You know that slogan about "Watch out for Motorcycles?"

[Orrex]

Well, I watched out for an asshole on a motorcycle during my morning commute today.

I have about three quarters of a mile (@ 30MPH) to merge into the left lane, and this jackass deliberately kept pace with me so that I couldn't get into the five-car-length space around him. I say deliberately because he looked me in the eye and then began accelerating/decelerating to prevent me from changing lanes.

"But Orrex," you might say. "You should have slowed down to let him pass." Tried that, and he slowed down with me, which also screwed the hundred people behind us.

I was only able to merge after the asshole made an abrupt left turn, waving at me as he did so. Asshole.


So I called in a few favors and arranged to have him and his bike abducted by a flying saucer for an express ride to Rigel 3 with heavy emphasis on the probing.

He'll find out what an asshole really is.

[CanSocDem]

1. Aside from your anal fixation...

...your well publicized fear of committment will probably remain a lifelong condition.

We had a principle when I was in the trucking industry: My signal light isn't asking for permission.

However, you really should cut some people some slack for defending their position. Just sayin'....

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[Orrex]

3. If it hadn't been a clearly deliberate act, I wouldn't have cared

I merge into that lane every day; sometimes it's easy, and sometimes it's difficult, as dictated by traffic patterns.

But when someone obviously and specifically works to obstruct traffic as the biker this morning, it's not a matter of me needing to "cut some people some slack." It a matter of him needing a quick jaunt to Rigel 3.

[MiddleFingerMom]

2. I rode for a total of about 15 years and had one horrendous accident and one minor one...

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... one caused by drunken inattention by a driver behind me and one caused by
a REAL asshole -- we locked eyes and he STILL made his right turn at a red light
right in front of my bike approaching him from the side.
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That biker WAS just protecting himself -- he DID require as much room as he could
get in the type of traffic that you're probably neglecting to describe that surrounded
both you and him.
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He NEEDED that space. Now, unless you did something to prompt it (c'mon... think
and be honest -- you seem like someone fairly easily angered)... his taunting you
about it was some assholery on his part that was far from necessary.
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Bikes are extremely vulnerable. A MOMENT'S inattention by a driver behind us in
relatively heavy traffic can be fatal -- so we give ourselves as MUCH of a safety
cushion as we can all around us.
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[Orrex]

4. Like most people, my online anger is quicker than my real life anger

Still, he was a jerk.

If he's that scared of traffic, he either shouldn't ride during rush hour or else shouldn't ride a bike. And whatever his safety concerns might be, his repeated acceleration/deceleration certainly didn't make him any safer; if anything, they subjected him to greater risk of collision from the cars in front of him and behind. That sort of bobbing & weaving would be irresponsible from any driver in heavy traffic, let alone a biker who is, as you note, extremely vulnerable.

[datasuspect]

5. i liked the stupid fuck bikeass

who flew through the stop sign, veered into traffic while avoiding all the construction cones and workers working on the intersection.

then the little fuckface puts his hand out like he's warning traffic that he's gonna bike like an assclown and fly through stop signs, you know, because he's on a fixie, and MY LANE! dude.

EAT SHIT AND DIE BIKELAD.

you don't know how bad i wanted to tap his back wheel with my bumper.

it's hard being a grownup sometimes.

if i was 20 years younger, i would have stomped a mudhole in narrow tight ankle pants wearing ass.

[Orrex]

6. That's pretty hardcore.

I was just going to have the guy manhandled by aliens, but you really mean business!

[datasuspect]

7. TCB, baby

put the hammer down.

[cliffordu]

8. Ah, wassa mattah?

You had to sit in your air conditioned lifestyle validator for a few more seconds?

Go ahead and tap the back wheel of a bicyclist and have a couple hundred assholes just like me up in your legal grill.

I just love people who are tough as long as they're behind the wheel of a couple thousand pounds of steel and glass. Try riding in traffic the length of the west coast in what amounts to your underwear ( I did that this winter) and then tell me how fucking tough you really are. An RV mirror shooting past your helmet at a foot away and and 65 MPH is enlightening.

