek:

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Originally Posted by Ocultica

Honestly, it scares the crap out of me.
Right after I posted here today I went for my daily 5 mile loop. As I was turning left into my neighborhood, my 18 year old neighbor was turning left out o fit, and almost hit me! That got my heart rate goin.......:eek:

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I guess this should be on the crazy driver thread, but, I went for a 26 mile ride this morning and just about got wacked by a CHICKEN truck! Yes, this is where Tyson chicken is....If I put my hand out, I would have been able to touch the truck. He was going around 70 mph! Gave me no room...Scared the crap out of me...I was so mad, I threw him the "bird" and probably said every bad word there is...No respect! I ate a few chicken feathers too as he past ...

You were probably luckier than all those chickens, though.... :eek:

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Originally Posted by Lisa S.H.

You were probably luckier than all those chickens, though.... :eek:

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that is true! But luckily, I didn't have time to look at the chickens...

Yuck. It's starting to dark earlier so I have to ride my loop now when there is more traffic.

I was coming to a stop light - two lanes going my direction - the far right is for right hand turns only. I was going straight so I moved from the shoulder of the road to the left lane as I got closer to the light. This dumb car decides he can't let me be at stop light in front of him so he moves quickly into the right and then immediately back into my lane and slammed on his brakes cause the light was already red. I was slowing down for the light but thought I didn't have to stop for another 6 feet. I missed him by inches and had to twist my wheel to avoid hitting him.

I just don't get it. I mean I do. He was young and still has to prove he's a MAN. God forbid a woman on a bike should be at stop light in front of him. But it was dangerous.

I think a lot of young drivers today have grown up playing driving/racing video computer games. They grow up thinking that to drive well, you have to dodge around obstacles, in and out of lanes at lightning speed. Scary. Life is not a video game.

I've only been yelled at a couple of times -- once by a guy who told me to get on the sidewalk even though I was riding in a marked bike lane and he was on the other side of the street (and when I pointed that out, he told me that the law had been changed but the city hadn't gotten around to painting the street yet!) and once by a cop. The cop was coming out of an alley way too fast and not looking, and he nearly hit me, and then he yelled at me to watch where I was going.

Oddly, I wasn't mad at the cop, because his tone was exactly like what I do when I trip over my dog in the middle of the night: "You stupid dog! Don't be a black dog sleeping on a dark rug in the middle of the night! You could get hurt!" And it really means, "I am such a bad person, I just kicked my poor old dog who wasn't doing anything."

But then that same cop ran a stop sign and nearly hit my husband and I when we were walking home from dinner a couple of weeks ago, so I lost my sympathy. (I yelled at him but if I'd had a cell phone I would have reported it.)

I am new to this board, but have been cycling for almost 20 years. My brother-in-law said something to me about these agressive drivers a long time ago.

"You don't need to worry about the ones that yell or beep. If they yell or beep, you know they can at least see you. The ones you worry about are the ones that don't see you. They don't make any noise"

I do most of my cycling in the not-so-friendly-suburbs of St. Louis. Some guys in my town came up with this genius idea to avoid the harrassment altogether. Check this out

Somehow with the big bold letters on your back, cars are much less likely to harrass you at all.

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Originally Posted by incstlouis

Some guys in my town came up with this genius idea to avoid the harrassment altogether. Check this out

Somehow with the big bold letters on your back, cars are much less likely to harrass you at all.

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HEY! What a fantastic idea!

It beats the idea I had a few years ago to keep cars at a safe distance: I planned on building a foam, oversize replica of a ski pole - with a humongous spike - and mounting it sideways on the back of my bike. Obvious and attention-getting, but not actually "endangering" any of those pretty shiny paint jobs.

Re: crazy drivers again: one of my worst experiences was when a city bus, one of those extra long ones with an additional "trailer" on the end, came by me as the road made a gradual right bend. I was on a separate bike lane, but the "trailer" came closer and closer and my lane got narrower and narrower... until finally I had to stop altogether to avoid being squished. I could have touched the bus without even stretching out my arm, and I'm positive the driver had no idea I was there.

I tore after the bus like an idiot, and caught up with it as it was about to pull out from the next stop. Jumped up on the pavement and hammered on the door, only to have the driver look at me, mildly surprised, as he drove away. "Hm? Where'd she come from, and what's her problem??"

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Originally Posted by incstlouis

I am new to this board, but have been cycling for almost 20 years. My brother-in-law said something to me about these agressive drivers a long time ago.

"You don't need to worry about the ones that yell or beep. If they yell or beep, you know they can at least see you. The ones you worry about are the ones that don't see you. They don't make any noise"

I do most of my cycling in the not-so-friendly-suburbs of St. Louis. Some guys in my town came up with this genius idea to avoid the harrassment altogether. Check this out

Somehow with the big bold letters on your back, cars are much less likely to harrass you at all.

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Oh That's BRILLIANT!!! I want one!

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Originally Posted by incstlouis

"You don't need to worry about the ones that yell or beep. If they yell or beep, you know they can at least see you. The ones you worry about are the ones that don't see you. They don't make any noise"

I do most of my cycling in the not-so-friendly-suburbs of St. Louis. Some guys in my town came up with this genius idea to avoid the harrassment altogether. Check this out

Somehow with the big bold letters on your back, cars are much less likely to harrass you at all.

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I agree with your Bro in law. the ones who are falling asleep, looking for their cell phone, painting their nails; THESE are the ones that will kill you.
and they don't yell because they aren't aware of your existence.
But where I live, i am not sure how much respect those "County Police"
jerseys would get. Our county sheriffs have a bad bad rep.

Well, I was the one who did the yelling yesterday -- at the big Suburban who passed a stopped car came into the on-coming traffic lane, where I was, completely blocked my path, not to mention almost running me down. When I yelled at her to move, that I had the right of way, she ACCELERATED! :mad: When she finally realized that I was there in the middle of her bumber, a foot away, she stopped. I ranted at her to get out of my way and she finally did, backing up behind the (illegally) parked car. Fortunately all this took place in the library parking lot at very low rate of speed but still a lesson in Volume - bicycle vs Suburban.

She yelled at me (after almost running me down) that I needed to learn some manners (I hadn't used one foul word or any obscene gestures). I assured her I would once she learned how to drive. Amazing how much adrenaline can get going in these situations.

I'm not nearly so aggressive on the road, only parking lots (!) and regret having made a bad impression as a cyclist, but emotions won out that time.:o

I've noticed that when I'm riding during the week, in the evening, the drivers are a lot more aggressive than on the weekends. I think they're trying to get home from work and they think that I'm in their way.

So I'm always way more defensive and cautious on the weekdays because that car that looks like it's going to turn left right in front of me probably will.

This evening I was riding with a friend on a parkway here that is very popular with cyclists, and my friend got beeped at by a motorcyclist who then yelled at us to ride single file. Like that motorcycle didn't have room to pass us on a low traffic two lane road with wide shoulders?

I can only feel sorry for people whose lives are so devoid of joy that they feel the need to yell at others.

I'd be afraid wearing somethng that said police would make me an even more desirable target...