Quote Originally Posted by kaian View Post
I have had a couple of close calls in my life - once when riding on a sidewalk (years ago) and once recently at an intersection where a woman looked right at me and turned right in front of me at a light where I had the right away. I swerved out of the way and yelled some profanities.

Anyway, the most common harrassment I get is people yelling at me while passing in a car and I've also had teenage boys yell at me after passing me on BMX bikes. Teenagers seem to be the main culprit here. I've been called a B**** by a car full of teenagers for no reason (I was riding in the bike lane), I was called a "loser" by some hick in a HUGE pick-up (a young male) and I've had a handful of times when someone will yell at me really loud as they pass me which really bugs me because it can be very startling and I don't think drivers realize they could startle you enough to cause you to fall or even swerve into traffic.

I live in a suburb of Detroit and this area is not known for outdoor health or bike riding. I used to own a motor scooter, but I decided to sell that because of all of the verbal harrassement I got for riding that around. It seems like if you're not driving a car in the "motor city", you are fair game for harrassement.
well you live in detroit, that explains it. that's probably the worst city in the u.s. to ride a bike. new york, l.a., chicago, philly, boston, san francisco, seattle, phoenix, and honolulu are a few u.s. cities that come to mind that are for the most part biker friendly.

you also have to be a little socially aware... riding a motor scooter basically makes you look like a weirdo and a dork... so yes, idiots will yell at you for it to get their little laughs. i mean, i don't think it's right, but if you're going to ride something unorthodox like a motorscooter, or a unicycle, or a pogo stick, or a go-kart -- then yeah, you will be ridiculed.

my area (south bay, ca.) is biker friendly... along the beach, lots of cyclists and joggers.