More harassment

Last night I rode to my sister's house to drop something off and to pick up something else. I am so tired of the nasty car drivers, that I mainly stick to the bike paths. But, I decided it wasn't that far, so I would try it. The good news is, I was only harassed by one car, packed full of members of the lower strata of society. So on the one hand, it was a mostly successful road ride, but I still arrived home having confirmed once again that the bike paths are for me.

My other complaint, along these same lines, is the lack of effort on the part of state and local government and law enforcement, cycling clubs and the like to educate drivers about dealing with bicycles on the streets. I honestly don't think most drivers have any idea that bicycles have the same rights to the road as a car. There needs to be more public awareness effort, at least by the local cycling clubs, to educate as many drivers as they can. I know, I know, there are lots of creeps that get satisfaction from harassing bike riders, and this would all be lost on them. But I think there are a lot of people that cut us off or crowd us because they just don't know any better.

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I honestly don't think most drivers have any idea that bicycles have the same rights to the road as a car.

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i cannot agree more. once while turning left at a major intersection (requiring me and my spandex-clad butt to be in the middle of the intersection with a target on my back saying, "please! harass me and doubt my intelligence!" :rolleyes: ) a driver honked. he pulled up right beside me (how rude! in the left turn lane usually cars give me my own space) so i indicated he should roll down his window. he did, and he said that if i needed to turn left i should get off and cross like a pedestrian. :mad: a woman at my lbs said she was told that cyclists should ride on the sidewalk-- by a police officer.:confused:

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I know, I know, there are lots of creeps that get satisfaction from harassing bike riders

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sorry to blame a whole demographic here, but most of the motorists/passengers who harass me are twenty-something men. they are simply showing off for their friends, trying to get a laugh. i'm also twenty-something, and my friends (mostly male) have more consideration than to do that. i think it's a symptom of a modern society, many of us fail to see the effects of what we're doing-- it's simply a failure of compassion and sympathy on the part of the harassers. unfortunately, i'm not sure if an awareness campaign could make us more sympathetic as a society.

that being said, i would jump for joy if i saw a pro-cycling awareness campaign. whoopee!:D

I agree with you, Spokes. It mostly comes down to the fact that many people are selfish and rude. My left turn story is this: I was in a left turn lane, waiting for the light. A car came up behind me, honking their horn, because they wanted to turn left also. He then pulled up on my right and told me that when the light changed, I better stay out of his way because he was turning left and if I got in the way, he'd run me down. I told him to go ahead so I could get his license number as he went by me so I could report him. Needless to say, he had a few choice words for me. I called my local police department and they said they couldn't do anything about it because they didn't witness it. Thanks a bunch. The police don't seem to be all that enthusiastic about treating cyclists like vehicles either. Frankly, I would like them to also start ticketing the bikers that run through stop signs and such, because we lose credibility in our claim of equal rights when motorists see those behaviours from bikers.

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He then pulled up on my right and told me that when the light changed, I better stay out of his way because he was turning left and if I got in the way, he'd run me down.

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oh my god! a motorist actually verbally threatened you? that's crazy!!! there sure was something they could do-- question him, tell the motorist he had no right to be angry, as cyclists are supposed to be riding on the streets with cars, a verbal threat against anyone is still unacceptable (in ontario, i believe, even a threat of assault is still againt the law. rarely enforced though, i think it's mostly for stalkers, etc. :confused: )... but basically, yes, there was a lot they could do, they just didn't want to. either they're lazy, or don't care about cyclists, or they are ignorant themselves. :mad:

how long ago was it? maybe ask your local bike club if they can help. some cycling groups have websites you could raise a stink on, or a media person who could get a local station involved. ...if you think it's worth it that is-- being angry takes a lot of energy, and in the end you might be in the same place anyway.

i complain about toronto, but it looks like some parts of the states are very close-minded regarding cyclists. i always ride streets, simply because there are no convenient bike paths for my commute, but i've only had a few incidents-- and even then they were mostly when i was newbie, and i acted like a walking target...

but yikes! i'd have hated to be in that position. :eek:

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Originally posted by cyclingnewbie
I honestly don't think most drivers have any idea that bicycles have the same rights to the road as a car.

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Sad but true. My personal favorite? The motorists who tell you that they are allowed to hog the road because they pay taxes! The smart-alec in me always wants to hop off my bike and do a little happy-dance "whohooo I don't have to pay taxes anymore because I ride a bicycle...let me call my accountant!"

People! :rolleyes:

The thing that surprises me is that Ohio has a huge number of cyclists and an impressive network of bike trails. There are bikers every where you look on the roads, so I would think this area would have some kind of public awareness campaign. Oh well. I guess there are bad people everywhere. Fortunately, there are lots of good people too, and many of them ride bikes!!

A couple days ago, I had to take my car (first time in weeks!) because we were picking our new kitty up from the shelter. I was in the left-turn lane with a bicyclist beside me and a jerk-filled Mustang behind me. As the light turns green, the cyclist (for some reason) swerves as if to cross in front of me and I stop, because even though metros are HARDLY intimidating, I had no intention of scaring the person unnecessarily. The idiot(!) behind me lays on his horn and yells "Get off the road (expletive deleted)!!!!" at the bicyclist and while doing such, rear-ends me, because he was paying more attention to the bicyclist than the BRIGHT RED car in front of him. Little damage was done, but I'm beginning to wonder how much is ignorance and how much is just idiocy and incompitance. Life is more fun on a bike. =/

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Originally posted by Biking Kitsune
The idiot(!) behind me lays on his horn and yells "Get off the road (expletive deleted)!!!!" at the bicyclist and while doing such, rear-ends me, because he was paying more attention to the bicyclist than the BRIGHT RED car in front of him. =/

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So you're a hero! You saved a cyclist from getting hit and if there is such a thing as good karma , got a little insurance $$$ (for bike goodies?) to boot.

