Roads are for cars only!

It's an attitude I see more now than ever before even in spite of
through-the-roof gas prices! How dare I position my bike in the left
turn lane while waiting to make a LEFT! How dare I use public roadways
the same way motorists use them! Why don't I get a car! Get on the
sidewalk! I was told that a few weeks ago! The impatience, anger and
contempt I see in some motorists is getting worse. And it's spread
from angry young men to women as well! How sad is that! What is
happening to our society?

Jim Reilly
Reading, PA

When a driver tells me to ride on the side walk, I tell them when you take a
bus.

"stratrider" wrote in message
oups.com...
It's an attitude I see more now than ever before even in spite of
through-the-roof gas prices! How dare I position my bike in the left
turn lane while waiting to make a LEFT! How dare I use public roadways
the same way motorists use them! Why don't I get a car! Get on the
sidewalk! I was told that a few weeks ago! The impatience, anger and
contempt I see in some motorists is getting worse. And it's spread
from angry young men to women as well! How sad is that! What is
happening to our society?

Jim Reilly
Reading, PA

stratrider wrote:
It's an attitude I see more now than ever before even in spite of
through-the-roof gas prices! How dare I position my bike in the left
turn lane while waiting to make a LEFT! How dare I use public roadways
the same way motorists use them! Why don't I get a car! Get on the
sidewalk! I was told that a few weeks ago! The impatience, anger and
contempt I see in some motorists is getting worse. And it's spread
from angry young men to women as well! How sad is that! What is
happening to our society?

Jim Reilly
Reading, PA

I have been told to "Ride that thing on the sidewalk!" and replied back
"Drive your suv on the side walk!" But mostly when someone yells
something at me from a moving motor vehicle I just smile and wave. Then
they look at me like I am crazy.

Ken
--
Messengers and mountain bikers share a common chromosome. ~James Bethea

stratrider wrote:
It's an attitude I see more now than ever before even in spite of
through-the-roof gas prices! How dare I position my bike in the left
turn lane while waiting to make a LEFT! How dare I use public roadways
the same way motorists use them! Why don't I get a car! Get on the
sidewalk! I was told that a few weeks ago! The impatience, anger and
contempt I see in some motorists is getting worse. And it's spread
from angry young men to women as well! How sad is that! What is
happening to our society?

A few years back, a cyclinst in Illiniois rode over a bridge in dire
need of repair. The road surface caused him to crash resulting in
injury and damage to his bike. He sued and the case went all the way
to the Illinois Supreme Court where the final decision rendered was
unfortunate ... "cylists are not the intended users of roadways". I'm
hoping that this will not become a trend.

Jim McNamara

Jim Reilly
Reading, PA

On Thu, 28 Sep 2006, Ken C. M. wrote:

But mostly when someone yells something at me from a moving motor
vehicle I just smile and wave. Then they look at me like I am
crazy.

I mostly smile and wave, but occasionally I blow them a kiss. That
really upsets some people.

regards, Ian SMith
--
|\ /| no .sig
|o o|
|/ \|

stratrider wrote:
It's an attitude I see more now than ever before even in spite of
through-the-roof gas prices!

snip

It's not despite higher gas prices - it's because of higher gas prices.

Every culture has Cultural Norms. Car Worship is one of ours.

Refusal to Worship the Car is interpreted in different ways by
different people:
- Bemusement: "Do you really ride that thing everywhere?"
- Concern: "Aren't you worried that you're going to get killed?"
- Wishful thinking: "I wish I had the energy to do that...."

There will also be a small percentage of drivers who interpret Refusal
to Worship the Car as a kind of gratuitous rebellion - an unwillingness
to assume Adult Responsibilities by refusing to make a Car Payment, or
by refusing to invest greater and greater amounts income to fossil
fuel.

The higher the price of gasoline goes - the angrier these people get.
They are paying more - enjoying it less - and taking their anger out on
people who have chosen another paradigm.

This is not to say that higher gas has not also had a positive effect.
Bicyclists are much more common in my Fair City than they were even a
year ago - people of my acquaintance who used to be undecided about
bicycling commuting are giving it a try - and I can see Critical Mass
coming ever closer.

--- Nate Briggs (SLC)

Ian Smith wrote:
On Thu, 28 Sep 2006, Ken C. M. wrote:

But mostly when someone yells something at me from a moving motor
vehicle I just smile and wave. Then they look at me like I am
crazy.

I mostly smile and wave, but occasionally I blow them a kiss. That
really upsets some people.

Doing that to a redneck in the US might get you killed for being a
homosexual.

--
Tom Sherman - Here, not there.

"Johnny Sunset aka Tom Sherman" wrote in message
oups.com...

I mostly smile and wave, but occasionally I blow them a kiss. That
really upsets some people.

Doing that to a redneck in the US might get you killed for being a
homosexual.

You're almost right.

Statistically, the more likely way to get in trouble would be to do that to
a macho Latino. They're more likely to be offended by this gesture, more
prevalent than the stereotypical storybook "redneck in the US" who appeals
to your unique bigotry, and more likely to be armed.

Ludmila Borgschatz-Thudpucker, MD wrote:
"Johnny Sunset aka Tom Sherman" wrote in message
oups.com...

I mostly smile and wave, but occasionally I blow them a kiss. That
really upsets some people.

Doing that to a redneck in the US might get you killed for being a
homosexual.

You're almost right.

Statistically, the more likely way to get in trouble would be to do that to
a macho Latino. They're more likely to be offended by this gesture, more
prevalent than the stereotypical storybook "redneck in the US" who appeals
to your unique bigotry, and more likely to be armed.

When I have ridden through Latino neighborhoods, it has been on a
recumbent bicycle, and when young males (boys to young adults) have
yelled at me it appears to be approval of the bike, so I wave back with
all five (5) fingers.

Almost all the hostile behavior, including having such epithets at
"****en faggot" directed at me, has come from white males ranging in
age from mid-teens to past retirement.

The only incident involving non-white males was being yelled at by a
group of early teen boys sitting in the back of a pick-up truck. I
expect that this was more an attempt by some of them to show off to the
rest of the group than real hostility, since boys are wont to act in
such a manner.

--
Tom Sherman - Here, not there.

"Johnny Sunset aka Tom Sherman" wrote in message
ps.com...

When I have ridden through Latino neighborhoods, it has been on a
recumbent bicycle, and when young males (boys to young adults) have
yelled at me it appears to be approval of the bike, so I wave back with
all five (5) fingers.

Almost all the hostile behavior, including having such epithets at
"****en faggot" directed at me, has come from white males ranging in
age from mid-teens to past retirement.

To clarify: the post that elicited my response wasn't about Latinos, or
anyone else, calling a cyclist a faggot. The post was about blowing a kiss
to one's tormentors in response to any kind of verbal abuse. I observed
that the response to such a provocation would be quite violent if directed
at a macho Latino male.

You may experiment in any way you wish to disprove the veracity of that, but
know that it comes from a cultural awareness born of living among, and not
merely riding past, macho young Latino men.

Nobody calls one of these guys a faggot, maricon, or joto.