Good comebacks for idiot cagers

"Robert Haston"

On the way home tonight, I was following another cyclist and we hit a
yellow
light. I could have laid on the brakes and stopped, but I pedaled on.

There was perhaps an element of truth in their criticism, or at least
a difference of opinion that you could have or should have stopped,--
however inappropriately that opinion was expressed...

I saw the light turn red as I passed exactly underneath it. An
old Lincoln next to me did the opposite and stopped. I immediately
heard a stream of yelling from the car, something along the lines
of RED LIGHT! BIKES FOLLOW THE LAWS TOO!
[...]
Although I probably should have grin and borne it,

Perhaps you might have simply said something declarative like,
"I didn't think I could stop in time and I was out of the intersection
before the light turned red."

These people were unlikely to respond by de-escalating the situation
regardless of what you said or did. But by not responding in kind,
you might have established your position sufficiently that you
could then grin and borne it.

Responding appropriately to provocation is a challenge deeply
entrenched in human nature/culture. Consider the recent NBA
players/fans fight scene... Letting others "push our buttons" is
common. I don't find very satisfying remembering the feeling
of a provoked angry response, so I try avoid it.

Maybe we need "Zen and the Art of Bicycle Riding." %^)

Jon Meinecke

On Wed, 24 Nov 2004 08:57:23 -0500
"Joshua Goldberg" wrote:

In my old age I have toned down my rage against car drivers, I no longer
use my shoe and kick the driver side mirror off their car, have stopped
using the Awl I carried to scratch a line bumper to bumper and I no
longer use my (apparently useless) Kryptonite lock to bash out tail
lights....although all of the above did make my daily commute more
enjoyable taking out my contempt on cars and big honking SUVs, I found
the Big Smile works just as well.


I used to know a guy (a french guy, even) who said that one day as he
was riding his BikeE down the road, a bunch of kids in a honda with a loud
tailpipe and a bunch of stickers shot him with paint balls as they passed.

So he pulled up along-side them, pulled out his locking knife, and
slashed their tires.

He says they said, "What was that for?!" and he just pedaled away,
leaving them in the inside lane of a 4 lane intersection with two ruined
tires.

Extreme, yes, but what are they going to tell the cops? They confiscate
and destroy paint ball guns found in possession of the under-aged around
here. Operating one while in a moving vehicle can probably get your riced
up honda impounded, too. And the description? "A guy with a thin mustache
on a weird bike!"

That is EXACTLY why I love my motor. Halfway through an orange light-
uh oh- BYE! I am more for avoiding ugly situatiions with noise,
paintballs, and yells; if anyone is asked who was that, who did that,
what was that- "dunno: some yellow and silver blur."

Chris Jordan
Santa Cruz, CA.


Eric Jorgensen wrote in message news:20041124080114.2232475e@wafer. And the description? "A guy with a thin mustache
on a weird bike!"

On Wed, 24 Nov 2004 08:01:14 -0700 "Eric Jorgensen"
used 29 lines of text to write in newsgroup:
alt.rec.bicycles.recumbent

I used to know a guy (a french guy, even) who said that one day as he
was riding his BikeE down the road, a bunch of kids in a honda with a loud
tailpipe and a bunch of stickers shot him with paint balls as they passed.

So he pulled up along-side them, pulled out his locking knife, and
slashed their tires.

He says they said, "What was that for?!" and he just pedaled away,
leaving them in the inside lane of a 4 lane intersection with two ruined
tires.

Extreme, yes, but what are they going to tell the cops? They confiscate
and destroy paint ball guns found in possession of the under-aged around
here. Operating one while in a moving vehicle can probably get your riced
up honda impounded, too. And the description? "A guy with a thin mustache
on a weird bike!"


Houston, Tx: A teen was killed and three injured recently because a
driver didn't appreciate getting shot at with paint balls.
http://www.click2houston.com/news/38...0412&qs=1;bp=t
The man who rammed their truck gets charged with intoxication
manslaughter and intoxication assault:
http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/news/110...paintball.html


Newburgh, NY: 5 teens charged with reckless endangerment for shooting
a police car:
http://1010wins.com/topstories/winst...183104942.html


Camden, Maine: Teen charged with aggravated assault for shooting
another teen:
http://camden.villagesoup.com/Govern...?StoryID=27696

Sioux Falls, SD: Two teens charged with seven counts each of simple
assault for firing paint balls at people (including a pregnant woman):
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6570958/


The point I'm trying to make is, teenagers are stupid.


--
-Graham

"What I have mostly against middle aged white liberals like you is that you do not know how to hate the proper
people." -Ed Dolan

In my old age I have come to the conclusion that for a cyclist to physically
attack a car driven by someone who should not breed has a downside, namely
the car driver may use his car as a weapon to punish you...or road rage
where the driver gets out of his car and beats the bejeezus out of you.

A few years ago a guy in a SUV who passed me and cut in front of
me...causing me to hit my brakes fast, I reacted by giving him the Finger
and I guess he saw this in his rear view mirror and then threw his truck in
reverse to run over me. Fortunately for me, I do not appear large in a
semi-prone riding position. When he got out of his SUV to yell at me, I
stood up and he re-thought yelling at me...my being taller and considerably
bigger than he was. I am sure if I was not built like a football player, he
would have done me bodily harm.

