Tom
05-29-2006, 09:08 AM
Two incidents in the last three days... neither give cyclists a good name and some poor bastard that doesn't deserve it is going to get **** because of what I did.
(1) - Heading out, pushing up a little rise on Union Street after a couple of lights before heading downhill to the river. A guy in a big cream colored Mercedes convertible blows around me leaning on his horn. I smile, saying "Yeesh!" inside. We come over the hill, guess what. He's hung up in a line of cars. So, I just roll up behind and draft going down the hill at 25-30 as the cars go. Any time he can, he guns it ahead but then somebody turns or stops and I catch up. He and his girlfriend keep eyeing me in the mirror and I just smile. In front of the college he blows around the VW in front of him and swerves back in, cutting it off... he wants a car between us, I think. The road steepens down, the right lane is clear, so I pass the whole line of cars and drop back into traffic three or four cars along, just to make a point. Down through there it's easy to hold 30mph. We get to the red light at Erie, I am third or so in line to go straight, two cars waiting to go left, I sense somebody back and look. Heh heh. He's waiting to turn left and won't pull up next to me. I wave him forward. No move. I wave again. No move. So this is where I do something bad. I smile at him and blow a kiss to his girlfriend.
(2) Next day, same intersection. A guy in a red Ford, talking on the phone, blows the red light turning into Union Street. Less a move of arrogance as incompetence, he looked like the light caught him by surprise but he also looked like it was no big deal for him. Demographics of the vehicle but maybe I'm just labelling when I shouldn't. I had to check my speed as I crossed, so I just reaccelerate, ride up to his driver's side window and say "Phone's not good, man." I continue ahead and he starts yelling many unfriendly things. I mean, I'm thinking if he's being an idiot, shouldn't somebody tell him?
Why the hell can't I just keep my mouth shut? These make me feel good at the time but everything that goes around comes around and there's no guarantee it comes back around to me, but somebody else that doesn't deserve it.
(1) - Heading out, pushing up a little rise on Union Street after a couple of lights before heading downhill to the river. A guy in a big cream colored Mercedes convertible blows around me leaning on his horn. I smile, saying "Yeesh!" inside. We come over the hill, guess what. He's hung up in a line of cars. So, I just roll up behind and draft going down the hill at 25-30 as the cars go. Any time he can, he guns it ahead but then somebody turns or stops and I catch up. He and his girlfriend keep eyeing me in the mirror and I just smile. In front of the college he blows around the VW in front of him and swerves back in, cutting it off... he wants a car between us, I think. The road steepens down, the right lane is clear, so I pass the whole line of cars and drop back into traffic three or four cars along, just to make a point. Down through there it's easy to hold 30mph. We get to the red light at Erie, I am third or so in line to go straight, two cars waiting to go left, I sense somebody back and look. Heh heh. He's waiting to turn left and won't pull up next to me. I wave him forward. No move. I wave again. No move. So this is where I do something bad. I smile at him and blow a kiss to his girlfriend.
(2) Next day, same intersection. A guy in a red Ford, talking on the phone, blows the red light turning into Union Street. Less a move of arrogance as incompetence, he looked like the light caught him by surprise but he also looked like it was no big deal for him. Demographics of the vehicle but maybe I'm just labelling when I shouldn't. I had to check my speed as I crossed, so I just reaccelerate, ride up to his driver's side window and say "Phone's not good, man." I continue ahead and he starts yelling many unfriendly things. I mean, I'm thinking if he's being an idiot, shouldn't somebody tell him?
Why the hell can't I just keep my mouth shut? These make me feel good at the time but everything that goes around comes around and there's no guarantee it comes back around to me, but somebody else that doesn't deserve it.