animosity toward bikers?
Last week, after having a few beers with Sarah, I was on Beaver, waiting at a stop light at Butler. It was about 12:30am and there were hardly any cars in the area. A older white sedan, pulled up and it’s passengers threw eggs at me. Luckily none of them hit me. One of them hit my handlebars. I was totally stunned, then immediately wished I had a rock. They were gone before I could grab one.
Then a few days ago, I was talking with another rider who had been hit by a rock in the neck just that afternoon! He showed me the marks. It gets worse. He has a friend who was hit with a glass beer bottle the week prior. Apparently it broke across his back.
Just last night I was riding down San Fran in the downtown area and a white suburban, full of younger party kids, pulled up next to me. This dude a few years younger than me started giving me a bunch of crap; when the light changed, the suburban harassed me by slamming on his break, fake turning, swerving…etc. It started driving really slow, expecting me to pass (probably so they could throw something at me), but I just decided to take another route.
Bikers! What can we do here? I see, maybe, a couple of options. My roommate said I should call the police so that it’s on record. But that wouldn’t really make you feel better. Another idea we came up with was just memorize the car, the license number if you can. This town isn’t that big. You’d be sure to stumble upon it in a parking lot sooner or later, especially if you really looked for it.
I guess the last option would be to fight back, which was my inclination at the moment (and that was because of eggs…I can’t imagine how it must feel to get hit with a rock or a bottle). I wouldn’t want to hurt anybody in the car, unless of course they hurt me bad enough, in which case maybe revenge might not be on my mind. Nonetheless, bikers get harassed, I think because of a power relationship that develops on the road, and because of car culture. It might also be rooted in the same mentality that feeds anti-intellectualism in this country. Both of these are related to constructions of masculinity in our culture, whereby any sense of community, a healthy lifestyle, or being conscious of energy and resource consumption, is feminized. By showing power over a biker in a violent way, the threat to their own insecurities is floored and there is no question as to where on the Kinsey scale they would measure up. I mean, this is other men, and performances of strictly defined masculinity that we’re talking about here, right?
What if, instead of stories where some dudes in a car harass bikers and continue to harass bikers, the reputation was such that people were afraid to harass bikers because it was known that each one packs a good throwing rock under their seat. If those jerks in the Suburban threw a rock at my neck, for example, and I immediately broke out their back window, do you think that would deter them from such activities again? Maybe my retaliation would start a war on bikers. I don’t know. I know it would feel great though.
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July 11th, 2007 at 6:17 pm
I think history has shown that trying to bring about a desired effect through fear and the threat of violence generally doesn’t work in the end, so I don’t know that creating a reputation for cyclists as rock-throwing avengers will help.
That said, physical assault is nothing to ignore. Getting the license plate of the vehicle and reporting it to the police is one step - many police departments now have a cycling division, and appreciate what it means to show respect for cyclists on the road.
Taking a picture with your cell phone camera and then circulating it widely it (especially to schools if the perps are kids) could help. Some bikers I know carry a battery-powered air horn that goes many decibels beyond the average car horn - a few blasts from that could have an effect.
In the end, our efforts need to be around creating a new kind of culture around transportation and respect for others in general. Even though you’re being attacked, you’re also setting a positive example for others (perhaps especially when you don’t throw rocks back) that will be admired and duplicated by some. Keep it up.
Chris
July 11th, 2007 at 9:30 pm
wow, this is complete bullshit. this seems to be a new phenomenon in flagstaff. what the hell is wrong with people? i appreciate the bikers! i love them! … i’ll miss them.
i can’t believe i’m moving back to the motor city. where everyone has a car because everyone has to have a car because there is basically no public transportation, and there are no bike lanes or anything anywhere.
i’m terrible anyway. i feel bad that i drive so much.
July 12th, 2007 at 9:50 am
Chris, you seem to be the level headed ying to my knee jerk reactionary yang. My mom, who reads this thing, would be happy to know I have a friend like you.
Most of these incidents happen at night; I’m not sure how great a picture would come out. That is a possibility though. In my case, the car sped off before I could even tell the make and model, let alone the license plate. I think I was just stunned that someone was actually throwing eggs at me just because I happen to be on my bike late at night.
I think if I was 17 and I through an egg at a biker and their only retaliation was an air horn, I’d probably explode into laughter.
Thanks for the thoughts.
And Jess, I hope you get everything you need in MI. I recognize that I’m priviledged to be able to ride my bike everywhere, so don’t feel bad. You didn’t create car culture and most people can’t help but participate. Your bike will be waiting for you when you return.
