Feel like I'm now part of the community

I needed to drop the car off for service this morning, so I decided to bring my bike with me and ride back from the dealer. On the return trip, along an otherwise lovely stretch of Sunset Ridge in Glenview, a black BMW SUV gave me a "Ride on the [engaging in sexual intercourse] sidewalk!"

That part of Sunset Ridge does not have a sidewalk on my side of the road, plus there were a fair amount of joggers/walkers/dogs. Not to mention laws regarding bikes on sidewalks, share the road, and all that.

Unfortunately he didn't stick around to hear my counterpoint. He caught the long red at Willow and I almost made it up to him, but then he saw me and jumped the red early; he'll have to live the rest of his life in ignorance :-(

Anyway, proud moment for me, on top of the 2 great rides there and back. Not bad for a Monday.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Courtright on August 5, 2013 at 4:17am

Car drivers in the burbs seem to be especially imbued with the attitude of entitlement.  Best to just ride according to the rules and not engage.  We can hope that eventually that particular subspecies will become extinct.  Possibly from heart attacks or the gout.

Just kidding (sort of).

Permalink Reply by David of the North (David606xx) on August 5, 2013 at 5:25am

It's always the guy in the BMW, isn't it? What's up with that?

Permalink Reply by Steve Courtright on August 5, 2013 at 5:34am

I have noticed the same David, but significantly also Mercedes drivers.  It is, I believe, a function of the German Proverbial Expression, "Ordnung muss sein" which translates to "There must be order."  Apparently, the sudden explosion of bicyclists insisting on our rights upsets their ordered way of life.

Just tongue in cheek here (sort of).

Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on August 5, 2013 at 5:40am
I was riding on glenview road yesterday and we got tells at too....
Permalink Reply by Vitaliy on August 5, 2013 at 11:47am

No, it's an old guy in his Mercedes

David of the North (David606xx) said:

It's always the guy in the BMW, isn't it? What's up with that?

Permalink Reply by Lanterne Rouge on August 5, 2013 at 12:39pm

My take on it is that you have to be extra careful in the suburbs. People are just less accustomed to seeing cyclists on the road and just don't know how to co-exist with them. 

I was hit on Glenview & Crawford about a month ago. Some kid thought he could squeeze in the right lane where I was and swept right in to me. 

I also get the odd verbal 'nasty-gram' every so often when I'm riding on Lehigh or Glenview Rd. To me, this is baffling because there are plenty of signs reminding to share the road with cyclists. You can't please all the people all the time, I guess.

Permalink Reply by Bez on August 5, 2013 at 11:22pm

I don't know that it's this so much as suburban drivers can't see an easy way to use a bike as transport (rather than sport), so most of them stick to trails.  I recently got into a loud discussion with a guy who very nearly left-hooked me at a light...and then encountered him on a trail.  He actually stopped me to chat/apologize for the incident.  Pretty much said what I said above and asked for info on routes to commute in our area.

Jeff Schneider said:

I think the difference is that more city drivers are also cyclists, so they understand a bit better why we don't hug car doors, why we might need to maneuver around potholes and glass, etc.  Non-cyclist drivers probably just think we are being assholes taking up so much more room than they imagine we should need.

Almost as big a difference between US cities and the best biking cities in Europe (in my experience) as the fact that they have so many more cyclists and much better infra, is that the drivers are also so much more careful and courteous.  Maybe it's because most of them are cyclists, too.

Lanterne Rouge said:

My take on it is that you have to be extra careful in the suburbs. People are just less accustomed to seeing cyclists on the road and just don't know how to co-exist with them. 

I was hit on Glenview & Crawford about a month ago. Some kid thought he could squeeze in the right lane where I was and swept right in to me. 

I also get the odd verbal 'nasty-gram' every so often when I'm riding on Lehigh or Glenview Rd. To me, this is baffling because there are plenty of signs reminding to share the road with cyclists. You can't please all the people all the time, I guess.

Permalink Reply by Andrew Bedno on August 6, 2013 at 8:50am
Permalink Reply by GabeW (not the other Gabe) on August 6, 2013 at 10:52am

Jeff Schneider said:Drivers who spend a lot of money on a car probably do it because they like what expensive cars can provide - power, speed, agility.  Bicyclists who are travelling at more or less the same speed as they are on our congested streets are a reminder that their expenditure was for naught when it comes to driving around here.  Regardless of how much money you spend on a car, driving in the Chicago metro area is a soul destroying experience...nothing at all like the idyllic scenes of open roads on the TV commercials!  So you can see why these people especially are angered when they see us having a nice ride.

You can have that idealistic drive just like in the tv commercial for about $50 and a tank of gas.  It's worth it for me, I'm topping out 3rd gear close to 90mph in this pic from last weekend and about to lift and turn in, tapping the brake with my left foot to un-weight the rear and rotate the car right around as it slides down the off camber downhill sweeping right hand corner.

and then after about a mile and a half of fast straights, quick kinks, a few hairpins, and a "circle of hoon", there was this lovely muddy corner (it poured all night before) low in the field to splash through.  The 2 wheel drive cars were lucky to go after the more powerful AWD classes in the morning so it could dry out, I doubt they would have made it through in the morning run groups.

I agree they're probably frustrated in their fast cars in traffic, but if they're not getting out and racing that's their own ignorance.  There are on and off road venues all over the area for us to get our need for speed in.  It's a shame the car culture has little to do with actual performance or function.

Rally on :)

Permalink Reply by David P. on August 6, 2013 at 12:29pm

Gabe, what was that event you did? Looks like tons of fun. Not so good for my beigemobile, but maybe once I get my SE-R back on the road....

Permalink Reply by Jared on August 6, 2013 at 12:36pm

Cycling wasn't banned from that road was it?  I occasionally notice roads here and there that ban bikes from the roadway.  Ridge Road in Evanston is one and some parts of Sheridan ban it.  I've seen it other places too.  Otherwise you have every right to be in the road.

Permalink Reply by GabeW (not the other Gabe) on August 7, 2013 at 4:23am

This event is through Indiana Rallycross (indianarallycross.com)

Cars don't have to be road legal...you just have to get it there.  Two drivers can share a car, so you could convince a friend to use theirs, or there's always Avis, Hertz, etc.  Get the optional full coverage ;)

David P. said:

Gabe, what was that event you did? Looks like tons of fun. Not so good for my beigemobile, but maybe once I get my SE-R back on the road....

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