Commuting: The strange. The Odd. And the FUN

So true.

Why is it always the damn minivans?

The infuriating...

Today I was on my way into work when some woman slowed down in the left lane of route 3 and was putting on her fucking makeup in the visor mirror. I saw red and laid on my horn (there were people flying by to the right), and she hastily moved into the next available left hand turning lane.

I always thought the image of someone putting on makeup in the rearview or visor while driving was a comical exaggeration. I have seen it now a few dozen times, and I want to curb stomp the driver each time I see it.

Cagers are so selfish and careless it blows my mind. Has it always been like this?

I occasionally drive a large diesel pickup for work, and I'm always surprised at how easy it is to get distracted in a cage.

I pulled up behind a guy who was folding and sorting laundry in his car :huh

And talk about distracting, I saw a woman who was a dead ringer for Kim Jung Il driving the opposite way near my house

I can deal with 'em because I learned to ride and drive down here.

I stopped being complacent with them after leaving the state for the first time, and realizing how much better drivers in other places were! I had more fun in DC rush hour on a Friday night during a Nationals game than I do riding in rush hour traffic ANY day here. I made more time too.

And the year round riding season isn't all that great considering that we don't have many twisties to ride on . And when it's cold we have the large influx of snowbirds.

Preach it brother!

Yes. It's just gotten worse for us with minivans and SUVs having dark tinted windows from the factory, the invention of mobile phones and in-car DVD players, and the influx of illegal aliens from countries with no driving laws.

Oh, and I almost forgot: The increasing bilndspots for cagers, as roof pillars have gotten thicker to protect them when they roll over. I raced in the SCCA for 20 years and never once rolled over. But I've seen "small" SUVs roll over in an intersection after an otherwise minor fender-bender. People never cease to amaze me.

My place of work is located on a divided, four lane highway (SR7 just south of Marietta, Oh). One morning I noticed a silver pickup following me a reasonable distance back about one mile from work. I was running maybe 50 mph and wondered why the truck didn't go around in the right hand lane. There were no other vehicles to prevent him. He just followed.

As we neared where I had to make a right turn into work I started slowing.....and so did he. 50....45...40...35.... He slowed as I did and I kept thinking, "Why don't you just go around me, get off my tail and git on down the road, asswipe!"

He didn't have either turn signal on, he just slowed and tagged along behind me. "GO AROUND........DICK, I'M TURNING HERE!!! ARE YOU AWAKE!!!!"


Finally as I turned off the four lane so did he, still following.


And imagine how I felt when I realized that the jerk following me who I had been cursing all along turned out to be...........
















my boss, the owner of the business, in his new Toyota Tundra that I didn't recognize.


oser




.

I have a story similar to that. Not "road rage" persay.... maybe "parking rage."

In NYC, we don't have marked "spots." I'm fortunate to have a street a 5 min walk to my office where I can park my bike when I get to work. There are about 10-15 other motorcyclists who park on that street.

When we park, we do so between cars. (That's the legal way to park in NYC.) Getting knocked over by a parallel parking car is too, too common. I've been knocked over FOUR times in the past three years.

As a result, I've gotten into the habit or checking that my bike is still on two wheels a couple times during the day. Well, this day when checking the bike, I saw a new, shiny black Merc SUV waaaay too fucking close to my bike -- about 3 inches from the right footrest. Grrrr.... The guy should have known he couldn't fit his giant vehicle in that spot -- there was a scooter about a foot from his rear bumper, too!

The red mist descended. I looked at the grill of his truck... it would be so easy to kick that to pieces.....


.....


....


....

Breathe deeply. OK... ok.... walk.... away.

I decide to get a coffee from the place I always go to on the next block. I've been going there for many years, and I know the owner -- he's a really nice guy. As soon as I see him, he comes out and starts to talk:

Him: "You're parked on the next block, right? Next to the black SUV?"

Me: "Yeah, I know -- the guy is really close."

Him: "That's ME! I just wanted to let you know I was very careful not to bump you."

Lesson learned: There are benefits to not immediately resorting to violence.

Lesson of the year= The day i stopped "closing the gap" I became 100 times safer.

Well, except for the 27 cars that dive into the space....

I do know what you mean though - I keep a nice 3-second gap whenever feasible.

This morning's winner: a FILTHY-dirty green early 2000's Camry going for the Trifecta - pulled out very closely in front of me, changed lanes without looking or signaling to the left lane, then executed a right rurn from the left lane right across my bow. Somehow the MINUTE I saw that thing I knew it'd be trouble, and rolled out of the throttle to watch the show.

Wait until you are riding in heavy traffic one day and notice the female driver of the vehicle next to you is steering with her knees while she is stringing beads into her corn-rows...:huh

this

Riding home at 2330 the other night and the lady ahead of me screaches to a stop and starts honking on a semi-rural double carriage road. So I give her a second to do something (turn, scream, explode) before I pull up along side her drivers side to see whats wrong.
To my suprise I see a family of migrants crossing the road illegally right in front of her cage. A female mallard and eight adorable little ducklings.
It was cool how the moment went from a WTF to "damn I am glad I was the one to shoo them off the road".

I could go on for days. Everyday i leave for work, and when i'm gearing up i feel like i'm preparing for battle. Combination of aggressive drivers that want to scare you, and the usual brain dead steering wheel holders. I almost prefer the brain dead.

I had a guy ram me with his truck a month or so ago, Merging on from one interstate to another, was doing about 15 mph faster than the traffic in the slow lane, merged, hit some traffic, and this asshole gets right off my fender. I looked back at him and gave him the stink eye. He pulls up next to me and tries to force me onto the shoulder. I loosened up on the bars and threw my shoulder into his door as he cut into my lane. Removed his mirror, and pulled ahead.

As i was digging through my pockets looking for my extra spark plug to chuck through this guys window, an F250 pulls up in the next lane and was yelling, GO GO GO! and pointing ahead. I downshifted and had her wide open, and when there was about 6 feet between me and the asshole, My new friend parked that big ass ford right into his fender. Ran him all the way into the grass. I owe that guy a beer.

Good times indeed. Wouldn't trade my bike for a cage even on the worst days of commuting.

Minivans :huh

Going to work this morning (in the truck) and see a minivan shoot up the on ramp.
That on ramp becomes a third lane here for a couple miles.
The van jumps lanes a couple times and then settles about 3-4 feet (really) behind a guy on a Suzuki.
He has nowhere to go, following a line of traffic in the left lane and now this dumb bitch on his rear tire.
I was in the center lane and felt like crowding her off the road.

These idiots don't even think that if you stop they are not going to bump you, they are going to run over and kill you.

You should have. On the rare occasion i'm in my truck, anytime i see a car crowding a bike, I let them have it. Tailgate a bike, I'll cut you off and slow down to 45 on the interstate, and you won't get by. I'll make that fucker 3 lanes wide. I'm feeling invincible when i'm rolling with 4500 pounds of steel instead of 400.

This is why I commute on a bike, I could talk all day but this is my daily ride home.
BTW here in UK we normally ride and drive on the left

<IFRAME height=349 src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1smZ0ZI6_bY" frameBorder=0 width=425 allowfullscreen></IFRAME>

When I went from my kitchen to my home office, I stubbed my toe once.

You suck.

For the most part my commute involves (once out of my neighborhood) 7 turns, including one on ramp, and most of the others are 90* turns.