I guess I am lucky, but I don’t get yelled at/abused all that much while riding. Most drivers are pretty good about giving me enough room to ride without getting upset that I might slow them down by 5 seconds. Every once in a while though, I encounter someone who is having a bad day or just plain dislikes having people ride bicycles on the road. Last night was one of those times. What was funny about it was the fact that the guy was driving one of these:
That’s right. He was driving a Smart Car, the latest and greatest in environmentally friendly transportation, driven by those people who are supposedly aware of all things green and healthy. Usually I’m "flipped the bird" by people in large pickups or SUV’s but this was a first. What was even funnier was the fact that the guy barely fit in the car. He was really large, not just tall, but BIG. I don’t know how he got in there. As he drove by me and my buddy he honked a couple of times, flipped us the bird, and yelled:
Get off the ****ing road you a**holes.
I hope he felt better because it just made me laugh. Here’s a guy who is driving an environmentally friendly, hip car, threatening a couple of people out for some exercise. I’m sure he had no idea how stupid he looked and sounded as he drove by us yelling and screaming.
As road cyclists we sometimes take our lives in our hands when we venture out on the roads. When we encounter people who are aggressive towards us (as long as they don’t actually attempt to run us off the road) it’s best to just smile and wave. They are expecting, even hoping for, a response. I don’t feel like giving them the satisfaction of that so I just smile and keep pedaling. I’m having too much fun to let somebody ruin my day just because they’re miserable.
Ride On.
Too true! Most cars are fine. Sucks that we have to take such risks for our health and the environment. I guess if it were easier everyone would be doing it…