Missed connection

[jnva]

@baiskeli 42922 wrote:

I once passed a runner going up a hill, then he passed me near the top. It was humbling.

Did the runner call his pass?

[ShawnoftheDread]

@baiskeli 42922 wrote:

I once passed a runner going up a hill, then he passed me near the top. It was humbling.

So he just drafted you up the hill? Did you yell at him?

[arlrider]

@jnva 42919 wrote:

Nice. More angry people. Why not direct your anger towards bad drivers? Have you ever been hit by another bicyclist? If so I can understand your anger, but a car will do more damage.

I am equal opportunity. I don’t like being “drafted” by cars either.

[UrbanEngineer]

I ride the L street cycletrack to the 15th street cycletrack all the way up past the hill at Meridian Hill Park every day on my daily commute home. Riding on these cycle tracks gives a lot of opportunities for slower, red light jumping riders to jump ahead of me at the red lights. When they do, I tend to catch up to them and draft off them with my brighter lights for a bit before passing and saying “on your left…again”. It seems like a passive way to voice my displeasure with their red light jumping. My drafting may not be the safest thing, but given how narrow 15th street is and how much traffic is on L, it’s probably safer than pulling along side them and talking to them about how their red light jumping ahead of faster cyclists is annoying.

[Rod Smith]

Riders pass me for some other reason than to provide a draft?

[DCAKen]

I’m in the anti-drafting camp, either as a drafter or draftee. When I notice you have latched on to my back wheel, the first thought that will go through my head is “Do your own damn work!” I won’t curse at you, but I’m not going doing anything helpful like pointing out any debris in the trail or broken pavement. I’m looking out for my safety, not yours.

[thecyclingeconomist]

Tonight, rather than channeling Dirt and fuzzy pink bunnies… I channeled the dark side. So, I guess this is a self-proclaimed missed connection.

I had a guy scream the F-bomb at me because I’d drifted too close to the middle-line and he was oncoming…on the MVT near the airport. I was south-bound, he, north-bound.

I’d have normally just apologized, but instead, I had a complete short-circuit after he repeatedly screamed at me (and yes, I have my own idiocy caught on my video camera to reflect on in shame)… So, if this guy ever reads this… I’m really am sorry for escalating things. So, in response to him, I turned around, and continued the wonderful interaction, rather than just ride-on.

Now, there is a caveat or lesson to be had that are tied to these events and to this apology: To those who have the propensity to yell or curse at others who aren’t riding as you feel they should, just consider for a second: once you open the can-o’-F-bomb, it makes a legit apology pretty much impossible, even if the other party really did recognize that they could’ve been riding better or more safely. So, if you react negatively first, you don’t have any right to accuse the other person of being a @#$(*&%(*&@#*$*, repeatedly, for about 5 minutes. There is little that can ever be constructive once you open things that way.

I’ve had a particularly lovely time at work, and have a 7-week old, so am running perpetually on 3 to 6 hours sleep… and thus my ability to absorb negativity was at an all time low. If there wasn’t a video running, I’d probably have really lost it, and it honestly scares me how close it was to passing the snapping point.

Now let’s consider just for a moment, what on earth do you think the incentive was for me? Do you really think that I intentionally drifted in my lane? Do you think I was trying to hit you or run you off the path? If that were my intention, I could’ve done a heck of a lot better job.

Alas, for me I must remember; rather than reacting in anger; do as Dirt does… move on or throw bunny-rabbits at them… it would’ve done me better to just stay silent and keep riding. We all will have negativity enter our lives, it is what we do with it that determines our character and motivation. I didn’t do well tonight, and that I deeply regret as it isn’t normally in my character to act like this, and it is in fact exactly the opposite of how I try to carry myself and present my faith, my beliefs as well as be a positive example for my children. Ugh.

[jnva]

^ great post. I had a missed connection tonight on the WOD just west of ayr hill rd. another biker was passing a group of people and I had to do a panic stop to avoid a head on collision. I saw it coming, though and said nothing, just avoided the accident. I am sure that person will be more careful next time. I don’t see how yelling and throwing a tantrum would have helped at all. I find that being the better person is more satisfying in the long run. Definitely is less stressful.

[KelOnWheels]

@thecyclingeconomist 43232 wrote:

Alas, for me I must remember; rather than reacting in anger; do as Dirt does… move on or throw bunny-rabbits at them… it would’ve done me better to just stay silent and keep riding. We all will have negativity enter our lives, it is what we do with it that determines our character and motivation.

We all have bitey rage monkeys below the surface… some days they are closer to the surface than others. All we can do is learn from our mistakes and try to be more like The Pink One. 😎

[thecyclingeconomist]

I have yet to meet “the pink one”… he’s like the wizard from Oz… always out there, mysterious and wonderful, just pink rather than green in this case.

[pfunkallstar]

The fact that you are able to hone in on what set you off is pretty important, losing it without understanding the triggers is a pretty bad place to be. Disarming situations can be difficult in the moment, may I suggest:

1. The Understanding Father Figure: “Sorry my eyes are getting old.”
2. Captain Nice Guy: “I’ll look out for you next time, thanks for the heads up!”
3. The Flippant Sea Captain: “Whoa mixed up starboard with port.”

The fact of the matter is that if someone else is mad, they are probably looking for a justification for being mad, living in the moment. Distract them, prolong things, or disengage. In the end reacting to anger with understanding, compassion, friendliness or any combination therein will always leave you feeling good and probably make the angry-person-in-question reconsider why they are so angry in the first place.

[Terpfan]

I thought I posted this Monday night, but I must have forgotten. Just before 9pm I was driving from MD into VA over the Wilson Bridge. I was in the far right lane planning to get off for OT and glancing over to the separated MUP to see if anyone was riding over. Oddly enough, I saw your headlights coming my direction. You were a full police squad car driving across the Wilson Bridge in the MUP. This makes me wonder was there a crime committed or is this some sort of routine thing I’ve never noticed before? I’ve ridden across a few times and while it’s decently wide, it must have been a real pain in the — to drive across.

[Amalitza]

There was a NPS car driving — very slowly — on the MUP across the wilson bridge from VA to MD as I was riding my bike from MD to VA a couple weeks ago. There did not appear to be a crime scene on the path that day, and he was just slowly driving across, nodded at me as I stopped and squished a bit to the right as he crawled past. I’ve also never noticed that before, though I drive across the bridge almost every day. Seemed like an odd thing to do to me.

[DaveK]

@acl 43322 wrote:

There was a NPS car driving — very slowly — on the MUP across the wilson bridge from VA to MD as I was riding my bike from MD to VA a couple weeks ago. There did not appear to be a crime scene on the path that day, and he was just slowly driving across, nodded at me as I stopped and squished a bit to the right as he crawled past. I’ve also never noticed that before, though I drive across the bridge almost every day. Seemed like an odd thing to do to me.

I’ve seen that a lot, even on the top of the MUP overpass where it goes over the Beltway on the MD side of the Wilson Bridge. It’s part of the MD National Capital Park Police’s regular patrol, I’m guessing. Their station is right up the road from National Harbor.

[bobco85]

@DaveK 43353 wrote:

I’ve seen that a lot, even on the top of the MUP overpass where it goes over the Beltway on the MD side of the Wilson Bridge. It’s part of the MD National Capital Park Police’s regular patrol, I’m guessing. Their station is right up the road from National Harbor.

I thought they only used their heavy duty (really thick wheels) segways on that MUP! I guess they’re in their cars because it’s so cold.

[Author]

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