The Chainlink

Dealing with anti-cycling "friends"

One of my friends (co-worker, actually) posted on Facebook that he had an encounter with a rude cyclist, and he couldn't wait to see the cyclist's ghost bike.

I don't know about anyone else here, but I know there are rude cyclists, just as there are rude drivers, but I don't wish any of them dead. I said as much, and told him he was wrong for wishing the cyclist dead and should be ashamed. He responded that he didn't really care about my opinion and I should keep it to myself, to which I responded that he invited my opinion when he offered his. So he defriended me.

That's all I got really, just a basic Facebook pissing contest. Do you ever encounter "friends" (or people you just know) who hate on cyclists? How do you deal with them? I can let a lot of stuff slide by, but I draw the line at hoping to see a cyclist's ghost bike.

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Permalink Reply by Ultreya on January 11, 2013 at 12:20pm

"One of my friends (co-worker, actually) posted on Facebook that he had an encounter with a rude cyclist, and he couldn't wait to see the cyclist's ghost bike."

That is incredibly fucked up.

While in film school, I approached a professor I thought I liked about being my thesis advisor.  The prof read my script (a narrative about a female bike messenger) and said he refused because he hates cyclists and couldn't be supportive of my film.  I said, "You've got to be kidding me."  He reported that he cycled to work ONCE and he obeyed every single traffic law / stop sign / stoplight on the way, so he doesn't see why all those cyclists who don't feel they are above it. I made a few counterarguments, one of which included rolling my eyes at him cycling "ONCE" (why not more than once? Scared of the drivers out there, eh???)  but didn't press the issue.  But I totally lost respect for him as a person based on that. 

Permalink Reply by Andrew Bertocchini on January 11, 2013 at 12:55pm

I used to work with a guy that pretty much wished death on all Cyclists. It’s really too bad, he died of a heart attack at age 44. Maybe he should have taken up bicycling.

Permalink Reply by Sarah D. on January 11, 2013 at 1:15pm

It's the dual thing that I think is hard for cyclists, me included - or anyone doing something outside of "the norm"- to both promote our mode/way and our choices but also call people out old bad-habit attitudes or on bad behavior. Old dogs can be taught new tricks when *they* are ready, and people can be engaged in conversations, but the interwebs don't offer a good place for either situation. I have found lots of ugliness on the net of late, actually.

People do not like to be called out on their bad behavior, bottom line. I don't know if there has ever been a time when I've called someone out on their behavior or posts that has gone well for me and changed the mind of the person acting out. It might get "likes" from others, but the negative person will be mad and probably blame you for any fallout, thus nullifying any positive action or change you intended.

I'd encourage realtime, offline one-on-one conversation, rather than internet. For everything!

Permalink Reply by blair on January 11, 2013 at 1:50pm

Completely disagree.  Even on Milwaukee, the types of bus drivers really varies.

I've almost been hit by a few different buses while obeying all traffic laws.  I understand poor infrastructure forces them to cross over a bike lane, but some of them refuse to yield to cyclists right beside them.


Allen Johnson said:

Of course I'd never TRY to get hit by a bus or any vehicle. My point was that bus drivers are trained and highly encouraged to be aware of cyclists, so you'd have to be really reckless/stupid to get hit by one.
Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on January 11, 2013 at 2:00pm

Do you even ride in the city of Chicago?

The CTA bus is the cyclists natural enemy.  Bus drivers are terrible when it comes to seeing and respecting the cyclist; if you search this forum you can find multiple instances of buses being terrible to cyclists.

I have to wonder if you are a straight up troll, or rarely ride in the city itself, because I cannot think of one single person I know who rides a bike in Chicago who is not terrified of a CTA bus.  For your safety think about how you ride a little more.

Allen Johnson said:

Of course I'd never TRY to get hit by a bus or any vehicle. My point was that bus drivers are trained and highly encouraged to be aware of cyclists, so you'd have to be really reckless/stupid to get hit by one.
Permalink Reply by TehDoak on January 11, 2013 at 2:08pm

Oh CTA buses.  On more than one occasion I have had to quickly mount the curb to avoid getting hit by a CTA bus after they pulled past me just to slowly pull into the bike lane.  Of course, they really don't care if you are a bike or a car, or care at all in general.  

