Scary!!! Look at what I read on my local Craig's List!

[ASammy1]

This makes me scared to ride my bike in my area.

"dear 40-50 year old driver
of an old white minivan
with wife in passenger seat reaching back
in an attempt to block out the cursing and sheer confusion of a bike rider
from reaching your 3 kids ears and eyes

who then continued to chase you down
only to have you slip out of his fingers on a straight away on constitution blvd

i guess i would just like to know
why?
why did you pull up directly behind me on the road
and lay on your horn
as if to prove something
what could i do?
magically float in the air
so as to avoid the car traveling 35mph behind me
narrowly slowing down
just short of actually running me over?
again i repeat
what do you have to prove
i am doing nothing wrong
there is no bike lane
so i stay to the right hand lane
i even began riding
when little to no traffic was on the road
[you were one of two cars to pass me while i was on first colonial]

if anything
i get it
little biker
big man
you have a car
so you are better
i get it
with the horn
that was, gosh, i mean you really showed me
honking that horn.
just
really good man. scared me a little.
until i realized, there was nothing i could do

now this next action of yours
[and now i would like to apologize for flicking you off]
you see
when you honky tonky on your horn for 35 seconds
it gets annoying to someone, who
can do absolutely nothing about the situation
why did you continue
to ride up next to me?
you hit my elbow with your mirror
and then continued to run me
off of the road
yes
off of the road.
and do you realize we were going around 15 miles an hour at this point?
have you ever seen someone get hit by a car before?
if you have
i will ask you,
why did you do that?
you know, there was no one else around
you could have just as easily
signaled
gone into the left lane
and passed me
just as the 95 year old man did
that passed me seconds before you
see?
no harm done
we all got to where we were going
you safely
and with out the cries of agony and pain
of a bike rider reaching your moldable childrens ears
and
i would have reached the verizon store
without being so confused and exhausted
ready to throw up
because of the events that previously took place

i really wish
that after i got back on my bike
when you looked in your rear view mirror
and saw my face of rage
and realized i was catching up to you

i just really wish
i really do
i wish i could have rode up next to you
and asked
why?
why did you do that?
what did yo have to prove?

if i ever see you again
i will not hesitate

i will throw a wrench through every single one of your windows and slash all your tires.

way less than you did to me.

f******g a$$hole.

with love
yours truly
the raleigh record rider you mowed down on first colonial avenue


if anyone knows who this man was,
i would really like it if you could go up to him
and shake his hand
because
he nearly ended the life of a 24 year old
who was riding to verizon
to ask a question about his cell phone."

[Geonz]

IT's a good vent... now if he could have gotten the license plate...

[mimitabby]

May I ask what city this happened in?

The young man is a good writer, glad we didn't lose him.

[ASammy1]

As far as a licens plate goes... I emailed him to see if he got it and reported it.

Location: Virginia Beach

[sundial]

That makes me so furious to see that not only was the rider taunted by the horn, but the driver continued to come into contact with the rider. Why didn't the other drivers contact the authorities?? If that had happened here, I would have whipped out my cell phone, dialed 911, then photographed the license plate. I wouldn't have sat there allowing that nonsense to continue. Why have people become so insensitive??

[GLC1968]

sundial - I don't think there were any other drivers. He said that guy and one other were the only two cars to pass him. So that means this van driver did this for no reason. He had plenty of room to pass this guy...he was just being an a$$hole.

That's what scares me because I ride country roads to work - if someone ran me off the road, there would be no witnesses, and I'd probably be left in a ditch for hours before anyone found me!

[wildhawk]

I keep a small mini-notebook in my handlebar bag just for jotting down notes/tag nos. (we also pack a small digital camera) - and I would have dropped back and tried to get that jerks o trtag no. to call in - he was obviously being an aggressive driver and trying to cause bodily injury to the bike rider. I hope he got his license no. I have read horror stories about objects being thrown at bikers on another forum so when road riding I am always scouting ahead and behind for potential trouble. Sad that it happened to him and glad that he was o.k.

[indigoiis]

I think you have to ride defensively as well as drive defensively.
I think it is crucial to know what to do when a car is being harrassing or threatening. If it means you have to get off the road because otherwise you might be sent off the road, then I think we need to do it. I think the majority of drivers are fairly respectful of us riders, but we can't just assume that a.) they understand us and b.) that they will be courteous.

[luvmypwds]

That is really scary.

I do ride really defensively on the roads - I mean, bike vs. car is a no-brainer. Though I will admit that I occasionally succumb to road rage while driving (not that I drive like a mad woman but I do, um, honk and give other drivers the finger if I feel that they deserve it), I would never dare to show any sign of aggression towards any car. I have been honked at more times than I can recount (as most of you have I'm sure), but I just ignore them. Most of the time there is nothing I can do about it - ie, I have no room to move over. Once they honk at me, they've all just gotten around me. I think most honk at me if they feel I've taken the lane as opposed to riding very close to the curb, which I don't like doing b/c I feel it's dangerous (to me).

At any rate, I am glad that this cyclist did not get hurt.

[Sgritn]

As far as a licens plate goes... I emailed him to see if he got it and reported it.

Location: Virginia Beach

*****************************************************
I darned so hope the plate was taken down and he goes to town on that son of a latch!!!

[wildhawk]

I believe the law in Florida states that there should be at least 3 feet between the rider who is in the far right and the car passing. But that is only good if police officers choose to enforce it. I live in a very busy area, so when street riding we hug the right lane as far as possible and try to take as many back streets as possible. People are unpredictable however and it is simply not worth getting run off the road by someone being aggressive. Best to exit as soon as possible and let the jerk move on down the road while making a note of his tag when he passes. To flip him off will just add to the road rage.

