Please be very cautious when choosing to engage with drivers. Only they know what lurks in their minds at that moment.
Curtis Yielding to a 3000 pound mass of steel is a wise decision. On Sun, Oct 9, 2022, 2:59 PM Joe Bernard <joerem...@gmail.com> wrote: > I moved this year and there's a 55mph 4-lane highway I use a lot, I don't > love the speeds as the cars fly by but the emergency lane is wide and I > don't worry about it too much. What PISSES ME OFF are the honkers who do it > just to startle me cuz I guess it's hilarious. Not a fan. > > On Sunday, October 9, 2022 at 2:51:24 PM UTC-7 Ian A wrote: > >> I had an incident last year thar still affects me. I was rolling along in >> the shoulder, enjoying the day en route the donut shop turnaround point (30 >> miles out, 30 back) when a pick up driver tried sideswiping me. He had to >> aim for me, this was intentional. My reactions meant I swerved clear, >> almost hard enough to take myself off. Luckily my tires held. >> >> I had no interaction with driver prior to this. It was a driver who just >> wanted to punish a cyclist. >> >> I still feel stress following this incident and no longer ride that route >> at all. It's just not fun anymore. >> >> I do live in oil country and among really good people, there are some >> very entitled and angry people who will bully and intimidate. >> >> Dealing with this stuff is difficult, but I would say this forum.is >> probably not the place for it. >> >> IanA Alberta Canada >> >> On Sunday, October 9, 2022 at 2:40:27 PM UTC-6 Joe Bernard wrote: >> >>> I got "the honk" a couple weeks ago. I was on a residential street that >>> narrows down from 35mph posted limit to 25 as it comes around a tight curve >>> and shoots downhill. At the crest I took the lane with the knowledge that >>> shortly I would be rolling at near 25 and a big black lifted pickup came >>> off a side street at the same time. HONK! It was stupid and I briefly >>> considered getting aggressive with cowboy, but I just as quickly deduced >>> that getting run over or shot was probably not a good plan. I moved over >>> and let Jethro through. My advice is always move over and let Jethro >>> through, you're not going to win that incredibly stupid battle. >>> >>> On Sunday, October 9, 2022 at 9:41:46 AM UTC-7 eric...@gmail.com wrote: >>> >>>> *First of all I'd like to note that starting this thread might not be a >>>> great idea. But perhaps it would be a way for us to share some experiences, >>>> vent or commiserate. * >>>> >>>> Well, I think a lot of us have been there. We've had a weird, scary, >>>> too-close-for-comfort interaction with a motorist. It could be due to >>>> driver inattention or downright overt aggression. It could have been your >>>> fault or no fault of your own. Do you have a riding story involving a >>>> motorist you'd like to share? >>>> >>>> I live in Fredericksburg, VA, a small city built on a grid. We have an >>>> historic district here, many streets are narrow with one-way traffic. There >>>> are a few two-lane arteries designed to move cars. Posted speeds are 25 mph >>>> (I always drive slower and leave my truck in 2nd gear). People drive like >>>> maniacs on certain residential streets, sometimes reaching 50mph. I often >>>> wish for more traffic calming infrastructure, crosswalks, speed tables and >>>> the like. >>>> >>>> In March 2021 I was riding my bike to the bike shop, about a 1.5 mile >>>> trip. I was heading down a one-way street through a residential >>>> neighborhood with street parking on the right and long, grassy, landscaped >>>> park on the left. I was riding to the right side of the street. This >>>> section of road has one lane and it is unusually wide. There is room for >>>> someone to comfortably pass a cyclist. >>>> >>>> Someone honked their horn at me but not in the "Hi, heads up, I'm about >>>> to pass you please and thanks" sort of way but the "Get the fork off the >>>> road!" kind of way. It was startling. I responded by taking the lane, which >>>> is legal for cyclists in Virginia. I rode dead center in the middle of the >>>> lane. I hoisted a one-finger salute and carried on riding. I rode in the >>>> middle of the lane for approximately 100 feet before making a turn. >>>> >>>> Yes, this was an escalation. And it was a bad decision. I don't think >>>> I'm alone in feeling frustrated by displays of impatience and aggression >>>> from drivers and feel that I have certain rights as a human person to ride >>>> safely. It is sometimes difficult not to react in the moment. Motorists >>>> might be not only impatient but totally deranged. Road rage is real. And >>>> drivers are behind the wheel of a vehicle that is easily weaponized. With >>>> just a feather of the gas pedal or a slight turn of the wheel they can >>>> inflict irrevocable damage to a cyclist. >>>> >>>> The driver responded to my salute by getting within a few feet of my >>>> back wheel. When I made a turn to carry on to the bike shop, they >>>> followed. I could hear them revving their engine behind me and feathering >>>> the gas to get close to my back wheel but not quite hit me. I continued to >>>> ride in the middle of the road. >>>> >>>> I heard something hit the street next to me. It was an unopened >>>> aluminum can of a carbonated beverage (I didn't go back to check out >>>> whether it was soda, beer or seltzer). Acknowledging the projectile I >>>> decided I had to bail and get up on the sidewalk or somehow turn around to >>>> where the car could not get to me. >>>> >>>> As soon as I moved to the side to take a driveway apron up onto the >>>> sidewalk the car passed me, then got right in front of me and slammed on >>>> their brakes. I braked hard and managed not to do an endo onto their trunk >>>> or hit their vehicle. The straddle cable hanger came loose from the front >>>> brake cable. The driver sped off. I did not get their plates. >>>> >>>> A few days later I went around the neighborhood and knocked on every >>>> door with a doorbell camera that was along the path of my interaction with >>>> the driver. Everyone I asked checked their footage but only one came back >>>> with anything showing me or the driver. There was a clip of the driver >>>> revving their engine behind me and throwing the can. You can see the can >>>> fly through the air and hear it land in the street. I got a good profile >>>> shot of the car (2005 Acura TL, maroon with custom window trim), but no >>>> view of the tags. >>>> >>>> This is, by far, the worst interaction I've had with a motorist. I've >>>> only been riding for a few years. There are others that aren't nearly as >>>> bad but still register as scary and unnecessary. They most often occur when >>>> a vehicle is passing. I find that a lot if not *all* of the hairy >>>> situations I've experienced with motorists would not have occurred if the >>>> drivers had demonstrated just 5 to 10* seconds *of patience. >>>> >>>> [image: Screen Shot 2022-10-09 at 12.37.28 PM.png] >>>> >>> -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/f3d0cc22-8318-49c2-8007-4910ffd8a466n%40googlegroups.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/f3d0cc22-8318-49c2-8007-4910ffd8a466n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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