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 Rich S on August 7, 2012 at 5:58am

Polish roadblock? Boy that's a classy description! 

If you passed on the right in between me and parked cars I wouldn't be a happy camper either. Safe course of action is to then take the lane and pass on the left. If it requires patiently waiting for 3-20 seconds for a gap to open up in traffic then so be it. I deal with this daily on Wells and it's no big deal. I rarely have an issue with aggressive drivers so long as I signal and don't take an hour to complete the pass. 



Derek said:

I guess we have a difference of opinion on what the door zone is.  Normally I figure just a bit to the left of center in the bike lane is out of the door zone.  Riding on leftmost white line on a bike lane down that stretch of Milwaukee in the morning is probably the most dangerous area.  

Now if I was zipping along at 20+ on my morning commute I could see the demonizing. But I was riding along at a gentle trot wondering how I could safely pass this polish roadblock in the bike lane.  I guess there's no way to win. I wanted to go faster than the slowest person which makes me the @sshole.

Short of saying nothing and going the pace of the slowest rider is there a course of action in which you would not find me at fault?  

James BlackHeron said:

So slower riders need to constantly ride in the door zone now so Lance doesn't have to change lanes in order to properly  (and safely) pass???

Permalink Reply by Derek on August 7, 2012 at 7:07am

Well it's not a complete failure then.  I did wait until there was a gap with no cars parked so I could pass with 3+ feet, even though it was on the right.  Technically there was enough room to fit through on the right without waiting for a gap in the cars, but that seemed ridiculously unsafe.

Once again the ChainLink has shown me the error of my ways.  Thanks for the continued lambasting of my sense of entitlement.  I hate you guys but it may actually teach me something.

In the interest of full disclosure.  I am Polish; raised in Polish community in rural Wisconsin where the term was often used to describe tractors driving down the middle of the road.  Sorry if I offended you or a culture you hold dear. 


Rich S said:

Polish roadblock? Boy that's a classy description! 

If you passed on the right in between me and parked cars I wouldn't be a happy camper either. Safe course of action is to then take the lane and pass on the left. If it requires patiently waiting for 3-20 seconds for a gap to open up in traffic then so be it. I deal with this daily on Wells and it's no big deal. I rarely have an issue with aggressive drivers so long as I signal and don't take an hour to complete the pass. 



Derek said:

I guess we have a difference of opinion on what the door zone is.  Normally I figure just a bit to the left of center in the bike lane is out of the door zone.  Riding on leftmost white line on a bike lane down that stretch of Milwaukee in the morning is probably the most dangerous area.  

Now if I was zipping along at 20+ on my morning commute I could see the demonizing. But I was riding along at a gentle trot wondering how I could safely pass this polish roadblock in the bike lane.  I guess there's no way to win. I wanted to go faster than the slowest person which makes me the @sshole.

Short of saying nothing and going the pace of the slowest rider is there a course of action in which you would not find me at fault?  

James BlackHeron said:

So slower riders need to constantly ride in the door zone now so Lance doesn't have to change lanes in order to properly  (and safely) pass???

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on August 7, 2012 at 9:23am

You - a driver speeding down State St. at lunchtime.  Me - waiting for the light to change so I could cross the street.  You were apparently distracted and slammed on the brakes at the very last second, skidding to a stop in the middle of the intersection.  Pedestrians crossed when it was their turn, leaving you stranded, unable to back up or go forward without hitting people.  Gridlock ensued.  Pure brilliance!  ;)

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on August 7, 2012 at 9:33am

It is a funny term for tractors in the road.  Part of my family is Polish, and we've made our share of Polish jokes over the years, although we usually kept in the family or among other members of the same tribe to avoid misunderstandings.

Derek said:

...In the interest of full disclosure.  I am Polish; raised in Polish community in rural Wisconsin where the term was often used to describe tractors driving down the middle of the road.  Sorry if I offended you or a culture you hold dear. 


Rich S said:

Polish roadblock? Boy that's a classy description! 

