Wrong to confront?

Eric S. Sande wrote:
|| The scenario is I'm riding East on L Street in moderate traffic. This
|| is in rush hour, traffic moving at about 10-15 mph.
||
|| I'm centered in the leftmost clear lane (L Street is one way) and
|| I'm up to traffic speed.
||
|| A clog up ahead gets removed and now the traffic is faster, say 20
|| mph. So I gear up and accelerate, say to 25 mph, the speed limit.
||
|| Note that I am going at legal max speed and the curb lane is lousy
|| with delivery vans and people pulling out of parking garages at the
|| end of their day.
||
|| My judgement and experience tells me that I need to be in this
|| lane and mode to be safe.
||
|| So a driver decides that because there's a momentary clear space
|| in front of me that I'm going too slowly.
||
|| They lay on the horn. Major horn blowing.
||
|| What they don't know is that I have this road timed, clocked and
|| dialed in as far as lights and traffic are concerned.
||
|| Blow as you may, I'll be in Scotland afore ye.
||
|| In actual fact, I knew that with a mild sprint I'd be on their
|| bumper at the Rite-Aid and they'd be facing a good long red
|| light.
||
|| So it was. I stopped, got off, and pulled my trusty Kryptonite
|| EVO 2000 out of the pannier pocket. I hung it on my bar and walked
|| up to the (natch) SUV.
||
|| At this point I was not interested in a violent confrontation, all
|| I wanted was a valuable dialogue. But I was spitting mad.
||
|| And I did not know what subhuman scum were piloting the offending
|| vehicle, hence the Kryptonite.
||
|| Imagine my surprise when I discovered two middle-aged church ladies
|| operating this engine of intimidation, the operator frantically
|| trying to close the windows and her passenger asking calmly, "What
|| are you trying to do with the windows?"
||
|| I was, nonplussed. As the windows went up and down.
||
|| It was bizarre, but not too bizzare for me to forego the opportunity
|| to deliver my road use lecture. Somewhat obstructed by involuntary
|| convulsions.
||
|| The capper was, as soon as the HCL had mastered her windows, she
|| stated, "Ah'm rat, ah works for the bahsicle program and you're
|| wrong."
||
|| Apparently the bicycle program involves riding your horn when behind
|| bicycles. OK, I thought, that has to be cool.
||
|| This definitely wasn't a battle I was going to win, so I made a
|| great show of reading off her license plate, pulling into the ATM
|| that was my original objective, and pretending to write down said
|| license number.
||
|| Of course I didn't have a pen.

I really think you might want to consider using a car instead of riding a
bicycle if you don't learn to control yourself. You might hurt someone.

Roger Zoul wrote:
Eric S. Sande wrote:

snip

|| But I was spitting mad.

snip

|| It was bizarre, but not too bizzare for me to forego the opportunity
|| to deliver my road use lecture. Somewhat obstructed by involuntary
|| convulsions.

snip

I really think you might want to consider using a car instead of riding a
bicycle if you don't learn to control yourself. You might hurt someone.

He apparently has the most basic qualifications for operating a motor
vehicle...getting angry in traffic.

Austin
--
I'm pedaling as fast as I durn well please!
There are no X characters in my address

Roger Zoul wrote:
Eric S. Sande wrote:

snip

|| But I was spitting mad.

snip

|| It was bizarre, but not too bizzare for me to forego the opportunity
|| to deliver my road use lecture. Somewhat obstructed by involuntary
|| convulsions.

snip

I really think you might want to consider using a car instead of riding a
bicycle if you don't learn to control yourself. You might hurt someone.

He apparently has the most basic qualifications for operating a motor
vehicle...getting angry in traffic.

Austin
--
I'm pedaling as fast as I durn well please!
There are no X characters in my address

Luigi de Guzman wtote-


The whole mess reminds me of G.K. Chesterton's old saw that the trouble
with
Christianity was not that it was tried once and abandoned; but that it
had
never been attempted in the first place at all.

We have a pretty major Mormon facility in the neighbourhood and I was
delighted to see the elders had provided the young lads they use to spread
the good word with entry level mountain bikes, on the basis that wheels and
gears would get more conversions than shoe leather alone - but they seem to
have to leave them securely locked to street signs for hours rather than
chatting from the saddle as it were.

The one thing I hate worse than sin is seeing decent bikes not ridden -
perhaps we could get those fit looking young men out on the Sunday ride -
and if they have enough breath left over after the sprints are all done then
they can preach all they want - sort of the Church of the Everlasting
Lactate.

best, Andrew

Luigi de Guzman wtote-


The whole mess reminds me of G.K. Chesterton's old saw that the trouble
with
Christianity was not that it was tried once and abandoned; but that it
had
never been attempted in the first place at all.

We have a pretty major Mormon facility in the neighbourhood and I was
delighted to see the elders had provided the young lads they use to spread
the good word with entry level mountain bikes, on the basis that wheels and
gears would get more conversions than shoe leather alone - but they seem to
have to leave them securely locked to street signs for hours rather than
chatting from the saddle as it were.

