Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Commuting with Angry Words

There are innumerable things about bicycle commuting that annoy me.  However, I find it is most often other cyclists (or sometimes just people on bikes) that tend to drive me over the edge.  This morning was one such instance.  I happened to be Cat 6 racing with a guy I have seen on a few other mornings as well.  This particular individual is one of those riders that doesn't think traffic laws and common courtesy apply to him.  I passed him again after he ran through a stop sign I was stopped at and mention this to him.  He dropped some stuff trying to get his headphones out, so I simply nodded and rode off.  He caught up to me again at a light I was waiting at and I decided to engage him again with "You should really think about learning to obey the traffic control devices."  He fired back with "OK, whatever you say mom."  I decided to really turn the screws and pointed out "You should also get some lights so you don't look like such a douche."  At this point he just started screaming the f word and the light changed, so I rode off.

I realized later that I am really probably doing the same thing he is.  Just so much as he is riding like a total moron and in a completely stealth fashion (stealth is bad on public roadways, by the way) I see him as presenting a danger to me because his idiocy negatively influences the opinions of local driver toward cyclists.  By calling him out on his questionable techniques in such a harsh manner I am probably steeling his resolve against ever riding responsibly.  Thus, the circle of stupid is complete.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

It is a shame that a few people give the rest of us a bad name.
We need to be able to issue tickets. I guess that there would need to be laws making lights mandatory in order for that to work.

Banger said...

There should be. Automobiles are required to have them for the same safety reasons. Many bicyclists incorrectly assume that reflective material is sufficient. If it was, we would allow automobiles to drive around with no lights and reflective strips on them.

Anonymous said...

I love hipsters

Banger said...

Please tell me where you are located and I will freely send all the Fairbanks hilpsters I can find your way.