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So I just got run off the road...

Bicyclist

Turbo Monkey
Apr 4, 2004
10,152
2
SB
...and I don't think I've ever been so pissed off.

I was riding my fixie (yeah, I have a fixie) from the grocery store home. I was on the main drag, both lights on, obeying the law giving cars some room. There's a split in the road where the main street turns slight left, and this guy in a minivan continued straight until the last second, swerved in front of me, and then rode the curb 5 feet in front. Luckily I slowed down safely behind him and it wasn't a huge safety issue. Since it was dusk I didn't get a license number, but I did report him to the 5-0. If I would have caught him at a stop light I would have hurt the bike advocacy groups in my town. I know it doesn't help anything, but that's the only thing I could think of.

I don't understand how people can mess with cyclists as often as they do. Seems just about everyone has a "getting run off the road" story, but a lot of people don't seem to get they can kill someone on a bike.
 

AngryMetalsmith

Business is good, thanks for asking
Jun 4, 2006
21,079
9,788
I have no idea where I am
...and I don't think I've ever been so pissed off.

I was riding my fixie (yeah, I have a fixie) from the grocery store home. I was on the main drag, both lights on, obeying the law giving cars some room. There's a split in the road where the main street turns slight left, and this guy in a minivan continued straight until the last second, swerved in front of me, and then rode the curb 5 feet in front. Luckily I slowed down safely behind him and it wasn't a huge safety issue. Since it was dusk I didn't get a license number, but I did report him to the 5-0. If I would have caught him at a stop light I would have hurt the bike advocacy groups in my town. I know it doesn't help anything, but that's the only thing I could think of.

I don't understand how people can mess with cyclists as often as they do. Seems just about everyone has a "getting run off the road" story, but a lot of people don't seem to get they can kill someone on a bike.


Sounds like you tried to run him off the road.

Shame on you for putting a motorist in harms way.
 

BigMike

BrokenbikeMike
Jul 29, 2003
8,931
0
Montgomery county MD
are you sure he saw you? That is the main reason for people running bicycles off the road. It's not hard to miss a car, but when most people look in their mirrors, a bicycle doesn't even register...
 

Bicyclist

Turbo Monkey
Apr 4, 2004
10,152
2
SB
I have a rear light with 1+ mile visibility and an irregular flashing pattern. Don't think he missed me. Maybe it was a mistake but it sure seemed intentional. Doubt he was drunk at 8PM but could be. Anyways, looking back at it it wasn't a huge issue (not prolonged harassment or anything) but the fact he literally could have killed me with another bad move was a bit startling.

Pinkshirt, didn't you get out of DH to ride a 29er? Sorry, but you lose. :D
 

AngryMetalsmith

Business is good, thanks for asking
Jun 4, 2006
21,079
9,788
I have no idea where I am
I have a rear light with 1+ mile visibility and an irregular flashing pattern. Don't think he missed me. Maybe it was a mistake but it sure seemed intentional. Doubt he was drunk at 8PM but could be. Anyways, looking back at it it wasn't a huge issue (not prolonged harassment or anything) but the fact he literally could have killed me with another bad move was a bit startling.

Pinkshirt, didn't you get out of DH to ride a 29er? Sorry, but you lose. :D
Well then, he probably just hates fixies. :biggrin:
 

PatBranch

Turbo Monkey
Sep 24, 2004
10,451
9
wine country
I have a rear light with 1+ mile visibility and an irregular flashing pattern. Don't think he missed me. Maybe it was a mistake but it sure seemed intentional. Doubt he was drunk at 8PM but could be. Anyways, looking back at it it wasn't a huge issue (not prolonged harassment or anything) but the fact he literally could have killed me with another bad move was a bit startling.

Pinkshirt, didn't you get out of DH to ride a 29er? Sorry, but you lose. :D
:rofl: "must spread rep..."

That's good you got out of the way!
 
...a lot of people don't seem to get they can kill someone on a bike.
Go to news.google.com and search on bicycle. Without having counted, I recall that the number of fatalities caused by car hitting bicycle is on the order of three a day.

It's a rough world out there, glad you were awake.

You'd improve your survival odds if you dumped the fixie and get a competent bicycle.
 

Bicyclist

Turbo Monkey
Apr 4, 2004
10,152
2
SB
Yeah I'm in Ojai, I'd love to talk to this guy and let him know he could have done something he didn't want to do inadvertently.

That's a pretty scary statistic. It's bizarre how people are willing to mess with cyclists so readily (although those fatalities aren't all intentional or even byproduct of hecklers I assume).

So a fixie's not a "competent" bike now, eh? :D
 

Heidi

Der hund ist laut und braun
Aug 22, 2001
10,184
797
Bend, Oregon
On the opposite side, I was riding home last night and a guy in a car passes me on an uphill, is about 200 feet past me and turns his blinker on to turn right in front of me and then sits there and waits for me to go by before he turns. He was over the top nice.
 

OGRipper

back alley ripper
Feb 3, 2004
10,647
1,116
NORCAL is the hizzle
You'd improve your survival odds if you dumped the fixie and get a competent bicycle.
Hahaha! Yeah fixies don't work at all. They've never worked for the gazillion or so years they've been around. Especially not during all those early grand tours.

:disgust1:

There are lots of clowns on fixies these days but when the fashion fades, fixies will remain.
 

sanjuro

Tube Smuggler
Sep 13, 2004
17,373
0
SF
Hahaha! Yeah fixies don't work at all. They've never worked for the gazillion or so years they've been around. Especially not during all those early grand tours.
Does your bike have wingnuts and rod shifters too?
 

KavuRider

Turbo Monkey
Jan 30, 2006
2,565
4
CT
On the opposite side, I was riding home last night and a guy in a car passes me on an uphill, is about 200 feet past me and turns his blinker on to turn right in front of me and then sits there and waits for me to go by before he turns. He was over the top nice.
I've had that happen too.
And while I appreciate what they are trying to do, sometimes it leads to a dangerous situation, especially when the cars behind them have assumed they are going to turn and not stop.
 
i just tuned up a friend's bike that had biopace rings
rumors are there's talk of trying to bring that back
I have a couple of bikes, one road and one mountain, with Biopace rings. Interesting idea, but in practice they suck.

Hahaha! Yeah fixies don't work at all. They've never worked for the gazillion or so years they've been around. Especially not during all those early grand tours.

:disgust1:

There are lots of clowns on fixies these days but when the fashion fades, fixies will remain.
I find them fascinating to ride but in the gazillion years that have elapsed good braking and shifting equipment has been designed, debugged and developed. Controlled and efficient acceleration and braking are key to surviving in urban riding.

Fixies today are the pinkie ring of bicycling.
 

Bicyclist

Turbo Monkey
Apr 4, 2004
10,152
2
SB
I ride fixed not for pure speed, nor do I ride in an urban environment.

I ride it because it's simple, cheap, and an effective way to train (especially for DH because it works your legs at a lot of different RPM's). I ride my fixie in spandex and with clipless sometimes. I'm not in it for the fashion; rather, I ride fixed because it's practical for me. Not saying novices should be commuting in NYC on a fixed, though.