# Great Swamp RANT, 7-22-08



## Climbing_Clyde (Jun 16, 2007)

July 22, 2008 7am

Today while driving to work through The Great Swamp I encountered the embodiment of what gives cyclists a bad name. As I turned on to New Vernon Rd by the Casa Maya there was a woman riding. She was making little ‘S’ shape turns in the street, I have no problem with this, I do it sometimes too. As I came up behind her it was obvious that she didn’t hear my car cause she was still swerving into the middle of the road, so I tooted my horn as a heads up. 

As I drove by I heard her shouting at me, then I looked in my rearview and saw her giving me the finger, this REALLY pissed me off. All I did was give a friendly heads up and that was it. I slowed down and rolled down my window, she was yelling at me and threatening to call the cops. I told her to call them now and proceeded to tell her that she did not know how to ride. 

I find this infuriating as a motorist and cyclist. It is dumbass self-entitled amateurs riding around with a chip on their shoulder that give us all a bad name. Not to mention that it was early in the morning and in a remote location, someday some maniac is going to clean her clock for her. 

Learn how to ride and share the road!
Not all motorists are the enemy.


----------



## Franz (Oct 14, 2005)

*horns*

I am think car companies should be require to install two horns in cars.
1. the polite "hey I am here" horn
2. the angry "get the f out of my way" horn

:idea:


----------



## thegock (May 16, 2006)

*Good early*

time to rock the Swamp. She must have saddled up early. 

Sounds like a newbish bikergirl. Or confusion.

Did she dress like a cyclist and was her ride representing or just some hybridish thing?

Ten thousand dollars say she wasn't Gr, the woman I was about to pass in Tamaques last night. As I was approaching, I noticed that Gr was a bit wobbly, so I gave her a wide berth. Four feet extra. I then noticed she was answering her cell phone. I didn't notice her right foot slip off the pedal of her Jamis hybrid. I might have been eight feet behind her still at about 23 mph when she endo'd. 

I said WHOAAA. U turned, dismounted, told her to get off the road, sit down on the grass and then I collected her cell from the road. After I water bottled off some of the blood and took inventory of the road rash, we waited for the police car and EMT's. Her worst bruise was on her tummy between her belt line and the tops of her legs. She was a little quick to show me that one, I thought... 

She was quite lucky because she WASN'T WEARING A HELMET. No head injuries.

After the EMT's loaded up, I finished my intervals.


----------



## Climbing_Clyde (Jun 16, 2007)

She was on a hybrid, and I was glad to see she had a helmet on cause this girl is going to need it someday if she keeps agitating motorists like this. 

I am still baffled by this incident, absolutely baffled. I didn't sneek up on her, my car is not quiet and I did not lean on the horn, just a friendly heads up toot was all. 

I am hoping she posts here or someone that knows her hangs here cause I'd really love to hear her side of this story. 

Yelling, cursing, calling names, threatening to call the cops, weird man, just too weird. 

The other thing that dawned on me is amateur or not, there is no excuse for riding like a dumbass. 

Car coming behind, get over to right and let car pass, this is not rocket science here.


----------



## Edgecrusher (Jan 12, 2006)

Yea, sounds like a DA for sure. :mad2: 

The problem is most likely no one has told her how to ride proper
or to learn/understand road etiquette. 

I actually appreciate a 'heads up' honk of the horn,
lets me know what's happening behind and I always
give a wave of thanks. Always give a wave when I'm
given the right of way or the go ahead by an auto as well.

But just as quick to raise the center finger if I'm cut off
or given a 'brush by' by a car/truck. "It happens"
You gotta be heads up on the road -mates!


----------



## Climbing_Clyde (Jun 16, 2007)

Edgecrusher said:


> Yea, sounds like a DA for sure. :mad2:
> 
> The problem is most likely no one has told her how to ride proper
> or to learn/understand road etiquette.
> ...



I hear ya. 

Trust me, I'm no angel on the road and have been cut off more times then I can count. 
I always loose it what that happens and every time I tell myself NOT to do that, but there is something about the adrenalin and the surprise of peoples stupidity that brings out the New Yorker in me immediately.


----------



## jsedlak (Jun 17, 2008)

I gave a finger to a driver on a swamp ride the other day... they were coming down the hill on New Vernon and crossed over the double yellow through the intersection to pass a gardening truck right as I am just coming to that intersection.

So I gave em a finger for putting themselves at risk, me at risk, the truck at risk and for breaking the law.


----------



## DrSmile (Jul 22, 2006)

Franz said:


> I am think car companies should be require to install two horns in cars.
> 1. the polite "hey I am here" horn
> 2. the angry "get the f out of my way" horn
> 
> :idea:


You deserve the Nobel peace prize. Please market this immediately.


----------



## Bee-an-key (May 5, 2007)

Updated Road Conditions;
I headed off for a ride today cutting through Green Village and the Great Swamp and to my surprise they were resurfacing Pleasantville Rd with tar and chip! So the good news is they finally repaved Long Hill/New Vernon Rd after all these years and then they destroyed the surface of a major way to get there. I will never understand why they take a smooth road and basically glue rocks to it.


----------



## Terex (Jan 3, 2005)

It's the season. Many roads in the Lambertville, Sergeantsville, Hopewell/Sourlands area have recently been chip & sealed. The worst is supposed to be Goat Hill/Pleasant Valley near Lambertville. I was on Rosemont Ringoes tonight (Rt. 604) and it is just terrible. From a nice, smooth road, to absolute crap. Why, why, why???


----------



## jsedlak (Jun 17, 2008)

Bee-an-key said:


> Updated Road Conditions;
> I headed off for a ride today cutting through Green Village and the Great Swamp and to my surprise they were resurfacing Pleasantville Rd with tar and chip! So the good news is they finally repaved Long Hill/New Vernon Rd after all these years and then they destroyed the surface of a major way to get there. I will never understand why they take a smooth road and basically glue rocks to it.


+1. It is getting pretty bad now too. You essentially have to ride near the middle of the road to stay on anything that could be considered smooth. And on Pleasantville, doing so is incredibly dangerous. I hope they pave this road as well as fix the road between the Hickery Square (in Chatham w/ the Getty) and the Y intersection.

Does anyone know if they have started work on N. Maple?


----------



## jmoryl (Sep 5, 2004)

Terex said:


> It's the season. Many roads in the Lambertville, Sergeantsville, Hopewell/Sourlands area have recently been chip & sealed. The worst is supposed to be Goat Hill/Pleasant Valley near Lambertville. I was on Rosemont Ringoes tonight (Rt. 604) and it is just terrible. From a nice, smooth road, to absolute crap. Why, why, why???


Pity. I was just out there a few weeks ago and most of the roads were fine. Looks like I will need to delay my next ride in that area until the surfaces get tamped down a bit.

Where I live in Essex Co. the town of Maplewood is using some sort of slurry (think a heavy duty driveway sealent with some stone chips in it) on a large number of streets. Besides making the surface nasty (they do clean up the excess pebbles quite well), the stuff smells like raw sewage for several days.


----------

