Anonymous Jerkitude

Normally, when people yell at me from cars, it’s because they think I’ve gotten in their way by obeying all traffic laws. You know, yielding to oncoming traffic at a left turn, that sort of crazy thing.

This evening, while I was cruising along in the marked shoulder lane, a guy yelled out his window “get a damn car!!”. An older guy, too; not some egg-throwing punk being silly. Does this mean this man actually objects to the idea of bike riding?

I’m going to bed obscenely early, because I have a very early Important Meeting™ tomorrow.

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Nicolas Ward

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7 responses to “Anonymous Jerkitude”

  1. tirerim Avatar
    tirerim

    I’ve gotten that before. I think it’s that they object to bicycles being on the road at all. Or possibly they’re just assholes. (Well, they’re assholes either way, but you know what I mean.)

    Reply
  2. inseriatim Avatar
    inseriatim

    Most clueless folks tell me to get on the sidewalk. Maybe your dude took a lateral approach and thought that you should stay on the road and just get a car.

    So many drivers don’t seem to know that cyclists are allowed (and sometimes required) to ride on the road. My friend got reamed out by a police officer for taking up a full lane, which is totally legal.

    Reply
  3. Nicolas Ward Avatar
    Nicolas Ward

    There are three major places where I ride regularly and take up a full lane: Mt Auburn St. west of Aberdeen Ave (it’s two lanes + parking, and I stay in the right lane); Harvard St. between Trowbridge St. and Prospect St. (not busy at all; last Sunday was the first time I had to signal a jerk around me); and Mt. Auburn St. between Hawthorn St. and Eliot St. (no bike lane or stripe, lots of jaywalking peds, and Massbike’s maps have it marked that way).

    I have also used the middle lane of the Cambridge St. tunnel, as that lines up with my bizarro-left onto Mass Ave. heading for Brattle St. in Harvard Square, but that one even freaks me out a bit, because the tunnel messes with my ability to hear accelerating cars from behind.

    Maybe I’ll make myself feel better by yelling “Chapter 85!” at people. Sometimes I yell back “Share the Road”, based on the signs one sees.

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  4. think_too_much Avatar
    think_too_much

    You should yell back, “Get a bike!”

    Reply
  5. llamaontheloose Avatar
    llamaontheloose

    You should have called back, “MY DEMI-CAR IS POWERED BY SATAN!!!”

    Reply
  6. llamaontheloose Avatar
    llamaontheloose

    Alternatively, you could move to Seattle, where the motorists are more civilized than in any other city in the country (save maybe Portland). I ride in three-lane, rush hour traffic on the way to work every morning, and have had remarkably few problems, save one police officer who was driving the wrong way on a one way street and causing all hell of confusion.

    Reply
  7. danceduchess Avatar
    danceduchess

    Moving to Seattle – an excellent suggestion for cyclists.

    Reply

Nurd Up!