# Getting yelled at on the road



## K-Zero (Feb 7, 2004)

Is it just me, or has the number of jackasses on the road all the sudden go up in the 408/650 area?

Teenage punks yelling "f*g", etc. at me from their cars is nothing new...but lately I've been experiencing this on weekly basis. So I'm wondering; how often do you encounter drive-by screamers? I always just ignore them, and fortunately I've never been physically threatened...but it's starting to get little annoying.

K-Zero


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## Sixty Fiver (Jul 7, 2007)

I am losing track of the screamers here in the 780 area... 

The other day I pulled up to the stop and was sitting in the through lane as there's a right hand turning lane that you just don't want to be obstructing in rush hour.

A van pulls up and tries to occupy the space I'm in but I didn't budge and the passenger rolls down the window and starts screaming about something about there being 2 lanes and f-ing bikers. 

When the light turned green I proceeded across the intersection in the proper lane and was suddenly overcome with a little fatigue which made me ride a little more slowly and caused a spasm in my middle finger that can only be alleviated by raising my hand with that finger pointed straight up in the air.

I had a guy threaten me once after nearly running me over so I invited him to step out of his car through the tried and tested method of kicking the crap out of his door. 

He opted to stay in his car which was a good choice for him.

******** in pickups and kids in rice rockets seem to be the worst when it comes to cursing and swearing and we have a lot of ******** and kids in hopped up Civics here..


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## z ken (Dec 30, 2006)

you're lucky you've not got stuffs throwing at you?? hopefully not?? yup we cyclist got alot of " FU ", " get the fudge off the way " and many other explicted contents. i was real pissed at the start but after a while i become " numb "-been there, done that. having items throw at, that i can't tolerate.


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## K-Zero (Feb 7, 2004)

z ken said:


> you're lucky you've not got stuffs throwing at you?? hopefully not??


I had someone throw a soda can toward my direction once...but it was so far off that it took me couple seconds until I though "wait, did that a-hole just try to nail me?"

I'm just baffled by the sudden increase in these encounters...especially since I consider myself a courteous rider.

K-Zero


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## K-Zero (Feb 7, 2004)

Sixty Fiver said:


> ******** in pickups and kids in rice rockets seem to be the worst when it comes to cursing and swearing and we have a lot of ******** and kids in hopped up Civics here..


For me it's been mostly wannabe "xtreme" skater-types in their beaters and spoiled brats in their daddies' BMW.

K-Zero


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## mytorelli (Dec 19, 2004)

No ones ever really yelled at me because they are mad at me or saying "f-you"....

its more like teens yelling at me, like "hey lance" or other stuff i cant understand.


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## tron (Jul 18, 2004)

Been called a h omo. A couple of times people just yelled to scare me when coming out from behind. It worked. But, its only happened 2-3 times in the less than two years I have been riding on the road


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## CrankyMonkey (Jul 8, 2007)

I was getting honked at, flipped off and yelled at on my commute by a bunch of white-trash-wanna-be-gangsters. I finally decided to change my route so I could go through a more affluent side of town (it only added a mile to my ride). I wanted to see if income level plays a part in the frequency of harassment. So far I've yet to be harassed on my new route. The route seems safer too since the majority of the time I'm in a bike lane or 25 mph zone.

When I was getting harassed I just pretended to be deaf or wave with a big grin on my face. Kill them with kindness!


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## Slave2Gravity (Jul 13, 2007)

I've never had a problem here in the Bay Area. But I was born and raised in Illinois and now the folks live in Nashville. Those places are not exactly "biker friendly" and I've had plenty of run-ins and near run-offs while pedaling. I suppose it's because biking isn't a way of life and doesn't register on most people's radars in that part of the country. 

I'm not sure retaliation (especially deliberately holding up traffic) is a productive, or safe, way of promoting biker consciousness. I think we also need to just accept that there are jerks and "less-than-mature" drivers out there and do our best to stay safe.


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## CrankyMonkey (Jul 8, 2007)

I grew up in Southern Illinois riding in the country. I never had a problem with drivers yelling at me or running me off the road. There were a ton of ******** but they never messed with us. We even wore tight spandex bike shorts.


