Psycho drivers...part deaux

Dude....where do you run/ride? Is it near a work release prison or mental institution? The worse thing thats ever happened to me was dodging a 99 year old lady behind the wheel of her 1975 oldsmobile 88.

I was chased down by a Jack Russell Terrier the other day. That was a little demoralizing. Other than that, nothing other than the rednecks who get real exciting to see a girl in spandex and decide to drive right next to me and stare for a while.... :-P

Funny.

Last fall, my friend and I were riding, with him on my wheel, when we were set upon by a pack of six or eight chihuahuas. I swerved one way and he the other, he caught my rear wheel with his front (front wheel always loses) and he went down, got some prety good road rash. After he brushed off and we stopped laughing at the yapping pack, we went knock on the owner's door, and showed her what her dogs had done, and explained the leash law to her. I ride that route often and haven't seen the pack since then.

LOL! A pack of chihuahuas hunting for cyclist! I hope he didn't fall on the little guys... So when he fell did they go for the jugular? Was he chihuahua lunch? Did Paris Hilton come to apologize?

ROFL! Be careful lest the chihuahua herds get you!

I guess I've been lucky.  Besides the occasional close call when 2 cars and I pass one another at the same moment and things are a bit tight, I haven't had too many issues with jerks.  Besides, the occasional car of girls that'll make a comment from time to time all my cycling has been event free.  Then again, I've only been cycling for about 6 months now...I guess its only a matter of time.

Now running on the other hand is freaking dangerous on some of the roads.  I've been close called many a time - 90% are little old ladies scared to ride close to or on the double yellow.  Lunchtime runs are the best as most of the people around work recognize me and there's always a few joggers around.  Truckers are the best around me.  They'll bust their ass to slide over on foot or bike or slow their rigs down quick.  I'll always greet em with a nod or wave when I'm running the other way.

Things have got to be different in big towns or cities where the same set of people don't pass by you regularly.  In a smaller town like mine, people get used to seeing you out there and get to "know" you, which I think helps as well.

That is just awesome. Sounds more like the conversation I'd have in my head an hour after the fact.

Anytime someone has to fall back on extremely lame religious attacks in a debate you can just smile, say "I win" and walk away.

Here is a story about a friend of mine who rides quite a bit. It shows how the tables can turn when you ride in packs and cooler heads don't prevail 

I haven't been so unlucky. The worst I've had is the occaisional honk or screaming out the window. I would like to say it was a good feeling the first time a pack of girls shouted their approval of the ...um view. Anyway here's the story:

They were on a small group ride of about 3-5 guys (all seasoned roadies, 1 or 2 semi pro)heading through a suburban residential area. A small car full of teenage boys came by, and one of them spit out the window and hit one of the group. Well, the car just happened to stop at a light about a 1/2 mi up the road. When they saw this someone yelled, "We can catch them!" The whole group sprinted up around the car, got off the bikes and started shaking and rocking the car. The teenagers being the all attitude and no concept of actual human behavior type were scared out of their wits and just sat there with the windows rolled up, too scared to even pull away.

It was at this point that one of the bike group slapped their hand on the sunroof of the car. There was no rock or other hard implement involved, just a gloved hand. The sunroof must have had a flaw in the glass or something because it shattered, raining glass all over the teenagers. Now this was enough to get the kids into actual action. They got out of the car. Of couse by that time the pack of bikes was well on their way in the other direction as fast as they could muster.

A van who just saw the last bit of this exchange decided to give chase. The van took off following the pack for several minutes as they dodged around street corners. They finally pulled a quick turn and hid-out in a friend's garage. The friend happened to be an older lady who just thought they were tired and thirsty. They stayed there till the heat was off...

The moral of this story: well...don't spit at more than one biker, keep your cool when confronting stupid motorists, and if you see a guy and appreciate the view, it's ok to honk and yell.