Thursday, the hot weather finally broke, and I was feeling much better in terms if whatever is left from my recent cold and allergies. So, I got home from work, and I thought "yay! I'll ride my bike to my rehearsal tonight."
On the way to my rehearsal, it was still pretty warm. I also had to ride pretty defensively at times, because the sun was setting and I knew it made me pretty hard to see. (As in, impossible.) You know when car lights don't make a difference that little lights aren't going to help you, no matter how much they blink. Still, it was a nice ride, an I enjoyed being back on the bike. My legs and lungs definitely took note of the time since I last rode (too long ago!!). Erffff. Back in the saddle...literally.
After rehearsal, darkness had fallen, and in preparation for my ride home, I turned on my bike lights. I set them to blink any time I can (anytime I don't need the steady beam to see where I'm riding), because it makes me easier to see (small, steady light is easier to ignore; super-blinky crazy lights might just get you to stop texting and not run me over). As I pulled onto the "busiest" street on my route home (4 lanes, but pretty quiet by "real big street" standards) a large SUV pulled up close behind me and laid on the horn. As they passed me, a woman in the passenger seat leaned out of her window, waving her arms at me and screaming obscenities.
Awesome.
Not.
Ugh. Funny how one distinctly unpleasant encounter can win out over the tens or hundreds or neutral or positive encounters. Had a negative one myself earlier in the week.
ReplyDeleteIt mostly just made me laugh though, because the guy honked and then yelled, "Are you f***ing kidding me?" as he passed. I was amused because his comment made little sense -- what would I have been kidding about? No joke, sir, I am indeed riding my bicycle on this road, and, as you just proved with your plenty-of-room pass, there's space here for both of us.
A fellow cycling instructor compares ignorant, honking motorists to territorial dogs that bark when you walk by their yard. Though both are unpleasant, unlike the dog, the motorist is incorrect in her belief that the road is solely her "property." Sometimes framing it like this helps me shake off those not-so-great encounters.
Oh, and when the antagonist is a male driver, I smile to myself and think, "Small penis." Immature of me? Perhaps, but it helps me move on and enjoy the ride, rather than ruminating.
Melissa, this is great. I appreciate the funny, light stories, because while I'm determined not to let this deter me from riding, it does affect how I feel about riding on this road at night. (To be fair, I had a white bag in my front basket and the blinking light was causing a bit of a strobe effect for ME, which was not ideal...note to self: install rear folding baskets ASAP.) The dog example is perfect.
ReplyDeleteWhile I suspect that the driver was male, the screaming, waving person was female, and the image that is stuck in my head is of Ursula's tentacles flailing about from The Little Mermaid. It's kind of hard to take THAT too seriously.