Yep. The wife loves riding in traffic, which baffles me. I detest it. I show bikers the utmost respect any chance I get. I make slow, obvious lane changes, stop fully, wave them on, etc. But some of them get too relaxed, and not unlike Roy Horn, they wind up getting bitten.

No, man, live and let live. It's 'bout personal rights, personal space... So, you goin' to Weedstock*?

* Organized, at least in part, by a friend of my father and several times fringe-candidate for Governor, Ben Mazell (I hope I have the spelling correct).

Nah, I'd disagree. That's mainly harmless fluff, slight variations of shows you've seen before. We've got a serial soap (with an comedic slant), two cop shows, a medical drama, a sitcom, sports and 4 'reality' shows. Reality shows are the only thing that should get the 'idiotic' label. That being said, I enjoy Survivor. Idiots rule.

I have been on the receiving end of harrassment from drivers - had bottles thrown at (and hit) me while driving, as well as run-of-the-mill verbal harrassment. In both of these cases, I was either in a bike lane or in the gutter, in no way blocking anyone's progress.

One night while my wife and I were out walking & trying to be healthy, a dude in a truck yelled at us while we were in "his" intersection "why don't you hurry the fuck up?" To which I unwisely retorted "why don't you shut the fuck up?" He turned the other way, but moments later drove at us from behind, swerving to within about one foot of me on the shoulder.

I hate people, too.

In the truck driver's defense, he was probably mid-way through a 12 pack, which will make anyone a little cranky.

I'm a beatifically friendly drunk, myself. This was a young'n, too, in Eugene, Oregon, where everyone is supposed to drive vehicles that run on faerie dust and good vibes, and have long, flowing hair, right? The other two incidents were also in Eugene. Weird. That said, I can't wait until I get back there this summer.

Woops. Cap'N watches garbage.

HEY!!! Dammit, I don't watch that show.














this year.

nuke the whole place from orbit -- it's the only way to be sure

I hate it when people get this attitude. My ex-roommate was one of them - he just got so pissed when he couldn't speed on Chicago streets because a bike was in front of him and there were cars coming the other way.

On the other hand, one time Katie and I were walking on a sidewalk in NYC and this jackass on a bike nearly hits us and says, "out of the way, hippie." I think I was wearing gray slacks and a Gap sweater.

biking on the sidewalks is illegal in chicago unless you are under a certain age.

As it should be, which is why they're supposed to use the friggin street, like we were. Aaaaargh! Plus if you're trucking down the sidewalk and sombody opens a door, things'r gonna get ugly.

I saw that happen in Chicago. A cab was at a stop sign and the dude in in the cab opened the door, and wham a speeding biker flew over the door.

It was a mess.

naw, you got it all wrong. that guy said 'out of the way, yuppie.' you must be thinking of some instance in chicago when somebody called you hippie. or a fag. whatever it was.

They should decriminalize the killing of SUV drivers.

Or at least control it, with licenses granted to the first 500 applicants, and with bag limits.

amen.

Hummer = 12 point stag

my suv gets a lot better mileage than all these damn used volvos and volkswagen vans the hippies drive around.

people love to find someone they feel they are better than, it is quite amusing.

true, in part. mileage is more important, but not as important as my continued sense of self importance.

my 1969 volkswagen beetle gets about 28 mpg. Is that good or bad these days? factor in the fact that it has been reused & recycled for the past 36 years and get back to me.

a lot of old cars are probably worse for the environment as their emissions aren't regulated (at least here where old cars don't have to get their emissions checked). My opinion is that you really have to look at things in balance - if you drive a big gas guzzler, take mass transit sometimes and limit the miles you drive. If you eat meat, make sure you recycle everything you can. If you buy something from a chain store, try to buy organic produce sometimes. If you vote republican, well, you are going straight to hell for that.

"Brilliant" comments heard while running (just from the last 2-3 years):

"Run, Forrest, Run!" (the movie came out in 1994, folks) - Paterson, NJ

"Hey fucker! Why don't you run, fucker!" - Champaign, IL (the guy then grabbed my wrists when I confronted him about this)

"Run, Forrest, Run!" (once again) - Chicago

Nothing is more satisfying than catching up to a "car yeller" at a stop light and running across the hood (only if there are no passengers, and they're clearly not going to be able to catch you) - this has only happened once, but I hope for more in the future
8)

You're my hero. I would fucking LOVE to do that. And thanks to this post, I just might.

Instead of verbally responding, just blow the guy a kiss.

It's not a question of mileage. I get crappy mileage, easily less than 14 mpg. I don't have catalytic converters, run a fairly rich fuel mixture, and have really small mufflers, so I rocket down the road with a deafening roar.

However, other drivers can see around and through my car. My car also sits normally on the road, so my perception let's me know how friggin' fast I'm going. Not so for the SUV folks. I also find, at least in my safe suburban slums, that the SUV drivers tend to be the worst drivers on the road--more apt not to be paying attention, more oblivious to those around them.

My original post was in response to the Suburban in question, but I'll gladly ammend it to "any driver talking on the phone, beating their kids, applying makeup, reading the damned newspaper, or any other activity other than controlling their vehicle".

Mass transit is a poor option for me, as it doubles my commute time, and limits my ability to work late. Add another two hours to my day, and I have zero personal/family time.

While in High School I was hit countless times by Mothers(carpool drivers) when I rode my bike to or from school. They apparently had no idea a bike path was in front of their kids' school. Nothing like a little hood pounding to wake them up.