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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'

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.

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.