My daily
commute is done, ideally, by
bicycle. Yesterday afternoon, amid an unusual amount of
traffic, one gentleman decided to tell me what he thought: “@#$%’n biker!”
I wasn’t pleased, but, in years of being an adult cyclist, have learned to blow off most of this sort of reaction. I’m allowed to ride on the road, and, so long as no one tries to run me down, words will never hurt me.
What bugs me is what happened a bit latter, when I was halfway home. It was a four-lane road (two eastbound, two westbound). In the lane to my left (same direction as me) was a car with its hazard lights on, and a man directing traffic around his disabled vehicle. It was a nice day, and I was feeling pleasant, so I thought I’d be nice.
“Do you need a phone?” I called out.
“Maybe if you rode on the sidewalk people would be able to get around you!”
Ignoring, for a moment, that it is illegal for a bike to be on the sidewalk, I was extremely put off by the fact that this guy, who I extended an offer of assistance (minor, by still positive), was met so hostilely.
It’s been kinda bugging me ever since.