The Chainlink

Think of this as a Missed Connection.

You blew the red light east bound on Lawrence at Damen at 5:26 pm this evening.

 

There was enough time for the biker in front of me to make it half way into the intersection, northbound on Damen, before you came whizzing past my front wheel.

 

I yelled "You're an idiot!" at your big haired chick, self, and you looked back at me. I meant it!

 

I woulda testified for any of the cars, that managed to not kill you, if they had.

 

Keep riding like a tard!

love,

gabe

 

Witness bad behavior during your commute? Feel free to post. Maybe that lovely human can read it and think they are famous. Maybe you can also inspire the whole generation of kids to shower but we can start with small things.

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on October 10, 2012 at 12:08pm

I was on Milwaukee Ave. riding towards the Loop.  You were standing next to a parked car, door open, bent over with your ass sticking out into traffic while on a seemingly endless fishing expedition for something on the floor.  Do you really want to be sticking that big a target out into traffic, and leaving your door flapping in the breeze?  Don't be an ass!

Permalink Reply by NYC (7.0 mi) on October 11, 2012 at 10:12am

To the middle aged woman riding down Lincoln around 8:30 this morning:  You were forcing everyone to pass you multiple times with your schoaling actions.  That's what I was talking about when I asked you to stop making me pass you on Lincoln during rush hour (3 times).  It's rude.  You are making everyone have missed connections multiple times on a busy commuter highway (car and bike).

Permalink Reply by Steve Courtright on October 11, 2012 at 10:46am

To the young man on a bike this morning at 8:05 going south on Halsted just south of North Ave.  I hope your riding through a group of preschool aged children walking in the crosswalk got you to work on time.  Everyone else - cars and bike riders - stopped at the crosswalk.  I guess those of us who stopped are all idiots.  Thanks for showing us how it is supposed to be done.

Permalink Reply by Michelle S on October 11, 2012 at 11:34am

This same guy was on Wells this morning at 7:00 am! Big hairy crack, still looking for the missing item.

Anne Alt said:

I was on Milwaukee Ave. riding towards the Loop.  You were standing next to a parked car, door open, bent over with your ass sticking out into traffic while on a seemingly endless fishing expedition for something on the floor.  Do you really want to be sticking that big a target out into traffic, and leaving your door flapping in the breeze?  Don't be an ass!

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on October 11, 2012 at 2:19pm

Oof!  Perhaps the woman from my incident has a similarly clueless cousin.  ;)

Michelle Stenzel said:

This same guy was on Wells this morning at 7:00 am! Big hairy crack, still looking for the missing item.

Anne Alt said:

I was on Milwaukee Ave. riding towards the Loop.  You were standing next to a parked car, door open, bent over with your ass sticking out into traffic while on a seemingly endless fishing expedition for something on the floor.  Do you really want to be sticking that big a target out into traffic, and leaving your door flapping in the breeze?  Don't be an ass!

Permalink Reply by Jamais716 on October 15, 2012 at 10:28pm

To the car that ran a red light on Canal at Adams at 9pm- I'm very glad my new bike came with disc brakes and extra spidey senses.  Your light had been red for at least 30 seconds and we were both approaching our respective crosswalks at about the same speed.  If I hadn't noticed that you did not seem to be stopping at yours, I would have been plastered across your hood and very angry that you broke my new bike.  Please get both your vision and hearing checked since you didn't even slow as the bright flashing light on my bike stopped 2 feet from your car and I screamed at you.

That was my first close call in 5 years of commuting to the loop.  I really am happy about my disc brakes because I don't know if the brakes on my old bike would've stopped in time.

Permalink Reply by Vilda on October 16, 2012 at 7:56am

Glad you are ok.

Permalink Reply by Tim S on October 16, 2012 at 8:33am

To the young lady heading N on Damen in a white Sentra through the construction zone north of D/N/M where there is enough space for two cars to pass N and S safely but not much else... WTH were you thinking as I was riding my bike, at the speed of traffic, 15-20 feet off the car in front of me when you pulled up on my quarter then barely passed me to fill the gap between me and the car in front. Were you demonstrating that Mother Nature abhors a vacuum or are you just that dimwitted to not notice I was going with the flow. Happy you had your sunroof open so I was able to convey the thrilled feeling I had when you crowded me into the gutter, to bad you were unable to actually look me in the eye.

