Trapped in a room with bike haters . . .

[grey]

Funny, I go straight from here to Facebook, and here is what I read: A friend of mine in DC almost got knocked over while walking on the sidewalk because of a couple of guys zooming their bikes past her VERY close. The replies:

S: Did they have spandex on??? If they did you should have pushed them off the sidewalk....why?? Just because I hate that look on a bike...yuck. They are all over down here like cockroaches swarming all over the tiny country roads.

and more: All spandex here....ewwww Yeah there were a couple of times I could have gotten them w/the car door but that whole Karma thing got me too. LOL

it woulda been funny. Bowling for bikers!

I was/am hot. My friend knows I ride. Coming up with a response took me a minute, but do you gals think this was moderate enough?

I am one of those "spandex wearers". They should NOT have been on the SIDEWALK. We often ride at speeds over 20 mph and so the roads are where we belong. A bicycle counts as a vehicle, we have to follow the same rules of the road. Sadly, people like those Heather had today ruin it for the rest of us and encourage the same driver aggression that leads to mothers, fathers, friends and community leaders getting killed every year.

Not really a derail, since it's public aggression still. :-(

[smilingcat]

Another reason why gasoline for cars should cost $10.00/gallon!!

[Reesha]

Very reasonable, grey! I hope they inserted foot into mouth.

[channlluv]

Care to share the FB page, Grey? I'd kind of like to follow how they respond to you, and be there to back you up should they start flaming your very reasonable response.

Roxy

[MojoGrrl]

Once my ex-husband found out my boyfriend was a cyclist, he made some comment about "oh, another reason to hate cyclists even more." But the irony is, he (ex-husband) rides motorcycles and has been hit TWICE by cars and always complained about dangerous drivers...

[OakLeaf]

the irony is, he (ex-husband) rides motorcycles and has been hit TWICE by cars and always complained about dangerous drivers...

I think that's just it though. The ones who hate cyclists are the ones who resent the idea that they might have to pay attention while piloting a two-ton vehicle. There are unfortunately some motorcyclists (and some cyclists too, I just encountered one the other night) who feel the same way, and no matter how many times they crash, it's always someone else's fault.

[grey]

The person comparing cyclists to cockroaches has not responded. My friend did say "Grey, I see bikers here who do try to be careful, but there are so many aggressive and selfish bikers up here that I won't use bike/jog/walk trails now. I am tired of getting bullied just because I walk."
Those cyclists are in the wrong - nobody should be afraid to walk on the shared trail. I know they are probably weekend pleasure riders who don't know to call out "on your left" - still it produces hatred, and that hatred gets moved to the road...

[lph]

Good for you, Limewave! I'm pretty sure most of the bike haters don't really think about what they're saying, they just see "cyclists" as this strange thing out there that everyone can complain about. Like the weather, or taxes...

That doesn't excuse their behaviour, of course, but I'm betting that's why they all went quiet, because they were suddenly caught out behaving stoopidly . Even if you hadn't defended cycling at all, just announcing yourself as a cyclist and a real, normal, sensible person has made a difference.

I often get the "oh, but I don't mean YOU, I mean the ones that do x, y or z". So why not SAY the ones that do x. y or z, then. I don't come into work ranting about all taxi drivers being homicidal maniacs because one of them cut a close corner around me that morning. But it's in peoples nature to categorize, and to complain...