I saw this on a decal at the local used bike store where I got Truman, my new commuting road bike. It often occurs to me to ask why people driving cars don't think of me as a vehicle.

I am a researcher and have my hypotheses, but why do YOU think drivers treat us as some sort of PITA rather than another vehicle going somewhere?

Here, in Columbia, MO, I don't have an issue. The drivers HAVE to behave with cyclists. They will get pulled over if they don't. You have to yeild to bikes and also treat them as vehicles at the same time.

It's a delicate balance. But the general consensus is that bikes DO belong. We have a ton of trails and cycling lanes to reinforce the point. I don't get honked at here or chased. But back home, who knows! People in my small town didn't much like cyclists. They didn't know what to think of them more than anything. In Bloomington, IN, they would honk, yell, and be rude because clearly any rider on a bike is a frat or sorority person training for their big race! There is an elitist tinge to cycling and people dislike it.

I would argue the culture of the place matters. But I am curious to know what you all think?