FWIW I was actually quite polite, far more than I should have been considering the offense.

Short follow up shout out to the Silver Jeep MI Plate "XY" that passed me 3x on Augusta way closer than 3 feet. Not sure what the law is in MI but in IL you need to give me room.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on October 16, 2012 at 9:11am

I'm glad that you and your new bike survived that close encounter intact.  Disc brakes saved me from a close call recently.  Not ending up as a hood ornament is a beautiful thing.

Jamais716 said:

To the car that ran a red light on Canal at Adams at 9pm- I'm very glad my new bike came with disc brakes and extra spidey senses.  Your light had been red for at least 30 seconds and we were both approaching our respective crosswalks at about the same speed.  If I hadn't noticed that you did not seem to be stopping at yours, I would have been plastered across your hood and very angry that you broke my new bike.  Please get both your vision and hearing checked since you didn't even slow as the bright flashing light on my bike stopped 2 feet from your car and I screamed at you.

That was my first close call in 5 years of commuting to the loop.  I really am happy about my disc brakes because I don't know if the brakes on my old bike would've stopped in time.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on October 16, 2012 at 3:54pm

It wasn't at all clear what you were responding to, so there wasn't much context to put your words in.  No intention to misinterpret here.  Sometimes it's helpful to give a point of reference if one's comment is so far removed from the original post.  It helps avoid misunderstandings.

Permalink Reply by David Barish on October 16, 2012 at 4:10pm

Hannah

Now that I know what you were referring to I disagree.  We do have a right.  No question there are plenty of times when it makes much more sense to keep our opinions to ourselves.  Restraint is a seldom used skill. Nonetheless, on the road we are not individuals. We are specks on the cosmic Rube Goldberg cartoon operating in concert with a greater whole.  One seemingly individual move may have profound effects one somebody or something up or downstream (or road).  Thus, when somebody, whether they be a pedestrian, a driver, a cyclist, a blader, or a dog walker, does something as foolish as that which was observed by Gabe in the original post, they are fair game.  I don't have a problem with somebody committing suicide. That is their choice. However, if their method of doing so potentially puts the rest of us at risk I have a huge problem.  There was a sad young lady who tried to kill herself in the suburbs a few years ago.  She tried to do so with a car and took the lives of three others. She lived.

I agree that our ire should be save for the truly suicidal or reckless actions.  Perhaps its a judgement call as to where that line may rest.  If you are close to that line and I am on the same street, you might hear some raw language coming from me.  Hopefully, my language will be less salty and I will find the teaching moment rather than the reacting one.

Permalink Reply by Duppie on October 16, 2012 at 4:36pm

For those that do not know what David and Anne are referring to, here is a Wikipedia page for Jeannete Sliwinski who took the life of 3 innocent bystanders while attempting to commit suicide.

Anne Alt said:

Well said, Dave.  That Morton Grove suicide attempt/vehicular homicide was horrible, and I'll never forget it.

I like your "specks on a cosmic Rube Goldberg cartoon" image - very fitting with the Morton Grove tragedy.  Most of the time, we don't have the luxury of riding/walking/driving in isolation.  What we do does affect other people.  Sometimes when we are just bystanders, we see some horrendous things that cause other categories of road users (such as drivers) to stereotype our category of road users (cyclists or peds).  This may make them think they have justification to hate all of us, even if we as individuals have done nothing to deserve that hate.

"I agree that our ire should be save for the truly suicidal or reckless actions."  Agreed.  On the road, I make a conscious effort to avoid yelling at people unless they've done something that could cause a crash or is potentially life threatening.

Off the road, in a context like this discussion thread, being able to vent among our peers can help us to blow off steam so we can keep things more civilized on the road - or at least that's how it's been working for me.

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