Road Pigs

(stratrider) said:

This was at 6:30 AM in full daylight with one and half
lanes available to pass me! What makes people like this guy
so hostile towards cyclists!

Guess what? They do this to anyone that slows them down.

I firmly believe that one thing that cyclists in cars can do
for cyclists on bikes is to do the speed limit on all
roadways open to cyclists. Doing this has resulted in a lot
of attempted cutoffs, people accelerating ahead just to slow
down (like this will bother me all that much) and other
juvenile behavior. And this is for doing the speed limit
(actually, probably a mph or two above).

Most aren't hostile to cyclists. They are simpy hostile. And
just like the lame cyclists that do stupid stunts in
traffic, the hostile motorist stands out a lot more than the
many motorists and cyclists that manage to interact
constantly without major problem every day and in every
place I've ever ridden.

Curtis L. Russell Odenton, MD (USA) Just someone on
two wheels...

(stratrider) said:

This was at 6:30 AM in full daylight with one and half
lanes available to pass me! What makes people like this guy
so hostile towards cyclists!

Guess what? They do this to anyone that slows them down.

I firmly believe that one thing that cyclists in cars can do
for cyclists on bikes is to do the speed limit on all
roadways open to cyclists. Doing this has resulted in a lot
of attempted cutoffs, people accelerating ahead just to slow
down (like this will bother me all that much) and other
juvenile behavior. And this is for doing the speed limit
(actually, probably a mph or two above).

Most aren't hostile to cyclists. They are simpy hostile. And
just like the lame cyclists that do stupid stunts in
traffic, the hostile motorist stands out a lot more than the
many motorists and cyclists that manage to interact
constantly without major problem every day and in every
place I've ever ridden.

Curtis L. Russell Odenton, MD (USA) Just someone on
two wheels...

"stratrider" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

As a regular commuter, I find myself once again amazed by
the number of road pigs I contend with almost daily. This
morning and MANY times before, a driver came intentionally
close to me as he passed. Cleary this maneuver was
designed to make me aware of how irritated he was that I
was on the road. This was at 6:30 AM in full daylight with
one and half lanes available to pass me! What makes people
like this guy so hostile towards cyclists! I am disgusted!
Maybe I should accessorize my Stratus with a sidewinder
missle so as to "level the playing field". Any help with
the mounting bracket design would be appreciated.

Modern life is stressful for the majority of people. I can
visualize guy as highly stressed and late to work. You on
your bicycle doing 15mph triggered some kind of rage in him.
This guy will probably die at an early age from stress. When
his kids ask why he died his wife will probably tell them
that "rush hour traffic killed daddy".

There is something I would do if I were in your situation.
Maybe it was Lorenzo Love who came up with the idea, but I'm
not sure. As best as I can remember it involves a wooden
dowel about two feet long. The dowel is painted a bright
color with one end sharpened and painted black. This dowel
is then mounted somehow to the left rear of the bike using a
flexible or spring mount. The sharpened end points outward
looking something like a spear giving the an approaching
driver the thought that if he gets to close he's gonna get a
big long scratch on the side of his car. This will for sure
keep the Lexus types at bay.

skip

"skip" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<yMGdnUyT5quzGD7dRVn-

Quoted message said:

There is something I would do if I were in your situation.
Maybe it was Lorenzo Love who came up with the idea, but
I'm not sure. As best as I can remember it involves a
wooden dowel about two feet long. The dowel is painted a
bright color with one end sharpened and painted black.
This dowel is then mounted somehow to the left rear of the
bike using a flexible or spring mount. The sharpened end
points outward looking something like a spear giving the
an approaching driver the thought that if he gets to close
he's gonna get a big long scratch on the side of his car.
This will for sure keep the Lexus types at bay.

Skip. I recall see a photo on web sit of that some years
ago! That could work!

jim

Curtis L. Russell <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

Most aren't hostile to cyclists. They are simpy hostile.
And just like the lame cyclists that do stupid stunts in
traffic, the hostile motorist stands out a lot more than
the many motorists and cyclists that manage to interact
constantly without major problem every day and in every
place I've ever ridden.

