Cyclist rant

I live in a very rural area and I'm a high-mileage roadie.

The other day I was driving down one of the main 2-lane highways that cuts
through our little area. There weren't any other cars on the stretch of
road I was traveling.

I came upon two cyclists on road gear and decked out as if they were
reasonably experienced riders. They were riding 2-abreast. They were just
dawdling along. The rider on the left was weaving all over. We were
approaching a crossroad, so I was afraid to pass because, the way they were
riding, I couldn't be sure they wouldn't make a turn right in front of me.
Neither rider seemed interested in showing me any consideration whatsoever.
Despite the very open road, I had to just sit in behind them and wait. It's
not that it was any big deal to wait 15 seconds until we got past that
intersection, but I couldn't imagine being THAT rude and inconsiderate of
traffic. When I ride with friends, we ride 2 abreast and talk often enough,
but if we're on a more major highway and/or if we know there's traffic
approaching from behind, we always fall in single file.

But here's this inconsiderate jerk just blocking me for no reason
whatsoever. He probably managed to tick off a good number of the rednecks
in pickups among whom I have to ride every day, so I'll have to watch my
backside more closely.

I wish cyclists weren't their own worst enemies so often.

Bob C.

psycholist wrote:
I live in a very rural area and I'm a high-mileage roadie.

The other day I was driving down one of the main 2-lane highways that
cuts through our little area. There weren't any other cars on the
stretch of road I was traveling.

I came upon two cyclists on road gear and decked out as if they were
reasonably experienced riders. They were riding 2-abreast. They
were just dawdling along. The rider on the left was weaving all
over. We were approaching a crossroad, so I was afraid to pass
because, the way they were riding, I couldn't be sure they wouldn't
make a turn right in front of me. Neither rider seemed interested in
showing me any consideration whatsoever. Despite the very open road,
I had to just sit in behind them and wait. It's not that it was any
big deal to wait 15 seconds until we got past that intersection, but
I couldn't imagine being THAT rude and inconsiderate of traffic.
When I ride with friends, we ride 2 abreast and talk often enough,
but if we're on a more major highway and/or if we know there's
traffic approaching from behind, we always fall in single file.

But here's this inconsiderate jerk just blocking me for no reason
whatsoever. He probably managed to tick off a good number of the
rednecks in pickups among whom I have to ride every day, so I'll have
to watch my backside more closely.

I wish cyclists weren't their own worst enemies so often.

I just composed a well-thought-out reply to this...EXCEPT I missed the fact
that you were /driving/ not /riding/!

Never mind.

Bill "nothing wrong with giving 'em a friendly little toot?" S.

psycholist wrote:

I live in a very rural area and I'm a high-mileage roadie.

snip all to typical experience
Bob C.



As a roadie, mountain biker, and driver, I see this all too often as
well, and it ****es me off. I had a "local" driving against me in the
opposite lane last evening, as I was riding alone, up against the side
of the road, beep 3 times so that I would not miss his salute. I can
only imagine this was from experience with the likes of guys you
describe above, or he is just a dick-head.

Then again, what group doesn't have bad eggs which end up being our own
worst enemies? Unfortunately with our group, someone often pays with a
car/bike altercation, and the bike loses.

--
Craig Brossman, Durango Colorado
(remove ".nospam" to reply)

Did you tell them you were coming up on the left or anything? Maybe they
didn't even know you were there.

Curt


"psycholist" wrote in message
...
I live in a very rural area and I'm a high-mileage roadie.

The other day I was driving down one of the main 2-lane highways that cuts
through our little area. There weren't any other cars on the stretch of
road I was traveling.

I came upon two cyclists on road gear and decked out as if they were
reasonably experienced riders. They were riding 2-abreast. They were
just
dawdling along. The rider on the left was weaving all over. We were
approaching a crossroad, so I was afraid to pass because, the way they
were
riding, I couldn't be sure they wouldn't make a turn right in front of me.
Neither rider seemed interested in showing me any consideration
whatsoever.
Despite the very open road, I had to just sit in behind them and wait.
It's
not that it was any big deal to wait 15 seconds until we got past that
intersection, but I couldn't imagine being THAT rude and inconsiderate of
traffic. When I ride with friends, we ride 2 abreast and talk often
enough,
but if we're on a more major highway and/or if we know there's traffic
approaching from behind, we always fall in single file.

But here's this inconsiderate jerk just blocking me for no reason
whatsoever. He probably managed to tick off a good number of the rednecks
in pickups among whom I have to ride every day, so I'll have to watch my
backside more closely.

I wish cyclists weren't their own worst enemies so often.

Bob C.

"curt" wrote in message
...
Did you tell them you were coming up on the left or anything? Maybe they
didn't even know you were there.

Curt


"psycholist" wrote in message
...
I live in a very rural area and I'm a high-mileage roadie.

The other day I was driving down one of the main 2-lane highways that
cuts
through our little area. There weren't any other cars on the stretch of
road I was traveling.

