even though this instance was not a deliberate act, it got me thinking about how much people seem to hate cyclists on the road. i've had people at work comment that they just want to run them (and runners) off the road, and go on and on about how they don't belong on the road in the first place.sheesh people, it's not like they're clogging the expressways. yeah, some of them are giving cyclists a bad name by riding two or more across rather than single file or by riding erratically, and that ticks me off, too. on the other hand, that's how anything is -- we all know that there are plenty of bad drivers out there, too. i just don't get what the big problem is. maybe because i am (sort of) a cyclist, i can appreciate why they are out there and it doesn't bother me when i have to slow down a little to go around them.
i read on my triathlon forums all the time about people getting stuff yelled at them, thrown at them, cars buzzing them so close they hit the cyclists in the arms/shoulders with their side mirrors, even one guy that got shot with a bb gun by a passenger in a car driving by. get a life, people. cyclists are NOT that in your way. they're exercising, and with the gas prices going up and up more and more people will be cycling to work to save money. i'm trying to figure out a route myself! with construction, it will probably not take me that much longer to get to work via bike and i'll save gas and be kinder to the environment at the same time!
so, rant over. be nice to cyclists. but if you see them riding two across on a narrow trafficy road or doing other reprehensible cyclist behaviors, feel free to roll down your window and suggest they fix what they are doing. no need to throw a rock to get your point across, though.
and don't drink and drive...
