I have wanted to do a 'ryan' almost everyday, infact i don't feel i've woken up in the morning until i've shouted my first 'WANKER!' and i don't cycle nearly as much as he does. Its not the amount of cycling its the fact that someone, anyone has no respect for my life. I know this because they jsut put it in danger for a yard o' tarmac. I had a taxi cut me up in the summer and scare the living bejesus out of me. I chased him down, (he had no idea, never saw me coming) i leaned in his window, about 2mm from his face and screamed and spit that he had just passed me, "at exactly this distance." He shit himself and screamed for me to calm down. I put the back of my hand 2mm from his face and repeated the distance he had passed me at, asked him if he liked it and whether it was scary? He said "calm down, havent you ever made a mistake?" I replied when i make a mistake it dosn't engdanger anyone's life.

Of course thats untrue, i've probably shit up many a cyclist when i was driving, they just weren't as mad, quick or dumb to do what i did.
How much is a windscreen £1000. Does the car heal? Does it get a little more scared now when it see's a bike, does the driver? How much is a broken arm worth? A graze on the shin, a bent wheel, a knock to the confidence? Can these be calculated, can a driver ever know what its like until he is a cyclist? When all drivers have compulsory cycling proficiency tests before they are allowed near any motor vehicle, i'll mellow, until then i'll feel the way that particular motorist made me feel at that particular time. ... I've cursed someone to see them mouth 'sorry' at me, which embarrassed me and broke a scowl into a smile instantly, now that invariably makes my day.

apoligies for the novel!

This sounds almost identical (including the head in the window screaming with my nose practically touching his) to a situation I found myself in, except that I took the bloke's glasses off his head and smashed them in the road telling him he needs new ones as these are obviously not working.

Of course I would have looked like some very cool Clint Eastwood cycle vigilante if a massive bastard looking bloke (who had not witnessed the event leading up to the confrontation) hadn't got out of his car and chased me off like a scared kid cycling away on his battered bike with my handle bars at 45° to the front wheel.

Better all that than the idiot in the car being dragged through court for 8 months because he was a thoughtless idiot.

Oddly enough, it is often the drivers attitude or reaction that can cause the poor reactions, without boring you with another "I nearly got me killed" story - a woman in a BMW or Merc put the fear of god into me with a thoughtless/reckless move that had my testicles on the move - but she was so apologetic (and genuinely so) that the situation diffused almost instantly.

My testicles later returned from my stomach and all three of us went down the pub (me and my two testicles not the woman).

It's the ones that don't apologise or act even more threatening that get me riled.
It's amazing though how few are prepared to actually step out of their vehicles..

its cos your so big and scary.

and ugli

Yeah, Medusa ain't got shit on me.. ;)

You Cnuts.

Pub?

you go, otherwise you won't get your stuff and then you wil whinge that the twatser is not build, bla blaa.....bla bla!!

Yeah, but this means i can blame its slow build on you.. fkn slow runner type! :P

Oddly enough, it is often the drivers attitude or reaction that can cause the poor reactions, without boring you with another "I nearly got me killed" story - a woman in a BMW or Merc put the fear of god into me with a thoughtless/reckless move that had my testicles on the move - but she was so apologetic (and genuinely so) that the situation diffused almost instantly.

My testicles later returned from my stomach and all three of us went down the pub (me and my two testicles not the woman).[/quote]

exactamundo man, it amazing how easily the wind can be blown from my sails, by a simple 'sorry'. Its the refusal or 'fuck you', even when i don't get angry and explain really patiently that what they are doing is dangerous... That said its also really easy to spot those people on bikes, i saw a lady hit a pot hole coming out of hyde park in the wet/dark four fucking brompton/hybrids stared at her like she was some kind of mechanical toy that just came apart. i was the only one to go over and ask "are you all right?" she laughed her arse off, at her silliness for not seeing the pot hole, but it really made me want to push those four fuckers over and then enquire "are you all right?'

2 'nearly got killed' stories tonight - one involving a pedestrian's umbrella, the second ending with me on the bonnet of a car which pulled out into Shaftesbury Avenue ("didn't see you" even though I was lit up like a fucking Christmas tree.)

Somewhere in the middle of all of this there was a split second of such utter rage that, despite however level-headed I may usually be, and despite my feeling ryan did the wrong thing, all I wanted was to throw my bike through a windscreen.

I broke my hand punching a car once.

So I can not comment on rage.

