Bikes can exist with cars.
Cars can exist with bikes.
The above two sentences aren't ones
that most people will dispute. But then again, there are those
people.
My use of italics should cause anyone
who has ever ridden a bike to know exactly what I'm talking about.
For some reason there exists a subset of people who feel the need to
honk, yell and swerve at bikers. And it's not like the bikers are
doing anything wrong, they're just going with the flow, following
traffic rules. Those people though, they don't care—bikes
represent a cancer who must be honked out of existence.
I'll never understand the logic behind
yelling at bikers. Now, this isn't some sort of “Jolly good, you're
driving a very fuel efficient vehicle! Jolly jolly good,” because
nobody is that British. Generally when drivers yell at me, I'm biking
along a shoulder minding my own business, not breaking any laws. And
of course, I'm wearing my bike
helmet. This just infuriates them. They must live in some “Rebel
without a Cause” fantasy land, and if they see a biker NOT breaking
the law, it destroys their entire worldview.
 | |
| And I only look like Pee Wee Herman on a bike half the time! |
One of the most common occurrences is
when cars honk. They pull near me, honk and then lean out the window
laughing. It's not a warning, it's not a “Watch out! You're doing
something wrong!” It's merely a honk to honk. It's like some sort
of double whammy, the honk and the laugh. On one hand, I can see why
they do this, because it scares and distracts the person in the much
smaller vehicle, and it could even make them fall off said smaller
vehicle. However, on the other hand, it scares and distracts the
person in the much smaller vehicle and could make even make them fall
off said smaller vehicle.
That last paragraph wasn't the result
of some cut and paste error, the reason people honk, yell and scream
at bikers is the exact reason they shouldn't be doing it. It might
seem funny to potentially kill someone, but the only time death is
funny is when someone inadvertently slips on a banana peel whilst
wielding a grenade. Which I rarely do on my bike.
Recently, I was biking through a
parking lot. As I entered the lot, I noticed this ogre of a woman
trying to back into a space about 200 feet ahead of me. In the
seconds it took me to close that gap, she had backed in, pulled out,
backed in, pulled out several times. Assuming she had just gotten her
license at the ripe age of 37 and/or she was drunk, I knew to keep my
distance from her. I stayed far away, basically riding atop the cars
she was seemingly failing at running into. After passing her, I did a
silent prayer thanking the great bike god for keeping me alive
through that ordeal.
Her response? She leaned out her window
and yells
“F&#$ing bike!”
F&#$ing bike indeed. But also
someone who could park if I had chosen to drive that day. I believe I
came out ahead in that interaction.
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