Riding with people driving!!

I had to call my husband as soon as I got home from my commute from work today and I must say, other then the drivers on the road I had a wonderful ride.

First as I was crossing a bridge that contained exit and entrance ramps to it I had a young lady distracted me as she hung herself out the window and yelled,"Does that really save money on gas?" Then she laughs as they sped on by. Yes, actually it does! I have only had to put in $20.00 in the tank for the last 2 weeks.

Then I had an elderly women get behind me and as soon as the next lane open up she hit the gas and flew into the next lane speeding to get by me, then she yanked her car back over into my lane and stuck her fist in the air and shook it at me, like I did something wrong. I was in the correct lane and I do have a right to be there. I also was keeping my speed at about 15 to 17 miles. Which, I don't feel is too slow. Maybe I am wrong?

Next and last that really gets me is people trying to pass me three wide. I had one Honda and two really really big trucks barely pass and miss me. They also barely missed the lady with kids stopped to take a left turn. All three of them performed this stunt. Scared the he!! out of me.

My husband tells me that I need to play it cool and be an ambassador for all who ride bikes. I so don't want to be.

How do you all do it? My husband just wants to re-route me home. I don't think it's fair.

Any advice on how to handle my very busy commutes home?:(

not sure what you mean about your husband wants to re-route you home.

I agree that you have to act like an ambassador.
As you get used to your commute you will find the best route.
I work in the industrial part of town, but I can avoid some of the busiest streets by riding on side streets and going through the plant (private property speed limit of 15mph)
Yesterday coming home from an errand I was following my husband who got in the left turn lane so i followed him, unfortunately there were two lanes to get through, and in the same instant, i encountered a jerk in the lane behind me who cursed because i was not quick enough changing lanes, and a nice person in the next lane over who stopped and waited so i could cross their lane and get into the turn lane.
Just as in driving a car you will meet jerks and kind people; the only difference is now you are more at their mercy.

I prefer to act as an ambassador as well. I see plenty of recreational cyclists behaving badly on the road I use for my commute, I hope the cars see me and know some of us are polite and law abiding.

I choose not to avoid the busiest road home since it has a very wide shoulder. Some commuters in the area chose to go through neighborhoods to avoid as much of the road as possible. That would add more mileage and I don't feel the need but it sounds like your road is not as friendly.

I highly recommend you get and read this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Art-Cycling-Bi...pd_sim_b_img_3
If you and your husband read the sections on staying safe in traffic and avoiding dangerous situations, I'm sure you will both feel more empowered and safer when cycling through these often intimidating and scary situations.
There are strategies that really do help keep you safe. This book changed so much about how i ride in traffic.
Note: you can get used copies on this Amazon page for as little as $6.

+1 to Lisa's book recommendation!

Hold your ground but if you can find a safer route, please do so, even if it is a little longer. I changed the way we get to the trail from one that passes two exits from the interstate and a bunch of shopping centers to one shopping center and a nasty uphill and a brief encounter on a 2-lane road even though it added miles. It was safer and that's more paramount than anything.

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Originally Posted by Jen-Jen

I don't think it's fair.

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Me neither :(
Sometimes i wish gas cost $20 per gallon.

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Originally Posted by zencentury

Me neither :(
Sometimes i wish gas cost $20 per gallon.

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It will.

Someone mentioned earlier in another thread that cyclists tend to think along the same routes they take when they drive, when really good bike routes might be just off the main road they are used to.

Does your area have a bicyclists' map? They can be amazingly informative. I've lived in this area nearly 25 years, but learned a bunch of great routes I'd never considered, just by studying the bike map for a while.

Even if there's no cycling map you your area think side streets, parallel, off roads .... I'd rather ride an extra ___ miles and be safer. It's faster, more scenic even going out of the way.

Try your route on a weekend when there's no deadline, make it fun and just explore "I wonder what would happen if we turn here .... this looks good"

Some of the best commute routes are when you just see out of the corner of your eye "look, another rider. Wonder where that road goes." :p

It took me almost a year of hit and miss short rides to find a route from my home to BART (our light rail). It's still not signed though I and hopefully others lobby for it. Urban/invisible cyclists, even families with babies in tow continue to walk the freeway overpass crossing 4 (four) freeway entrance/exits because that's the way you drive from point A to B here. :( They can just look and two blocks north is a bike/ped only overpass but there's no signs of how to get there :mad:

Lots of good points about finding other routes . . .