Had I physically attacked his SUV and did not look like someone your mother
warned you about, he could have mangled me.

I therefore now feel taking out your contempt and anger on anything weighing
2500-3,000 lbs and driven by a moron, is likely not a wise move.

IF I am attacked by anyone with a motor vehicle, I will and do go totally
ballistic, but for younger and less physically intimidating riders...better
to ignore and chalk it up to just one more memorable riding experience you
survived. Losing your dignity on a ride is better than losing body parts or
your life.

*I know I am getting old because a few years ago I'd be suggesting riders
carry a flare gun and pop a flare into the back seat of any car that has
interfered with your ride.

Joshua
******


"G. Morgan" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 24 Nov 2004 08:01:14 -0700 "Eric Jorgensen"
used 29 lines of text to write in newsgroup:
alt.rec.bicycles.recumbent

I used to know a guy (a french guy, even) who said that one day as he
was riding his BikeE down the road, a bunch of kids in a honda with a loud
tailpipe and a bunch of stickers shot him with paint balls as they passed.

So he pulled up along-side them, pulled out his locking knife, and
slashed their tires.

He says they said, "What was that for?!" and he just pedaled away,
leaving them in the inside lane of a 4 lane intersection with two ruined
tires.

Extreme, yes, but what are they going to tell the cops? They confiscate
and destroy paint ball guns found in possession of the under-aged around
here. Operating one while in a moving vehicle can probably get your riced
up honda impounded, too. And the description? "A guy with a thin mustache
on a weird bike!"

Joseph Kochanowski wrote:
Riding on the road is a game and the goal is to win money in the court
battle. ...

In my old age I have enjoyed the road
rage game because it livens up my boring commutes.

I've been sharing the road with cagers for about three decades now, and
have never had a major incident. Nothing worse than losing a few square
feet of skin. At least half of my rides have no noteworthy occurrences
involving cars, not even a threat of danger. (I ride anywhere from
50-150 days per year.)

But I LOVE this attitude and will adopt it.

--
--
Lynn Wallace http://www.xmission.com/~lawall
"We should not march into Baghdad. ... Assigning young soldiers to
a fruitless hunt for a securely entrenched dictator and condemning
them to fight in what would be an unwinnable urban guerilla war, it
could only plunge that part of the world into ever greater
instability." George Bush Sr. in his 1998 book "A World Transformed"

"Joseph Kochanowski" wrote in message
...
"Robert Haston" wrote in message
thlink.net...
snip

Riding on the road is a game and the goal is to win money in the court
battle. Try to figure out how you can win a whole lot of money in
court from another car driver who is a danger to society. At the
second light you could have just gone thru it while it was red. This
might provoke the Lincoln driver do do something real stupid like try
to arrest you. That would be kidnapping. Maybe the idiot will try to
run you down and accidentally hit another car. When people get angry
they sometimes make mistakes that you should take advantage of. Only
cops have the right to enforce traffic laws. When I ride I only think
of how I can sue someone and win. If someone does make me angry then
it only increases my adrenaline and which lets me ride faster. Road
rage improves my bicycle speed. In my old age I have enjoyed the road
rage game because it livens up my boring commutes.


I told the last guy who started in on me from his car at a red light that
I'd call 911 and report a road rage incident, and mention the can of beer
parked between his legs if he didn't grow up. He shut up. I rode off.

I did call in a 911 when a crazy lady tried to illegally pass me in bumper
to bumper traffic and run me into the parked cars. I tried to Joshua her
passenger side rear view and she stopped and started swearing at me. There
was a youngish teen girl in the car with the mad woman suffering her vulgar
diatribe at me. She was holding up a huge line of cars with her rant. It
took the cop about 45 seconds to get there. Made the crazy lady pull over
and wait while he took my statement. Not the first time the crazy lady has
had contact with the police according to him. I felt sorry for the girl. The
cop started talking **** to me about bikes and cars like I was a ten year
old kid. I was only riding one block to get from one trail head to another
and I reminded the cop about my legal rights to the road and that I was
obeying the rules. Traffic snails through this one main street town. I was
polite to the cop while exposing his anti bike prejudices from his traffic
lecture, but I did criticize him for his attitude. I insinuated that while I
was a rules abiding bicyclist, perhaps he wasn't when he rode his bike and
that was the basis for his attitude.

I still worry about the little girl.

On Fri, 26 Nov 2004 10:18:03 -0600
"harv" harv*don't*send*spam*to wrote:


bumper to bumper traffic and run me into the parked cars. I tried to
Joshua her passenger side rear view and she stopped and started swearing


Joshua? unfamiliar with this term.

Joseph Kochanowski wrote:
Road rage improves my bicycle speed.

I agree completely, Joe. I too often read wimpy replies about rage
vs. milk-of-humankindness or passivity. Anger has its uses. The
fight-AND-flight response.

C.C.,Rider