Curtis, you make a good point. This was simply one angry
guy. And he did stand out. In fact there are many more
motorists that do offer me more room and even an
occasional smile...

jim

[email hidden] (stratrider) wrote in
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Maybe I should accessorize my Stratus with a sidewinder
missle so as to "level the playing field". Any help with
the mounting bracket design would be appreciated.

Hmmm... Not altogether a bad idea.

west.nethumor.shtmlOpen ↗

(still cracks me up!)

H

Sidewinder wouldn't work, it's strictly for air-to-air
combat. TOW anti-tank missile should work well, but a
simple 20mm HE round would do the job for most SUVs.
Peaceful cycling!

Bill Anton 2001 Vision R-40 26x26 SWB OSS Lubbock, TX, USA

[email hidden] (stratrider) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

As a regular commuter, I find myself once again amazed by
the number of road pigs I contend with almost daily. This
morning and MANY times before, a driver came intentionally
close to me as he passed. Cleary this maneuver was
designed to make me aware of how irritated he was that I
was on the road. This was at 6:30 AM in full daylight with
one and half lanes available to pass me! What makes people
like this guy so hostile towards cyclists! I am disgusted!
Maybe I should accessorize my Stratus with a sidewinder
missle so as to "level the playing field". Any help with
the mounting bracket design would be appreciated.

Jim Reilly Reading, PA

skip said:

There is something I would do if I were in your situation.
Maybe it was Lorenzo Love who came up with the idea, but
I'm not sure. As best as I can remember it involves a
wooden dowel about two feet long. The dowel is painted a
bright color with one end sharpened and painted black.
This dowel is then mounted somehow to the left rear of the
bike using a flexible or spring mount. The sharpened end
points outward looking something like a spear giving the
an approaching driver the thought that if he gets to close
he's gonna get a big long scratch on the side of his car.
This will for sure keep the Lexus types at bay.

skip

Skip,

I have thought of being protected in a similar manner. But
if I were to do it, I would place an orange flag near the
end of the dowel so that it's more visible to drivers. I
would also put some sort of marking device (maybe a greese
pen) so that while the offending vehicle would not be
damaged, it would be marked in case you need to call the
authorities.

-Brian

"Brian Zupke" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Skip,

I have thought of being protected in a similar manner. But
if I were to do it, I would place an orange flag near the
end of the dowel so that it's more visible to drivers. I
would also put some sort of marking device (maybe a greese
pen) so that while the offending vehicle would not be
damaged, it would be marked in case you need to call the

authorities.

Quoted message said:

-Brian

I like the idea. I'd be tempted to use a permanent Sharpie
marker. Seems to me you could cut down a regular fiberglass
pole riding flag to two or three feet and use it.

skip

"stratrider" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

As a regular commuter, I find myself once again amazed by
the number of road pigs I contend with almost daily. This
morning and MANY times before, a driver came intentionally
close to me as he passed. Cleary this maneuver was
designed to make me aware of how irritated he was that I
was on the road. This was at 6:30 AM in full daylight with
one and half lanes available to pass me! What makes people
like this guy so hostile towards cyclists! I am disgusted!
Maybe I should accessorize my Stratus with a sidewinder
missle so as to "level the playing field". Any help with
the mounting bracket design would be appreciated.

Jim Reilly Reading, PA

Jim, I wonder if you should not reconsider commuting to work
by bike. It surely can not be too pleasant to do that on a
high speed road with lots of traffic during the rush of the
commute. Most motorists are very unhappy to have to do what
they are doing (commuting) and they no doubt see you as an
aggravation. I believe I would only commute if I could find
a quiet and pleasant street on which to do it.

I like to think of cycling as something we do for the
pleasure of it. Could you not drive back and forth to work
and then do some sport cycling in the early evening hours?
When cycling becomes unpleasant due to traffic conditions
I simply won't do it. Cycling has always got to be a
pleasure for
me. And it normally is except for rare occasions. There are
certain roads at certain times of the day I will not go
on because of the traffic conditions.

--
Ed Dolan - Minnesota

I had a similar email discussion with Sheldon Brown several
years ago about this very device. He opined that we should
never ride in the gutter; that we should take our rightful
place on the road without being agressive. He thought the
gimmick was pretty worthless, IOW. OTOH, I had read that a
shiny pointy thing on the end of these "[censored] bumpers" did
have a positive psychological effect on passing drivers. I
ride my trike with two blinking lights, a flagpole, a safety
triangle and a super loud "storm whistle" on a cord around
my neck. (I also wear a dogtag with pertinent information
since I'm a realist, too....)

