The idiots i encountered on my ride today

[roadrash]

no matter where you are or what you are doing,there are always going to be numpties about,...but seriously if they got to me, as much as they seem to have got to you today ,seriously i would pack in cycling I CYCLE FOR ENJOYMENT ,relax,chill , calm down they are in your day for a minute or two and your melting your head for hours after .....WHY......

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

6 other human beings went onto the internet to complain about a hand waving,dog kicking,door paint scratching(and whatever else you got up to) cyclist who spoiled their day,aggravated their animals and potentially cost them money in repairs.

I really hope you enjoyed your day otherwise.

 

[Accy cyclist]

I didn't kick the car door, i closed it with my foot in an assertive manor. What right has air head to stick herself on double yellows, because she's too lazy to walk, then open a door knowing that contact with me could cause serious injury? I've spent the last month back and forth to the hospital with my dodgy right eye, the last thing i want is another month in the "broken leg dept"! Would air head be prepared to hold her hand up and admit to her deliberate bad actions, and pay my self employed wages till i recovered?
I didn't actually make contact with the dog, though many would as the little fluff ball was a right aggressive object! Even as i was remonstrating with the owner the mutt was growling and trying to get at me. You bite me and i kick you is the way i work! You don't bite me and we're all calm ok?
As for the idiot who overtook me after i'd given them all but my 1 foot from the kerb (on a pot holed knackered road may i add), why didn't they overtake when i was offering it to them? Instead choosing to overtake me when the road had nearly ended? They were trying to prove a point no doubt. Probably because "they pay road tax and we don't blah blah".

 

[Glow worm]

Don't get me wrong I'm far from perfect in terms of giving reckless drivers grief. It's just that over the years I have found little good comes from such interactions and you only end up wound up and angry which spoils the ride. If you can just let it go its always best for your own well being apart from anything else. A lot easier said than done of course, with so many drivers out there you wouldn't want to leave in charge of a toilet roll, let alone a couple of tons of lethal machinery!

 

[Boris Bajic]

You must be riding a fixie; I've never seen anyone backpedal so quickly!

You say you didn't make contact with the dog, yet your OP says you gave it a "swift (gentle because i'm an animal lover) kick". You don't say you swung your foot towards it; you say you gave it a kick - you even qualify the noun, to show it wasn't too hard. Now you didn't make contact. Make your mind up.

If you can close a car door with your foot whilst in motion and not kick it, you are doing well. Your OP gives the impression you kicked it. If you managed to close it with your foot whilst in motion you may be a Jedi without knowing it.

Really, nobody is having a go at you. One or two of us might just think you would do well to relax a little and enjoy the ride. The tone of your OP is furious and strongly negative. You were unlucky. From your own description your reaction seems to have been aggressive and disprooportionate.

Your final point in the backpedalling post above appears to have been imagined by an angry soul looking to justify aggression.... Most drivers I know have no views about who ought and ought not to pay Road Tax. Poor driving and poor cycling are very rarely done to prove a point. The perpetrators just lack skill, courtesy or concentration; sometimes all three.

Nobody deserves to face so much idiocy from so many other road users on a single ride. It sounds like a rum old day. You have the sympathy of many of us.

But aggression is not the answer. Nor is it credible to say you gave the dog a swift, gentle kick and then post again to say you didn't.

Enjoy your riding.

 

[Hip Priest]

If you see a car pull over on yellow lines, the best thing to do is give it a wide berth, so any subsequent door-opening won't effect you. Likewise with dogs. If you see some off the lead, it's best to slow your speed in anticipaiton of them crossing your path.

Stay safe.

 

[potsy]

If you see a car pull over on yellow lines, the best thing to do is give it a wide berth, so any subsequent door-opening won't effect you. Likewise with dogs. If you see some off the lead, it's best to slow your speed in anticipaiton of them crossing your path.

Stay safe.

But then there'd be nothing to have a rant about

 

[mattobrien]

It's a good job that I am perfect and never have, or will, ever make a mistake or misjudgement about anything. That makes me qualified to post.

Oops, I forgot, I am human, I do make mistakes and I also know that other people sometimes do too. Sometimes it is even possible to assume that someone's mistake or misjudgement is actually on purpose and specifically against those using pedal powered propulsion.

No-one is perfect, we all make mistakes and if everyone gets wound up by everyone else's mistakes and misjudgements, the world will be a sadder place.

As hard as it can be, live and let live. You never know you might enjoy life a little more.

 

[uberguru]

There are idiots everywhere in all walks of life, disregarding all others to the exclusion of themselves. But... they are in the minority. If it is at all possible dont let them ruin a great ride, or they have sort of won!

 

[Globalti]

I've just racked up my 5,000th mile riding in the Ribble Valley and none of these things have ever happened to me. Where are these shared paths you write about?

 

[Herbie]

I didn't kick the car door, i closed it with my foot in an assertive manor. What right has air head to stick herself on double yellows, because she's too lazy to walk, then open a door knowing that contact with me could cause serious injury? I've spent the last month back and forth to the hospital with my dodgy right eye, the last thing i want is another month in the "broken leg dept"! Would air head be prepared to hold her hand up and admit to her deliberate bad actions, and pay my self employed wages till i recovered?
I didn't actually make contact with the dog, though many would as the little fluff ball was a right aggressive object! Even as i was remonstrating with the owner the mutt was growling and trying to get at me. You bite me and i kick you is the way i work! You don't bite me and we're all calm ok?
As for the idiot who overtook me after i'd given them all but my 1 foot from the kerb (on a pot holed knackered road may i add), why didn't they overtake when i was offering it to them? Instead choosing to overtake me when the road had nearly ended? They were trying to prove a point no doubt. Probably because "they pay road tax and we don't blah blah".

good god man take a chill pill

 

[ray7]

I still remember what my instructor told me when I was learning to drive in the 80s. He said "The only way to drive safely is to treat every other road user as an idiot that is going to do something stupid at any moment." Its always made me take more notice of what other people on the roads might do.

Ray

 

[boydj]

I didn't kick the car door, i closed it with my foot in an assertive manor. What right has air head to stick herself on double yellows, because she's too lazy to walk, then open a door knowing that contact with me could cause serious injury? I've spent the last month back and forth to the hospital with my dodgy right eye, the last thing i want is another month in the "broken leg dept"! Would air head be prepared to hold her hand up and admit to her deliberate bad actions, and pay my self employed wages till i recovered?
I didn't actually make contact with the dog, though many would as the little fluff ball was a right aggressive object! Even as i was remonstrating with the owner the mutt was growling and trying to get at me. You bite me and i kick you is the way i work! You don't bite me and we're all calm ok?
As for the idiot who overtook me after i'd given them all but my 1 foot from the kerb (on a pot holed knackered road may i add), why didn't they overtake when i was offering it to them? Instead choosing to overtake me when the road had nearly ended? They were trying to prove a point no doubt. Probably because "they pay road tax and we don't blah blah".

Anticipation, planning ahead and good road positioning would have avoided all of the above. The only person you should be angry with is yourself.

 

[Matthew_T]

Not related to Matthew T are you?

I am away for the weekend and this is what I return to? Thanks a lot.

 

[redcard]

I am away for the weekend and this is what I return to? Thanks a lot.

It's shocking, Mr T.

I bet you didn't even come close to kicking a dog whilst you were away.

Right?