Shithead cyclists should be banned from the road. They might kill me someday because a wonderful person like you wants to get even and I get to be the guy YOU take your juvenile hatred out on. Here's a word of advice - don't get out of your car and threaten a cyclist with a hundred pounds on their bike. The motherfucker rides a bicycle that weighs a hundred pounds in traffic. And she/he ain't afraid of you. Turn the air conditioning up. Chill.

[Orrex]

9. How does voluntarily subjecting oneself to risk & discomfort equate to being tough?

I'm not clear on this part:

Try riding in traffic the length of the west coast in what amounts to your underwear ( I did that this winter) and then tell me how fucking tough you really are. An RV mirror shooting past your helmet at a foot away and and 65 MPH is enlightening.

So...

A person is tough if that person deliberately engages in dangerous behavior in his underwear?

[cliffordu]

25. Talking about spandex bike shorts

And yes, riding highway one is one of the toughest things I have ever done.

No risk, no reward.

[Orrex]

29. Well, okay.

But can you understand how some find it odd to object to the dangers inherent in a risky activity when that activity is undertaken voluntarily?

It's kind of like saying "I choose to hit myself on the head with a hammer 61 times. Don't tell me how tough you are."

[datasuspect]

31. you got that whole fake tough guy thing going, huh?

you're always telling on yourself.

[datasuspect]

13. if stupid motherfucking bikefucks

obeyed traffic laws consistently, there wouldn't be anything really to say.

[cliffordu]

28. That cuts both ways,

And this bikefuck thinks you have emotional problems over this that go beyond cyclists and autos.

Mebbe some professional help is in order.

Just sayin'

[MiddleFingerMom]

56. !!!

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[datasuspect]

14. car trumps bike

it's an insurance deductible to me, it's YOUR literal ass.

i can always get a new bumper, you try getting a new spine, motor skills, or the ability to wash yourself again after a head injury.

underpants tough guy!

oh, and for your holier than thou jive: some of us are grownups and we have to visit other mommies and daddies to conduct business. during business hours. with multiple places to visit across a wide geographical area. imagine that.

[cliffordu]

32. So sorry to make mommy and daddy

Wait for you.

Go change the laws regarding bicycles on the road or put up with people like me. I could give a rotten rats ass.

I'll be out on the bike today. And I know EXACTLY what my literal ass is up against:

Idiots texting mom about what they are wearing, sex addicts talking to 'Amber' on their cell phones, and my personal favorite,
Road rage shitheads---
Spoiled sniveling bullies in a couple tons of steel, complete cowards each and every one. On occasion I chase one down and ask them if they'd like some quality time instead of just giving me the finger and screaming. None ever have. Imagine that.

By the way- as I said up thread shithead cyclists should be banned from the road, shithead drivers should be made to clean up the mess after 'accidents'.

[datasuspect]

35. fake tough guy

fake. tough. guy.

you DAYDREAM about confronting a complete stranger with malice or anger.


BIG TIME EDIT:

DAAAAAAAAAAANG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i thought y'all were talking about bicycles.

I was talking about bicycles and you were talking about motorbikes.

anything with an internal combustion engine is okily dokily K-O in my book!

[cliffordu]

37. It switched back and forth between

Bicycles and motorcycles, and I ride a bicycle.

As for the rest of the insult, well, poor me, you said bad things.

[datasuspect]

38. i wouldn't have any problem

taking on a private correspondence with you.

RULES

1. Anyone can say anything, the object is to trade the most vile insights, opinions, and insults about and against each other.

2. Venue: do it via PM.

3. No one takes it personally since it would be an exercise in keeping your insults sharp.

You seem to have the anger and rottenness that would make for a suitable interlocutor.

[cliffordu]

45. Nope. No need.

I have exactly nothing to prove to you.

I'm going to ride from the Canadian border to the LA along the spine of the Cascades and the Sierra Nevada in a couple of months.

You should come along. We can have fun talking about tough guys and camping.

You, of course, can bring your car.

I can carry your tent and food on my bicycle if it's too difficult for you.

[SwissTony]

15. 100 pounds? What is it? A 50cc machine?

My Kawasaki 900 weighed way more than 100 pounds.

And does the weight "in traffic" mean? The laws of physics dictate that if you can get the thing going, don't hit anything and don't do anything stupid, the bike won't fall over and the weight makes essentially no difference. In fact, my 900 was considerably more stable than my wife's "get to work" 50cc. But your post seems to imply that riding bike requires strength. It doesn't. Picking it up if you drop it does. Different situation.

