Quote Originally Posted by incstlouis
Some guys in my town came up with this genius idea to avoid the harrassment altogether. Check this out

Somehow with the big bold letters on your back, cars are much less likely to harrass you at all.
HEY! What a fantastic idea!

It beats the idea I had a few years ago to keep cars at a safe distance: I planned on building a foam, oversize replica of a ski pole - with a humongous spike - and mounting it sideways on the back of my bike. Obvious and attention-getting, but not actually "endangering" any of those pretty shiny paint jobs.

Re: crazy drivers again: one of my worst experiences was when a city bus, one of those extra long ones with an additional "trailer" on the end, came by me as the road made a gradual right bend. I was on a separate bike lane, but the "trailer" came closer and closer and my lane got narrower and narrower... until finally I had to stop altogether to avoid being squished. I could have touched the bus without even stretching out my arm, and I'm positive the driver had no idea I was there.

I tore after the bus like an idiot, and caught up with it as it was about to pull out from the next stop. Jumped up on the pavement and hammered on the door, only to have the driver look at me, mildly surprised, as he drove away. "Hm? Where'd she come from, and what's her problem??"