Permalink Reply by yaj 7.4 on August 7, 2012 at 12:50pm

I encountered an unusual level of jackassery while riding home tonight.  I stopped at the Milwaukee, North & Damen intersection, behind another rider or two.  I was momentarily impressed because none of us were blocking the busy crosswalk.  The slow rider we all had recently passed then rolled by on our right to stop ahead of us at the curb, you guessed it, blocking the crosswalk.  While walkers detoured around her, two other riders pull up, slightly less to our right, creating a third line of cyclists waiting for the light to turn green.  WTF?!? Where the heck is everyone gonna go when the light turns green?  It was friggen chaos out there tonight.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on August 7, 2012 at 1:35pm

I'll drink to that.  Na zdorovye!  ;)

Serge Lubomudrov said:

I'm a Russian (Lubomudrov)/Jewish (Stein)/Ukrainian (Nesenuk)/Polish (Kwiatkowski) mix (at least, what I know for sure).

I have a right to make jokes about every part of my ancestry ;)

Anne Alt said:

It is a funny term for tractors in the road.  Part of my family is Polish, and we've made our share of Polish jokes over the years, although we usually kept in the family or among other members of the same tribe to avoid misunderstandings.

Permalink Reply by Rich S on August 8, 2012 at 3:24am

None taken. I had never heard that expression before and I thought I heard em all! Now that I know what it means it's actually pretty funny.  

By the way, I might have been riding behind you yesterday on Milwaukee around 6. If you have a brown road bike as your commuter. 

Na zdrowie!!

Derek said:

Well it's not a complete failure then.  I did wait until there was a gap with no cars parked so I could pass with 3+ feet, even though it was on the right.  Technically there was enough room to fit through on the right without waiting for a gap in the cars, but that seemed ridiculously unsafe.

Once again the ChainLink has shown me the error of my ways.  Thanks for the continued lambasting of my sense of entitlement.  I hate you guys but it may actually teach me something.

In the interest of full disclosure.  I am Polish; raised in Polish community in rural Wisconsin where the term was often used to describe tractors driving down the middle of the road.  Sorry if I offended you or a culture you hold dear. 

Permalink Reply by Blatherskate on August 8, 2012 at 7:02am

I actually had a cyclist threaten to shoot me recently. I was going westbound on logan, waiting at the light on sacramento with two younger girls to my right. You blew through the light, right between the young girls and myself. So I was already irked when one block up, with no indication at all, you decided to turn around to your left and go back the wrong way.

I almost hit you and informed you of the boneheaded move. You scream "FUCK YOU". I stop and say "excuse me? you just passed me and knew I was right behind you." You again, "FUCK YOU! come down here so I can shoot you!" You reach into your messenger bag (I was thinking "why should I come down there if he has a gun? Can't he just shoot me from where he stands?") and act like you're grabbing a gun.

Long story short, I knew he didn't have a gun, I yelled at you and all you could say as you rode off was "FUCK YOU!" I apologized to the girls for you.

No sir, fuck you.

Permalink Reply by Blatherskate on August 8, 2012 at 9:04am

Valid point. Perhaps "scofflaw" would be more apt.

Hell, maybe he's a chainlinker?

Serge Lubomudrov said:

"Sir"? You call that amoeba "sir"? You way too polite :)

Blatherskate said:

Long story short, I knew he didn't have a gun, I yelled at you and all you could say as you rode off was "FUCK YOU!" I apologized to the girls for you.

No sir, fuck you.

Permalink Reply by Jason W on August 8, 2012 at 9:57am

Uh, if someone threatens you like that you should have called 911. Threatening someone with a gun is a felony.

Permalink Reply by Tim S on August 8, 2012 at 10:07am

To the impossibly hip hipster that took issue with me taking issue with riding on the sidewalk as you wizzed by very close on a narrow side street walkway. Judging by your ire I think you know you were wrong. Was it necessary to drop you bike and walk towards me in a menacing way? Sorry I laughed but what a joke. getting pissed at me and asking me if it would be so hard to step off the sidewalk so you could ride on it to your place, then following me in a threatening manner, the best was after I walked away you continued to yell at my back about how you had rode back down the sidewalk and then were going to salmon up our street.

I meant it when I said you were one of the reasons bikers were not liked much.

Hit me up if you want to go for a ride neighbour!

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on August 8, 2012 at 12:47pm

You can't trust a junkie...

Serge Lubomudrov said:

Blatherskate said:

I actually had a cyclist threaten to shoot me recently.

Ouch.

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