[MiddleFingerMom]

20. The discussion has expanded to include both motorcycles and bicycles now. THAT context may,,,

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,,, clear up some of the misconceptions you have about what was posted.
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[SwissTony]

23. I take your point, MFM.

But a 100 lb bicycle? That's now going the other way. That's a heavy bicycle.

PS: love your posts. Keep going, big guy.

[MiddleFingerMom]

26. Thank you. And the "100 pound bike" confused me, too.

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I thought he might have been referring to the cyclist -- but even though cyclists are fit and have
incredible stamina (both factors that would make ME think twice about getting out of my car), it's
hard to imagine an imposing opponent with bicycle training as his workouts STANDING IN THIS
CORNER... WEIGHING IN AT 100 POUNDS....
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[cliffordu]

40. See 34

[Orrex]

24. But who pedals a 100 pound bike?

That's pretty hefty, if you ask me. Even a cast iron velocipede would only weigh in at around 60 or 80 pounds, I should think!

[MiddleFingerMom]

27. Don't miss the other points because he made that one error -- they're still valid.

[Orrex]

30. Well...

Since the original point was about an asshole on a motorcycle, and since there was no clear indication that the topic had been expanded to bicycles, I think that readers can be forgiven their confusion.

[MiddleFingerMom]

33. You (and or they) are forgiven..

[Orrex]

36. Sweet.

Generally I have very little involvement with bicycles while I'm driving. They don't go on the interstate that I use, and when they're on the other roads on my route they seem to get along fine with other drivers.

[cliffordu]

57. ME!!

[Orrex]

58. That's a lot of teh pr0n

I was content to rage against the asshole one the motorcycle, but then you had to go and screw everything up by bringing your bicycle into it. Get a horse, dammit!

[cliffordu]

59. Actually, someone else brought bicycles into it.

And my horse farts in your direction.......

[Orrex]

60. Doh!

Then to heck with you and your magic spandex underwears!

[cliffordu]

61. I make that shit look good.

If you think a 61 year old fat man with bad skin and a character disorder could ever look good.

[cliffordu]

34. Bike, camping gear, food and water

Porn collection

[SwissTony]

39. But would this rider/bike/extra weight cause Orrex so much grief?

Lance Armstrong - move over.

Oh, wait. He already has.

[cliffordu]

41. I am prolly the most polite cyclist out there.

Anything that weighs over 500 lbs gets my respect and a wide berth.

[SwissTony]

43. You got to 500 lbs?

My avoidance limit was much less than that.

[Orrex]

42. If that bicyclist deliberately screwed up traffic, then probably.

Anyway, the original post was about a particular asshole on a motorcycle; the discussion then expanded to include bicyclists in a way that wasn't immediately clear, and this lack of clarity caused some confusion (e.g., "Who pedals a 100 pound bike?&quot

This has now been clarified.

[SwissTony]

44. My point was whether a relatively heavy-laden cyclist...

could have kept up with when you accelerated.

The thread became unclear because it was originally about a motorcyclist and somehow a cyclist got included.

Not the greatest crime against humanity. Just some people talking a little at cross purposes.

[Orrex]

46. Ah--now I'm on board!

Yeah, probably a bicyclist with an anvil wouldn't have been able to manage the stop-n-go maneuvers that the biker yesterday was doing.

[MiddleFingerMom]

48. You missed the obvious. This is DUZY worthy.

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http://www.democraticunderground.com/1018415146#post34
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[Orrex]

49. My confusion occurred before that point.

And anyway I was distracted by cliffordu's collection of 500 pound porn.

[cliffordu]

50. Well, actually it's only two fitty

But I'm slightly cross eyed so everything is kinda doubled up.

[In_The_Wind]

52. "500 pound porn"

Is that a fat joke?

[cliffordu]

53. Nope. Just a BUNCH of magazines

[In_The_Wind]

54. Paper is heavy.

Not so bad when you take into consideration that it's dual purpose too.

