Losing it

[Nigeyy]

I might be wrong but I think Mass allows concealed weapons (don't know for sure as I'm not into them really). Sadly I cannot take a helmet cam or camera on my commute, but I do shout in an English accent though Although to be honest, I don't think the camera would make any difference at all anyway due to:

i. Most people here do not know (or care for that matter if their driving discretions are posted on youtube) for helmet cams. Me pointing at my helmet would probably be taken for "He's a mentally deranged Englishman and he's pointing at his head."
ii. Mass and US license plates are pretty small -doubtful I'd get good enough resolution to read plates.
iii. Policing tends to be fragmented -as in for each town they have their own little police force. Reporting a driver from another town just isn't likely to be looked into, especially since for all their intents and purposes, nothing happened. A cop in town A is not going to drive to town B to give any kind of warning.
iv. as is distressingly often the case, I doubt the police here would take it seriously.
v. Whoever I report will then have the right to know who I am depending on the action taken.

Nige, i take it that MA doesnt have that law where anyone can carry concealed weapons?

I would take the the madnatom approach...........chase them down shout at them in an incomprehensible scottish accent, point at your helmet a lot and then post it on you tube.

Andy

 

[hackbike 6]

Well, I still don't feel proud of what I did. And I can't help but think in another similar situation I could have ended up being in some big trouble (a lot of psychos in the states, and yes, some of whom do carry guns).

I can't blame you.

The thing that saddens me about people these days is their couldn't care less attitude to other human beings.My neighbours being prime examples.
Motorists another.

Im out of this country on 2nd July so hopefully I will get a rest from it.Hong Kong awaits.

 

[Plax]

My commute is fairly uneventful, but this last couple of days I've had a few minor incidents. Yesterday a bus tried to flatten me. He was waiting (on my right hand side) to turn right. I wanted to turn right up the road he was waiting at. I was on the main road, so my right of way. I signal and start to turn right and he decides to take this opportunity to also move off. He had to do an emergency stop. I mean what the eff was he thinking? Even if I was cycling straight on he shouldn't have pulled out anyway. I remained calm, muttered some unlady like words under my breath, glared at the driver as I went past and carried on cycling.

Today I had a builders van try and overtake me on a bend, but he had to break and pull back in due to oncoming traffic. When he went finally went past the passenger shouted "cycle track" (which incidentally there was none on that road, although you can use a shared path that goes around the lake to avoid that stretch of road. I don't tend to use it at this time of year due to the increasing number of Peds that wander aimlessly all over the path and the amount of dogs not on the lead). I shouted back "Highway code" and that was that.

They say they come in threes so we shall see what I get tomorrow.

 

[hackbike 6]

I don't tend to use it at this time of year due to the increasing number of Peds that wander aimlessly all over the path and the amount of dogs not on the lead).

It isn't compulsory as far as I know.

Only incident(s) I have had is a rather unforgiving Scotsman.....Tar Mac and some sharp object inserting itself in my rear tyre.

 

[Trillian]

theres a bus lane making three lanes for a roundabout thats on my way home, straight on and right, left and bus lane (reading right to left)

and every time I think the bus is going to go left so i pull out, to find the tail end of the bus coming to whack me (not succeeded yet) i'm convinced that I have right of way due to the 'give way to vehicles from the right, i'm also convinced that its only a matter of time that a car pulls out from the same position as me and hits the side of a bus.

yesterday I had a van with trailer trying to do a U turn by using the end of a side road to gain an extra bit of tarmac, he'd overtaken me a bit before and so i knew he had a trailer on, as i'm getting towards the end of the road he's tucked into he pulls out to loop back the way we'd come from

wouldn't have been so bad if he didn't have a trailer on, but he just ended up blocking the road and forcing me to do an emergency stop.

