Keep Smiling
I admit that sometimes I get frustrated with biking in the city. There are days that bring out my inner curmudgeon and I feel like this guy:
But try not to put negativity out there. I don’t want a fight. So I try to stay positive. Sometimes I’m so positive it freaks the shit out of drivers. Like when a driver doesn’t see me and is about to left hook me…
When I wave to them all smiley they really don’t know what to make of it. They just look surprised and let me pass safely.
Try it sometime. Or feel free to experiment with your own positive reinforcement approach.
Well, maybe not this approach.
But you know what I mean. You’ll not only make others smile, you’ll cheer yourself up too.
I too have trained myself to respond to incivility (at least if it hasn’t actually endangered me) with the friendly wave, usually with “Have a nice day!” Don’t know how they feel about it, but it makes me feel better. My friend John Schubert says his favored response is “Hi, Pat! See you in church!”.
Ha! “See you in church!” I’ll have to remember that one.
This is great! My problem is that my forced positive smile may come out more as a crazed grin. Although I guess scaring people is not the worst in the world. 😀
When I notice that drivers are not looking at me, say looking behind me as I’m about to pull out of a parking lot, I’ll wave to get their attention. It works well most of the time, but the other day I actually had someone wave back in a mocking way. I ignored it.
I’m a confirmed smile-and-wave rider. If they wave back, I KNOW they’ve seen me. When I’m at a stop light and a car comes up behind me, I turn around and smile and wave at the folks behind me. That way they know that *I* know that they’re there. (Note: no bike lanes where I usually ride, so I don’t filter to the front to the right of traffic. I sit in line like a vehicle.)
I have this happy fantasy that this makes me seem more like a real person to a driver. Doesn’t mean I don’t occasionally get honked at or yelled at. I just wave at them too.
Flashing just wouldn’t work for me….(-; I could be riding naked and you wouldn’t know it. I’m not invisible but you can’t see me in my “bike” as I ride inside a Velomobile. My Velomobile is 9.5′ long by 30″ wide and shaped sort of like a rain drop. On the tail end of my Velomobile I have a highly reflective orange vertical decal that is approximately 3.5″ x 18″. Mounted to that is a tail light and a brake light. On ether side of the tail I have amber turn signals that I can run as 4 way flashers (there are two amber turn signals on the front end also) when needed. I have a 400 Lumen AY UP flasher mounted to the highest point of the body, just behind my head at 36″ above the ground. I run my lights all the time. I run a roof most of the time primarily for privacy.
Riding in the gutter is the most unsafe thing a cyclist can do. I won’t ride in the gutter and will completely take the lane when I think some numskull will try to pass me is an unsafe manner. Most of the time I have no problem with traffic but even so I’m am passed when I’m doing the speed limit or faster. I am passed when approaching the crest of a hill and around blind curves. Then there are those who will pass me on a strait away, forcing oncoming traffic off the road.
I get lots of waves and friendly taps of car horns, far more often than not which I will respond in like though I’ve had motorists get right on my tail when I’m doing 35 in a 35 mph zone when there is a clear passing lane. All I can see in my mirrors is grill. I won’t budge and I will give them the single finger salute.
Personally I prefer “Take The Lane” to Share The Lane”.