[cliffordu]

62. Yep, everything has to double up....

[MiddleFingerMom]

47. DUZY!!! DUZY!!! DUZY!!! DUZY!!!

[cliffordu]

51. Aw, shucks....

[Dash87]

10. His knee caps were already broken. The Don is pleased and awaits your favor.

[Orrex]

11. The Don has my every loyalty.

[In_The_Wind]

12. Road hogs come in all sizes.

Two trucks ran nose to nose slowing down ALL_OF_THE_TRAFFIC yesterday.
Sooo I called the safety director for the orange pumpkin trucking company, gave 'em the truck and trailer id numbers to file a complaint.

[img][/img]

[Orrex]

16. Nice!

I never seem to have the means to jot down the necessary info in real time, which I suspect is by design.

"Oh, you have the truck ID number, the license plate, the trailer registry number, the road the truck was on and a description of the driver but not the driver's middle name? Sorry, can't help you."

[In_The_Wind]

17. The most important number is the large one on both sides of the truck.

Did you call the trucking company or law enforcement?

I noted the location using a mile marker on the highway plus the time. It's all part of the trucking company's record on each and every truck. They must have a record of their company's equipment. Lots of trucks are equipped with electronic logs. There is no way to hide.

Calling your states DOT with a complaint will help.
In my past experiences with local cops I got the same a run around.
I had problems filing a complaint against private cars back when I drove a school bus.

[Orrex]

19. Usually I can get the 800 number and maybe one other piece of info from the truck

Could probably get the mile marker, too.

Happily, this sort of thing doesn't happen to me often, so it seldom becomes an issue. Still, it's smart to have a strategy for when it occurs!

[CanSocDem]

21. Best sign...

IF THIS VEHICLE

IS NOT DRIVEN IN A

SAFE AND COURTEOUS MANNER,

CONTACT THE OWNER

55' IN FRONT OF THIS SIGN.

[In_The_Wind]

22. I'm out there on the highway often enough that this aggressive driving pisses me off.

In some states what those drivers were doing is illegal. It's a huge fine if a trooper wants to take the time to write a ticket. The state cop passed him on the breakdown lane and let it go.
So I became a whistle blower for the second time this week.
My first complaint this week was about something that really scared me: spent half an hour at the state police barracks talking about what looked like pedophiles hanging out in a children's playground.


It was this company but not the truck that was driving wrong yesterday.

The safety office with the trucking said they would do a full scale broadcast to all drivers plus speak with the driver of that truck.

[liberaltrucker]

64. Schneider is J.B. Hunt in German.

[In_The_Wind]

65. I did what I had to do. The truck driver knew better.

It causes road rage in the cars being held up behind them. That can cause accidents.

It's one thing to be a dragonfly ... another to give yourself a long run because all of the cars are miles ahead down the road.


I like working with good truckers not the ones who make the roadways suck for the rest of us.
My day started at 4 AM. By yesterday afternoon I was in no mood for that kind of foolishness.

[liberaltrucker]

66. You did the right thing

I would have. When I was OTR, I "dropped a dime" many times.
I always tried to be professional and expected others to do the same.

[In_The_Wind]

67. We are the whistle-blowers who try to keep the roads safe.

[img][/img]

[Aristus]

18. Word on the street is...

the probings on Rigel 3 aren't nearly as arduous as the ones they give you on Altair VII. Try them next time...

[R B Garr]

55. There's a reason motorcycles are nicknamed donorcycles

Because there are two types of motorcycle drivers: those that have had an accident, and those that are going to have an accident. I've read that the decrease in donor organs in certain states is due to the helmet laws that have worked to save some lives of those young, dumb risk takers who would otherwise be road hamburger except that the helmet saved them from an immediate and fatal head injury.

Years ago, I worked a low level temporary job in medical billing just organizing billing codes. One patient in particular caught my attention because of the extensive hospital stay and I had to put together the file. Over a time, I saw that the patient died in the hospital and had been in a motorcycle accident. What a horrible way to go. Over six weeks of skin debriding and all sorts of other treatments, but he never left the hospital. If I remember, he was about 26 years old. The coding was pretty stark; I wasn't trained to decipher all of it, but for some reason, his paperwork history made me really sad and I've remembered that young man. If I had a loved one who insisted on riding a motorcycle, I would be a nervous wreck to say the least.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

63. assholes!

everybody's got one.