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## jac44 (Feb 11, 2005)

A Wave or a Thumbs-Up. Just makes their Blood Boil


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## whoda (Oct 19, 2006)

About a week ago I had some guys girlfriend yelling stuff at me for 4 blocks thru town from her perch up in her boyfriends *******-mobile.

They pulled into Safeway, so I circled around, and watched them enter the store. I rolled up to the guys truck, and both windows were cracked open. I emptied my water bottle onto her seat and rode off.
BTW, the big boxer-dog in the truck dove under the steering wheel as soon as the water started to fly.



Great fun


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## scottyperkins (Jun 18, 2007)

I hardly ever get yelled at anymore. Maybe it's the iPod.


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## stealthman_1 (May 2, 2004)

scottyperkins said:


> I hardly ever get yelled at anymore. Maybe it's the iPod.


LOL! I quit riding on Friday and Saturday nights because of the abuse. Had a Big Gulp (full) just miss my front wheel, had a penny hit my helmet, and a guy on Folsom/Auburn road who almost lost it, he came up from behind me, must have drifted well into opposing traffic, then darted back across at me, pulling out at the last second. Seriously he nearly lost it sideways. I was like WTF kind of a$$hole? Probably had a chick in the car. FU.


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## wipeout (Jun 6, 2005)

K-Zero said:


> Is it just me, or has the number of jackasses on the road all the sudden go up in the 408/650 area?
> 
> Teenage punks yelling "f*g", etc. at me from their cars is nothing new...but lately I've been experiencing this on weekly basis. So I'm wondering; how often do you encounter drive-by screamers? I always just ignore them, and fortunately I've never been physically threatened...but it's starting to get little annoying.
> 
> K-Zero


I have zero problems in the Bay Area. I commute from San Jose to Mountain View and back and find the drivers to be pretty decent. Follow the rules of the road, be courteous (for example, let cars have enough room to make a right hand turn at a red light) and maybe you too can get a thumbs up instead of the bird...


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## wipeout (Jun 6, 2005)

whoda said:


> About a week ago I had some guys girlfriend yelling stuff at me for 4 blocks thru town from her perch up in her boyfriends *******-mobile.
> 
> They pulled into Safeway, so I circled around, and watched them enter the store. I rolled up to the guys truck, and both windows were cracked open. I emptied my water bottle onto her seat and rode off.
> BTW, the big boxer-dog in the truck dove under the steering wheel as soon as the water started to fly.
> ...


Great. It's morons like you that make life difficult for real cyclists...


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## TurboTurtle (Feb 4, 2004)

K-Zero said:


> Is it just me, or has the number of jackasses on the road all the sudden go up in the 408/650 area?
> 
> Teenage punks yelling "f*g", etc. at me from their cars is nothing new...but lately I've been experiencing this on weekly basis. So I'm wondering; how often do you encounter drive-by screamers? I always just ignore them, and fortunately I've never been physically threatened...but it's starting to get little annoying.
> 
> K-Zero


Just think of them as fans cheering you on. Wave and return a nice, loud 'buongiorno'. - TF


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## K-Zero (Feb 7, 2004)

wipeout said:


> Follow the rules of the road, be courteous (for example, let cars have enough room to make a right hand turn at a red light) and maybe you too can get a thumbs up instead of the bird...


Are you suggesting that I don't ride courteously? I hope you're not one of those pompous riders who thinks people who get yelled on the road must be doing something wrong to deserve it.

K-Zero


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## K-Zero (Feb 7, 2004)

scottyperkins said:


> Maybe it's the iPod.


Got myself a Shuffle this weekend for the road -- we'll see if it makes any difference.

K-Zero


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## Doggity (Mar 10, 2006)

I used to get this all the time, 'til I hung a couple a shrunken heads off my saddle. Now I just get...silence.


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## ukiahb (Jan 26, 2003)

hmm....your bladder would have been a better choice for a fluid source than your water bottle under the circumstances, but I'm sure the most unfortunate dog got blamed for the puddle anyway so the point was no doubt missed by the charming couple....


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## wipeout (Jun 6, 2005)

K-Zero said:


> Are you suggesting that I don't ride courteously? I hope you're not one of those pompous riders who thinks people who get yelled on the road must be doing something wrong to deserve it.
> 
> K-Zero


You're the one who asked "Is it just me, or has the number of jackasses on the road all the sudden go up in the 408/650 area?". My answer is that the number of jackasses in CARS has not suddenly gone up so it must be you. No pomp at all, just answering the question K-Fed.


