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.

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Alex Z on September 9, 2014 at 10:57am

Wow, nice.

Julia 3.5/7.5 mi said:

I got a little fed up and finally just dismounted and stood with my bike in the lane. I was easily spottable by cyclists approaching from up the block (many of whom were trying to navigate around said cars), but every single car out of line had to merge back over into their correct lane. One of the offenders actually gave me a "thanks, sorry" wave,

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on September 10, 2014 at 4:54am

That's the really scary thing. Most of the time I'm awake and actually paying attention, unlike too many drivers who are too busy texting, talking on the phone or arguing with someone in their car to be fully aware of what's happening around them on the road.

At the other end of the spectrum, thumbs up to the cabbie on Adams this a.m. who actually slowed down before driving through a big curbside puddle and didn't splash peds on the sidewalk, unlike the previous driver.

Jennifer on the lake said:

And yet people drive this way. All the time.

Anne Alt said:

Same here. Sometimes that means that I fail to see a vehicle at a 4-way stop - or they fail to see me. The more tired you are, the easier it is to miss something important.

Lisa Gordon said:

90% of my mistakes on the road are when I'm tired. I think it's an inherent hazard of biking. At the end of a long ride or a long day or a long week, it's so much easier to make those mistakes.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jenn_5.5 mi on September 10, 2014 at 12:26pm

Me riding bike north on Lincoln

You, Dude getting out of your car

Me: Evening
U: I fucking saw you
Me: All I said was 'evening'
U: Don't fucking talk to me fatty
Me: seriously, I said evening. I know I'm fat, I am riding my bike
U: quit fucking talking to me and go exercise
Me: I hope you have a good evening, sir! *gave him a thumbs up*

You, sir, are an Asshole! And calling me a fatty. Really!? Are you in high school? No shit I'm a fat. Thank you Captain Obvious. I wasn't even being a smart ass when I said evening. I was just making sure you seen me. I mean, I'm a fatty wearing a Hi-Viz yellow jersey. I hope to whomever your god is- you seen me!

I hope for the sake of everyone around you, you were just having a really shitty day and took it out on me.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Steve Weeks on September 10, 2014 at 1:52pm

Jenn, you are too charitable. That guy was an asshole casserole, a right prick. It wouldn't surprise me to hear he was exiting a BMW, Mercedes or Cadillac. Keep riding and remember the old latin saying: "Illegitimati non carborundum", which translates loosely as "don't let the bastards wear you down". ;-)

Steve

Jenn_5.5 mi said:

Me riding bike north on Lincoln

You, Dude getting out of your car

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Steve Weeks on September 10, 2014 at 2:00pm

To the well-coiffed woman in the SUV on Jackson Blvd a couple blocks west of Union Station trying to cross 2 lanes (with no traffic) to pull into an alley: the expression on your face as I gave you a long blast on my air horn was well worth the extra few seconds it cost me to slow down in case you didn't stop. Kudos on your good reflexes! Next time you notice a *very* bright headlight coming towards you, pay a little more attention.

Steve

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on September 10, 2014 at 2:46pm

To the young female cyclist at LaSalle and Adams this evening:

I was crossing Adams as a pedestrian with the walk signal. You were westbound on Adams, flying through in the middle of a red light. You were riding right at me. As I put my hand up to suggest that you slow down and not crash into me, you said "fuck you." Really?!?

Three strikes against you for being totally in the wrong: running the red light, not yielding to a pedestrian and being a jerk. As a fellow cyclist, I consider you an embarrassment to the rest of us. Thank you SOOO much for making the rest of us look bad, and for creating a potential hazard to someone (me, with a not-quite-healed ankle fracture) who couldn't quickly get out of your inconsiderate way.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Steve Weeks on September 10, 2014 at 3:38pm

I consider this the "glass ceiling" for bicycles as serious transportation. We will never get full respect on the street as long as significant numbers of us are flagrantly violating traffic laws.

Today I encountered a rider heading west on the Jackson Blvd bike lane. I said simply "wrong way, buddy", but I don't think he (or any of these self-centered fools) gives a shit. It's sad, but I think the only way this state of affairs will change is if the police begin issuing tickets and/or impounding bikes.

Steve

Anne Alt said:

To the young female cyclist at LaSalle and Adams this evening:
As a fellow cyclist, I consider you an embarrassment to the rest of us.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Fran Kondorf on September 10, 2014 at 4:07pm

I had two different morons last week salmoning straight at me in the bike lane in heavy traffic around 4pm- one on California and the other on Damen. Both times I was approaching an intersection with cars stacked up and nowhere to go. And both times these drool cases just kept coming toward me until I yelled at them.

Share the road, indeed.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Steve Weeks on September 10, 2014 at 4:45pm

I agree with you completely. But as the "new kids on the block" (and, yes, I know that cyclists were on the roads before cars, but hardly anyone remembers that), we are in a sense under the microscope as far as motorists are concerned. The "dumb cyclist crap" isn't likely to directly cause the demise of a cyclist here or there, but it sets a "tone" for how cyclists are seen by motorists... and *that* is where the danger lies. The car that knocks me off my bike may be driving carelessly (or angry) because of other cyclists he or she has seen recently doing "dumb cyclist crap". I agree that respect engenders good behavior, but we as a group are perceived as not respecting motorized traffic, and to a certain extent not even other cyclists.

I don't like the idea of police action (which is unlikely to happen anyway), but how do you suggest we improve our position?

Steve

Jeff Schneider said:

No dumb cyclist crap even remotely compares to that.

In this chicken and egg argument, I think it's more often that good behavior flows from respect rather than the other way around.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Steve Weeks on September 10, 2014 at 11:56pm

I see what you did there. ;-)

But it's not a completely symmetrical relationship, is it? Who has the power (horsepower), the momentum (massive), the numerical superiority, the "established" social status?

Steve

h' 1.0 said:

I agree with you completely. The "dumb motorist crap" isn't likely to directly cause the demise of a motorist here or there, but it sets a "tone" for how motorists are seen by cyclists and pedestrians... and *that* is where the danger lies. The cyclist that causes me to crash may be riding carelessly (or angry) because of other motorists he or she has seen recently doing "dumb motorist crap". I agree that respect engenders good behavior, but we as a group are perceived as not respecting non-motorized traffic, and to a certain extent not even other motorists.

Just trying this to see if it works...