Missed connection

[jrenaut]

To the cabbie pulling through the bike lane to pick up a fare and cutting me off – Thanks so much for making me test my brakes! It prepared me well for:

To the Texas SUV who also cut me off: I don’t know what the laws are like in Texas, but around here it’s illegal to turn right in front of a stopped bus, even if you HAD yielded to bikes in the lane you crossed (which you didn’t).

To the woman trying to make an illegal left at PA and 7th: I don’t know how nearly hitting a cyclist didn’t suggest to you that illegal turns there are inadvisable. I hope my yelling at you (thanks for keeping your window down!) convinced you.

And, lastly, thanks to the woman getting picked up by the cabbie for at least alerting him to the fact that he cut me off. I think he waved an apology.

[Certifried]

I want to carry one of those Dog the Bounty Hunter mace paintball guns. I’d mace the shit out of their car and watch the A/C suck it in. Or day-dream about how when they get out of their car, they get it all over their hands, then rub their eyes and start to scream.

[ShawnoftheDread]

@Certifried 29317 wrote:

I want to carry one of those Dog the Bounty Hunter mace paintball guns. I’d mace the shit out of their car and watch the A/C suck it in. Or day-dream about how when they get out of their car, they get it all over their hands, then rub their eyes and start to scream.

Or just a handlebar bag full of eggs. The same eggs, all summer long. How’s your throwing arm from the saddle?

[jrenaut]

Now, now, we love and respect all mankind, remember?

[OneEighth]

If it doesn’t take you down, it generally ends up behind you, yes?
Yes.
Serenity now and whatnot.

[consularrider]

To the driver of the construction panel van and his spotter who decided it would be a good idea to pull up onto the sidewalk right in front of me in the stretch of N Ft Drive between east bound Lee Highway and 19th St N in Rosslyn leaving me with no where to go. Problem was the spotter was behind the truck instead of in front of it warning people that they were about to pull a bonehead maneuver. When I suggested this to the spotter, his comment is that they had work to do and that is was a sidewalk. It’s already pretty bad getting through this area with all the construction going on and the way the timing sequence of the lights has been messed with over the past month.

[ShawnoftheDread]

@OneEighth 29324 wrote:

If it doesn’t take you down, it generally ends up behind you, yes?
Yes.
Serenity now and whatnot.

Revenge fantasies are still fun to ponder.

[GuyContinental]

@ShawnoftheDread 29319 wrote:

Or just a handlebar bag full of eggs. The same eggs, all summer long. How’s your throwing arm from the saddle?

My brother in Phoenix actually does this (well not the all summer part)- I get the impression that street commuting out there is truly truly horrendous. He has a basket on his commuter and a little nest for his eggs. He says he uses 1-2 a week… During the inevitable confrontations it helps that he’s also 6’5″; 300# and has “ULGA THE BRINGER OF PAIN” stenciled on his frame but I’d be worried about them cowboys carrying sidearms meeself…

[vvill]

@jrenaut 29314 wrote:

To the cabbie pulling through the bike lane to pick up a fare and cutting me off – Thanks so much for making me test my brakes!

I had a cab driver get irate with me for having to nerve to ride in a bike lane (coming back from the Freshbikes ride on Tuesday) because he wanted to turn and stop in it to drop off a passenger. We both started from the same green light cycle. I had a short discussion with him, and suggested it was fine and “no big deal” for him to wait a few seconds for me to pass before he pulled over to stop, just as if I was a car in a normal traffic lane. He was adamant that he could do nothing of the sort and continued to be irate and insisted that it was a ridiculous situation “it IS a big deal!”. He seemed to be ranting at a) the existence of a bike lane and b) the fact it was being used. I rode off feeling genuinely sorry for him. Still, better than the time in DC when a cab driver told me he would’ve shot me if he’d been carrying a gun.

[rcannon100]

Pull out your camera and take a picture of them. Should shut them up fast.

[OneEighth]

@vvill 29335 wrote:

I had a cab driver get irate with me for having to nerve to ride in a bike lane (coming back from the Freshbikes ride on Tuesday) because he wanted to turn and stop in it to drop off a passenger. We both started from the same green light cycle. I had a short discussion with him, and suggested it was fine and “no big deal” for him to wait a few seconds for me to pass before he pulled over to stop, just as if I was a car in a normal traffic lane. He was adamant that he could do nothing of the sort and continued to be irate and insisted that it was a ridiculous situation “it IS a big deal!”. He seemed to be ranting at a) the existence of a bike lane and b) the fact it was being used. I rode off feeling genuinely sorry for him. Still, better than the time in DC when a cab driver told me he would’ve shot me if he’d been carrying a gun.

May I suggest shaving your head and sporting Lemmy Kilmister chops? Image is everything in most situations.

[GuyContinental]

@vvill 29335 wrote:

I had a cab driver get irate with me for having to nerve to ride in a bike lane (coming back from the Freshbikes ride on Tuesday) because he wanted to turn and stop in it to drop off a passenger. We both started from the same green light cycle. I had a short discussion with him, and suggested it was fine and “no big deal” for him to wait a few seconds for me to pass before he pulled over to stop, just as if I was a car in a normal traffic lane. He was adamant that he could do nothing of the sort and continued to be irate and insisted that it was a ridiculous situation “it IS a big deal!”. He seemed to be ranting at a) the existence of a bike lane and b) the fact it was being used. I rode off feeling genuinely sorry for him. Still, better than the time in DC when a cab driver told me he would’ve shot me if he’d been carrying a gun.

Good thing that those cab company phone numbers are so obvious… I’ve had nice conversations with the Red Top dispatch manager about driver behavior like this, he at least *seemed* intent on having a conversation with the driver especially since I’m a long-time reliable Red Top customer. No point with a DC or off-brand cab; you’re likely talking to the owner and he’s probably armed.

It’s a wee aggressive but I’ve found that starting cab conversations with “Hi VA plate XUR 2222, cab no 323, you nearly crushed me…” repeating the info 3 times in the conversation (“…no no no VA plate XUR 2222, cab no 323, you don’t actually have the right to just sit double parked in that bike lane…”) and generally conveys the point.

This actually works well with most aggressive drivers, particularly if it’s done with dripping friendliness.

[5555624]

@jrenaut 29320 wrote:

Now, now, we love and respect all mankind, remember?

We do, but people that cut me off are monkeys, nimrods, or dipsticks and thus not members of mankind.

[Terpfan]

I would like to congratulate the dark blue Audi with VA tags on the GWP moving northbound this morning by the airport. I heard screaching tires to my forward and left and sure enough I see that a car had nearly sideswipped this driver. This audi must be a professional stunt driver or the car is that good because they went up on the grass over a few feet before moving back onto the roadway. All at probably 45mph. However, I was sitting there thinking don’t lose control because two cyclists coming southbound would have bitten the dust.

[Certifried]

Be careful out there

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Hit-and-Run-Leaves-Cyclist-Reluctant-to-Ride-See-Friends-167638145.html

[Author]

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