"Just the sight of a bicycle makes me angry!"

[Tri Girl]

On the rare occasions when I do see bad behavior they don't seem all that fearful.

agreed! I don't think the rednecks that try to run me off the road are fearful, but I sure am!!!
I think they are just jerks. Probably the guys who picked on the "nerdy" kids in school and are just general d-bags.

[westtexas]

I think a lot of it is ignorance.

I love how I come to a stop sign and actually stop and cars are paralyzed as to what to do. Normally they blow through stop signs with a tap of the brakes. But a cyclist? Holy crap we all have to stop and stare at the anomaly that might... follow the rules of the road? I have no idea.

But I do chuckle at people who pass me at full blast in a very aggravated manner and then I see them at the next stop light and wait with them until it turns green. Just shows you don't really get anywhere faster!

[zoom-zoom]

Heh, a friend of mine posted this on FB:

[Biciclista]

great jersey!

[beccaB]

I want one!

[grey]

I have this all the time. Seems to always occur while climbing a hill. You KNOW the idiot behind you can't see over the hill for a while yet, but he guns it anyway, and narrowly misses an oncoming car that had to swerve onto the shoulder to avoid an accident.

That stuff scares the crap out of me. An accident at that moment could take out my friends and I at the same time.

[Geonz]

I generally move out more when it's overpass time... tho' around here, we simply don't seem to have as many of the hostile folks. There *was* one guy who, trying to see around me to make his right turn on red (I was to his left), said "I hate cyclists. I just HATE cyclists." Then he was making his turn and I called out "BUT I LOVE YOU!!!!!" with the sign language thing (I never know what I'm going to say in those situations...)
(That and my Big Dorky Flag and Long Cargo Bike... people are confused instead )

[Hi Ho Silver]

Heh, a friend of mine posted this on FB:

Do you have any idea where one could buy this jersey?

[Eden]

Do you have any idea where one could buy this jersey?

That is pretty obviously just a photo of a shirt with the text put on top - but I think I have seen similar sentiments elsewhere... www.sharethedamnroad.com has some, but most with no swearing, even implied.

Cafe Press, while they do not have actual cycling shirts, do have performance fabric T's... the design could be submitted.

[zoom-zoom]

Cafe Press, while they do not have actual cycling shirts, do have performance fabric T's... the design could be submitted.

The same sentiment could be applied to both the front and back of the shirt--so one could wear it for both running and cycling (though I deal with probably 10 jerky drivers on the bike for every 1 jerk while running--such a double-standard some drivers have).

[marinerider]

I think a lot of it is ignorance.

I love how I come to a stop sign and actually stop and cars are paralyzed as to what to do. Normally they blow through stop signs with a tap of the brakes. But a cyclist? Holy crap we all have to stop and stare at the anomaly that might... follow the rules of the road? I have no idea.

But I do chuckle at people who pass me at full blast in a very aggravated manner and then I see them at the next stop light and wait with them until it turns green. Just shows you don't really get anywhere faster!

I for one love the fact of how many drivers have no idea of the laws and how they pertain to a cyclist being on the road. I love the funny looks I get when I pull into a turning lane with the vehicles to keep from being hit. Here in the Detroit Metro area, if you don't ride like that, they act like they don't see you.

[happyscientist]

I for one love the fact of how many drivers have no idea of the laws and how they pertain to a cyclist being on the road. I love the funny looks I get when I pull into a turning lane with the vehicles to keep from being hit. Here in the Detroit Metro area, if you don't ride like that, they act like they don't see you.

I used to be afraid to claim my lane and would let cars crowd me out of a turning lane, then I remembered something my Dad taught way back when he was teaching me to ride a motorcycle. He said that if you don't claim ownership of a lane by riding in the middle, cars will try to crowd you out of it. Since I started claiming the turning lane, cars have given me a lot more room, and I think they recognize me as a vehicle instead of something that should be on a sidewalk.

As far as the d-bags, I have a friend who is good at memorizing license plate numbers. He reports them as drunk drivers to the police. He said the cops will ignore a complaint about a dangerous or aggressive driver, but they have protocols requiring them to investigate drunk drivers.