As far as cars, I do not have any problems with traffic and aggressive drivers since my DH got me a retired FHP police cruiser for my birthday last year. I usually have all three lanes to myself while the traffic packs up behind me afraid to pass. Oh, if I only had that level of respect on my bike. Sigh.

[squirrell]

My hometown is Virginia Beach--I grew up there and now live about an hour from there.

Let me say this--NO WAY would I ride on most of the city roads in that area. The road system HAS NOT kept up with the amount of traffic. The roads are NOT cyclist friendly at all in any aspect. And there is always-always-always traffic. I know--I worked Animal Control in that city for 5 years and was on the roads at all hours of day and night. There is never a time when there is not traffic on the roads.

And, I rode motorcycles there for years, commuting over 90 miles each day for 3.5 years to college plus general riding around.

There was also a time when I was 18/19 and I rode my old 10-speed around quite a bit--using it to get from work and back; to my then boyfriend/now DH and back, and to karate and back. I rode on some of the busiest roads in that area--including one of the roads mentioned by this person. But that was 26 years ago. There was still traffic but much less and there seemed to be a different attitude then. People actually gave wide berths to cyclists and showed common courtesy.

So, I have over 30 years of experience driving in that area in cars, bicycles, and motorcycles.

IN ADDITION: there are some of the WORST DRIVERS I have seen in my life in the VA. Beach/Norfolk/Hampton area. BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD DRIVERS.

And, I've lived in Florida, Tennessee, the Bay Area of California (LOTS more traffic there), and Northern VA (lots more traffic there). I've also traveled all over the U.S. and most of Canada via motorcycle, car, and RV.

But I've not encountered the level of incompetence among drivers that exists in Hampton Roads.

The people in the Hampton Roads area (as VA.Beach/Norfolk/Hampton is referred to now) simply do not know how to drive relative to the amount of traffic and road conditions. I DETEST having to drive over in that area now and get in and out as quickly as possible--thanking God I was not involved in some horrible accident.

They are also some of the most ANTI-MOTORCYCLISTS/CYCLISTS drivers I've encountered. They seem to regard anything that is not a "cage" (car) as a target and something to be hit and destroyed.

So, if you do ride in that area, please BE CAREFUL! Don't expect drivers to show any respect or compassion. Or to have any driving skills whatsoever!

{rant over}

[ASammy1]

Thanks Squirrell!

I thought it was just me (new to the area), so my suspicions have been confirmed...

[beccaB]

My hometown is Virginia Beach--I grew up there and now live about an hour from there.

Let me say this--NO WAY would I ride on most of the city roads in that area. The road system HAS NOT kept up with the amount of traffic. The roads are NOT cyclist friendly at all in any aspect. And there is always-always-always traffic. I know--I worked Animal Control in that city for 5 years and was on the roads at all hours of day and night. There is never a time when there is not traffic on the roads.

And, I rode motorcycles there for years, commuting over 90 miles each day for 3.5 years to college plus general riding around.

There was also a time when I was 18/19 and I rode my old 10-speed around quite a bit--using it to get from work and back; to my then boyfriend/now DH and back, and to karate and back. I rode on some of the busiest roads in that area--including one of the roads mentioned by this person. But that was 26 years ago. There was still traffic but much less and there seemed to be a different attitude then. People actually gave wide berths to cyclists and showed common courtesy.

So, I have over 30 years of experience driving in that area in cars, bicycles, and motorcycles.

IN ADDITION: there are some of the WORST DRIVERS I have seen in my life in the VA. Beach/Norfolk/Hampton area. BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD DRIVERS.

And, I've lived in Florida, Tennessee, the Bay Area of California (LOTS more traffic there), and Northern VA (lots more traffic there). I've also traveled all over the U.S. and most of Canada via motorcycle, car, and RV.

But I've not encountered the level of incompetence among drivers that exists in Hampton Roads.

The people in the Hampton Roads area (as VA.Beach/Norfolk/Hampton is referred to now) simply do not know how to drive relative to the amount of traffic and road conditions. I DETEST having to drive over in that area now and get in and out as quickly as possible--thanking God I was not involved in some horrible accident.

They are also some of the most ANTI-MOTORCYCLISTS/CYCLISTS drivers I've encountered. They seem to regard anything that is not a "cage" (car) as a target and something to be hit and destroyed.

So, if you do ride in that area, please BE CAREFUL! Don't expect drivers to show any respect or compassion. Or to have any driving skills whatsoever!

{rant over}

I might have to add to the Virginia driver thing- Winchester, where I went to college. I was a runner then and can't even count how many times people stopped me to ask for directions or whatever, and the out and out harassment from local males of little intelligence. Hoping to not be terribly politically incorrect, the movie - Deliverance- comes to mind.

[wildhawk]

I concur ladies! I grew up in Virginia (central Va.) but visited my cousins at Deep Creek and Virginia Beach numerous times. I have driven out west and back, crossing many states, through large cities, small cities, driven the Capitol beltway, Delaware and New Jersey but nothing beats the drivers from Virginia. As a Virginian I can say that. Note: I moved to Wyoming in the 80s and have lived in Florida since 1990. And they say Florida has the worst drivers - argh. It is too bad too - we have beach communities here along the gulf where bicycling is encouraged and relatively safe.