BentJay

Bill Anton said:

Sidewinder wouldn't work, it's strictly for air-to-air
combat. TOW anti-tank missile should work well, but a
simple 20mm HE round would do the job for most SUVs....

It has been proven many times over the last 13-1/2 months
that the largest SUV for sale in the US (Hummer/HUMVEE) is
no match for a rocket propelled grenade.

--
Tom Sherman – Quad Cities

"Edward Dolan" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<vt2dnYIw5YezrTndRVn-

Quoted message said:

Jim, I wonder if you should not reconsider commuting to
work by bike. It surely can not be too pleasant to do that
on a high speed road with lots of traffic during the rush
of the commute. Most motorists are very unhappy to have to
do what they are doing (commuting) and they no doubt see
you as an aggravation. I believe I would only commute if I
could find a quiet and pleasant street on which to do it.

I like to think of cycling as something we do for the
pleasure of it. Could you not drive back and forth to work
and then do some sport cycling in the early evening hours?
When cycling becomes unpleasant due to traffic conditions
I simply won't do it. Cycling has always got to be a
pleasure for
me. And it normally is except for rare occasions. There
are certain roads at certain times of the day I will
not go on because of the traffic conditions.

Ed, I have considered that. Actually the incident I
described was at
6:30 AM on a posted 35 mph zone with little traffic at the
time. In my area, those are pretty good conditions!
Selfishly speaking, if I don't commute, I won't get to
ride on any regular basis as my evenings involve my
children's activities. I do think I need become more
accepting of the behavior of a few on the road. If I
don't, the cycling experience will no longer be pleasant.
And then, I agree, what is the point....

Jim

HELLO!!! Bike 2 work people would be VERY dissapointed
putting on this event over 10 years in vain.

And I hear the cash registers clicking amongst the
merchants. After all, that kicks off cycling movies,
workshops (repair your rusty dinosaur - mountain bike type),
parades, free breakfasts for anyone riding a bicycle, and
many more skits/displays/whatever. Shows,events
- eco or kids flying, etc. are starting Sunday- THEN fire up
the SUV....

(not a fan of this; being retired, but fun at least getting
that free breakfast!)

Chris Jordan Santa Cruz, CA.

"Edward Dolan" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

Jim, I wonder if you should not reconsider commuting to
work by bike. It surely can not be too pleasant to do that
on a high speed road with lots of traffic during the rush
of the commute. Most motorists are very unhappy to have to
do what they are doing (commuting) and they no doubt see
you as an aggravation. I believe I would only commute if I
could find a quiet and pleasant street on which to do it.

I like to think of cycling as something we do for the
pleasure of it. Could you not drive back and forth to work
and then do some sport cycling in the early evening hours?
When cycling becomes unpleasant due to traffic conditions
I simply won't do it. Cycling has always got to be a
pleasure for
me. And it normally is except for rare occasions. There
are certain roads at certain times of the day I will
not go on because of the traffic conditions.

I really think it's about time to use something like this
whenever driving/riding.

slashdot.orgarticle.plOpen ↗
read&tid=152&tid=158&tid=173&tid=185&tid=187&tid=99

Link may require some reconstruction...

Gabriel DeVault

"stratrider" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

As a regular commuter, I find myself once again amazed by
the number of road pigs I contend with almost daily. This
morning and MANY times before, a driver came intentionally
close to me as he passed. Cleary this maneuver was
designed to make me aware of how irritated he was that I
was on the road. This was at 6:30 AM in full daylight with
one and half lanes available to pass me! What makes people
like this guy so hostile towards cyclists! I am disgusted!
Maybe I should accessorize my Stratus with a sidewinder
missle so as to "level the playing field". Any help with
the mounting bracket design would be appreciated.

Jim Reilly Reading, PA

On 14 May 2004 04:33:21 -0700, [email hidden] (stratrider) wrote in
message <[email hidden]>:

Quoted message said:

Ed, I have considered that. Actually the incident I
described was at
6:30 AM on a posted 35 mph zone with little traffic at the
time. In my area, those are pretty good conditions!
Selfishly speaking, if I don't commute, I won't get to
ride on any regular basis as my evenings involve my
children's activities.

