OKAy - I'm vented.
Just got into work - I ride my bike. I ride a little over six miles in to the Back
Bay area of Boston (busy, city streets).
I'm riding down Com Ave (Commonwealth Avenue for the non Bostonians) which is a large
avenue split by a wide park (basically two one-way streets. I'm going to turn left at
the next block (another one-way street). I'm always with traffic and I ALWAYS obey
every traffic ordinance on my bike (red lights, use my hand signals, etc) - so much so
that I tend to drive other cyclists crazy.
So, anyway: I'm riding slowly along nearing the next intersection (it's a red light)
when a guy (a seemingly upper-middle class guy in a newish SUV) pulls extremely to the
left cutting me off. He then yells out the window "Get to right! Idiots like you
give bikes a bad name!".
I responded (at first pretty calmly, he was worried about the "name of bikes" after
all): "Actually on a one-way street it's legal for me to be on the left if I'm making
a left-hand turn"
(It is legal in MA for a bike to ride on the left or the right on a one-way street,
whichever is safer. It's the same law that covers legal "lefts on red" when going
from one one-way street to another. Actually it's perfectly legal for me to take up a
whole lane of traffic... but I try to be accomodating and not slow anybody down.)
He responds: "Get to the right you fat f*ck!" (note, please, that he didn't use the
asterisk).
I'm not that proud, I respond: "Shit-head."
He replies (Ironically): "So now you're name calling!"
I replied (childishly): "I think you started it by calling me fat."
He retorts: "No I called you a fat f*ck!"
I answer: "If you'd like you get out you can see a fat f*ck put his foot in your ass!"
He answers: "Sure, let's do that you pile of crap!"
I get off my bike and stand up (I AM a big fat bastard mind you, but I'm an IMPOSING
big fat bastard... there are 300lb guys and then there are 300lb guys that can still
ride a bike 12 miles a day).
Apparently he reconsiders because he speeds away yelling "Get an athletic support you
fat f*ck!" (I'm still puzzeling over that one... it's not like the boys had come out
to play or anything.)
So basically my day is effectively stained. Actually it was nice in a sense: right
after this two guys in a beat-up van puuled up next to me and said "Forget him... if
he had gotten out he would have had all three of us to deal with". I thanked them for
their show of support (support from a stranger - or two - definately takes the edge
off in these scenarios).
Jim Davis
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