Comments on Freewheeling Spirit: You Wouldn't Be Angry If You Had A Knife...

I have switched to ruthless and unforgiving use of...

2007-01-29T16:03:00.000Z

I have switched to ruthless and unforgiving use of "the stinkeye." I've gotten good at it and it is now strong enough to make grown men weep, women faint and children run in fear. But that's as far as I go now.

as gut satisfying as pay back is, it accomplishes ...

2007-01-25T13:17:00.000Z

as gut satisfying as pay back is, it accomplishes nothing and I think diminishes the person giving the pay back. This type of garbage has been going on for thousands of years in the mid east. See where it has got them?

When a person chooses to go out into the car-world...

2007-01-24T15:18:00.000Z

When a person chooses to go out into the car-world without the protection of a car, certain risks need to be expected and regarded as inevitable. Most of the time these situations aren't intentional or personal, and it is generally foolish to act as if they are. I had a situation awhile back that was like many other previous situations I've had. A driver cut me off and gave me a mildly rude gesture when I expressed my annoyance. I unleashed a torrent of high-decibel obscenity that would have embarrassed a pirate afflicted with Tourette's Syndrome. I had done this many times previously, and it felt good. This time, however, I was riding with my wife. And my daughter was being pulled behind me in the Burley. I immediately felt like a complete tool and regretted acting that way in front of my kid, not to mention anyone else who was in earshot. I have since adopted a somewhat more passive relationship with oblivious and/or rude drivers. I expect and accept that they will do dumb things. Rather than let those dumb things provoke a dumb response from me, I focus my energy instead on seeing the dumb things coming and avoiding them. I find this meshes well with the slow philosophy - if I'm not in a hurry, I have less reason to be annoyed that someone cuts me off or otherwise inconveniences me.

In short, I don't use Michael's strategy myself (anymore). But if it works for him, great.

I usually just blow it off. I doubt if the driver ...

2007-01-24T00:44:00.000Z

I usually just blow it off. I doubt if the driver interprets your pounding as "correction" - he probably just thinks you're a maniac.

That said, a motorist in a Mini Cooper this morning started drifting right into me in the bike lane. I smacked his passenger-side window to let him know I was there, and he scooted left again. No anger or rage on my part -- just a thump to get his attention.

Not sure this will work since blogger is doing wei...

2007-01-23T20:48:00.000Z

Not sure this will work since blogger is doing weird things for me today.

I think as good as that sounds all of those approaches will only enrage the driver putting lives of cyclists (especially yours if he/she ever sees you again) in danger. It's similar to the way I felt about the Critical Mass ride in that it'd sure feel damn good at the time but really does more damage then anything else you could possibly do.

Plus your mention of the "wrong person" brings to mind what that "wrong person" might do in this situation...

(I do secretly want to start carrying around eggs wherever I go and throw them at people when they do things like honk in the city, cut people (cars or bikes) off or are general pricks or whatever. That'd be good.)

Revenge is really stupid. The trouble is, until y...

2007-01-23T20:38:00.000Z

Revenge is really stupid. The trouble is, until you take revenge, and discover how worthless it is, it remains a temptation. I've found that the people who fantasize about it most are those who've kept their anger bottled up. Those that are able to walk away have been there, done that, and now they know better. So, I guess taking revenge has value: it teaches you how stupid revenge is.

rocks...pffttt...cleat on door.

2007-01-23T19:57:00.000Z

rocks...pffttt...cleat on door.