Anger management

[Paul.G.]

Best advice is try to ignore it and let it pass. I spent far too many years and spoiled too many rides by getting stressed by just about every car that passed me too close etc etc. Now I just take a deep breath and carry on regardless, why the hell should I let some n*b ruin my favourite activity!

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Likewise. And I use cycling as a stress buster, to manage my anger of giving up smoking after 25 years

Ha. I use to road cycling as a stress buster, to manage my anger at being too old, fat, unfit, and brain damaged to play rugby union any more.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

I know it is not directly applicable to this case, but I find saying "Thank You!" with a cheery wave really confuses them

I make the phone shape with my right hand smile and mouth "Call me!" sometimes. For the same effect.

 

[Stephen C]

Best advice is try to ignore it and let it pass. I spent far too many years and spoiled too many rides by getting stressed by just about every car that passed me too close etc etc. Now I just take a deep breath and carry on regardless, why the hell should I let some n*b ruin my favourite activity!

I also found I would cycle more aggressively and dangerously when angry, not good. If I get a close pass, I just stick my arm sideways to show that I think it was a bit close and that I probably could have touched their car. Even if they don't notice, it almost always makes the car following give me plenty of room!

 

[sheddy]

I know that it's hard not to, but the Police will say that you exacerbated the situation by using the fingers.

 

[Cuchilo]

Thanks for the replies . I have decided to leave it as we where probably both wound up and no one was actually hurt .
I still find the attitude towards cyclists strange as I drive a fair bit aswell ( white van man ) Maybe I should pop in the college and ask if he wants to play bumper cars now we are on even terms

 

[MarkF]

I used to get mad, at every driver transgression, I'd have verbals nearly every day, real slanging matches, sometimes they escalated with wing mirrors taking off. It got in way of enjoying cycling and I've made real effort to just take a deep breath and let things go..........nowadays unless it's a really bad manouvre, one that puts me in danger then I refrain from going crackers. I enjoy cycling a lot more now.

 

[Tin Pot]

I know that it's hard not to, but the Police will say that you exacerbated the situation by using the fingers.

And they would be right.

 

[Sittingduck]

Suck in the hate
Breathe out the love

If that fails just resort to lots of four lettered utterings...

 

[400bhp]

As soon as you stooped to their level (lower perhaps) by giving the hand signal, you lost unfortunately. Plus you could have just sat behind him at the lights.

I know it's really really hard but if you stop and think, it was never going to end amicably after that.

If you can, then either ignore or approach in an assertive (not agressive) manner. It does work. For example a tap on the window and a "was a bit hairy back there for me mate-I wasn't sure if you were gonna drive into the side of me."

He might have know what the car was behing, some of us petrolheads can spot cars by their headlight beams for example.

Easy to say behine the keyboard and don't take this as a lecture because it's not meant to be.

 

[Cuchilo]

And they would be right.

Really ? When did the law change to make it ok to attack someone who gave you a hand gesture ?
Anyhow , most of you are right and I guess I will just have to remember I am old now and take a back seat when it comes to getting stick . It aint gonna be that easy though

 

[400bhp]

I know it is not directly applicable to this case, but I find saying "Thank You!" with a cheery wave really confuses them

Yup, that's what I tend to do, or "helloooo".

 

[Arjimlad]

I have had more apologies than abuse on those occasions when I have politely said Good Morning, then explained how out of all of the cars which passed me today theirs was by far the closest, and dangerously so, and perhaps if they weren't on the phone they'd have noticed me sooner & been able to pass safer, please try to leave more space next time etc etc..

Calm, no hand signals, no profanity, almost friendly, and next time the pass is much safer.

It does sound like Car A was being driven by an imbecile though..

I wrote a polite letter to such an imbecile who lives around the corner from me & stuck it under his wiper blade later that day when his car was parked in the drive. He hasn't repeated his dangerous driving around me since then, despite many opportunities.

 

[zophiel]

I nearly went over the top mad today walking our dogs back through the cemetery to our home from the post office, a trip we do 6 days a week. Some aged clown decides to put there foot down towards me, my wife and our two dogs on short leads, giving us no time to move to one side of the road/path to allow them more room than they needed to pass. They slam on just behind us beeping the horn and shouting to move. I turn around wave my hand at them, so driver old male gets out and starts towards us. Telling us we should be walking on graves and not in the path/road, grabs my jacket at this point I push him away and tell him to shut up and go away. His mouthy wife then gets out and starts with a verbal tirade of abuse with colourful language. So we set off walking again and she continues this abuse walking behind us. The old man gets in his car and floors it past us very close and beeps on the way past to stop just 30 feet in front of where we turn onto another path.

All this could have been avoided if they were not speeding the cemetery and waited 10 more seconds for us to move more to the side. It was a close call on him being knocked back into his car.

 

[Leodis]

Watched a MTB'er go through a red as I was walking across today, told him red means stop, he told me to fark off I then dragged the mud rat off his shoot bike, kicked him in the head and let down his tires I walked off shaking my head