For a few weeks now the dark season (October to April) has been here and I absolutely need my generator and lights for the ride to and from work. I've been doing this for eleven years as well as riding for my own fun and I have had had very few call outs like Brian's.
Whenever something goes around in one's mind it always seems to reach the point of verbalization too late, so I chalk it up to some self frustration that they couldn't blurt anything out until it was almost pointless (thank you frontal lobe, for those moments of inhibition) and that their mode of transportation is going to take away and chance of consequences. Years ago on a group ride a sort of pudgy fella in overalls in an old Ford truck passed us closely and talked some trash I couldn't hear from my side of the group but motivated one guy to break out in what seemed like a futile sprint after the truck. We were riding in that guy's area and he knew a long stoplight at a big state route was less than a mile ahead. When the group arrived at the still red light the picture was the brave truck driver taking refuge beneath the pickup and the winded rider trying to coax him out from under with his frame pump. Seems that a check had been written by his mouth for which funds did not exist. No harm done to anyone involved although the overalls might have sustained some need for periodic maintenance sooner than planned. It was memorable as a vignette, but it's never advisable to interact if someone has reached the point of being mouthy. That rider was a special circumstance the driver didn't consider and clearly didn't expect. That frontal lobe inhibition that chokes words before they fly is the same source of better thought over other impulses. If they have shown they aren't using their frontal lobes with words, there's more iimpulses that will miss out on the moderation. De-escalate, diverge, disappear, especially if they are stopped and you will be nearing them. I see a huge majority of drivers fiddling with their phones as I ride to and from work on my bike in the darkness. When I take my place in a line of traffic at a stoplight I am high enough to see into three or four cars ahead of me and sometimes they all are looking at their screens. The delay is so bad that sometimes I will miss a light with those 3-4 cars ahead of me. I try to be as predictable a part of the landscape to them as I can so in their diminished bandwidth allotted to driving I am still in the equation. It has become a giver that drivers are distracted but what is amazing is how they all think they are the exception, getting away with what they clearly know is poor behavior given the way they try to be sly with them despite their face and vehicle interiors being illuminated by the LED screens. Andy Cheatham Pittsburgh On Friday, October 5, 2018 at 1:15:04 PM UTC-4, Ash wrote: > > Shrug it off and keep ridin'... >> > > Very useful ability to have. I need to work on this. When folks do > inconsiderate stuff it screws up my mood for at least rest of the day, if > not more. Fortunately I have not had any bad experiences while riding > with my son. A few times I have been yelled at, honked at, middle-fingered > at etc on two lane roads. Most of the times those are designated bike use > routes. Typically those vehicles happen to be big SUVs or pick up trucks. > Not sure this is because those big vehicles (for need of extra space) are > relatively more inconvenienced by my bicycle being on the road or if there > another phenomenon at play here. Recently I also got yelled "A** HOLE" by > another bicyclist too (accidentally my headlight had gotten tilted up a few > degrees and it caused excessive glare for the opposite traffic). I > contemplated for a little while who's deserved that title more in this > scenario. Anyway, there was some fault on my part. Hence I decided to > appreciate the feedback, disregarding the format in which it was delivered > to me :) > > In addition to indignant ones, there are enough drivers who are oblivious > to cyclists and also those who have 80% attention on their phone > screen(**). Hence I'm extra extra careful while riding on roads these > days. Have been training my son to be the same way. We try to avoid > certain streets, but still do a lot of riding on roads. > > (**) sorry to hijack this conversation, but I personally think that we > need a law that requires apps like Facebook to show a blank screen when the > phone detects a motion higher than 15mph. Sure it inconveniences the > passenger, but it is worth it considering the safety of everyone involved. > Besides such addictive apps not being available can encourage > conversations inside the car which is generally a very good thing! > > > On Friday, 5 October 2018 06:30:45 UTC-7, stevef wrote: >> >> Even good advice offered in a friendly fashion sounds abusive when it >> hollered from a passing car. It happens less often around here these days >> than it used to, but it still happens once in a while. Shrug it off and >> keep ridin'... >> >> Steve >> >> On Monday, October 1, 2018 at 4:15:54 PM UTC-4, Coal Bee Rye Anne wrote: >>> >>> Yesterday I had a pleasant day with the family, with the exception of >>> having the pleasure of being heckled/scolded/yelled at for the first time >>> in years while riding a bicycle in public... while riding with our 14month >>> old son... because I was riding with my 14month old son. >>> >>> We decided to take our son apple picking at a nearby orchard only 2 >>> miles away. The majority of the route cuts through a network of parks and >>> multiuse trails