I've had a theory for a while (and I'm probably not unique in this) that being in a car makes people behave in ways they wouldn't in any other social situation. They (we) feel that because they're in a big protective shell and since interaction between drivers/other users is so fleeting, one can swear, yell, shake fist/flip finger with few lasting consequences. For example, I will yell all kinds of obscenities at other drivers . . . from the safety of my own car, with the windows closed. In a real interpersonal situation, I would keep my mouth shut and back away slowly, since I am small and probably easily overpowered.

Funny how you never see a cyclist exhibiting "road rage" type behavior.

If drivers are being rude, don't take it personally . . . they're probably having a bad day and taking it out on everybody, not just cyclists . . . or they're just jerks. It will take time for people to learn how to share the road, and even then, people will probably still behave badly. Do be careful on that commute of yours. We do take on a certain amount of risk/vulnerability when we're on our bikes in heavy traffic . . . and getting hurt is a real drag.

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Originally Posted by jocelynlf

Funny how you never see a cyclist exhibiting "road rage" type behavior.

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Believe me - people have seen my middle finger;

I once patted a car hard on the roof for cutting into my bike lane (sounds like you hit something but nothing happens) - I had to get out of there quick (provoked road rage?).

And when I was rididng in that bike clinic a couple months ago, a pedestrian called the leader names because he spoke high german. I've never seen anyone do such a quick u-turn, slam his bike on the ground and go for the guy to grab him by the collar.

so there.

Jen.Jen, it helps when you realize that drivers truly don't mean it personally. It feels like it when you feel vulnerable, but at that split second grandma-in-a-hurry just thinks "DANG, one of those dern cyclists in front of me AGAIN!" and takes out on you whatever aggression she has built up from before. It has quite little to do with what you're actually doing, unless you've been riding like a jerk and stalling traffic for miles.

It sucks sometimes, but yeah, we should try to be ambassadors. Very polite, genteel, kindly ambassadors, by our wonderful example showing all these poor people how the world could be a better place ;) :D

Re road rage: read an interesting article once on how people tend to identify themselves with their cars and view them as an extended version of their personal space. Which might explain the aggressive behaviour when drivers feel "pushed", while still safe inside. On a bike you might feel pushed but vulnerability makes you less aggressive.

My commute is about a mile longer because I choose to avoid certain roads. The ones I avoid have no shoulder at all, in addition to being very busy highways.

When I'm driving on these roads, If I see a cyclist, I tend to think they are nuts to ride there. That's particularly true on one section of Old Hartsville Pike. It's hilly and if a driver tops a hill and you are just on the other side, they could plow you over without the chance to compensate.

On the route I have chosen, I am generally treated quite respectfully.

I *try* to be an ambassador, by my actions, but sometimes, it feels hopeless. On my husband's drive/ride to work there is a large pack of cyclists every MWF. They ride in the middle of the road and never move. He is going to call the police. It's obviously a heavy duty training ride, but riders like that give us all a bad name.
Yes, people have seen my middle finger, too, even though I ride on suburban/country roads. On my commute home, it's often school buses that are the worst.

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Originally Posted by jocelynlf

Funny how you never see a cyclist exhibiting "road rage" type behavior.

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oh but you do. There's been more than one altercation between cyclist and motorist that made it into the news.

and I've seen my own DH get mad and chase a car.

Smile and wave.
That's what I do.

I agree, it is usually schoolbuses that are the worst. But then, they are carrying children, so are less likely to give you room and risk going in the other lane. I accept that it when I am on roads travelled by school buses, I will get encroached upon. I lower my speeds, as such.

It can be hard to 'take the high road' by not reacting to irate drivers, but I always try to remember that riding my bike makes me happy. Driving into work in my car makes me frustrated. I certainly don't want to be angry on my bike. So I try and just smile or wave or ignore them. If I'm really frustrated or the drivers are behaving particularly bad, I find that singing (out loud) a verse or two of a song I like makes me feel alot better and puts their angry actions out of my head.

When I'm riding on back roads, I try to smile and wave (or at least nod) as often as I can to all vehicles--whether they're coming toward me or passing me. I make a special effort to be friendly when I know that someone has been hovering behind me for at least a few seconds, waiting till it's truly safe to pass. I figure it makes 'em feel good to be acknowledged for 'doing it right' instead of trying to run me off the road, LOL! I'm also hoping in a small way to counter the lousy reputation that the cycling clubs have around here for hogging the roads, making obscene gestures and the like.

The other drivers---the ones who pass too close, show impatience, honk wildly, whatever---I haven't yet figured out a way to, uhhh, encourage them to improve their passing skills......I'm usually clinging to my handlebars and just trying to stay upright as they accelerate past me. :D

Addendum: I actually had an oncoming pick-up truck 'playfully' take aim at me this past weekend on a flat straight stretch of road-----came over into my lane, mainly I think to see what I would do. I slowed my pace a little bit but didn't stop. He moved back over in plenty of time. I smiled and waved as he blasted past---figured it was best not to show annoyance.

