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#21
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Even in enlightened California (taking the lane)
On Jul 4, 8:26 am, "(PeteCresswell)" wrote:
Per Dan O: So I finally look over and he's holding up traffic and foaming at the mouth. After serving as treasurer of a 1,200-member civic association for seven years, I came away with the belief that, out of every thousand people, at least 2 of them are stone crazy at any given time - and it's not always the same two. I believe it's actually all of us - every last one of us. We're all of us messed up; we just cope with life variously. But to smother the passion is to waste life. Getting it right and making it positive is the elusive purpose of life. (Sorry for the non-tech :-) |
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#22
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Even in enlightened California (taking the lane)
On Jul 4, 8:43 am, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Wed, 4 Jul 2012 00:39:35 -0700 (PDT), Dan O wrote: raamman is absolutely right - avoiding confrontation is the best policy. Road rage is very upsetting and risky biusiness. Yes, I could keep their hostility to a low simmer by righteously submitting to the ways of a "legitimate road vehicle", instead of blowing their minds (and the lids off their resentment pots) with outlandish - but functionally harmless - hijinks. I won't "grow up" WRT to Ride Bike! (suppress / repress the inner child), but I should have suppressed / sublimated the cynical adult and given camo truck guy a smile and friendly wave instead of the finger (he still might have tried to kill me, though). Your negotiated settlement with the camo truck driver obviously failed. Lacking tolerance, apparently by both parties, your options are to either escalate the confrontation by adding ordinance and armament to your bicycle, or getting the hell out of there before the hostile camo truck driver uses his superior mass to your detriment. Appeals to a higher authority are only useful for cleaning up the mess after the damage is done. Discretion really is the better part of valor. Calculate the odds of success. If they are too low, run. Passions run high. I am in an elevated state of passion when "getting it on" on my bike. Cagers stress bias current is pretty wound up at rush hour at the end of another tough day more gone than not. (The situation actually escalated quite a bit from where I left off - very upsetting it was. I'm trying to learn from my experiences.) |
#23
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Even in enlightened California (taking the lane)
On Jul 4, 8:51 am, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Wed, 04 Jul 2012 11:26:23 -0400, "(PeteCresswell)" wrote: Per Dan O: So I finally look over and he's holding up traffic and foaming at the mouth. After serving as treasurer of a 1,200-member civic association for seven years, I came away with the belief that, out of every thousand people, at least 2 of them are stone crazy at any given time - and it's not always the same two. It's much higher than that. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_disorder In the United States 46% qualifies for a mental illness at some point. (...) In the United States the frequency of disorder is: anxiety disorder (28.8%), mood disorder (20.8%), impulse-control disorder (24.8%) or substance use disorder (14.6%). Hmmm... that totals to 89%. I guess everyone in the US is nuts. (See my earlier reply to Pete :-) |
#24
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Even in enlightened California (taking the lane)
On Jul 4, 8:54 am, Frank Krygowski wrote:
Dan O wrote: Yesterday I'm cruising into town and this pickup truck passes me - not giving much room, but giving extra "vroom" (accelerating past). The pickup is modified into a box van - painted Viet era camo green. So he's stopped at the light halfway through town, and I come up behind at the right - but not past - as the light goes green. "Vroom" away he goes toward the other end of town. So next he's queued up at a four-way stop near the other end of town. I hop onto the sidewalk, past the queue, veer into empty parking lot at the corner, check the street, cross the street into another parking lot, back onto the sidewalk, then roll back onto the right edge of the road. So how many seconds did your squirrely riding gain you? Probably no more than the time saved by the typical motorist fighting to pass a cyclist before the next red light. Camo truck pulls up alongside and hangs there. I hear him yelling something about pick the sidewalk or the road and stay there idiot obey the law. I don't think I violated any laws (not that I'm above violating some laws if the right opportunity presents ;-), nor have I impeded, endangered, or hurt anyone in any way - just having a blast. Every yahoo inventing his own chaotic motion in traffic feels he's perfectly justified. But this guy is steaming (I guess maybe 'cause the inferior bicyclist beat him across and out of town) - I've offended his sensibility. Thanks, Dan. You've generated another series of "Those f****ng bicyclists..." tales for the rest of us to fight past. So I finally look over and he's holding up traffic and foaming at the mouth. So I raise a finger and keep riding. Classy. :-/ raamman is absolutely right - avoiding confrontation is the best policy. Road rage is very upsetting and risky biusiness. Yes, I could keep their hostility to a low simmer by righteously submitting to the ways of a "legitimate road vehicle", instead of blowing their minds (and the lids off their resentment pots) with outlandish - but functionally harmless - hijinks. Thanks, Dan. You can also try going to music concerts and singing different songs in a loud voice during the performance. Or watching a movie while standing in front of the people seated behind you. Or barging your way into the front of a line of people waiting to buy ice cream. Heck, the possibilities for your kind of fun are endless! didn't read your post - stopped at "how many seconds did you save... ", skipped to "possibilites for fun" - because, yeah - that's where it's at :-) (I knew my post would stir you up, though ;-) |
#25