Life IS so much more fun on a bike.

I wouldn't say that, really... just kinda got in the way of the mustang. Still, it is nice to think of the good karma and (maybe?) insurance money. Dunno if it'll go to repairing the minimal damage on the car or toward getting that rockhopper I've had my eyes on... ;) I suppose that makes me a bike weenie, huh?

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Originally posted by spokes
sorry to blame a whole demographic here, but most of the motorists/passengers who harass me are twenty-something men. they are simply showing off for their friends

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My adventure with the younger testosterone crazed happened a couple years ago in Marin County. I was riding the Holstein 100, a small group of us (all women) were climbing a nasty hill. We hear a truck coming up behind us, with the occupants yelling such enlightened things as "Get off the road you fag*ots!" and other choice words. Then they pulled up beside us, realized we were all women (Whoa, with breasts and everything!) Ever seen a pickup truck full of teenage boys blush? It was priceless.

Snapdragon:

At least the teenage boys had the tiniest bit of humainty in them to be embarrassed. What scares me are the drivers that have no sense of right and wrong and relish the opportunity to be nasty. Those people are loose out there, moving about in society unsupervised!!

*some* teenage boys. My last road ride involved teenagers, a ricerd Honda, and a water aballoon to the helmet. And they threw firecrackers at my son....

idiots.

irulan

Yesterday, the teenage kids redeemed themselves a little bit in my book. My husband and I were biking home on his Fred Meyer bike (NEVER AGAIN, long story, but never again are we buying a bike from one of those places) and the left crank snapped off. A crew of dorky looking kids who were dirtjumping and in general just playing around by the side of the path heard him swearing and kicking the bike, and loaned him one of their folding bike repair tools. We got the crank back on (kinda, it stripped inside) and we thanked them... In the right circumstances, I'm sure those kids could've been jerks, but there's a certain sense of brother (or sister!)-hood in the biking community. Bikers unite!

Not long ago I had a bit of a fright. Some idiots in a van came up behind me, but instead of just passing by the passenger had opened his window and just as they came up behind me gave out an almighty scream. I almost fell off my bike with the fright I got. They on the other hand seemed to think it very amusing. Boy was I mad. :mad: Comapared to that the idiots that pass too close are nothing really.:eek:

Holy cow, that happened to me just yesterday. I was so pi$$ed. I was thinking that i hoped they stopped at the parking lot just ahead so that i can have a word with them, but i thought even better was that i would confidently walk up to their car and call the cops. I figured that maybe i can have them charged with some kind of assault. they weren't at the parking lot. i am already so jittery of riding alone as it is. grrr....

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Originally posted by Margaret
Not long ago I had a bit of a fright. Some idiots in a van came up behind me, but instead of just passing by the passenger had opened his window and just as they came up behind me gave out an almighty scream. I almost fell off my bike with the fright I got. They on the other hand seemed to think it very amusing. Boy was I mad. :mad: Comapared to that the idiots that pass too close are nothing really.:eek:

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Here's my opportunity to pitch martial arts!

Not one of those 3-week self-defense classes; they're just cashing in on a fad. I'm talking several years of multiple classes a week. Not only will you develop great balance and muscle control, mental discipline, and of course some sense of what to do in a dangerous situation, you'll also develop a confidence that projects from you wherever you are, making it less likely that someone will want to mess with you. They'll pick an easier target.

Martial arts is a way of life, but it's definitely a worthwhile way to invest in yourself.

I actually agree with you on the Martial Arts classes. I have not ever taken Karate, Jujitsu or Judo, but I have taken Tai Chi classes. Don't laugh. Little old ladies make fantastic company, especially when they're feeling younger and younger every day from doing Tai Chi.
Because of the practice, my hand-eye coordination has never been better. I feel confidant and exude confidence when I walk down the street. I am better aware of my surroundings and myself. My reflexes have significantly improved as well.
All of this helps me on the bike. While I'm lucky enough to have only been harassed and never touched or had things thrown at me, I have been cut off and crashed into the car as a result (please see latest post). I am positive that the reflexes I've developed from Tai Chi helped me to stay relaxed during the impact and the fall, and I'm hardly hurt.

admiral: "I am positive that the reflexes I've developed from Tai Chi helped me to stay relaxed during the impact and the fall, and I'm hardly hurt."

just read your latest post, I am soooo gald you're ok. I don't know if they teach falls in Tai Chi class but I'm sure the balance, centering and relaxation of Tai Chi helped you. Someday I'd like to teach a "falls for cyclists" class.

Hope you take the gal who hit you to court.

This thread has siblings all over the board so I'm sure that what I'm about to post has been posted in the past... but since I'm here:

Check out, join, lobby for (whichever is your bent) the League of American Bicyclists.
Website: http://www.bikeleague.org/index.cfm

One of the pluses is, as a member, you get some great publications about rides all over the U.S.