July 12th, 2007 at 6:36 pm
Oh, hey, don’t let your mom get the wrong idea, I was just on another blog today advising punk ass 17-year-olds to take pictures of silly bikers who blow air horns after being egged.
Sometimes one must manufacture both yin and yang if one is to be sufficiently entertained in life.
July 12th, 2007 at 8:25 pm
I agree that there are some stupid red necks out there that are real jerks towards bikers.
However, I also see a lot of stupid bikers that refuse to use the far right side of the road.
Often the argument, “I have just as much right to the road as they do” WRONG- I have yet to meet a cyclist that pays road taxes thru vehicle registration.
July 12th, 2007 at 9:46 pm
Ringo,
It’s clear that nobody can speak in generalities about motorists as having a specific set of qualities and bikers as having a different set of qualities. There are inconsiderate people on all fronts.
That said, I will always stick up for bikers and here’s why. When I got in a bad bike accident a few months ago, I realized how vulnerable I was on a bike. I remember thinking, “why am I only wearing a helmet?” People in cars are incased in steel. That’s just the reality. When I’m on my bike, all I want is some safe space. The far side of the road, when there is a bike lane, is usually covered in cinders, glass, bits of tire and all the other crap that ends up on the side of the road from cars. The way I see it, motorists have very little to put up with because of bikers, while bikers seem to get constantly harassed and put in danger.
It costs a dollar to register a bike in Flagstaff (at least through NAU). If it cost a buck to register a car and it was never enforced, do you think anyone would do it? That’s clearly not the issue here. Thanks for stopping by.
July 13th, 2007 at 9:05 pm
Ugh, first of all bikes are supposed to stay to the right AS LONG AS IT IS SAFE TO DO SO. They are permitted to be further left if there’s too much crap on the side to make it safe for them to ride.
And someone on a bike list had an argument for that stupid vehicle registration pays for the roads trope, but I can’t remember what it was.
I was hit on my bike while coming home from work late at night. I work evenings and the buses don’t run that late. The guy (you know it was a male, women don’t do violent shit like that) just tapped me enough to make me fall over. Luckily, I was riding my Townie, and I was able to touch the ground while seated, so I didn’t get hurt too much.
Motorists are assholes…especially the males. I agree with you, Kyle, that they think that concern for the environment is feminine, so they have to get all alpha male and act like morons. But the power imbalance is too great for them to take out their anger on cyclists. We’re talking potential death. That’s not right. If you’re pissed off at some cyclist, then tough. Go home and masturbate to internet porn to prove you’re a man. Don’t throw things at cyclists.
I started calling a cab to go home at nights, b/c I was so frightened. I had fantasies of carrying a gun and shooting out their tires and then when the car skidded to a stop and the fucker got out, I would shoot him several times and then take a piss on his corpse.
Sorry, but this subject really gets me steamed. I shouldn’t take my life in my hands just b/c I don’t want to trash the environment like all the other assholes.
July 13th, 2007 at 9:08 pm
Oh, I forgot something. This whole idea of responding to violence with non-violence is stupid. Didn’t Derrick Jensen say something about that in one of his talks? Violence works. That’s why they use it. So, we should do nothing and let them kill us? I don’t think so.
July 14th, 2007 at 9:20 am
Marcy, how would you use your violence. They have a car, or maybe a gun to use against you, you would never know. But there are dirty things that you can do. I am vengful, more than I know. I have a pretty good memory and when I see the car again, then who is to say that sand in the gas tank isn’t a good idea or a ball bearing stuck in the tire stem cap on the tire isn’t another one. So, I guess you can call it violence, but only in the delayed kind. Grand Rapids, MI is a big place (pop. 500,000) but people generally drive the same routes on the weekdays and end up at the same places. I had incidences with running into cars with my bike where it turn in front of me while out on ride and she had the nerve to say that I scratched her car. I just called the cops and had a ticket issued. Just the other day a fucking cop open his door when I rode by and a came pretty damn close to hitting his door with my bike (it might be a good idea if I used my helmet when I ride)…if it was me I would have recieved a ticket if it was a bike cop and I opened the door. I was walking across a four lane high way at a cross walk with my longboard (which I use for transporation on campus) and a car swerved at me; if I see the car again, a gas tank full of sand is called for.
So Kyle…what is you “Beaver?”
