tip of the helmet to a motorist

Too often we find motorists who infuriate us if not endanger us. Every once in a while we find a kindred spirit or a friendly face. Rather than the typical rant thread how about one where we encounter allies in four wheeled vehicles? I had this happen today.

Standing over my bike at a red light on Washington at Clark in the bike lane I am at the last light of my commute. It has been a delightful ride with breakfast shared with two fellow riders.One of them is with me. A van drives up next to us and will make a right turn. I see it's signal. The passenger rolls down the window and tells my friend and I how she applauds us riding on a still somewhat wintery early spring morning. She urges us to have a good rest of the ride and a good day. She tells us how healthy we are and my friend chimes in about the psychological benefits we are reaping as well. Flush with the spirit of the upcoming holiday she wishes us a happy Easter. We have no need to let her know we celebrate Passover rather than Easter and both hope she has a great one. She indeed resurrected my faith in the humanity of motorists.

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Permalink Reply by Alex Z on March 28, 2018 at 3:13am

A great way to start the workday. :) Thanks for sharing.

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Permalink Reply by David P. on March 28, 2018 at 3:39am

Years ago, when I lived in Detroit, I was riding downtown on E. Jefferson. It was in the middle of a repaving project, and about half of the westbound side was marked off with orange barriers. At one point a car went past me, then moved in front of me, slowed down and made a right turn. It wasn't really dangerous, but it was definitely bad judgment. As I rode on, the driver pulled up and waited for me, and rolled down his window to apologize. It made my day!

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Permalink Reply by Cheryl on March 28, 2018 at 4:18am

I had a lovely chat with - gasp! - a taxi driver at a red light last week. He rollled down his window and complimented me on biking on a not-so-warm day. I told him I stay warm when I'm moving, he noted that it was sunny out at least, and we shared hope that spring will arrive soon. It was so nice and refreshing. Such little things can really make my day.

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Permalink Reply by Michelle S on March 28, 2018 at 9:50am

I came on Chainlink today to post about a recent crash and a scary near hit from the past two weeks, but I can't find the Close Calls thread, and now that I've read this thread, I feel that I should focus on the positive experiences, instead. I agree that there a lot of good, considerate drivers out there. Plus, I get a lot of really nice interaction from my bike, with drivers, other bike riders, pedestrians, you name it. People ask directions, say nice things about my clothing, ask me about my bike or accessories, give well-meaning advice about how I should pump up my tires or wear a helmet. One time a man pulled up to me at a red light and said he loved how many people bike in Chicago, and also that I reminded him of his mother (again, so nicely intended, LOL, I guess she also liked riding bikes).

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on March 28, 2018 at 10:48am

Believe it or not, I've occasionally had pleasant exchanges with CTA bus drivers while going down the street. Yes, it does happen once in a while.

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Permalink Reply by TonyP on March 28, 2018 at 4:47pm

In my experience there are way more courteous drivers than jerks, but if 50 drivers show respect and one almost puts you into a curb, well, we all know which one gets remembered.

I hung a camera under my saddle, pointing to the rear, and was honestly surprised by the numbers of drivers who leave plenty of room between him\her and myself and wait till it's safe to pass without crowding me.

Most of my riding is the southwest corner of the city and beyond.