To the guy in the black Acura MDX

I'm sorry you were so offended that I tapped on your car mirror. You were glued to your phone and it was the only way to get your attention and let you know you were blocking the entire bike lane (N. Deaborn @ Post Office) during the rush and forcing cyclists into traffic.

And while I think it was a little ironic to speed down the street to tell me I broke the law, I definitely think throwing a glass bottle was a bit much. However, since it shattered in your car and not on me, I'll let it slide.

I can't even fathom the courage and strength it must have took to put your foot down and whip down the block and around the corner. But boy were you red with embarrassment when I took the alley and cut you off. You must have ran out of bottles because this time you kept the windows up. I'm sure your partner will be proud of the example you set for your daughter in the back seat.

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Permalink Reply by V W on December 5, 2018 at 7:42am

I would like to see some car double park in a regular (non bike) traffic lane (as opposed to a bike lane), blocking all traffic, and let's see this lack of sense of ownership that the drivers behind them will demonstrate. I know you're on this anti bike lane crusade, but I really disagree that only bikers have a sense of "ownership" over the bike lanes. If cars double parked in car lanes the way they do in bike lanes, I think you'd see just as much if not more (likely more), righteous indignation.

Permalink Reply by Mike Schwab on December 7, 2018 at 8:21pm

+99!!!

Permalink Reply by Carter O'Brien on December 5, 2018 at 7:53am
How do read this and walk away with the conclusion that the bike lane was the problem? I think you're confusing cause with correlation. The bike lane didn't cause this behavior. The motorist's false sense of entitlement (and rage issues) did.

I was biking on the street before we had any bike lanes, and can assure you that double parking and other selfish/road rage behavior like this pre-dates them. No cyclist actually confuses bike lanes on the street with standalone bike trails where there is no traffic present, they're helpful in terms of sending a clear line-in-the-sand message we belong on the street. This kind of behavior is the exception rather than the rule, so let's not throw the proverbial baby out with the bathwater here.

I'm glad you're OK, Tooscrapps. And as a parent I am just shaking my head in disgust that someone would do this with their kid as a passenger. Talk about an epic parenting fail.
Permalink Reply by Argonne69 on December 5, 2018 at 8:11am

+1000

Permalink Reply by Yasmeen on December 5, 2018 at 8:18am

Thanks for saying this Carter. There is a street that desperately needs to have a bike lane by me (in D.C.) but does not (one of the most popular Metro lines has a lot of their stations on this street). It is the worst street I've been on in all of D.C. When I first moved here, I was nearly killed. While it's not 100% and needs a lot more enforcement, bike lanes do work to make us safer. 

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on December 5, 2018 at 8:33am

Well said, Carter.

Permalink Reply by Argonne69 on December 5, 2018 at 8:50am

Nice twisted logic. If the MDX hadn't been illegally parked in the bike lane, none of this would have happened.

Permalink Reply by Argonne69 on December 5, 2018 at 12:44pm

Where? Where it's not f*cking illegal!!!!!!

I don't give a sh*t if he pulls into an alley, or has to drive to the parking lot at O'Hare. He can park any f*cking place where it's legal to park, OK??????

Just because the city refuses to write tickets doesn't change the fact that it's f*cking illegal to park in a bike lane.

Look, Einstein, there are over 50,000 miles of streets in Chicago, and a few hundred miles of bike lanes. We haven't quite made driving impossible in this city. As others have noted, we assume you believe that sidewalks should be eliminated, or at best, cars should be able to drive on to the sidewalks to take calls, right, because a driver should pretty much be able to do whatever the f*ck they want.

Permalink Reply by V W on December 6, 2018 at 5:27am

+1

Permalink Reply by Carter O'Brien on December 5, 2018 at 9:00am
I think calling that logic is overly generous. This is just textbook projection.

To address clp's rhetorical question, before there were bike lanes drivers just illegally double parked, or parked in loading zones, bus stop zones, etc., where they didn't belong. They of course still do all of these things, all the bike lane does is put this behavior into focus as we see the impact through the lens of a cyclist - who as we all know are required to bike in the street from the age of 12 onwards.
Permalink Reply by Yasmeen on December 5, 2018 at 9:09am

yeah, so, in case you aren't familiar with the history...

clp trolls. That's the truth. Just trolls and trolls and trolls. And over some pretty odd/crazy stuff too. Against all logic, he blamed the MTB riders that were victims of booby-trapped trails set up to cause serious injury because a trail user was mad at them. If there's a logical topic 99% of us agree on, there's always clp on a mission to be the lone dissenter.

Permalink Reply by Yasmeen on December 5, 2018 at 10:17am

That's the funny thing about you clp. You can't handle me arguing with you. Apparently, I have no right to according to you. Personal attacks? Whatever. More like I call you out for what you are doing. 

You tell me I don't want disagreement but actually, I think that's your problem because the second I disagree with you and your approach to the discussion, you immediately scream "foul" and devolve into whining that I have no right to disagree with you. Is it because I own the site or because I am a woman? I ride my bike every day. I participate in discussions. And I express my disagreement when I don't agree with what someone is saying. 

What makes you a troll? The fact that you don't acknowledge anyone else's POV, you just scream at all of us that we have it all wrong. e.g. "STOP THE INSANITY! NO MORE BIKE LANES!"

This forum thread is about someone pulling over, blocking a bike lane to take a call and you disrupted (see urban dictionary) the discussion to say over and over again that bike lanes should be eliminated. Complete disregard for anyone else's POV. Not really participating in the discussion but rather, trying to take over the thread with some crazy, unsubstantiated nonsense. 

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