Ed has an irrationally fear of motor traffic, don't let him
get to you. Drive to work then go out riding to make up for
the exercise you don't get riding to work? Makes no sense!

Guy
--
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
chapmancentral.co.ukchapmancentral.co.ukOpen ↗

88% of helmet statistics are made up, 65% of them at Washington University

I would love to have a camera that kept the last 30 seconds.
I figure I would mount a mirror in front of it to catch them
on film coming up, then flip the mirror up as they go by. It
needs sound too, for when you catch them at the next light
and ask them why they buzzed you - the morons will usually
admit it - case closed.

I just had an incident yesterday where this would have
really nailed the guy who buzzed me. You know it is
intentional when the jerk's girlfriend whirls around in the
seat to see your reaction. He was so intent on buzzing me,
he failed to merge and left his rear end out in traffic.

Instead I had to settle with spanking his trunk as I went
by. He drove by later yelling something to the effect of
"You hit my car!" Somehow to him the crime of car-spanking
was worse then assault with a deadly weapon. He didn't seem
interested in my "you want a piece of me" gesture. I figure
he wanted to look tough for his girlfriend and wound up
getting spanked and running away. Its nice to be 6'1" and
have lost the last of your give a [censored] reserve.

If push does come to shove, my plan is to pull over
near a witness, and first ask the perp: "Why did you
swerve at me?" They have to admit it. If they didn't
just say "Oh no, I get into it with every single car
that passes me!" I also plan to egg them on and take
the first swing on the helmet, so they get charged for
two counts. Then I can go to fist city. Hopefully I
have caught my breath by then.

"Gabriel DeVault" <[email hidden]> wrote
in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I really think it's about time to use something like this
whenever driving/riding.

slashdot.orgarticle.plOpen ↗
read&tid=152&tid=158&tid=173&tid=185&tid=187&tid=99

Quoted message said:

Link may require some reconstruction...

Gabriel DeVault

"stratrider" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

As a regular commuter, I find myself once again amazed
by the number of road pigs I contend with almost daily.
This morning and MANY times before, a driver came
intentionally close to me as he passed. Cleary this
maneuver was designed to make me aware of how irritated
he was that I was on the road. This was at 6:30 AM in
full daylight with one and half lanes available to pass
me! What makes people like this guy so hostile towards
cyclists! I am disgusted! Maybe I should accessorize my
Stratus with a sidewinder missle so as to "level the
playing field". Any help with the mounting bracket
design would be appreciated.

Jim Reilly Reading, PA

"Just zis Guy, you know?" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On 14 May 2004 04:33:21 -0700, [email hidden]
(stratrider) wrote in message
<[email hidden]>:

Quoted message said:

Ed, I have considered that. Actually the incident I
described was at
6:30 AM on a posted 35 mph zone with little traffic at
the time. In my area, those are pretty good conditions!
Selfishly speaking, if I don't commute, I won't get to
ride on any regular basis as my evenings involve my
children's activities.

Ed has an irrationally fear of motor traffic, don't let
him get to you. Drive to work then go out riding to make
up for the exercise you don't get riding to work? Makes
no sense!

Guy

Guy has an irrational brain that simply doesn't function the
way Allah meant it to function. He would rather see you get
killed on your daily commute than ever admit that there
might be other ways of getting some cycling into your life
other than by commuting to work on a high speed highway with
heavy traffic during the commuting rush hours. But then Guy
has never made any sense. Listen to him and you will wind up
dead as a mackerel.

--
Ed Dolan - Minnesota

Quoted message said:

From: "Edward Dolan" <[email hidden]>
Newsgroups: alt.rec.bicycles.recumbent
Date: Sat, 15 May 2004 15:12:55 -0500
Subject: Re: Road Pigs

Guy has an irrational brain that simply doesn't function
the way Allah meant it to function.Listen to him and you
will wind up dead as a mackerel.

--
Ed Dolan - Minnesota

Would that be a mackerel swimming in the sea? They do that
you know? Swim. You get a false impression of the fish when
you buy it in a tin.

--
Ian

catrike.co.ukcatrike.co.ukOpen ↗