Harrassed on my commute home
I got harassed by four separate motorists on my commute home this evening! I was riding down Lincoln, in the middle of the lane for parts of it because I didn't feel safe riding all the way to the right. Lincoln does not have a bike land, only sharrows. I don't like to ride inside of the door zone, and cars were passing me too close on the right. I got honked at a lot and yelled at. Same thing happened on Aldine. I try to ride down side streets because they have less motor traffic. I don't quite understand why the cars didn't go one block over to Belmont instead, if they were sick of being stuck behind me. A taxi and a Cadillac followed me for two miles, honking and yelling the whole way, while following too closely. Sorry for the rant, I am just getting frustrated with asshole drivers. Am I being too aggressive by riding in the middle of the lane?
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by David Barish on -
I like Melanie's advice. I have been using Lincoln for...well lets say a long time. I ride on the far left side of the right side. That non sequitor means I try to leave room on the right to react to doors and room on the left to let cars and faster bikes pass me. I always use a mirror and am aware of what is going on behind me. I tend to occupy more of the lane when its clear and less of it when there is traffic. You have to use common sense, discretion and a little bit of rhythm. I often find my commute much like dancing but I am a much better bike rider than dancer. When I get to a light I position myself in between to allow turners a way through to my right while allowing speed racer to dart to my left.
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Permalink Reply by notoriousDUG on -
Taking a lane and blocking it at well under the speed limit is not trying to get home safely; it is being a selfish road user and asking for trouble.
Sure, it is our right to take the lane but is it really the safest choice? I think not. I would much rather ride the middle of the sharrow and keep a close eye on the parked cars for a potential dooring than ride in a position that forces motorists to either pass me closely or be held up.
It's about sharing the road and taking a whole lane is selfish entitled behavior. We have a duty to ride not only safely AND courteously; failing to take into account how your actions affect drivers and understanding why certain things frustrate them is the number one cause of ill-will between motorists and cyclists.
Zoetrope said:Way to stick up for your fellow cyclist. How did you get "pissing contest" out of this? You're telling him to get home safely when that's exactly what he was trying to do, was it not?
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Permalink Reply by notoriousDUG on
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How is blocking traffic safe?
Do you understand what sharing the road even means?
Zoetrope said:Stupid me, you're right. He was clearly trying to get home un-safely.
So you would prefer cyclists just put their tail between their legs and carry their bikes over to the sidewalk when cars are buzzing, honking and yelling? That's definitely sending a message to motorists that cyclists have a right to the road at all times, as opposed to just a small portion of it when drivers are feeling charitable.
Duppie said:Was he?
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Permalink Reply by Adam Herstein (5.5 mi) on -
I feel that I shouldn't have to put my own safety at risk just so some driver can get home 30 seconds sooner.
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Permalink Reply by notoriousDUG on
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Letting cars that are backed up behind you when there is room to do so is not putting yourself in danger unless you have truly horrible bike handling skills and a near total lack of situational awareness. You forced two cars to be stuck behind you for two miles! Please tell me that you can see how that is frustrating to the motorists. You can justify your selfish behavior by saying they should have taken a route that was more convenient to you but the inverse of that is that YOU could have taken a route that was more convenient to THEM!
Are you seriously going to try and tell me that there was, at no point, an area where you could have safely squeezed over to let them pass? I have never had to force a car to wait behind me for a BLOCK let alone TWO MILES. It is not hard to judge a space of 2-3 parked cars in which it is safe to squeeze over, or even just slow down enough to not worry about getting doored, so that you can get passed at a safe distance.
Also, do you have any idea how frustrating/annoying it is to motorists to have you hold them up in traffic only to have you pass them at a light gaining distance on them and then cutting back in farther up and continuing to hold up the works? I am not sure I can think of a more dick move to pull in traffic, if you want to take the whole lane you need to continue to take the whole lane at signals; if the shared lane is to narrow to be safe when cars can pass you how does it suddenly become safe when you can pass them?
Adam Herstein said:I feel that I shouldn't have to put my own safety at risk just so some driver can get home 30 seconds sooner.
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Permalink Reply by Lanterne Rouge on -
Am I missing something here? I've rode Lincoln to Wells a ton, and never felt unsafe or forced to ride in the door zone. If you ride the middle of the sharrows, you'll be fine. It is my feeling that if you're over any more than that, you may have some sort of paranoia in regards to riding city streets or packed roads.
Google street view Lincoln & Berteau. On the SW corner, there's a woman in a minivan parked on Lincoln there, with her drivers side door wide open. You can see that if you're smack in the middle of the sharrow, you'd avoid being doored (albeit, with not much room to spare.)
I'd also suggest using quieter side-streets if you feel endangered or skittish about riding major roads. Often times, I'll even do that just for some peace and quiet and the ability to "stretch out" and ride in the middle of a lane.