in preserved farmland/meadows but does require some >>> pavement (along two different 2 lane roads.) Naturally, being cyclists and >>> having bikes and gear suitable for carrying a few extra pounds of flesh and >>> produce we decided to keep the car parked for the day and take the scenic >>> route and make an afternoon of it considering the close proximity, familiar >>> route, and favorable weather. >>> >>> The off pavement portion is on multiuse paths to which we >>> directly connect through a park at the back of our neighborhood. Part of >>> the trail runs parallel to one of the paved roads we'll need to double-back >>> on to ride for 1000 to 2000ft before turning onto the intersecting road on >>> which the orchard is located a mile further down. >>> >>> En route to the farm, during that first 1000-2000ft straight paved >>> section, is where we encountered the indignant motorist. The road is an >>> old 2-lane farm road and admittedly not ideal for cycling with an >>> insufficient shoulder and drainage ditches on either side, but not very >>> heavily trafficked. We entered the road with a right hand turn at the >>> nearest crossing, my son and I out front with my wife trailing a couple >>> hundred feet or so behind. As we were nearing the left turn I glance back >>> and see a vehicle approaching from a slight distance back behind my >>> wife but with lots of space still between us (and the vehicle) and the >>> intersection almost upon us I deliberately signal our turn and begin to >>> take the lane for the final 50yds or so. As we complete our turn and begin >>> to head into the last mile on the even less trafficked 2 lane >>> residential/rural road the driver proceeds to yell "...something something >>> something... with an f#$%!ng child you f#$%!ng a-hole!" just as he floors >>> the gas to accelerate and regain his desired mph. >>> >>> There was nothing confrontational about the situation otherwise... >>> we were never even close enough to make eye contact, the driver never >>> attempted to pass aggressively or do anything to otherwise put us in harms >>> way, nor did I make any abrupt or sudden movements, etc. This was the >>> first vehicle to encounter us heading in the same direction for the entire >>> short stretch and I made what I felt was the safest and most reasonable >>> decision after surveying our surroundings by taking the lane and swiftly >>> turning off the busier of the two roads while we had the space and timing >>> to safely do so. >>> >>> Our child's safety is something we certainly do not take lightly. I >>> could sympathize with concern over the general element of risk of >>> cycling on today's roads, and yes, this same risk clearly extends to my >>> child passenger but apparently this person was so deeply offended enough by >>> our actions of simply cycling with a toddler that they felt the need to >>> erupt into an outburst of anger as they sped past... the irony of which is >>> that in their final moment within our limited interaction they did nothing >>> more than demonstrate the exact kind of driving behavior that puts all >>> cyclists/pedestrians/motorists at risk (distracted/aggressive/etc.) and >>> would jeopardize the safety of the child they seemed so concerned about in >>> the first place. >>> >>> It could be that I'm a little overly sensitive still being a new parent, >>> and new to family cycling, and maybe the amount of time that's lapsed >>> between prior conflicts with motorists has re-sensitized me to an extent >>> (several years ago I'd expect nothing less from most drivers, just sans the >>> "child" part) but I've had this brief moment nagging me a bit this morning >>> and curious to know what others have experienced in terms of cycling with >>> kids and overly opinionated motorists, etc.? >>> >>> I recall reading of others who bike often with children, or incorporate >>> it much more into daily life... sometimes dropping off and picking up >>> kids at school, etc. Many of our local roads are less than desirable (same >>> reasons noted above: insufficient shoulders, mostly) and many I've already >>> ruled out for riding with our son and until this weekend all rides have >>> been contained almost exclusively to our local park/trail system and rides >>> into our small downtown (1 mile down from our development on low traffic >>> residential roads.) >>> >>> I'm genuinely curious, how does everyone else evaluate their child/no >>> child routes? Have you been similarly lectured by non-cyclists and has it >>> been a recurring theme? I already have several non-cyclists in my family >>> who've previously considered me crazy for cycling on roads with motorized >>> vehicles long before our son arrived. I'm very conscientious about >>> exposing him to unnecessary risk while riding and already severely restrict >>> our short routes but I also take issue with the false >>> assumption/belief that so many people seem to adopt that only cars belong >>> on our roads. How do you strike a balance between inclusive cycling >>> and teaching your children a share-the-road perspective while prioritizing >>> safety and precautionary discretion? >>> >>> Thanks for reading (and thank you in advance for your thoughts) and >>> please do not misinterpret my sharing this as having any sort of divisive >>> anti-motorist/pro-cyclist agenda. I'm genuinely curious what others have >>> experienced and how you've approached finding balance in your own >>> cycling/parenting life? >>> >>> Best, >>> Brian Cole >>> Lawrenceville, NJ >>> >> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