School busses are a tough one. They are not allowed to cross the center line, under any circumstances. So if you encounter one on a lane where there isn't room to pass, they take unnecessary risks. Their first responsibility (as it should be) is to the children they are transporting. I do think the laws are going to need updating as more and more people bike to work.

DH would run into the same school bus every day on his old commute. Once he figured out why this was such a bad interaction, he got in the habit of pulling into a driveway to let the bus pass. Once the bus figured out that DH would do this for him, the bus driver learned to wait for DH to do this, instead of zooming right past him. Of course, that was an unusual situation.

Oh, and road rage on bikes? Yeah, it happens. I've seen both my DH and a few other riders I know (all male, come to think of it), chase down cars that drove like jerks. :mad: Personally, I agree with being the ambasador and I make an extra added effort to visually thank those drivers that do the right thing. Positive reinforcement!! :p

My husband has pounded his fist on the sides of cars that come too close. He doesn't do it anymore; last time was 2 years ago and we were on a group ride right near our house. The driver was very much in the wrong and oblivious, but I convinced him his actions wouldn't solve anything.
My best one is the very first time I commuted from the house I live in now. I took a longer route home than I do now and at one point there's a road that merges into the road I am on right after you cross a highway with a light. There's a yield sign at the merge and it's busy with people coming from nearby medical offices and a hospital. I*knew* this one car wasn't going to stop, so I slowed down and he zoomed out, cutting me off. Of course, I anticipated it and I raised my hand, gave him the finger and screamed "a$$hole." The people in all the other cars around me started clapping!

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Originally Posted by Crankin

My husband has pounded his fist on the sides of cars that come too close. He doesn't do it anymore; last time was 2 years ago and we were on a group ride right near our house. The driver was very much in the wrong and oblivious, but I convinced him his actions wouldn't solve anything.

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I'm glad you convinced him of that. I'm not a fan of slapping the cars either as I feel like it just makes them hate cyclists all the more.

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Originally Posted by F8th637

I'm glad you convinced him of that. I'm not a fan of slapping the cars either as I feel like it just makes them hate cyclists all the more.

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and they might shoot you. :(

while its certainly not very ambassadorial.... I like the idea of sticking magnets or clings that say "This driver nearly hit a cyclist today" (not stickers, so that there would be no claims of damage) to cars of drivers that pass too close or do something else stupid....

yeah - it would be a pretty impractical thing to do in most cases, though I have to say many of the people who have passed me unsafely have done it only to have to stop a few yards later for a light or stopped traffic, so there'd be plenty of opportunity to stick something on the car..... Oh well, I can dream a little right? (I think the person I saw who originally suggested this, thought magnets might work as you could toss them in the general direction and hopefully they'd stick")

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Originally Posted by Eden

while its certainly not very ambassadorial.... I like the idea of sticking magnets or clings that say "This driver nearly hit a cyclist today" (not stickers, so that there would be no claims of damage) to cars of drivers that pass too close or do something else stupid....

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That's fairly passive-aggressive... I like it.

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Originally Posted by Eden

while its certainly not very ambassadorial.... I like the idea of sticking magnets or clings that say "This driver nearly hit a cyclist today" (not stickers, so that there would be no claims of damage) to cars of drivers that pass too close or do something else stupid....

yeah - it would be a pretty impractical thing to do in most cases, though I have to say many of the people who have passed me unsafely have done it only to have to stop a few yards later for a light or stopped traffic, so there'd be plenty of opportunity to stick something on the car..... Oh well, I can dream a little right? (I think the person I saw who originally suggested this, thought magnets might work as you could toss them in the general direction and hopefully they'd stick")

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You could keep 'em in a bento box at the ready. It would be really easy to make such a sticker with the rolls of sticky magnetic sheets Michael's sells...

Thank you for all your advice and stories. I guess I never really thought about taking a different route to work because I am used to driving that route to work. My only true problem is not adding the extra milage, I only see that as a plus, but I work one one side of the highway and live on the other side. The two main roads to work are both equally busy. I just might have to take a discover ride this weekend with DH and see if we can't find a solution.

I know you are all right about me being the bigger person and take the highroad, that and you made my hubby correct:D, I can do bike rage! But, sadly over the last 12 years with DH, he is teaching me my manners and this time I did take the highroad! Can't say to much about the future, my middle finger gets a little itchy sometimes and it must make a comeout!

I will be checking out that book as well.

Thanks guys! :)

I stand corrected about the road rage thing . . . although I do believe there is a fine line between asserting your rights on the road and actually raging.