I haven’t really gotten any negative comments, but there is one thing that really bothers me. That is when the wussies in cars drive up behind me and honk and yell, I guess trying to scare me. They abviously are too scared to face me like a man, because they sneak up behind me, and then take off. Does anybody else get this trouble?
RE: People in cars
> that really bothers me. That is when the wussies in cars
> drive up behind me and honk and yell, I guess trying to
> scare me. They abviously are too scared to face me like
> a man, because they sneak up behind me, and then
> take off. Does anybody else get this trouble?
I try to avoid riding in places where a car can drive up behind me. Not
because I don’t have a legal right (supposedly) to use the road, but because
I prefer the trails and that any riding around cars is inherently dangerous.
If somebody wants to act stupid in their car, it should not reflect upon
you. Mature people do not “sneak” up behind unicyclists and beep their
horns. So I think the best move is probably to merge to the right if this
happens (long as there is enough room for them to safely pass you).
Or, if you want to play their game (and risk being lowered closer to their
level), just stop and start idling right there, without looking back. But I
wouldn’t do that…
John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone
jfoss@unicycling.com
“How many America West maintenance personnel does it take to change a
bathroom light bulb in a 737?” Based on what I saw on the way home from
Phoenix recently, three!
Re: People in cars
“Capuchin67” <Capuchin67.1h6la@timelimit.unicyclist.com> wrote in message news:Capuchin67.1h6la@timelimit.unicyclist.com…
>
> I haven’t really gotten any negative comments, but there is one thing
> that really bothers me. That is when the wussies in cars drive up behind
> me and honk and yell, I guess trying to scare me. They abviously are too
> scared to face me like a man, because they sneak up behind me, and then
> take off. Does anybody else get this trouble?
In Texas, you can look up their license plate and
get their home address. Perhaps you can get this
information for your state:
It’s also illegal for a driver to blow their horn for
no reason. Perhaps the cops would be interested
in these clowns. At least get them to pay a visit.
I’ve never had this problem though. We have
concealed carry here. 
Re: People in cars
“John Foss” <john_foss@asinet.com> wrote in message
news:mailman.1016060476.20261.rsu@unicycling.org…
> > that really bothers me. That is when the wussies in cars
> > drive up behind me and honk and yell, I guess trying to
> > scare me. They abviously are too scared to face me like
> > a man, because they sneak up behind me, and then
> > take off. Does anybody else get this trouble?
>
> I try to avoid riding in places where a car can drive up behind me. Not
> because I don’t have a legal right (supposedly) to use the road, but
because
> I prefer the trails and that any riding around cars is inherently
dangerous.
>
I ride on the road lots and lots and personally I wouldn’t say it’s
inherently dangerous. Well not any more than driving on the road is, which
I’m sure most people aren’t scared of. Statistically it’s safer to ride a
bike on the road than on the sidewalk or on cycle paths, I don’t see why
this is different for a coker, which goes at a similar speed to a slowish
bike on the road. As long as you understand how to cycle safely and are
confident that you won’t fall off your unicycle when riding carefully, there
really isn’t any problem. You’ve got to be confident about staying in the
middle of the lane if you don’t want to be overtaken and able to ignore
idiots with horns. There’s a very good book about riding bikes on the road
called Cyclecraft, published by the HMSO in the UK, I don’t know what the
equivalent is in the US, but I’m sure it exists.
> If somebody wants to act stupid in their car, it should not reflect upon
> you. Mature people do not “sneak” up behind unicyclists and beep their
> horns. So I think the best move is probably to merge to the right if this
> happens (long as there is enough room for them to safely pass you).
>
> Or, if you want to play their game (and risk being lowered closer to their
> level), just stop and start idling right there, without looking back. But
I
> wouldn’t do that…
Personally haven ridden on the road for ages I don’t get very surprised by
people beeping me any more.What I do is if someone comes up behind me and
slows down without beeping, or maybe with a little bit of a beep, (but not a
big beep beep beep out of my way beep beep ), I get out to the side as soon
as it’s safe and let them past. In traffic jams I don’t let people past in
my lane ever because they only shoot past and stop right in front of me as
soon as they get to the next stopped car. If someone comes up behind me and
beeps me big time I just ride straight on in the middle of the lane and it’s
up to them to wait until there’s another lane for them to move into.
Joe
Re: People in cars
> I haven’t really gotten any negative comments, but there is one thing
> that really bothers me. That is when the wussies in cars drive up behind
> me and honk and yell, I guess trying to scare me. They abviously are too
> scared to face me like a man, because they sneak up behind me, and then
> take off. Does anybody else get this trouble?
I ride my Coker on the roads with as much confidence as I would a bike.
Most drivers are OK, giving me a wide berth, waiting for me when the road
narrows, not beeping after sneaking up on me, and so on. And I think most
of the ones who do beep mean it in a “Where’s your other wheel?” sort of way
rather than “I hope you get scared, fall off, and go under my car.”.
The problem I do have is stupid idiots who do not give me a wide enough
berth.
I try to stay within a yard of the kerb, so there is almost always loads of
room
for cars to pass, but some people seem determined to test their paintwork
against
my outer pedal. I have been forced to shake my fist with some vigour on
several occasions :-). None of them stops to apologise, of course - they
probably just think I am waving to congratulate them on their exemplary
driving ;-).
Arnold the Aardvark
I think the title of this thread says it all…people in cars. They are people and they are in cars. What do you expect?
Maybe I didn’t make this clear… This happens when I ride on sidewalks, next to a street, and I think they are trying to scare me and make me fall.
Re: People in cars
> Maybe I didn’t make this clear… This happens when I ride on sidewalks,
> -next- to a street, and I think they are trying to scare me and make me
> fall.