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## K-Zero (Feb 7, 2004)

wipeout said:


> You're the one who asked "Is it just me, or has the number of jackasses on the road all the sudden go up in the 408/650 area?". My answer is that the number of jackasses in CARS has not suddenly gone up so it must be you. No pomp at all, just answering the question K-Fed.


Well then, I hope you'll never experience what I'm describing -- because I ride exactly the way you descibed in your previous post.

Happy riding,
K-Zero


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## CrankyMonkey (Jul 8, 2007)

I was thinking about getting a Jersey made up with pictures of my kids an big bold type that says "DON'T KILL MY DADDY!"


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## smw (Mar 7, 2006)

K-Zero said:


> Is it just me, or has the number of jackasses on the road all the sudden go up in the 408/650 area?
> 
> Teenage punks yelling "f*g", etc. at me from their cars is nothing new...but lately I've been experiencing this on weekly basis. So I'm wondering; how often do you encounter drive-by screamers? I always just ignore them, and fortunately I've never been physically threatened...but it's starting to get little annoying.
> 
> K-Zero



I get it from time to time. Usually high school kids that think they own the road, they tell me to get off the road, that the road is for cars. They will be back in school soon and home doing school work soon. Problem is alot of kids dont ride bikes these days. I usually invite em to pull over but they just keep on speeding down residential streets.


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## wipeout (Jun 6, 2005)

K-Zero said:


> Well then, I hope you'll never experience what I'm describing -- because I ride exactly the way you descibed in your previous post.
> 
> Happy riding,
> K-Zero


Hmm. Wonder if it is just a local phenomenon or that I'm totally deaf to shouted insults. Maybe I look better in bibs.  

Peace.


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## genejockey (Apr 11, 2007)

On my morning ride today, as I was heading up from the light at 35 and 92 toward Canada, some guy in a van leans out his window and says, "I could never figure out hos other peopel could do that for fun."

I didn't know what to say. But it's better than being yelled at!


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## ilium (Aug 15, 2006)

Just be glad you don't live in the LA region. I go there for college and I get yelled at 10 times as much as up here. Personally, up here I get way more people asking about my bike or something because they are thinking about buying one than people harrassing me.


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## velocipede (Feb 10, 2005)

Had some great confrontations in S.F. when I lived there. Now I'm up in the valley and get the impatient locals, oblivious tourists, and intolerant ********. I just blow them all a kiss and they drive on. I guess no one wants to get their ass kicked by a 215 pound dude in lycra. 
The best is when the impatient local comes into the shop to buy their kid a bike and I recognize them. Not great for sales tho.


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## Rich_Racer (Jul 12, 2002)

I commute from San Ramon to Livermore and back most days. I take the Highland Road route which somewhat goes through what might be referred to as ******* country. I hardly ever get yelled at - but it has happened a few times. I got hit in the head by a hard back book once! Still wish I'd a) got the license plate, b) gone back to see what the title of the book was!

What ******** don't seem to realize is that almost everything they shout out of a fast moving truck sounds like "nnaaghhrrrr" and really doesn't have much impact on me!


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## Sixtwo (Sep 2, 2007)

We have a few Livermorons out here who seem to enjoy scaring you by screaming at you as they come up from behind in their cars...I don't ascribe to the smile and wave back theory unless it includes a middle finger and several expletives myself...


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## Bianchiguy (Sep 8, 2005)

I would have to say that folks in the Monterey Bay area are, for the most part, very courteous to cyclists. I have had my share of horn blaring as a car passes, middle finger salutes and a water bottle thrown at me, but these encounters have always been with young jerks. Screw 'em. I always try to keep my cool and ignore the offense. An escalated situation would really ruin my ride and that's what I'm out there for. But sometimes, I just can't help myself and I need to salute back


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## dslfoolish (Mar 22, 2006)

The San Jose Berryessa/Milpitas area has been okay for me. I get the occasional teenager shouting "lance" or "***." In Fremont, though, I've had stuff like cups of soda tossed at me. No fun.

Berkeley has been good overall. I guess people here are generally more used to cyclists since there are so many of them.


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