[Orestes Munn]

Anyone remember the AMC pacer?

[ATTACH=CONFIG]7008[/ATTACH]

The body panels must have projected 8″ from the wheels and, in my opinion, you sort-of had to be an idiot to own one. Anyway, I got clipped by one once, at speed, on a road outside Boston. Got a ride home with my broken bike from the mortified lady.

I was also once taken down by a nun (interesting) in a Subaru Legacy wagon (not interesting) who failed to give room on a right turn (par for the course). She was barely apologetic.

[Orestes Munn]

@OneEighth 99364 wrote:

Anything being operated by some NDMF.

I hate people from North Dakota, too. They’re so…so straightforward and punctual!

[Orestes Munn]

@Alcova cyclist 99383 wrote:

Never said Audi drivers were pinnacles of virtue, just thought the ad was funny. Maybe there’s just fewer Audis on the road to be observed being jackasses. And the most ridiculous car ad ever is the one where the commuters jump a ramp and onto the top of a train to avoid being stuck in traffic (Actual disclaimer: “Fantasy. Do not attempt”)

As for BMWs… At some point, a given car develops a reputation, and often people who buy that type of car do so explicitly because that’s the persona they have or wish to project. When that reputation/persona is “entitled asshole who doesn’t give a s*** what anyone else thinks” it isn’t surprising to see drivers of that particular vehicle acting like entitled assholes who don’t give a s*** what anyone else thinks. Which in turn leads to jokes like this:

Q: What’s the difference between a porcupine and a BMW?
A: The porcupine has the pricks on the outside.

Or maybe I just have a chip on my shoulder about BMWs.

The BMW “mystique” obtains even in Germany, but I think Mercedes has surpassed them here adding a certain entitled cluelessness to aggressive arschlochkeit. Recently visited my daughter in Reykjavik (where we rented a diesel RAV4). She’s got a thing about Cayenne drivers up there

[Orestes Munn]

I think the public safety question is unlikely to be settled, pro or con, in the foreseeable future, especially in the present explosive political atmosphere and the remarkable distrust between the sides. Moreover, I doubt that any factual demonstration would change many minds, given that it is, at bottom, a question of rights and beliefs for many people in both factions. I know my own opinions have much more to do with my upbringing and general belief system than any empirical data.

[Orestes Munn]

@Geoff 99327 wrote:

Depends on the trail. Custis and Mount Vernon, no way, but W&OD has some long, straight, well paved sections. If traffic is light, drafting will be as safe as you could wish.

As noted, my experience is limited.

[Orestes Munn]

I’m not much of a multi-use trail rider, but drafting on the one’s I’ve seen looks like a remarkably bad idea. On the road, I ask if people mind if I sit in and then take my pulls if it kills me.

Oh, and this weekend I noticed that there are Strava segments all over the local trails (yes, I was just thawed out from a 25-year cryogenic vacation). Drivers aren’t the only criminally negligent dicks who seem proud of it.

[Orestes Munn]

@jabberwocky 99271 wrote:

In order:
Priuses.
Any Mercedes.
Pickups.
Moms in minivans.

EDIT: And adding a Maryland plate seems to drastically increase the idiocy level of any driver.

Prii are really bad, aren’t they? One might think…but no.

Mixed experience with pickups, especially in recent decades.

Moms in minivans is ad feminem, but yes.

I commute and work out in MD, so I’m not aware of the tag effect. In my experience, there are few more dangerous signs than a FL plate.

[Orestes Munn]

@run/bike 99265 wrote:

OMG – I was literally thinking this past weekend that I should start a thread entitled, “What Make/Model Car Terrifies You the Most When You’re Riding?” This came to me after a particularly harrowing encounter with none other than a Mercedes GL series and I realized that I instinctively assume that any GL I see (either while driving or riding) can and will do something stupid, thus bringing it to the top of my personal list. Your post pretty much seals the deal; I will start that thread shortly!

Nice to have one’s prejudices reinforced.

[Orestes Munn]

That funny TT helmet must increase (or reduce) draft by another .01%, due to reduced tail vortex. Front draft, that is, not back draft.

[Orestes Munn]

Re: SUVs and nearly missed “connections”, the vehicle now topping my extensive fecal roster, having earned the honor by the product of prevalence in my corner of the world and sheer, clueless, mortal, threat, is the Mercedes GL450. The dealer must administer a stupid test and cyanoacrylate an iPhone between your left palm and ear before accepting your 65,000.

Half-hearted apologies to anyone here who owns one.

[Orestes Munn]

Packing heat on the bike is one of several old fantasies of mine, which have paled in the harsh light and ebbing hormones of age.

[Orestes Munn]

Thanks! I am on the Maryland side of things, but that does sound like fun. I am at a loose end tomorrow and had only planned to beat myself up a little bit in the park in the early a.m.

[Orestes Munn]

Can someone explain for the uninitiated (assuming you want to risk their showing up)?

[Orestes Munn]

@Steve O 99073 wrote:

Question for Forum: What’s the best thing to yell when almost doored?

Thank you, God! Now do me another favor and give that guy dentatorubropallidoluysian atrophy.

[Orestes Munn]

She’s not wearing yellow. That’s contributory negligence.

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