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Permalink Reply by David Barish on
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We need to be mindful of Marshall McLuhan. Our words and actions need to jive. I agree with Dug's intent but think perhaps his word choice belied his message. I read that message as - The road is a cooperative acitivty. bikes, cars, etc all have to play together. I completely agree with him. One could argue his tone (we all get hyped a bit and I will give him a pass) was less cooperative. Lincoln Ave. is a perfect vehicle for this discussion as there is room on both sides for the experienced cyclist. We must keep our eyes peeled for doors as we should not be smack dab in the middle of the lane unless we are making a maneuver or otherwise temporarily occupying. The far right is also a poor place to be (both on the road and otherwise). Darting from behind cars to being in sight is not a great way to ride. Take a straight line in between the parked cars and driving ones. Everybody moves except when somebody double parks. If you do not yet have the experience to do this you may not be ready for riding this road. I admit urban cycling can be claustophobic for the inexperienced. It takes time to get comfortable.
This morning I rode in with a group and a guy was making a delivery with a small truck on Wells and took up the bike lane. Somebody in the group must have barked at him. He said "Hey, I'm just trying to do my job." He really had no other option and didn't deserve the dissonance. It was not hard to ride around him. I would have less tolerance for a car just sitting there outside of a Starbucks.
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Permalink Reply by Zoetrope on -
Dug, since the issue of how cyclists are perceived by the public is clearly dear to you, (unfortunately more than rider safety) I highly recommend you spend less time acting like a prick on the Chainlink and at Rapid Trans, and more time having compassion for and patience with fellow cyclists.
notoriousDUG said:...fanatical trolling...
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Permalink Reply by Duppie 13.5185km on -
Agreed. You should have not to put your safety at risk. And there are some narrow stretches on Lincoln where one can justify taking the lane.
But the question raised by many in this thread is whether you did yourself a disservice by taking the lane for 2 miles straight. In my opinion you did.
Adam Herstein said:I feel that I shouldn't have to put my own safety at risk just so some driver can get home 30 seconds sooner.
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Permalink Reply by Nick Butterfield on -
i've noticed a trend here, of late. any time you can get zeotrope, or really, any radical moral absolutist, to agree with you, you're probably wrong.
it also seems unlikely that a delay of two miles would have cost them just 30 seconds.any time you deliberately choose a dangerous activity, your right to safety, while still definitely your right, is superceded by your obligation to behave in a manner that is decent to those most affected by your choice. if you lack the confidence to behave decently, to bike well in the city, then perhaps you should stick to trail riding, and start taking the train to work.
notoriousDUG said:How is blocking traffic safe?
Do you understand what sharing the road even means?
Zoetrope said:Stupid me, you're right. He was clearly trying to get home un-safely.
So you would prefer cyclists just put their tail between their legs and carry their bikes over to the sidewalk when cars are buzzing, honking and yelling? That's definitely sending a message to motorists that cyclists have a right to the road at all times, as opposed to just a small portion of it when drivers are feeling charitable.
Duppie said:Was he?
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Permalink Reply by adam shaffer on
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ill second that
Kevin C said:Difficult to tell from your account of the events, but if you are obstructing a taxi and a Cadillac for two miles, you are no longer traffic, you are a traffic hazard. Taking the lane is a short term solution to traffic impediments and stretches of fast roads where there's not adequate room to ride to the right and avoid the door zone. I don't think aggressive is the proper adjective. You may not be fast enough or may be lacking in bike handling skills that make it difficult for you to ride with traffic. If your solution is that cars should get off the road which you have decided to occupy, and take an alternate route, it doesn't sound like you're being an aware or astute "share the road" user. Drivers get frustrated with asshole bike riders too.
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Permalink Reply by Cameron 7.5 mi on -
Unfortunately in the long run, the how cyclists are perceived and rider safety really can't be separated. A number of things including, continued funding of cycling infrastructure, enforcement of laws designed to protect cyclists, keeping Barrington Hills style restrictions on cyclists rare, and improving general driver behavior around cyclists are dependent on cyclists being perceived as proper road users by most people.
Lincoln is a complicated give and take. It's a very tight space with a lot of people trying to use it in several different ways. Everyone has to do their part to share the road on a congested street like. Whether that means drivers letting a cyclist merge and take the lane when approaching a particularly tight spot, or cyclists slowing down so that they can move over and let drivers pass in other places everyone has to give something up to make street like Lincoln work.
Zoetrope said:Dug, since the issue of how cyclists are perceived by the public is clearly dear to you, (unfortunately more than rider safety) I highly recommend you spend less time acting like a prick on the Chainlink and at Rapid Trans, and more time having compassion for and patience with fellow cyclists.
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