A few weeks ago, I was riding on the dirt trail beside the road (but right
beside the road) and going up a long tiring hill. I heard a old beater car
revved up loud and sounding real close coming up behind me. It sounded
really weird and I had a gut feeling to get outta the way and I decided I
would vear hard right before turning to look.
Thanks goodness I did, because otherwise I would have been his hood
ornament. The fool was driving up the hill with his two right tires on the
dirt right where I was riding and if I hadn’t swirved right, I know he would
of creamed me. Unfortunately, I was quite shocked from it so I didn’t get
his license plate in time. Luckily, I moved but I still can’t believe that
anyone would actually try to hit a unicyclist with their car.
I’ll tell you one thing, I’m a lot more cautious riding by traffic and I’m
riding towards oncoming traffic more so that I have a better view of the
people in their reckin machines…
Its pretty sad when you gotta worry about riding beside the road as well!!
Mike the Unipsycho
Re: People in cars
“John Foss” <john_foss@asinet.com> wrote
> “How many America West maintenance personnel does it take to change a
> bathroom light bulb in a 737?” Based on what I saw on the way home
from
> Phoenix recently, three!
LOL!
RE: People in cars
> “John Foss” <john_foss@asinet.com> wrote
> > “How many America West maintenance personnel does it
> > take to change a bathroom light bulb in a 737?” Based
> > on what I saw on the way home from
> > Phoenix recently, three!
Okay, here’s the story. Not as funny as the summing up, but it’s true (note,
the following has nothing in it about unicycling):
Jacquie and I were sitting in row 1 on the 737 (an older one, with turbo
jets instead of turbo fans). This was because we had volunteered to miss our
flight from Phoenix to Sacramento and supposedly fly on the next one. Next
thing we knew, that “next” one was already full. So they gave us first class
on the next-next. Murphy’s law that when you finally score first class it’s
for a short flight, and you’re so tired you sleep the whole way anyway…
So we’re sitting right there, by the open door and talking with the flight
attendants. After a while it becomes obvious we’re ready to go, except for
the maintenance guys that keep coming in and out. So we’re waiting. It’s
already about 10:50 pm. Jacquie and I were supposed to have left on a flight
around 2:00, and we got up early, Florida time (2 hours earlier), to start
our flight that morning. “So what are they fixing?”
“They’re changing a light bulb” the stewardess told us. Oh. We assumed it
was an important light bulb. Like to tell you the plane needed an oil change
or something. We couldn’t see these guys were in the forward lavatory, but
the people across the aisle did.
“Yes, it’s the light in the bathroom. Apparently the fixture has been glued
shut, and they’re trying to get it open without breaking anything.” Lovely.
Glued shut. So much for federal laws prohibiting tampering with bathroom
light fixtures. Or was that smoke detectors? Anyway, everybody had a sense
of humor. I think all but one of the people in the first class seats on that
flight was supposed to have been on our flight 8 hours earlier. Even the
maintenance guys were humorous about it, but they had to get it fixed too.
“So can’t we just fly with a dark bathroom?” Somebody asked.
“Believe it or not, it’s a go, no-go item.” we were told. If the light
doesn’t work, the bathroom can’t be used, and it’s too many people to use a
single bathroom, even on a flight that’s only about 2 hours.
So the guys keep working, and we all start coming up with light bulb jokes.
We end up with “One to hold the bulb, and the other three to rotate the
plane.” This came from the one guy who I think actually had a first class
ticket.
About 10 minutes after we should have had the door closed, “Yaaaay!” Problem
fixed, no more glue for the next bulb-replacement, and we’re on our way.
Sitting up front is fun. The ride is nice, and we were almost the first
people out of the plane when we finally got home.
Jacquie had taken me to the world of Disney for my birthday. What a city of
tourists! We visited these major attractions:
- Universal Islands of Adventure
- Universal Studios Florida
- Disney/MGM Studios
- Kennedy Space Center
- Disney Magic Kingdom
- Epcot
- Gatorland
My uncle lives about a mile from Gatorland. It was there before Disney or
any of the other tourist stuff, 53 years ago. Don’t miss it if you go. You
only need a few hours to see it, but wow, that’s a lot of gators!
I’m a little backlogged on my pictures (I like to Photoshop them before
posting to Ofoto), but I’ll try to get them up soon.
Stay on top,
John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone
jfoss@unicycling.com
“How many America West maintenance personnel does it take to change a
bathroom light bulb in a 737?” Based on what I saw on the way home from
Phoenix recently, three!
Re: People in cars
Sounds all too familiar …
http://members.aol.com/clubnbc/spike_1.htm
beware its a long read.
Leo White
“Mike the Unipsycho” <unipsycho@ethereal3d.com> wrote in message
news:4lck8.95582$eb.4134156@news3.calgary.shaw.ca…
> A few weeks ago, I was riding on the dirt trail beside the road (but right
> beside the road) and going up a long tiring hill. I heard a old beater
car
> revved up loud and sounding real close coming up behind me. It sounded
> really weird and I had a gut feeling to get outta the way and I decided I
> would vear hard right before turning to look.
>
> Thanks goodness I did, because otherwise I would have been his hood
> ornament. The fool was driving up the hill with his two right tires on
the
> dirt right where I was riding and if I hadn’t swirved right, I know he
would
> of creamed me. Unfortunately, I was quite shocked from it so I didn’t get
> his license plate in time. Luckily, I moved but I still can’t believe
that
> anyone would actually try to hit a unicyclist with their car.
>
> I’ll tell you one thing, I’m a lot more cautious riding by traffic and I’m
> riding towards oncoming traffic more so that I have a better view of the
> people in their reckin machines…
>
> Its pretty sad when you gotta worry about riding beside the road as well!!
>
> Mike the Unipsycho
>
>