Hogging the road

[XMcShiftersonX]

This thread saddens me so.

Next time I'm going down a hill I'll probably start to wonder yet again if the person behind me is getting his or her panties in a knot on account of my existence (yes, I still do that to this day, old habits die hard!), but now, even worse, I'll wonder if its a TE'er.

And I'll probably be even more likely to try to slow down and try to move over to the right to accommodate that person -- which, after all, is what the OP says I should be doing -- because, deep down, I still don't ever want to be in anyone's way. Even after all the crap I went through.

It wouldn't be safe for me to do that, and it would be downright stupid for me to do that, but, there you go.

Jobob! This post saddens me I know it's difficult to sometimes stand up and do what you feel is right in a situation, when you know others may get upset about it. But really, do what you feel is right and have experienced to be safer. Let people judge you, who cares? You can't spend your entire days thinking about what others are thinking about what you do, or you'll start to feel unhappy. I spent a long time doing the same thing, and even sometimes now find myself in those bad habits. The truth is though, that you need to live each day for yourself, not just in riding, in everything. The people who really know you and understand you will accept you, and those that like to judge people will be miserable. Be confident and focused on your own happiness Okay, okay that's enough motivational speaking for the day!

P.S. - You have just as much right to exist in this world as anyone else, don't let anyone feel like their needs are more important than your own. Okay, now I'm really done

[lph]

Another point is that maybe it's not always that important to do the right thing. I don't mean purposely doing the wrong thing, like endangering someone, but just letting it go and not making a moral issue out of a small situation that doesn't deserve it. Maybe the cyclist ahead of you isn't paying attention because she's upset about something, maybe she's in a huge hurry, maybe she's a newbie, maybe she's training for the ride of her life, maybe it just doesn't matter. Maybe the driver behind you looking exasperated is pissed off about something else, maybe she's met a dozen stupid cyclists on the way and you happen to be nr 13, maybe she's an insecure driver with her shoulders up around her ears and low tolerance for anything new.

Lord knows, I can be as judgmental and then some as the next person, but in traffic I really try to just not get so involved. Most of the time we just have to wing it as best we can, and sometimes people just make bad choices and have to muddle through.