Permalink Reply by Will on January 11, 2013 at 2:12pm

I've had pretty decent luck with buses on the whole, but then again, I no longer commute into the loop on Washington. As long as you give them a wide f-ing berth, and successfully make eye contact, you can be reasonably certain they're not going to make a bloody mess of you on the street.

Permalink Reply by Juan Primo on January 11, 2013 at 3:52pm

I have a healthy fear of busses.  One day I was rudely cut off buy a bus as he was coming in for a landing at a bus stop.  After that I got to his left to pass him, and he opened his side window as I approached.  I was ready for him to yell at me but instead I got a "I'm terribly sorry".

 

All I could do is smile and wave...

Permalink Reply by Jeff Rogers on January 11, 2013 at 4:53pm
Don't get me started on the cabbies. Worst class of so-called professional drivers I have ever seen are Chicago cabbies. I'd rather take on a texting teenager.
Permalink Reply by Shaun Jacobsen on January 11, 2013 at 4:55pm

I've only heard one co-worker tell me that she "hates when cyclists are in the road, because they slow me down." We were driving to the movies. I politely pointed out that the road is for all users, and that was that. Haven't heard worse at work.

Maybe this is because I myself am rather adamant about equal rights for road users on social media, and my friends on Facebook know I write a blog about "alternative" transportation. Some of them drive, some walk most places, and some ride bikes. I think that my pronounced stance has repelled others' criticisms and comments (or they just hide them from me... :-P), but when I do see something advocating violence, or even something as simple as not understanding why people on bikes "just can't stay off the road," I politely try to explain what is the law and that people like me, who ride bikes, are humans who just want to get somewhere safely too.

Permalink Reply by yai danche on January 11, 2013 at 6:05pm

I also have been lucky.  CTA bus drivers along streets with bike lanes are pretty mindful.  Even before a bike lane was put in on Madison, the bus drivers would leave about 8 feet of space behind the crosswalk so that I could be ahead of the line.  I rarely pass buses unless I know I can get way ahead of them.  Otherwise, it's just playing Frogger and I don't mind the extra commute time to have peace of mind.  Cabbies by Union Station are shifty and all those pedestrians crossing the Madison street bridge are more of a danger to me.  

In terms of anti-cycling friends, my roommate is pretty anti-cycling.  Even a friend who used to bike commute but now solely car commutes still rants about law-breaking cyclists.  We just agree not to bitch about cyclists/motorists to each other.  

Alt
Allen Johnson said:

Well I guess I've just been fortunate enough to have shared the road with mindful bus drivers. I can't think of a single time where I've been cut off or endangered by a Cta vehicles. It's the people driving their own cars an cabbies that truly worry me.
Permalink Reply by mat defiler on January 11, 2013 at 11:21pm

1. I think face to face encounters are more likely to be productive than facebook encounters.  I had a coworker for years who was very conservative about a lot of things, but we respected one another's work ethic.  When we first met she said thoughtless or biased things about rude cyclists and cars' right of way.  I politely disagreed with her many times and we would have respectful but heated arguments.  After a few times of her seeing me come in really rattled by something a driver did or said to me on the way to work, she became much more sympathetic.  She would listen to the whole situation each time and after a while she really understood my life was at stake and i was just another commuter trying to respect the road as much as possible.  She, who i had originally assumed would be my biggest adversary, became my biggest champion.  Several years later, a while before she retired, she offered me a random gift of a shirt with a bicycle on it for the sole reason that she thought of me when she saw it at the store.  So, it really is possible, with patience, to open people's eyes; it's not always a dead end.

2. Buses are not the natural enemy of bikes.  But we are often pit against eachother by the unfriendliness of roads and traffic laws to BOTH bikes and buses.  Buses can be super dangerous, and some drivers can exacerbate that by pointing their frustration towards cyclists (believe me, i've felt it).  But just the other day i experienced bus leap frog with a driver that made me think "wow, that person is really going out of their way to show that they understand that, at the end of the day, bikes and buses should be on the same side".  I returned the courtesy, by making room for the bus to pull over and pick up passengers in response to the bus not zooming ahead and cutting me off to do so.  I don't begrudge bus drivers, i just think we have a lot of work to do creating an environment of respect and a transit system which priveleges both CTA and cyclists in such a way that we aren't fighting over our tiny margin  of the road. 

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