The one thing I hate worse than sin is seeing decent bikes not ridden -
perhaps we could get those fit looking young men out on the Sunday ride -
and if they have enough breath left over after the sprints are all done then
they can preach all they want - sort of the Church of the Everlasting
Lactate.

best, Andrew

Andrew Price wrote:


Luigi de Guzman wtote-


The whole mess reminds me of G.K. Chesterton's old saw that the trouble
with
Christianity was not that it was tried once and abandoned; but that it
had
never been attempted in the first place at all.

We have a pretty major Mormon facility in the neighbourhood and I was
delighted to see the elders had provided the young lads they use to spread
the good word with entry level mountain bikes, on the basis that wheels
and gears would get more conversions than shoe leather alone -

I believe it's in the Rule of Mother Theresa's Missionaries of Charity, that
the sisters should all learn to ride bicycles to enable them to go more
places.

Our local mormon proselytizers are the same way. Pity nobody taught them
about riding on the road, properly. They weave through the sidewalks and
driveways, counterflow.

If I ever encounter them when I'm on my bike, I intend to ask them, "Excuse
me, but have you accepted the Uniform Vehicle Code as your personal code
and savior?"

If I should be able to effect their conversion to proper vehicular cycling,
the possibility of bringing more souls into the light and out of the
sidewalk increases.

Suddenly, I had this mental image of a Dominican friar on a bicycle. I
should ask the next friar I meet whether it is possible to cycle in their
habit.

-Luigi


--
www.livejournal.com/users/ouij
Photos, Rants, Raves

Andrew Price wrote:


Luigi de Guzman wtote-


The whole mess reminds me of G.K. Chesterton's old saw that the trouble
with
Christianity was not that it was tried once and abandoned; but that it
had
never been attempted in the first place at all.

We have a pretty major Mormon facility in the neighbourhood and I was
delighted to see the elders had provided the young lads they use to spread
the good word with entry level mountain bikes, on the basis that wheels
and gears would get more conversions than shoe leather alone -

I believe it's in the Rule of Mother Theresa's Missionaries of Charity, that
the sisters should all learn to ride bicycles to enable them to go more
places.

Our local mormon proselytizers are the same way. Pity nobody taught them
about riding on the road, properly. They weave through the sidewalks and
driveways, counterflow.

If I ever encounter them when I'm on my bike, I intend to ask them, "Excuse
me, but have you accepted the Uniform Vehicle Code as your personal code
and savior?"

If I should be able to effect their conversion to proper vehicular cycling,
the possibility of bringing more souls into the light and out of the
sidewalk increases.

Suddenly, I had this mental image of a Dominican friar on a bicycle. I
should ask the next friar I meet whether it is possible to cycle in their
habit.

-Luigi


--
www.livejournal.com/users/ouij
Photos, Rants, Raves

"AustinMN" wrote:
Roger Zoul wrote:

I really think you might want to consider using a car instead of riding
a
bicycle if you don't learn to control yourself. You might hurt
someone.

He apparently has the most basic qualifications for operating a motor
vehicle...getting angry in traffic.

Austin

The OP did not brandish the Kryptonite, nor did he use it to vandalize the
SUV, nor did he assault or batter anyone with it. He merely kept it visible
so that the motorist he was talking to (who was displaying a fair bit of
inappropriate anger herself) wouldn't be as likely to get nasty with him. He
did take the risk that the motorist was carrying something more effective
than a rubber coated bicycle lock, but that was his choice.

The two paragons of Christian virtue in the Stupid Useless Vehicle weren't
hurt, and they will probably think twice before they harass other road users
in the future.
--
mark

"AustinMN" wrote:
Roger Zoul wrote:

I really think you might want to consider using a car instead of riding
a
bicycle if you don't learn to control yourself. You might hurt
someone.

He apparently has the most basic qualifications for operating a motor
vehicle...getting angry in traffic.

Austin

The OP did not brandish the Kryptonite, nor did he use it to vandalize the
SUV, nor did he assault or batter anyone with it. He merely kept it visible
so that the motorist he was talking to (who was displaying a fair bit of
inappropriate anger herself) wouldn't be as likely to get nasty with him. He
did take the risk that the motorist was carrying something more effective
than a rubber coated bicycle lock, but that was his choice.

The two paragons of Christian virtue in the Stupid Useless Vehicle weren't
hurt, and they will probably think twice before they harass other road users
in the future.
--
mark

"mark" wrote

"AustinMN" wrote:
Roger Zoul wrote:

I really think you might want to consider using a car instead of
riding
a
bicycle if you don't learn to control yourself. You might hurt
someone.

He apparently has the most basic qualifications for operating a motor
vehicle...getting angry in traffic.

Austin

The OP did not brandish the Kryptonite, nor did he use it to vandalize
the
SUV, nor did he assault or batter anyone with it. He merely kept it
visible
so that the motorist he was talking to (who was displaying a fair bit of
inappropriate anger herself) wouldn't be as likely to get nasty with him.
He
did take the risk that the motorist was carrying something more effective
than a rubber coated bicycle lock, but that was his choice.

The two paragons of Christian virtue in the Stupid Useless Vehicle
weren't
hurt, and they will probably think twice before they harass other road
users
in the future.

High risk, low reward.