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I've been a bicycle commuter for close to a decade. Several years ago, I was picking up my son after school when another parent approached me. "I think it's gre

I've been a bicycle commuter for close to a decade. Several years ago, I was picking up my son after school when another parent approached me. "I think it's great that you come here every day to pick him up." I thought this was a bit odd. Maybe she meant me as a father rather than his mother? I said, "Yeah, I really consider it a luxury to have that kind of flexibility in my day." She didn't seem sure what to make of this. "I mean it's great that you're so responsible to come and get him every day." This was getting stranger and stranger. "Well, it is my responsibility." "I just mean, it's great to see you being so responsible to pick up your little brother every day when I'm sure there are lots of things you'd rather be doing." Wait, what? Not sure whether to be flattered or appalled, I spluttered, "Um, I'm his father." She turned red. "Oh! It's just that I saw you riding here on your bike and assumed you were coming from high school." This sort of thing is why I have a beard.

sophacles 17y ago
I get a lot of "you're so brave to ride all the way to work!" (2 miles on back streets and one major road to cross. Aside from that road I'll maybe see 2 cars the whole trip).
- RyanMcGreal 17y ago
  I ride in pretty heavy traffic but normally I feel very comfortable sharing the road with motorists (my city has very few bike lanes and for the most part they're non-continuous). I follow the rules of the road (Ontario Highway Traffic Act) and best practices (e.g. Ontario's Guide to Safe Cycling). On multi-lane streets where passing vehicles are dangerous, I assertively lane-block. Interestingly, I've noticed in the last month that driver hostility toward my presence on the road has increased dramatically. Almost every day I experience an act of driver aggression, from honking at me to passing too closely to deliberately cutting me off. I consider myself a seasoned cyclist but it's starting to get unnerving.
  - sophacles 17y ago
    I ride similarly for errands etc. I have noticed such a similar reaction from drivers. I live in a college town, and most drivers are pretty OK with cyclists -- there is the occasional "use the sidewalk" or close pass w/ horn, but mostly cool people. This past month, since the snows have gotten all wintery, I have also noticed increased agression. I think the cause here may be surprise -- drivers are already nervous about the crappy road conditions, and they can't fathom how a bike is even ridable in winter. They view my riding as extra dangerous (both to me and them) and their stress level increases even more. Such a thing frequently comes out sideways as anger/agression.
    - pyre 17y ago
      I think it's funny that people would be stressed out about your riding being dangerous to them, but as a reaction would cut you off, or drive too close to you. "I hate how dangerous you're being; therefore, I'm going to be even more dangerous! I definitely showed you!"
      - RyanMcGreal 17y ago
        I suspect it's more akin to: "Jesus! What the hell are you doing riding a bike in this weather?! Do you want to get yourself killed? You nearly gave me a heart attack! Asshole!"
  - ax0n 17y ago
    I've been unemployed for about a week, and I think bicycling is the only thing other than a paycheck I'm missing. I have trouble riding for ride's sake. I ride for transportation. I've done some really long rides (a 135mi/~225km ramble once, with a friend, and a couple of 70mi/120km one-night bicycle camping trips) but as a general rule, I ride to the grocery store, post office, bank, to the office, and just to get around. a 30mi/48km round trip commute by bike takes just about an hour each way for me, and it's great cardio. I'm still fat, and not terribly fast on my bike, but I feel good. At my last job, I had a great route that used mostly frontage roads along main highways. Folks who wished to go fast would use the highway, and cyclists were a common enough site on the road I used that we all got plenty of respect and room most of the time. The worst offenders of cutting it too close? Prius drivers.
- silentbicycle 17y ago
  I've commuted by bike for five or six years, and the main thing that seems to boggle people is that I ride through the Michigan winter. It's a lot easier to handle a fixed-gear mountain bike on ice than a car, though - if the rear tire starts to lose traction, the pedals jump due to the decrease in rolling resistance, and my legs reflexively stabilize them. Fifteen miles with snow is probably pushing it, though - I've only done up to six in the winter.
protomyth 17y ago
The opposite is really no fun either. Went to the hospital with my brother (3 years younger than me) to pay a bill and the lady behind the desk thought I was his father. I just smiled and payed the bill.

sophacles 17y ago

I get a lot of "you're so brave to ride all the way to work!" (2 miles on back streets and one major road to cross. Aside from that road I'll maybe see 2 cars the whole trip).

RyanMcGreal 17y ago
I ride in pretty heavy traffic but normally I feel very comfortable sharing the road with motorists (my city has very few bike lanes and for the most part they're non-continuous). I follow the rules of the road (Ontario Highway Traffic Act) and best practices (e.g. Ontario's Guide to Safe Cycling). On multi-lane streets where passing vehicles are dangerous, I assertively lane-block. Interestingly, I've noticed in the last month that driver hostility toward my presence on the road has increased dramatically. Almost every day I experience an act of driver aggression, from honking at me to passing too closely to deliberately cutting me off. I consider myself a seasoned cyclist but it's starting to get unnerving.
- sophacles 17y ago
  I ride similarly for errands etc. I have noticed such a similar reaction from drivers. I live in a college town, and most drivers are pretty OK with cyclists -- there is the occasional "use the sidewalk" or close pass w/ horn, but mostly cool people. This past month, since the snows have gotten all wintery, I have also noticed increased agression. I think the cause here may be surprise -- drivers are already nervous about the crappy road conditions, and they can't fathom how a bike is even ridable in winter. They view my riding as extra dangerous (both to me and them) and their stress level increases even more. Such a thing frequently comes out sideways as anger/agression.
  - pyre 17y ago
    I think it's funny that people would be stressed out about your riding being dangerous to them, but as a reaction would cut you off, or drive too close to you. "I hate how dangerous you're being; therefore, I'm going to be even more dangerous! I definitely showed you!"
    - RyanMcGreal 17y ago
      I suspect it's more akin to: "Jesus! What the hell are you doing riding a bike in this weather?! Do you want to get yourself killed? You nearly gave me a heart attack! Asshole!"
- ax0n 17y ago
  I've been unemployed for about a week, and I think bicycling is the only thing other than a paycheck I'm missing. I have trouble riding for ride's sake. I ride for transportation. I've done some really long rides (a 135mi/~225km ramble once, with a friend, and a couple of 70mi/120km one-night bicycle camping trips) but as a general rule, I ride to the grocery store, post office, bank, to the office, and just to get around. a 30mi/48km round trip commute by bike takes just about an hour each way for me, and it's great cardio. I'm still fat, and not terribly fast on my bike, but I feel good. At my last job, I had a great route that used mostly frontage roads along main highways. Folks who wished to go fast would use the highway, and cyclists were a common enough site on the road I used that we all got plenty of respect and room most of the time. The worst offenders of cutting it too close? Prius drivers.
silentbicycle 17y ago
I've commuted by bike for five or six years, and the main thing that seems to boggle people is that I ride through the Michigan winter. It's a lot easier to handle a fixed-gear mountain bike on ice than a car, though - if the rear tire starts to lose traction, the pedals jump due to the decrease in rolling resistance, and my legs reflexively stabilize them. Fifteen miles with snow is probably pushing it, though - I've only done up to six in the winter.

protomyth 17y ago

The opposite is really no fun either. Went to the hospital with my brother (3 years younger than me) to pay a bill and the lady behind the desk thought I was his father. I just smiled and payed the bill.