stupid move and maybe this is why I get seriously injured.

[smilingcat]

Today I was relaxing on a sharrow (shared road way) where I can take up the whole lane. Hermosa Avenue in Hermosa Beach, Ca. Cooling down on mybike. And up come this driver in her Lexus and nearly clipped me. The outside mirror on passenger side came within 6 inches of my handle bar.

Intinctively, I got so MAD, I sprinted and caught the car and tapped the passenger window and let her know I was NOT A HAPPY CAMPER then I passed her and pointed to a road sign, a big bike with arrow dead center of the lane then further down the road, I pointed to a sign that read, "Bicycles may take the whole lane". I then slowed down. The lexus pulled into the passing lane, she rolled down her window and to my suprise she apologized.

SO I GUESS SHE WAS TRYING TO TEACH ME A LESSON BY BUZZING ME? THEN REALIZED SHE WAS IN THE WRONG??

Well its past 7pm and I'm still miffed. Also ruined my cool down portion of my ride today. My partner says I'm acting like a jerky guy!! Well maybe so.

What would you have done?

Hunt down the offending car?
Be rattled?
file a complaint with police?
or just complain to your husband or partner?

GRRR!!!!

[Biciclista]

i would have tried to catch up to the other car too. I would however, been mollified by the apology.
i would be rattled.
i would complain to DH
I would not file a complaint.

[Zen]

^ ditto but for the dh part, even if I had an H

I once rode my bike to a dr. appt.
Right before I went in I confronted a driver. The nurse said my bp was unusually high

[Jiffer]

Well, as hard as it is, I'd try to let it go. Maybe point to the signs, etc., but not do anything that might tick off the driver, which could result in road rage on the car drivers part ... and guess who would win?

[Biciclista]

Jiffer, we're not talking about what we SHOULD do (when our body just gets a megahit of adrenalin) we're talking about what we WOULD do..

[Zen]

Kids- don't try this at home.

[MartianDestiny]

My new favorite is giving the 3 finger salute (now that our 3 foot law is in effect)

I have been known to give the one finger salute to particularly bad drivers (did so last weekend actually when someone buzzed me (6 inches give or take) going 65 in a 35 zone ). I *try* to avoid that since it mainly incites anger though (hence my new 3 finger salute).

I definitely get angry and or rattled. At times so much so as to induce asthma like symptoms (and I don't have documented asthma) and concern federal guards enough for them to ask if I needed an ambulance. I try to not let myself get so worked up since it's not conducive to me finishing the ride or living very long.

I yell, A LOT. Typically things like "3 FEET" or "SLOW DOWN" or "WATCH OUT" or "I'M A PERSON TOO". Most times they of course don't hear me Sometimes they do and the responses can, at times, be amusing.

I also like to point at conveniently placed road signs.

I call our transportation (bus) service about once every 3 months about one of their drivers, but I've yet to file a police report (I'm not very good at getting license plates, and most of the time I don't think it's worth ruining my ride and filing a police report in the long run)

Sorry you had a run-in; seems about par for the course this time of year

[Cataboo]

I usually just ignore it - even when I'm pedaling on a highway and some stupid teenagers decide to swerve at me while doing 70 mph, roll down the window and scream things at me - getting pissed or doing something stupid is what they want - isn't it funny when you make the cyclist crash?

I do try to get a license plate number, but getting pissed about it is probably just going to ruin my ride and possibly end up with me getting hurt.

[XMcShiftersonX]

Well, I think it's good that you were brave enough to do what you did. I don't think you did anything out of line. Of course there's always those drivers that instead of admitting they were wrong, get defensive and do something stupid. I must say that I am glad she responded in the way she did. Maybe she didn't realize she had done wrong and gotten that close to you until you pointed it out to her and then was genuinely sorry. When a car does something dangerous to me, I usually end up yelling at them. If she hadn't apologized and it appeared she had intentionally tried to harm you, I probably would have called the cops and gotten her car's info. Of course, always vent to the significant other, that's what they're there for I would have definitely been rattled, but unfortunately there's nothing further you can do to make the situation better, and it sounds like that particular driver learned a lesson and will probably give cyclists more room in the future.

On another note, here's a story that my husband told me about his coworker that might cheer you up! His co-worker was riding his bike when a Porsche cut him off intentionally and aggressively, so he chased the car to a gas station and while the person was inside paying for gas, he picked up a rock and smashed it through the guys front windshield. There was someone filling up right behind the Porsche that looked shocked, and he just said, "he cut me off!" and walked back to his bike and rode off. We all make mistakes as drivers, but when you intentionally try to hurt someone who can't defend themselves as well as you, well... paybacks a *****!

[Bike Chick]

On another note, here's a story that my husband told me about his coworker that might cheer you up! His co-worker was riding his bike when a Porsche cut him off intentionally and aggressively, so he chased the car to a gas station and while the person was inside paying for gas, he picked up a rock and smashed it through the guys front windshield. There was someone filling up right behind the Porsche that looked shocked, and he just said, "he cut me off!" and walked back to his bike and rode off. We all make mistakes as drivers, but when you intentionally try to hurt someone who can't defend themselves as well as you, well... paybacks a *****!

