The Chainlink

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.

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Permalink Reply by Blatherskate on August 8, 2012 at 1:02pm

I actually had a cyclist threaten to shoot me recently. I was going westbound on logan, waiting at the light on sacramento with two younger girls to my right. You blew through the light, right between the young girls and myself. So I was already irked when one block up, with no indication at all, you decided to turn around to your left and go back the wrong way.

I almost hit you and informed you of the boneheaded move. You scream "FUCK YOU". I stop and say "excuse me? you just passed me and knew I was right behind you." You again, "FUCK YOU! come down here so I can shoot you!" You reach into your messenger bag (I was thinking "why should I come down there if he has a gun? Can't he just shoot me from where he stands?") and act like you're grabbing a gun.

Long story short, I knew he didn't have a gun, I yelled at you and all you could say as you rode off was "FUCK YOU!" I apologized to the girls for you.

No sir, fuck you.

Permalink Reply by Blatherskate on August 8, 2012 at 3:04pm

Valid point. Perhaps "scofflaw" would be more apt.

Hell, maybe he's a chainlinker?

Serge Lubomudrov said:

"Sir"? You call that amoeba "sir"? You way too polite :)

Blatherskate said:

Long story short, I knew he didn't have a gun, I yelled at you and all you could say as you rode off was "FUCK YOU!" I apologized to the girls for you.

No sir, fuck you.

Permalink Reply by Jason W on August 8, 2012 at 3:57pm

Uh, if someone threatens you like that you should have called 911. Threatening someone with a gun is a felony.

Permalink Reply by Tim S on August 8, 2012 at 4:07pm

To the impossibly hip hipster that took issue with me taking issue with riding on the sidewalk as you wizzed by very close on a narrow side street walkway. Judging by your ire I think you know you were wrong. Was it necessary to drop you bike and walk towards me in a menacing way? Sorry I laughed but what a joke. getting pissed at me and asking me if it would be so hard to step off the sidewalk so you could ride on it to your place, then following me in a threatening manner, the best was after I walked away you continued to yell at my back about how you had rode back down the sidewalk and then were going to salmon up our street.

I meant it when I said you were one of the reasons bikers were not liked much.

Hit me up if you want to go for a ride neighbour!

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on August 8, 2012 at 6:47pm

You can't trust a junkie...

Serge Lubomudrov said:

Blatherskate said:

I actually had a cyclist threaten to shoot me recently.

Ouch.

Permalink Reply by David P. on August 8, 2012 at 6:59pm

Half an hour ago, on northbound Milwaukee at Armitage:

I was waiting at the red light with three or four other cyclists in the right part of the lane, cars to the left. You shot through the 4-foot gap between me and a couple of other cyclists at about 15mph right before you blew the red at full speed. Way to go, champ! If anyone's asking for it, it's you.

Permalink Reply by Bicycle Poet on August 10, 2012 at 11:06am

When I anticipate or actually get the unnecessary "wave-through", I intentionally look away while standing still on my bike at the stop-sign intersection.  9/10 times the motorists gets impatient because of my lack of response or even acknowledgement of their "wave-through", and they move on (as they should have in the first place).

When approaching a stop-sign intersection where it is clear that the motor vehicle was there before me (and there are no other motor vehicles), I often give the motorist the "wave-through" so that they know I'm not going to blow the sign and make them wait there.  Rightfully so, due to poor biking behaviors, many motorists are apprehensive about accelerating through a stop-sign intersection when they see a bike approaching.  I attempt to calm their fear and move traffic along (so that I can move once I reach the intersection) with my "wave-through".

My last tid-bit on this, when approaching a stop-sign intersection with a motor vehicle on my right who was there before me, in addition to giving them the "wave-through", I'll also often turn and start to bike towards the rear of their vehicle (or behind it), giving them a clear indication that my projected path is not in front of them.

I find these things help me navigate more smoothly through stop-sign intersections while keeping respect for other users of the road.  I hope these tips help other cyclists.

Permalink Reply by Dovah Cat on August 10, 2012 at 3:37pm

To the woman I hit on the lake path this morning, unfortunately not a "missed" connection, 

I hope you're having a wonderful vacation. I'm glad I didn't completely mow you down and ruin your trip, but I'm wishing you had been hurt a tad bit - maybe it'll teach you to be more aware of your surroundings. But, hey, next time you're trying to be cute with your fancy Spanish lover and giggle and run away from waves that aren't really coming anywhere near you, don't leap backwards into what is obviously a path for cyclists and rollerbladers and other things on wheels that move faster than you seem to be able to think. I was in a fantastic mood getting an awesome tail wind, and you literally jumped INTO my bike with excellent timing enough to throw me and bike into some concrete that scraped up my baby's shiny white paint (which is the real reason I'm upset) - and I regret being so damn pleasant now that I'm home and putting stingy things on my new road rash. I'm always paying attention but I'm definitely not accounting for stupidity, I'm just glad your rather unobservant self was not hurt. Hey, instead of that skyway thing, we should spend the city's money on a bikes only trail. Or a fence. 

Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on August 10, 2012 at 3:53pm

I think there is a picture of people on the lake front path in all dictionaries next to the definition of "stupidity". :-)   And sorry about you and your bike.

Permalink Reply by Dovah Cat on August 10, 2012 at 3:57pm

Yeah, unfortunately there's that rare time when I'm able to ride at a good clip and not worry about cars/crowds and I'm not accounting for one of the only people out who isn't anywhere near my lane and (wasn't) in motion when I saw her. Boo. 

Also - to the man heading south around 10 AM right before Ohio Beach - you were really handsome, and even more so as you rode steadily through the nasty waves lapping all the way across the path on a recumbent bike, grinning like an idiot. Now THAT is attractive. 


Serge Lubomudrov said:

Don't get me wrong, I'm not blaming you or anything, but if you're "not accounting for stupidity," you haven't been paying attention ;)


Permalink Reply by Don on August 14, 2012 at 9:28am

To the driver of the southbound Milwaukee bus who was stopped at Grand about 8:30 this morning...my Chrome messenger bag distributes weight on my back so perfectly but one of its drawbacks is that it protrudes out a bit from my back on both sides, especially when I'm bent over on my bike.  So when I was riding in tight quarters between a line of cars on the left and your bus in the right lane, I totally didn't intend for my messenger bag to whack your side mirror.  You said "nice job" as you stuck your head out the window and adjusted your mirror and I apologized.  But then when we got to Kinzie, you gave me a friendly honk signaling me to go over into the left turn lane and I waved back in gratitude.  That was really cool.  We're all good now right?

And to the cabbie who decided to run over a pedestrian and smash into a bunch of things at Chicago/Milwaukee this morning, fuck you.

Permalink Reply by blair on August 14, 2012 at 9:39am

That cabbie really did a number on the intersection.  Looked like they were filming another Transformers movie when I went through around 7:00am.

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