hey guys, so i just got back from a month in europe and as you could imagine i was itching to get back on my bike, so yesterday i got out and went for a ride.
now i need someone to clarify something for me here. i copped the worst abuse from a driver i have ever experienced while riding down lygon street. it was the part of lygon that runs along side the cemetary so 2 lanes and seperate tram lanes.
this middle aged, (presumably) coked up italian guy with all the typical gangster trimmings pulled along side me in his red convertable yelling “i ride bikes too but im not a cunt like you”. confusing. i then passed him and he pulled up next to me again screaming that im not meant to be riding on the road and that im a dickhead and he wants to beat the shit out of me and put his fist up my ass (at that point i thought he might just be flirting with me) and then he just kept screaming leaving just enough space to ride between his car and the parked cars (pretty sure that against the law)
so i just wanted to know where the fuck thats coming from? i was as far left in the left lane as possible and its not my fault theres no bike lanes. i think i even read on here somewhere that bikes are entitled to an entire lane if its necessary, dont know.
I think you’ve nailed the reason he was so pissed off right there…was there a girl in the car with him? To top it off probably still lives with his mother.
I’m not surprised. Melbourne has some of the worst drivers in the world ! If you got his rego, take it to the local coppers and get them to take down your statement.
Yesterday morning a delivery truck driver passed me and looked like he was texting, so I stayed well back and out of the way. About 50 metres down the road, he runs up onto the nature strip for about 10 meters, missing a lampost before he pulled it back on to the road. Bad luck if I had been next to him.
I have a suspicion that the wide footpath running against the cemetery fence is a shared use path. I may be wrong.
I live in the area and I would never go that way, just go down Drummond Street or around the back of the cemetery near Princes park, or my favorite through the cemetery (my usual morning commute). Those stiffs have an awesome view from there.
jesus, sounds like a pretty rough way to ‘enjoy’ your first ride back!!!
the path next to the cemetery is for bike and pedestrian use, i use it frequently but make sure you have a bell!!
i use the road sometimes but only when i feel like going flat out as i don’t feel too safe along there, something about the way the lanes change near all the tram stops that weirds me out…
I copped a decent horn tootin’ and a swervin’ from a taxi the other day for the crime of riding in the left lane of castlereagh st (down toward central, not near pitt).
He soon changed his tootin-swervin-tune when I pulled up next to him at the lights and read out his taxi number and pulled out my phone to take a photo of him.
Me: ‘what the fuck was that for?’
Him: ‘You are not allowed on the road.’
Me: ‘Actually, I am allowed on the road… Six Five Four Six’ pulls out phone
Him: ‘No, there is no problem. No sir, there is no problem… etc’
Idiots. I don’t know how the guys who ride all day for work put up with it.
thanks for the responses, knew id get some support here. but yeh, seems melbourne can be shocking in regards to drivers, so many of them go out of their way to let you know how much they hate you! ive had a couple of near misses where cars just dont look and manage to cut you off when turning left. i even bounced off someones bumper when they were turning left right next to me, they were conveniently driving the biggest 4WD ive ever seen down the off-road mountain that is Brunswick Street, and after that the woman hung out of the window calling me a fucking this and that. probably should have grabbed the rego that time.
and yeh, couriers, i dont envy this part of your work
no problems with your behaviour. i ride lygon st whenever i’m up that way. footpaths are for pedestrians. roads are for vehicles, human or motor-powered.
shoulda grabbed his number plate.
I go up that way when I feel like taking the super long way home and always ride on the road purely because cars are easier to read than pedestrians.
You get dickheads in all walks of life and piloting all types of vehicles, either give it back to them or let it be. Police don’t give a rats about some petty verbal abuse.
I really wouldn’t recommend that unless you’re in an unusually wide lane. There’s not enough room in a normal lane for a car and a bike to fit side by side, so regardless of where you are in the lane, cars are going to have to move at least partially into the next lane to overtake you. You might as well ride in the middle of the lane and force them to properly change lanes when overtaking, as at least then they’re going to think about it rather than just trying to squeeze though.
I’ve found sometimes you don’t have to do anything. If you’re in the line of fire these monkey’s will have a go at any one smaller…ie not in a car.
On a Sunday Morning on flinders st a random guy pulled up to me and a friend at the lights and just started abusing me…He didn’t once say what fuelled this abuse.
I ignored him for 2 blocks. Then by this time my mate and I’d had enough.
We had to shout at him to get above his ranting… and there was no reasoning…
My friend had a gut full by this stage and reacted with a masssssive gob of spit through
the window… By no means a solution and totally irrational but a lil sense of one up manship, as we rode off on the side walk…
Some times fuck heads have to vent…cyclists shouldn’t be the targets
think i might’ve met the same convertible-driving dipshit last night, who proffered the words of wisdom “nice bike lane” before driving off, because i was in the right hand turning lane.
The best form of defense is a great offense - you just have to abuse the shit out of them. I love it. If you don’t let them know how you feel, they will continue to do it until one day they do it to a less experienced cyclist who causes an accident or serious injury to themselves.
If I see a car roll through a stop sign while I’m approaching, I stop in front of them and point to the stop sign. If they honk their horn when I’m in the right, I give them two earfuls. If they don’t see me when they’re merging, I make sure I’m the first thing they think of next time they go to merge somewhere.
It might not give cyclists everywhere the best name, but if it gets even one driver to look next time then it’s been a worthwhile venture.
I love that warm feeling that accompanies the slow roll up to a fuckwit in a car who has just floored it once past you to take his place in the queue at the red light.
I’ll generally flip out if I feel I’ve been put in serious danger, but for those more minor things (like your random unfounded abuse) I think there’s nothing better than a couple of taps on the window and a quick rational conversation.
And +1 to Cafe de Keirin; the power of a camera phone is amazing. Wish I’d had a more water-resistant one for all the drivers using yesterday’s weather to justify driving any and everywhere - at least I got some good front-wheel skid and head shaking practice in.