Oh my gosh! Now the guy in the Porsche will hate every one of us because one cyclist lost his temper. Not cool. I think I would've gone in the gas station and confronted him instead.

I followed someone into a parking lot before and confronted them. I was 80 miles into a century (I'm always so charming at that point of the ride) and this guy squeeze played between me and on-coming traffic on a curve ONLY to drive 50 feet and turn into Dollar General. I was furious. I didn't throw a rock through his windshield but I did pull in behind him and was standing next to his vehicle when he got out. I confronted him and he was quite apologetic and embarrassed actually. His young son was in the vehicle at the time. They act differently when they are looking the cyclist in the eye.

[Mr. Bloom]

SC: I hope sleep has helped. You did fine. Unless her apology was snarky, I'd accept it at face value and let it go... Hope you're feeling better

[tulip]

Let it go at this point--you're not doing yourself any favors by staying worked up about it. She apologized. She will likely be more careful when she sees cyclists in the future.

Breathe, bake, garden, whatever you do to relax and let it go.

[Thorn]

My new favorite is giving the 3 finger salute (now that our 3 foot law is in effect)(

Someone else uses that? Cool. I alternated between 3 fingers in the style of the 1-finger salute when really mad to a 3-fingered royal hand wave when it seemed to be a clueless driver.

But I'm currently in a complacent stage and just ignore the cars that pass too close. I find that I go in cycles (pun, not intended). Chasing, screaming, saluting, waving and, as now, just ignoring.

Today, cars don't respect cars on the road and, sadly, if they don't respect another one of "them" they surely aren't going to respect one of us.

I used to hope that our local cyclist that rides with cameras and reports bad drivers to the police with video taped evidence would catch the worst offenders, but the local police just don't care. The last time when the cyclist was run off the road and the car/driver caught on camera, the cyclist got the ticket and the court upheld it. Very sad state of affairs here.

So, yeah, today I'd probably ignore it. But other days I'd probably have swung past what you did and confronted the driver directly with my best sailor profanity.

You did a nice compromise. And the driver got the message. Consider that a victory.

[Skierchickie]

Ya done good! I know for a fact that I'm too wimpy to actually confront the person. I know, because I had a golden opportunity about a week ago. I was riding down a gradual hill on a 2-lane highway, right after a little town, into a sound-blocking headwind. I was lucky, because right there the shoulder was quite wide, so I was farther from the white line than normal. Suddenly this huge-a$$ (well, to my frightened eyes, it looked pretty big) red pick-up passes me, right on the white line, oozing over onto the should just as he got past me. Not particularly fast, and not with a "bikers don't belong on the road" kind of way - in an oblivious "huh? What biker?" kind of way. I gave him my signature big wave (all fingers, in a great big "yeah - waving a you, and it's a gorgeous day" kind of way, yelled "THANK YOU", and then "a$$xxxx". That's typically what I do, smile big, wave big, yell "thank you" - it makes me feel like somehow I've won, plus confuses the cr@p out of them (I hope).

So, I finished my ride, loaded up the bike, headed for home on the gravel back roads, and there, right where I'd turn onto my road, sat a big red pick-up. It looked sooooo like that same one. He was parked at the corner, peering into the woods. I had been practicing what I'd say, ever since the incident. A perfect chance! And I could see that he was older, if not elderly. I could stop, get out, tap on the window, ask if he'd by any chance just come through Mohawk, and when he said yes, I'd say "did you happen to see somebody on a bike, just this side of town?". If he said yes, I'd say "DID YOU KNOW YOU ALMOST KILLED ME?!!!", and if he said no, I'd say "WELL YOU ALMOST KILLED ME - PAY ATTENTION WHILE YOU'RE DRIVING, MORON!".

Alas, I'm to chicken. I could have (even without the yelling) taught one person to watch out for bikes. I'm pretty sure he never saw me, even though that would have been impossible. There wasn't any traffic blocking his view - nothing. I'm pretty sure there wouldn't have been any retaliation - there hadn't been anything aggressive in him.

I salute you, Smilingcat! You are a stronger woman than I. I think what you did was fine (unless, by "not a happy camper" you mean something enough more colorful that she might have tried to run you off the road for real). The guy with the rock at the gas station is another story - his road rage could only get him killed. That guy could have chased him down. And Bike Chick is right - there are at least 2 drivers at that gas station who think all bikers are bad - the Porsche driver AND the witness.

[Dogmama]

Out in the wild west, people carry guns. And they aren't always mentally stable (the people, not the guns .) AND - sad to say - bicyclists incur (some) drivers' wrath for various reasons. As hard as it is, I try to let it go.

It ain't right & it ain't fair. In Arizona, hurting a cyclist costs you $500 fine. If you kill them, it's $1,000. Poaching carries a bigger fine. Sigh...

Many years ago (like 15), I did chase somebody into a parking lot once who intentionally cut me off. I yelled at him that he could have killed me. He yelled back that I could have scratched his car. Then he went into the store. I called the cops & insisted that they come out (my last name resonates with law enforcement because DH is an ex-cop and a known pain in the butt). The cop did absolutely nothing. No witnesses. A guy in a Mercedes is more believable than a girl on a bike. Case closed.