I came upon two cyclists on road gear and decked out as if they were
reasonably experienced riders. They were riding 2-abreast. They were
just
dawdling along. The rider on the left was weaving all over. We were
approaching a crossroad, so I was afraid to pass because, the way they
were
riding, I couldn't be sure they wouldn't make a turn right in front of
me.
Neither rider seemed interested in showing me any consideration
whatsoever.
Despite the very open road, I had to just sit in behind them and wait.
It's
not that it was any big deal to wait 15 seconds until we got past that
intersection, but I couldn't imagine being THAT rude and inconsiderate
of
traffic. When I ride with friends, we ride 2 abreast and talk often
enough,
but if we're on a more major highway and/or if we know there's traffic
approaching from behind, we always fall in single file.

But here's this inconsiderate jerk just blocking me for no reason
whatsoever. He probably managed to tick off a good number of the
rednecks
in pickups among whom I have to ride every day, so I'll have to watch my
backside more closely.

I wish cyclists weren't their own worst enemies so often.

Bob C.



"The other day I was DRIVING down one of the main 2 lane highways ... "

Bob C.

psycholist wrote:

I live in a very rural area and I'm a high-mileage roadie.

The other day I was driving down one of the main 2-lane highways that
cuts through our little area. There weren't any other cars on the
stretch of road I was traveling.

I came upon two cyclists on road gear and decked out as if they were
reasonably experienced riders. They were riding 2-abreast. They
were just dawdling along. The rider on the left was weaving all
over. We were approaching a crossroad, so I was afraid to pass
because, the way they were riding, I couldn't be sure they wouldn't
make a turn right in front of me. Neither rider seemed interested in
showing me any consideration whatsoever. Despite the very open road,
I had to just sit in behind them and wait. It's not that it was any
big deal to wait 15 seconds until we got past that intersection, but
I couldn't imagine being THAT rude and inconsiderate of traffic.
When I ride with friends, we ride 2 abreast and talk often enough,
but if we're on a more major highway and/or if we know there's
traffic approaching from behind, we always fall in single file.

But here's this inconsiderate jerk just blocking me for no reason
whatsoever. He probably managed to tick off a good number of the
rednecks in pickups among whom I have to ride every day, so I'll have
to watch my backside more closely.

I wish cyclists weren't their own worst enemies so often.

Are you sure they were aware of your presence? Some cars these days are very
quiet, and if you're riding into the wind you may not hear anything behind you
anyway.

Matt O.

S o r n i wrote:
Bill "nothing wrong with giving 'em a friendly little toot?" S.

no such thing as a friendly toot, imo. rather like a friendly smack upside
the head. nothing wrong with a "you're being a jackass" toot, tho.
--
david reuteler

David Reuteler wrote:
S o r n i wrote:
Bill "nothing wrong with giving 'em a friendly little toot?" S.

no such thing as a friendly toot, imo. rather like a friendly smack
upside the head. nothing wrong with a "you're being a jackass" toot,
tho.

I disagree with the first part. If someone is unaware that a car is behind
them and seeking to pass, a soft tap on the horn to alert them doesn't seem
particularly menacing or intimidating to me. (A full-on honk is different,
however.)

Bill "agree on the 'UB a jackass' toot, though" S.

In that case, you should develop more patience for people.

Curt


"The other day I was DRIVING down one of the main 2 lane highways ... "

Bob C.

I keyed on, "I couldn't imagine being THAT rude and inconsiderate of|
traffic." And remembered Chapter Eight of Bicycle Transportation. Seems to
indicate that 'THAT' isn't very inconsiderate and even less than your
'fifteen seconds'. Did you blast the exhaust over pressure pedal, a.k.a.
'throttle' at them as you passed?

Chill. Ride


"psycholist" wrote in message
...
| I live in a very rural area and I'm a high-mileage roadie.
|
| The other day I was driving down one of the main 2-lane highways that cuts
| through our little area. There weren't any other cars on the stretch of
| road I was traveling.
|
| I came upon two cyclists on road gear and decked out as if they were
| reasonably experienced riders. They were riding 2-abreast. They were
just
| dawdling along. The rider on the left was weaving all over. We were
| approaching a crossroad, so I was afraid to pass because, the way they
were
| riding, I couldn't be sure they wouldn't make a turn right in front of me.
| Neither rider seemed interested in showing me any consideration
whatsoever.
| Despite the very open road, I had to just sit in behind them and wait.
It's
| not that it was any big deal to wait 15 seconds until we got past that
| intersection, but I couldn't imagine being THAT rude and inconsiderate of
| traffic. When I ride with friends, we ride 2 abreast and talk often
enough,
| but if we're on a more major highway and/or if we know there's traffic
| approaching from behind, we always fall in single file.
|
| But here's this inconsiderate jerk just blocking me for no reason
| whatsoever. He probably managed to tick off a good number of the rednecks
| in pickups among whom I have to ride every day, so I'll have to watch my
| backside more closely.
|
| I wish cyclists weren't their own worst enemies so often.
|
| Bob C.
|
|