I took the lane, but it scared people

I was stopped at a traffic light today when a woman (I think a tourist) ran up to me and said "Watch out! There's a big bus right behind you!" The light changed, so we didn't chat, but I think she was quite sincere.

It really is an awful intersection, and one of the few places where I do take the lane for reasons too complicated to go into. I appreciated her concern, but I have been chuckling all afternoon. Maybe she's from a country where cycling is a bit more civilized than it is in NYC. Around here there's always a big bus behind me.

Pam

Personally I prefer having a big bus behind me over having one 2 inches off my right elbow...... (or breathing their fumes for that matter)

It's supposed to scare people. Into not hitting you.

Oh, she's probably just somebody's mother :)

if they didn't run over this guy

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b...amenSquare.jpg

they won't run over you either. as long as you're highly visible, anyway.

She probably didn't realize that bikes could do that. This is something my new riding partner is very good at. Me, not so good at. In the country, it just scares the he$$ outta me. Like the car *still* trys to pass on the left with your arm stuck out turning left. Or some ya-hoo behind that one. Went to Chicago with a GF. Omg, the bike lane... what a beautiful thing! I'd take the lane in the big city with a bus behind me anyday versus in Mayberry with country road rage idiots. Ghee:(.

Sounds much more civilized than the response I commonly hear, "Get on the f...ing sidewalk!" :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by msincredible

Sounds much more civilized than the response I commonly hear, "Get on the f...ing sidewalk!" :rolleyes:

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DH and I frequently take the lane at big intersections (as a means of survival!).. last weekend a pickup truck full of bubbas behind us screaming out the windows "That's what sidewalks are for!".

But I'm out there in my neon green jersey, with lights flashing on my seatpost, reflective tape everywhere.. if they hit me, they better have a really good story for why they didn't see me :D

What scared me, is reclining bike in bus lane/cycle lane. The guy had two blinky lights and a small flag but was so low that any bus could have squashed him literally , flat.

You know, I've been riding a lot lately with one or two people on recumbents, and they're not as low as they look. When I'm in my shallow drops, my head is pretty much at the exact same level as theirs.

Doesn't matter what you do on a bike- it's going to either 'scare' or p*ss off somebody somewhere. Don't pay any attention to people who don't even ride bikes and have no clue- just do what's safe. :)

all recumbents aren't the same level! :eek: i know what she means! scares me too.
But I agree with Lisa. Do what's safe. if people around you are frightened, smile and wave at them.

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Originally Posted by BleeckerSt_Girl

Doesn't matter what you do on a bike- it's going to either 'scare' or p*ss off somebody somewhere. Don't pay any attention to people who don't even ride bikes and have no clue- just do what's safe. :)

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This is good advice and will avoid angry exchanges that might turn dangerous. :)

I'm curious -- what do you do or say in your mind to stop from responding to a hostile driver/pedestrian?

Thank you. :)

Um, I posted about this incident because I thought it was funny. It never crossed my mind that it would be viewed otherwise. If you will note in my original post I said, "I have been chuckling all afternoon."

Pam

heh, you post here and the thread takes on a life of its own!

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Originally Posted by PamNY

Um, I posted about this incident because I thought it was funny. It never crossed my mind that it would be viewed otherwise. If you will note in my original post I said, "I have been chuckling all afternoon."

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Well it is funny! Especially to seasoned riders. But it's a subject worthy of discussion too, it's something that can make new riders hesitant. Well worth talking about. :)

I'm excited because the Texas legislature has recently passed a law that would reinstate cyclists right to the road and require cars to pass at least 3 feet away from bikers as well as not pull in front only to turn right immediately etc

In my part of Texas there are so many idiot rednecks in freaking huge earth killing diesel trucks that I have at least 2 friends who have been hit by side mirrors. Seriously. Take the lane. Don't risk letting them push you off the road or hit you with a mirror.

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Originally Posted by OnTerryOh

I'm curious -- what do you do or say in your mind to stop from responding to a hostile driver/pedestrian?

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Honestly, fear would keep me quiet in case of true road rage in a suburban or rural setting. What would happen in my mind after that I don't know.

The stuff I deal with is just New Yorkers being mouthy. A few drivers sound nasty, but in NYC they are used to cyclists and aren't likely to actually do anything.

Pam

Not totally convinced I could ever have the confidence to take up a lane in a recumbent in front of a bus/truck.

I have taken up the lane in front of a bus at different times..often I don't realize it above roar of traffic, until the bus is behind me and driver is bunny stopping along the way, to slow down for me.

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Originally Posted by PamNY

Honestly, fear would keep me quiet in case of true road rage in a suburban or rural setting. What would happen in my mind after that I don't know.

The stuff I deal with is just New Yorkers being mouthy. A few drivers sound nasty, but in NYC they are used to cyclists and aren't likely to actually do anything.

Pam

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I was thinking of a time recently when a passenger in a car yelled at me "Get up on the sidewalk!" I was riding in a safe, legal part of the street and had as much right to be where I was as the people in the car. In fact, it's illegal for bicyclists over age 12 to ride on the sidewalk in my city.

I shouted "No!" as the car was driving off, and someone in the car shouted back at me. The incident and others like it leave me feeling a bit shaken and annoyed.

So when Lisa said "Don't pay any attention to people who don't even ride bikes and have no clue- just do what's safe," that got me wondering what techniques people use to feel less negative about these encounters.

Maybe it would be helpful for me to say to myself, "They're clueless. They don't even ride bikes."
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I usually smile and wave (while muttering something to myself), it confuses them.

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Originally Posted by msincredible

I usually smile and wave (while muttering something to myself), it confuses them.

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That's the same method I use.:)

Smile and thumbs up is always a good response too :D

Smiling and waving --- I like it. :D Thumbs up, too.

Thumbs up might be okay if you are sure you're dealing with Americans or Europeans. I've read that it has a negative connotation in some cultures, so I don't use it.

Pam

I've heard that smiling gamely and saying "I love peanut butter!" can disconcert an otherwise hostile soul. Not sure I could pull that one off.

When I was vacationing and going on my former club's rides (but it's been years; these guys didn't know me), I wrote a note and put it on the windshield of a cyclist who'd given me bad directions and sent me off to "go right and catch up" to the slower group (because he was sure I coudln't even draft off his group). It occurred to me that the guy could escalate and slash my tires... and that I was escalating with the note. I should have simply told him "I'll hang with you guys 'til you catch up to them or I drop off." So I took it off... but I did 'splain to the other folks returning from the ride what had happened...

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Originally Posted by OnTerryOh

I'm curious -- what do you do or say in your mind to stop from responding to a hostile driver/pedestrian?

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I just remind myself that half the people on the planet are below average intelligence!

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Originally Posted by Loraura

I just remind myself that half the people on the planet are below average intelligence!

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:D :) :D Good point. I'll remember to tell myself that in unfriendly encounters.