But in responce to Ringokid, a lot of the road don’t have far right side on the road and lawfully we are not suppose to be riding on sidewalks (which I get yelled at by motorist). By law, pedestrian have the right-of-way to the streets over motorist, be it on bike or walking. Biker are suppose to be on th right side, walkers/runners on the left. So in fact if you are hit by a car, you can use that their use their car as a weapon.
But these were my thoughts on the subject…
July 14th, 2007 at 11:23 am
Kyle, that sucks to hear about the bad experiences you’ve had. I’d like to share one experience with y’alls…
One summer afternoon, biking in a pack of 4 in the right hand lane of San Francisco St, I was cut off by a truck and had to slam on my brakes to avoid being cut off. Luckily this happened just before passing a cop who has pulled someone over. I biked up to the right side of the truck that was now stopped at the light at the train tracks and held up my hands in a “why did you try to run me over?” manner. I noticed inside the truck was a family consisting of a husband driver, his wife and 2 kids as passengers. As my friends caught up, the guy started screaming at me, and jumped out of his truck. The cop now noticed this and came up just as the guy was about to get all up in my face. The cop called for backup… mind you this was mid-day during the week… and not a lot of traffic… so it wasn’t like we were holding traffic up or anything. The cop talked to both of us independently and then asked if I wanted to press charges. I said no, all I want to know was why he tried to kill me. The cop said he couldn’t ask the guy that. They let the guy go, and he waited in the AMP parking lot around the corner for us, still steaming. I told the cops to make sure the guy doesn’t leave that lot for another 20 minutes so we can leave peacefully. It was pretty sad to watch the 2 young kids (looked about 4 & 6) see their dad yeling and threatening someone on a bike. He was clearly out of control, and at the time was hoping my “hippie bike karma” of not pressing assault charges and getting him arrested would chill him out some… if not immediately, but sometime down the road.
Those days of being kind are long over, as I’d now happily send his ass to jail, in front of his family.
I don’t get much flack from drivers in Flagstaff, but I also make sure I’m clearly in a lane (aka, I use the entire lane and don’t ride off to the side, and cut in when needed like most drivers “think” you should ride,) and I also ride at a pace that’s more acceptable to other vehicles (a bit faster than the regular rider on a cruiser bike on a Sunday stroll.)
On the other hand, when I do get flack from drivers… I dunno about this “alpha male” stuff Marcy has assumed. I encounter more female drivers on cell phones in SUVs who don’t know how to handle their vehicle than males. Then again I don’t have the perspective of being a female on the bike. Reguardless, the issue is clearly not gender driven… pardon the pun, we ALL get flack from ALL sorts of drivers.
Anyways, this has turned into a rant for me… what I really want to say is… KYLE! WE NEED TO GO ON A RIDE SOON! I’ve been doing the Ft Tuthill loop on the weekends… holler at me if you want to go sometime. 7-8am is a good leave time.
July 14th, 2007 at 12:59 pm
Ray, I would totally be down for that Ft. Tuthill loop tomorrow (sunday) morning. It would do me good to get up early.
I’m not sure I’ll be able to address everything in the last couple of posts, but I’ll try.
Regarding the gender thing. There are of course stupid inconsiderate drivers on both ends. A friend of mine recently got a female Domino’s delivery driver fired for nearly hitting him on the road. And the unaware person, in a huge vehicle, on the cell phone does play a big role. When I was talking about performances of masculinity, I was referring specifically to those that throw rocks and bottles and other things at bikers. I’m not saying it is impossible for a woman to take part in these things, I’m just saying I’ve only heard of and experienced men doing this in the company of other men. That raises questions for me.
Jason, sorry, Beaver is the name of a street around here.
I’ll address the violence thing in a post of it’s own.
July 14th, 2007 at 1:09 pm
[…] …. referring to what Chris said in the first comment of my post “animosity toward bikers,” he said, “I think history has shown that trying to bring about a desired effect through fear and the threat of violence generally doesn’t work in the end” […]
July 15th, 2007 at 10:26 am
I dunno about this “alpha male” stuff Marcy has assumed. I encounter more female drivers on cell phones in SUVs who don’t know how to handle their vehicle than males.
What I was referring to were people who were specifically violent towards cyclists…throwing things at them, trying to hit them, etc. Those are 100% male. Women don’t do that kind of shit. But as for bad drivers who endanger cyclists, women are certainly as guilty of that as men. I’ve seen plenty of women take the right of way from me b/c they were busy yakking on their cell phone. But they don’t ever purposely try to run me over or throw beer bottles at my head.