I guess they win.

[telegirl]

I'm afraid that right around my house, the roads are fairly narrow and heavily traveled. And unfortunately, more times than not, I am trying to save myself from getting thrown off my bike, into a tree or under someone's wheels and haven't gotten a license number.

Vermont (and New Hampshire) are definitely either bike friendly or bike haters. Not a lot inbetween. Most of the people I know have taken a year or two off of road riding after having one too many close calls. I can't tell you the number of times that people in my local coffee shop will explain to me why bikes shouldn't be on the road and how much they hate them. There are a lot of groups trying to push for more shoulders, cleaner shoulders, harsher penalties for drivers who are caught, etc., and I have started a draft of a letter to our local paper outlining my Ride for My Life last night.

It just really amazes me how clueless people are and how they don't realize that if they hit and kill me, their night is going to be ruined as well!

[mimitabby]

yay! Telegirl! go for it! and feel free to post your letter here if you'd like and we'll help you make it better.

I'm sorry that your neighborhood is so intolerant!

[7rider]

I can't tell you the number of times that people in my local coffee shop will explain to me why bikes shouldn't be on the road and how much they hate them.

You know, it just blows my mind how so many people hate cyclists on the road and are so agressive towards them. And most of the reasons have to do with them being slower than traffic and "taking up space on the road." But, good grief, don't those descriptions apply to farm equipment and payloaders and street sweepers on the road? But, you never see motorists buzzing them, or screaming out the window to get that d**n tractor back in a field where it belongs, or throwing trash at them. It's always about picking on the little guy. It's all about intimidation and control (or lack thereof) in their sad little lives. <sigh>

[Jenn]

It comes down to today everything and everyone is rush, rush, rush, and that REALLY means drivers!! Like it takes a few seconds longer to get around a cyclist.

[cosc]

Telegirl, I'm so glad your still living and breathing to tell this horrible tale. People can be so selfish all they think about is hurry and get there or something worse. I want to go back to slug-bug horse-buggy lifestyle. Yes, the gals gave you good advice. Write about your experience to "letter to the editor" section of your paper. The people that put your life in danger might never see the article, but it would remind others not to be so clueless while sharing the roads with bicyclist. I think schools should have safe driving assemblies and include comments on driving safely w/ bike on roads, as well as no alcohol. I'm very leary of any teen driver. Just hearing about close-calls on the forums give me the hebie- jebies so I can understand your feelings. I hope you can find a place to ride that you feel comfortable again.

[Batbike]

Telegirl ... I hope you were able to report this to the media, police, or SOMEbody that can draw attention to the situation -- how AWFUL!! Glad you are OK. Can't blame you for wanting to stay off road bike, but sounds like it is more the roads than the bike, so maybe can find some better roads (in time). Heal ... ride your mountain bike and enjoy the ride!

[DebW]

Telegirl, I just read your story and so thankful you lived through this, and so upset that it would happen. To me, the beauty of biking has always been that I don't have to get out my car in order to enjoy a ride on my bike. My other sports require that I drive somewhere to do them, but biking means I can leave the car at home, save gas, not pollute, not add to global warming. If I had to drive to somewhere I considered safe for riding, then riding would lose alot of its appeal. So upsetting that certain drivers force us into this position. But your safety is most important.

[telegirl]

Share the Road –

In my last road ride, I had a truck pulling a trailer run me off the road, a pickup almost take me out with his side mirror (it actually went over my head only because I ducked), and a car pass me honking while its passenger screamed and threw trash at me. For two states which want to promote bicycling, I’m amazed at the negative attitude of the residents toward cyclists.

I am sure that a large number of my own close calls result from drivers who do not understand how fast a cyclist can travel, resulting in cutting in too quickly, those who follow too closely to the car in front of them, which does not allow them to see cyclists or pedestrians along the roadside, or even those drivers who don’t really understand how much room to give a bicycle when passing. There are also those who are in such a hurry that the average 3-5 seconds wait to pass a cyclist safely seems like an eternity that they just can’t accept. There have been many times I have been passed on a blind curve, only to have the driver cut back in due to unseen oncoming traffic, resulting in my being run off the road or having to slam on my brakes to prevent an accident.

What I have trouble understanding is the anger and animosity directed at a large number of us riding our bikes, as well as the carelessness with which people operate a vehicle. While I know there are cyclists out there who may not obey traffic laws, there are a large number of car and truck operators that are not stellar drivers. Rarely does one see drivers trying to force cars off roads for going too slowly, or passing a car on a blind curve, or running them off the road with their trailers. Is it because of the fact that I am on a bicycle, vulnerable and unable to fight back, that drivers feel empowered to bully me?

Please, share the road and remember that if you hit and injure or kill a cyclist, your day is going to be ruined as well.

[smilingcat]

Your horrible ride story really leaves me wondering about the horrid drivers out there. Things like this really make me angry. And like Road Raven says, how many of the bike riders are children riding after school or commuting to school. Just horrible horrible horrible.

Next time you are in coffee shop and some arse says about wanting to harm the cyclist or just scare them, maybe you should remind them that it could be a child. I wonder how he would feel if he killed an innocent child or someone killed his child. People just don't think about the consequences of their action. GRRR!!!

And one way of getting attention for a newspaper story is put it in a context of children riding bikes. People who hate bicyclist don't care about adults but if its a child riding they tend to soften up and think a bit.

Thank goodness for your cycling skill and attentiveness.
and do stay on Mtn bike for a while.

[pooks]

Next time you are in coffee shop and some arse says about wanting to harm the cyclist or just scare them, maybe you should remind them that it could be a child. I wonder how he would feel if he killed an innocent child or someone killed his child. People just don't think about the consequences of their action. GRRR!!!

Something else comes to mind. I recently read about an incident where protesters were throwing rolls of toilet paper at a group of people that included the Queen Mum. She calmly picked one of the rolls up and carried it to the man who had thrown it and asked quite "innocently" and "helpfully," if it was his...? That she thought he'd want it back.

He was so startled that he took it and everybody stopped throwing them.

I have a friend who occasionally pulls something similar when somebody says something outrageously ugly as a joke. She will play innocent and wide-eyed and "not understand," forcing them to explain, and perhaps explain again, until they shut up in embarrassment.

I wonder how somebody who made comments about running cyclists off the road to scare them would respond to a wide-eyed, "Really! You would do that? Do you know one of them? They must have done something horrible to you! Wait, you would run a stranger off the road? Why?"

Etc., until they realize what asses they're making of themselves!

Pooks