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Even in enlightened California (taking the lane)
On Jul 4, 8:54 am, Frank Krygowski wrote:
Dan O wrote: snip So next he's queued up at a four-way stop near the other end of town. I hop onto the sidewalk, past the queue, veer into empty parking lot at the corner, check the street, cross the street into another parking lot, back onto the sidewalk, then roll back onto the right edge of the road. So how many seconds did your squirrely riding gain you? Probably no more than the time saved by the typical motorist fighting to pass a cyclist before the next red light. Camo truck pulls up alongside and hangs there. I hear him yelling something about pick the sidewalk or the road and stay there idiot obey the law. I don't think I violated any laws (not that I'm above violating some laws if the right opportunity presents ;-), nor have I impeded, endangered, or hurt anyone in any way - just having a blast. snip Thanks, Dan. You can also try going to music concerts and singing different songs in a loud voice during the performance. Or watching a movie while standing in front of the people seated behind you. Or barging your way into the front of a line of people waiting to buy ice cream. Okay I read your post. This last paragraph is so Frank. All those things are hurting, impeding, infringing, etc. on other people's interests. The "offensive" activity on my bike is functionally harmless. Your analogy is not even remotely analogous. snip |
#26
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Even in enlightened California (taking the lane)
On Jul 4, 8:54 am, Frank Krygowski wrote:
Dan O wrote: Yesterday I'm cruising into town and this pickup truck passes me - not giving much room, but giving extra "vroom" (accelerating past). The pickup is modified into a box van - painted Viet era camo green. So he's stopped at the light halfway through town, and I come up behind at the right - but not past - as the light goes green. "Vroom" away he goes toward the other end of town. So next he's queued up at a four-way stop near the other end of town. I hop onto the sidewalk, past the queue, veer into empty parking lot at the corner, check the street, cross the street into another parking lot, back onto the sidewalk, then roll back onto the right edge of the road. So how many seconds did your squirrely riding gain you? Probably no more than the time saved by the typical motorist fighting to pass a cyclist before the next red light. As mentioned earlier, it's mostly not about saving time (though it all adds up with consistent optimization); it's more about having fun with what I *can* do. (I do, however, get a lot of miles out of things like brake pads and SPD cleats.) Camo truck pulls up alongside and hangs there. I hear him yelling something about pick the sidewalk or the road and stay there idiot obey the law. I don't think I violated any laws (not that I'm above violating some laws if the right opportunity presents ;-), nor have I impeded, endangered, or hurt anyone in any way - just having a blast. Every yahoo inventing his own chaotic motion in traffic feels he's perfectly justified. My "chaotic" (all quite reasoned to me, but everybody has their own perspective, and are entitled to their own opinion) motion was all *out* of traffic. But this guy is steaming (I guess maybe 'cause the inferior bicyclist beat him across and out of town) - I've offended his sensibility. Thanks, Dan. You've generated another series of "Those f****ng bicyclists..." tales for the rest of us to fight past. Unreasonable. I didn't sign up as Ambassador. **** your submissive PR bull****. So I finally look over and he's holding up traffic and foaming at the mouth. So I raise a finger and keep riding. Classy. :-/ Smug, supercilious :-/ (And a virtual finger to you, too ;-) snip |
#27
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Even in enlightened California (taking the lane)
Per Jeff Liebermann:
Hmmm... that totals to 89%. I guess everyone in the US is nuts. That would be "nuts at some point in their life..." - and that sounds about right, or even conservative to me. Certainly I would be counted among The Elect. I was going on about 2 out of every 1,000 people being "nuts right at this moment..." -- Pete Cresswell |
#28
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Even in enlightened California (taking the lane)
Per Dan O:
Passions run high. I am in an elevated state of passion when "getting it on" on my bike. When I used to hammer all the time everywhere I rode, I think my adrenaline levels were constantly elevated and I was not in what I would call a totally-rational frame of mind. -- Pete Cresswell |
#29
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Even in enlightened California (taking the lane)
On Jul 4, 11:49 am, "(PeteCresswell)" wrote:
Per Jeff Liebermann: Hmmm... that totals to 89%. There's a lot of overlap and co-morbidity. I guess everyone in the US is nuts. Yep - everywhere else, too. That would be "nuts at some point in their life..." - and that sounds about right, or even conservative to me. Certainly I would be counted among The Elect. I was going on about 2 out of every 1,000 people being "nuts right at this moment..." Fair enough. It's all a matter of degrees. |
#30
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Even in enlightened California (taking the lane)
On Jul 4, 12:47 pm, Phil W Lee wrote:
Dan O considered Wed, 4 Jul 2012 00:39:35 -0700 (PDT) the perfect time to write: On Jul 3, 11:27 pm, Jeff Liebermann wrote: snip I suspect that the local planners are into expediency. Give the bicyclists an alternative route, and they will come. Unfortunately, there are a few recalcitrants that prefer to live dangerously. You can lead a bicyclist to water, but you have to practically drown them before they'll learn to drink nicely. Alternate routes abound. Legitimate ones? Well, I guess that depends on who you ask :-) Personally, if they get me where I want to go, that's a major factor in the "legitimacy" of a "route" (to me... personally). If they also happen to have something exciting (in a positive way) - off-road sections, interesting transitions (e.g. Frank's unthinkable culvert) - all the better. snip |
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