To be fair, though, this is the first time I've had anything remotely like this happen in my ~4-5 years cycling on Edmonton's streets. The vast majority of drivers are great, but it's easy to forget that thanks to the handful that aren't.
As for the driver... yeah. Yeah. There are some really giant jerkfaces in this city. I'm glad he didn't try to start a physical fight, though. I'm sure you can handle yourself, but it's not something you really want to do (particularly around your house). If anything happens, at least you have an idea of who to look to for the source. I really should take some self defence classes. Glad it worked out mostly okay!
I had a similar experience recently, but not nearly to this extreme. I think this kind of thing was more common, for me, a few yaers ago. I don't know for sure if it's something I'm doing differently, or that drivers are starting to get it. Maybe a little of both, but probably more of the latter.
The blazingly obvious irony that they are spending 10 minutes or more complaining about being delayed 10 seconds points to the real problem - essentially a form of road rage. It's one thing to deal with if you're driving a car, another entirely if you're on a bike.
Haha, you find my somewhat-defunct LJ, Jimbo. =) Road rage is not something I understand, having never been a driver, I guess. It is pretty different being on a bike - we can't just lock our doors and call the police or drive to a police station (unless you happen to be near one already). We're pretty vulnerable out there, and it's pretty unnerving to be in a situation like that. But cycling seems to be pretty calming, and I imagine that helps us quite a bit in those situations, at remaining calm and patient instead of confrontational and aggressive.
It does help to remember how many drivers I've encountered that haven't caused me any problems, and that the jerks are a very small minority. Just a scary minority sometimes.
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To be fair, though, this is the first time I've had anything remotely like this happen in my ~4-5 years cycling on Edmonton's streets. The vast majority of drivers are great, but it's easy to forget that thanks to the handful that aren't.
Reply
As for the driver... yeah. Yeah. There are some really giant jerkfaces in this city. I'm glad he didn't try to start a physical fight, though. I'm sure you can handle yourself, but it's not something you really want to do (particularly around your house). If anything happens, at least you have an idea of who to look to for the source.
I really should take some self defence classes. Glad it worked out mostly okay!
Reply
Reply
The blazingly obvious irony that they are spending 10 minutes or more complaining about being delayed 10 seconds points to the real problem - essentially a form of road rage. It's one thing to deal with if you're driving a car, another entirely if you're on a bike.
Reply
It does help to remember how many drivers I've encountered that haven't caused me any problems, and that the jerks are a very small minority. Just a scary minority sometimes.
Reply
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