 

[Keith Oates]

If some car gives you a near miss then it's fairly normal to be annoyed and it would take some sort of saint not to say something if you catch up with the car at the next set of lights. That's why in most cases it's better if the car has a clear road and you don't catch them and then your anger soon subsides!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[the reluctant cyclist]

I think that some sort of gesture is a must - even if it is just a "oi" hand wave type thing.

Surely if somebody overtakes you so close that they shave the edge off your jacket and you don't make a gesture at all they are never going to know that they are too close?

Yes, yes, I know that it is too much to ask that they actually think about their actions but you know what I mean!

Although I will say that I absolutely wet myself at the thought of someone really aggresive retaliating badly to me - I know that being a woman is not going to save me from a punch in the gob!

 

[Plax]

Just one of those things. I was annoyed only beacuse it's bad enough being given second consideration by cars let alone by a cylist who obviously knew what he was doing.

Anyway, my experience of cyclists in all the gear has been 99.9% positive.

Just a minor rant.

I find Roadies can be somewhat "elitist" snobs. Now that I mainly use the Galaxy and not hybrid they say hello to me more often, whereas before you'd usually get ignored. The "older" folk on old bikes with panniers that look like they belong to the CTC are the most likely to say hello. I find it a bit hit and miss with other commuters on normal hybrids.

 

[Riding in Circles]

I am beginning to think the solution will be to fit mini photon torpedoes to the trike.

 

[Kestevan]

Normally I'm the rant and bang on the roof kinda person

However, last week the sun was out, I had a day off work and was in a generaly benevolent mood. Riding home, filtered through some roadworks which narrowed the road to less than 1 lane. Silly mare in a Micra comes past, wheels brushing the curb on the other side of the road, left maybe a couple of microns betwixt me and the wing mirror.

As she pulled up at the queue for the lights 30yds further on and had the window down and a fag going I thought i'd offer some constructive citicism of her driving skills.

Me : "Bloody hell love, you were a bit close then you know".
Her (very indignant) : "Well, there wasn't really enough room to get past".
Me "Well why didn't you F%^$ing wait then, instead of trying to kill me".

The only response to this was a look af complete incredulity, as if the last thing any sensible person would expect was for her to actually consider waiting for a mere cyclist....

The lights changed and she drove off at this point. Probably as well; as the red cloud was descending, and I'm reliably informed that the police take a dim view of cyclists dragging motorists through the side window by their hair, and stubbing lit cigarettes out on their eyeballs.

 

[Tynan]

primary called for there surely?

you have to help to make their decisions for them sometimes

 

[CotterPin]

Nigeyy,
Guy tried to kill you - perfectly natural to lose it, in my opinion. Pretty hard to be zen-like when you think you are about to get ripped from this world by an unthinking peanut.
Stephen

 

[stephenb]

Nigeyy - couldn't you just pretend to be a septic for a day and go round his work place and massacre everyone with a kalashnikov?

 

[User482]

I once got into an altercation with a truck driver who had just avoided killing me - ended up as a swearing match at which point we were both pulled over by a plod waiting at the other side of the junction. Of course, plod was only interested in the public order issue rather than the mis-use of a lethal weapon by the truck driver.

There was another time when I chased after a car that had turned right across me - causing me to skid as I slammed the brakes on. Eventually the car driver pulled over, at which point I thought "what the hell do I do now". He could have been a lot bigger than me, or had a weapon. Fortunately he was very apologetic and so there was no problem.

Nowadays I restrict myself to a long blast on the airzound followed by a loud "thank you".

 

[swee'pea99]

I'm surprised no-one's mentioned...given that it was commercial, it probably had livery. In which case, google to find a phone number, then ring up and ask to speak to whoever's responsible for their drivers, then have a wee chat with them about how expensive it can be for companies to have drivers going around maiming and killing people on the highway.

Letting off steam is all well and good; putting people in fear of their jobs is a better way of changing behaviour. Not that I'm criticising - far from it. Give 'em hell if you've the guts and physique, by all means. All I'm saying is, put the shoots up them where it really hurts too.