In your final moments you belched out an arrogant shout at me. Your words were unclear but I know very well what it pertained to.
First and foremost, I would like to remind you of a little law that states that as long as me and my bicycle are on the street, I am to follow traffic laws just as any other vehicle does. I receive the same citations, yield to the same pedestrians, and take the same risk (if not more than you) therefore when you pulled up behind me wanting to make a right hand turn, there was nothing I could (or would) do to allow you to go without putting myself at risk. So suck it, and stop being such and ignorant prick.
It seems like this is a weekly experience, an occurrence bound to me by my choice to commute by bicycle. I learned a while back that retaliation is useless and only agitates the situation more-so, therefore I usually don't react on the road. I simply ignore and remain aware. The whole turn around in my attitude happened when a weapon was pulled on me after a verbal confrontation.......
The beer bottles pressed against my back, their cold sweat seeping through my small messenger bag as I left the grocery store. I was so close to home, not but a block away when those bitter words spit themselves out of car window. "Nice bike FAGGOT". The day weighed on me as I watched the car pass, a young guy with his head out of the window and a scowl on his face. I Reacted, "Fuck you! You piece of 'cholo' shit!" This was almost routine, I was no stranger to shouts of anger at passing cars and I had evened thrown my U lock against the body of a car before, so this reaction was no surprise to me. As I looked ahead, I watched the car pull into the turning median to cross into the same apartment complex that I was. Do to the nature of our little scuffle, I decided it be best that I pass and come around at the next turn, as to not worsen the situation. As I pressed my bike passed the car as it waited to cross, the red eyed thug was hanging out of the passenger window of the car waving a cleaver at me. This wasn't done aggressively. He wasn't shouting or waving his body, but threatening me with evil eyes, rocking the cleaver like a ticking pendulum. In a brief moments I had turned the opposite direction and ridden into a culdisac where I felt i could wait for a bit until the situation was sure to have blown over.....
It is since that day that I have decided to play it calm on the road. There is not use to put yourself at anymore risk while you are on a bicycle. Riders, our situations are vulnerable enough as it is, 25 lbs bike vs 1500 lbs car is an outweighed fight and the bike will not win. Trust me, I've tried. And every now in then, you may even get some words of encouragement (About a week ago a guy pulled up to let me know how fast I was going then gave me a hoot of encouragement). And drivers (This goes for EVERYONE INCLUDING MYSELF and everyone that ever sets foot in a car) please remember that cyclist are just trying to do the same as you, get from point A to point B in the best amount of time, and are under some very contradicting laws, so take it easy on them.
And to the driver today, foes of the past, and enemies of my future; I don't give a f*#K what you think I should or shouldn't be doing on the road. I'm going to be there everyday, a lot of us are, and you're going to have to live with it.
Peace,
Jacob In Real Life.....
PS Feel free to leave a comment about how you feel on this topic, whether you agree or disagree! I'd love to hear what you have to say.
First and foremost, I would like to remind you of a little law that states that as long as me and my bicycle are on the street, I am to follow traffic laws just as any other vehicle does. I receive the same citations, yield to the same pedestrians, and take the same risk (if not more than you) therefore when you pulled up behind me wanting to make a right hand turn, there was nothing I could (or would) do to allow you to go without putting myself at risk. So suck it, and stop being such and ignorant prick.
It seems like this is a weekly experience, an occurrence bound to me by my choice to commute by bicycle. I learned a while back that retaliation is useless and only agitates the situation more-so, therefore I usually don't react on the road. I simply ignore and remain aware. The whole turn around in my attitude happened when a weapon was pulled on me after a verbal confrontation.......
The beer bottles pressed against my back, their cold sweat seeping through my small messenger bag as I left the grocery store. I was so close to home, not but a block away when those bitter words spit themselves out of car window. "Nice bike FAGGOT". The day weighed on me as I watched the car pass, a young guy with his head out of the window and a scowl on his face. I Reacted, "Fuck you! You piece of 'cholo' shit!" This was almost routine, I was no stranger to shouts of anger at passing cars and I had evened thrown my U lock against the body of a car before, so this reaction was no surprise to me. As I looked ahead, I watched the car pull into the turning median to cross into the same apartment complex that I was. Do to the nature of our little scuffle, I decided it be best that I pass and come around at the next turn, as to not worsen the situation. As I pressed my bike passed the car as it waited to cross, the red eyed thug was hanging out of the passenger window of the car waving a cleaver at me. This wasn't done aggressively. He wasn't shouting or waving his body, but threatening me with evil eyes, rocking the cleaver like a ticking pendulum. In a brief moments I had turned the opposite direction and ridden into a culdisac where I felt i could wait for a bit until the situation was sure to have blown over.....
It is since that day that I have decided to play it calm on the road. There is not use to put yourself at anymore risk while you are on a bicycle. Riders, our situations are vulnerable enough as it is, 25 lbs bike vs 1500 lbs car is an outweighed fight and the bike will not win. Trust me, I've tried. And every now in then, you may even get some words of encouragement (About a week ago a guy pulled up to let me know how fast I was going then gave me a hoot of encouragement). And drivers (This goes for EVERYONE INCLUDING MYSELF and everyone that ever sets foot in a car) please remember that cyclist are just trying to do the same as you, get from point A to point B in the best amount of time, and are under some very contradicting laws, so take it easy on them.
And to the driver today, foes of the past, and enemies of my future; I don't give a f*#K what you think I should or shouldn't be doing on the road. I'm going to be there everyday, a lot of us are, and you're going to have to live with it.
Peace,
Jacob In Real Life.....
PS Feel free to leave a comment about how you feel on this topic, whether you agree or disagree! I'd love to hear what you have to say.
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