I guess they win.

[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.

[7rider]

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.

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.

Looks good.
I'd recommend that you start out with the fact that you were on a bicycle - something like "On my most recent bicycle ride on local roads, a pickup truck pulliing a trailer nearly hit me with a sideview mirror. Only by ducking at the right moment, did I avoid being hit in the back of the head. This latest incident, coupled with events where motorists would honk, yell, and throw trash at me while I was on my bike, has led me to sadly re-evaluate my standing as a vehicle on local roads. For tow states which promote bicycling..."

[mimitabby]

I took the liberty to edit. Your ending is very strong. I like it.


Share the Road –

The last time I rode my bike, a truck pulling a trailer tried run me off the road, a pickup almost took me out with his side mirror (it actually went over my head only because I ducked), and a car passed me honking while its passenger screamed and threw trash at me. For two states that want to promote bicycling, I’m amazed at the negative attitude of their residents toward cyclists.

I am sure that a large number of these close calls resulted from drivers who do not understand how fast a cyclist can travel; so they cut in too quickly, drivers following too closely to the car in front of them; so they don’t see cyclists or pedestrians along the roadside. There are 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 seem to 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.


an alternate sentence: While I know there are cyclists out there who do not obey all the traffic laws, we all know that there is an equal number of motorists who also break traffic laws, sometimes with fatal results. But I loved your use of the word stellar!

[telegirl]

Thank you for taking the time to read it and give input. .....I forget that not everyone is versed in cycle-speak....oops. I am going to modify and send it off to at least two (if not three) of the local papers and see what sticks.....

Thanks for your support, kind words, and anger on my behalf!

[mimitabby]

good luck and keep us posted!

[lph]

Great letter!

But I actually prefer the one you wrote us... it wa so vivid, and painted a very clear picture of what it was like seeing these "accidents waiting to happen".

If you have more papers to write to, I'd suggest a letter that was as descriptive as your first post - crying and all, if you don't mind putting that part in. It really hit home how vulnerable we can feel out there.