I have loads of it.

Avalible for cheap.

Its not happened to me but alot of my mates are sure when they've been hit by taxis or van drivers that they have a set procedure they follow where they will pretend to phone the police and then say they weren't interested, in that case phone them yourself. I pretty much just stay calm these days as I feel its something you have to get used to and kind of expect to get cut up all the time. Went through a stage of couriering when I was getting angry at every other road users mistakes and all it was doing was reducing my fun and annoying me. I love my cycling in the streets more now as its less stressful even though its the same traffic, there still are incidents though that do make me go mad but they are definately less and I haven't chased cars down the street for a few years now.

agree with both points of view, I would go with if injured in anyway or bike damaged in anyway phone police/ambulance, get details of motorist, registration, insurance, name address, get anyone who saw incident as witnesses, explain to police what happened and let it work its way through the courts/insurers etc.

If nothing happens apart from you being scared, almost wiping out/stacking it from them being careless, make them aware of their mistake, calm down and carry on about your business. motorists can do far more damage to us than we can do to them in any car versus person on bike confrontation. And part of the reason we love cycling is the fact that we aren't in the rat race, in the traffic jams, or on the tube commute. we are free to ride wherever and whenever, without being pavement hogging cunts, so why spoil it by being furious with everything and everyone.

I do say to people that if you cycle for long enough in london you get to hate everyone, peds, cars, vans, buses, and especially tourists and ipod wearing can't look both ways didn't learn my green cross code at school peds, but I assume that was because I was a courier too soon and learnt to ride with the clock on me which meant everyone who was in my way was stopping me from earning money.

Now, I still ride like a courier, don't get me wrong, just slower, but I'm all about the avoidance, looking ahead, anticipating, making myself as big as possible, making sure drivers see me, and don't think I'll just roll into the gutter so they can get between the spaces between speed bumps quicker. Experience and confidence take you past alot of things, but when that doesn't work, and you do get taken out as we all have, I would err on the side of I'd rather put the driver in the dock than myself, shine the spotlight on their actions, rather than on the retribution I mete out. As in most things, its the retaliator and not the instigator who generally gets it in the neck, and saying they started it usually doesn't cut it, unless someone can back up your story

Wise words from cornelius!

I'd be quite interested to hear of stories actually where people have been hit or whatever and done "the right thing" (phoning cops etc.) and got positive results. All I have heard so far are stories of police not really interested etc.

i think you hit the nail on the head cornelius, a good old eff n bilnd at the driver hiding behind the slim safety of their window is useually enough to make them think twice or at least once nextime they dont look or pull out in their car. however doing this with one of thoes t-shirts on may rattle them up even more! haha!

bollocks.......for one: just because the police don't do their job properly doesn't mean people can act in a violent way....thats just ridiculous...
i've never met Cornelius neither have i met you lewis but i bet you two have a good look at the driver before you start flexing your big muscles....theres going to be one day when you hit the car of someone bigger and harder then you who give less of a shit then you do..and then your see how far your 'violence solves the situation' gets you.....

i ride a 51cm track frame and buy my clothes in the "S" size. i normally just pedal harder and you bet i still haven't used my d-lock for its alternative purpose.

aidan, if you read my post, I'm not advocating violence, I'm saying I agree with both points of view, but I take the view if someone takes me out, causes me to lose control of my bike and hit tarmac firma, I'll call the police, ambulance, take drivers details and wait for the law/insurers to sort it out. If their inability to look out for me causes me to almost have an accident, shit my keks, but still be on both wheels and upright then I'll give them information on how they might avoid doing so in the future, in whatever language I see fit, usually politely, but I can swear with the best of them.
Now I've just got back from a bit of a shit night out just literally stepped off the night bus which had the loudest drunkest antipodean girl on it who got right on my wick with her drunken shouts at her forebearing boyfriend, to find you getting arsey over a comment I made which in no way advocates violence, just expresses my point of view. Maybe your comment was pointed more at lewis, maybe not, but right now I'm not having it because you need to consider what you say to others when expressing your strongly held view. If I don't agree with you I can, but don't keep haranging everyone who doesn't take your point of view, because it just makes you out to be a ranty spoilt child who won't take no for an answer.
You don't know me, and I don't know you, so how do you know what I would do in any situation anywhere? You don't so why have you just said I am bound by a "violence solves the situation" mentality?
As I said before read my post, and let me know where I actually said, fuck em up if they do you wrong. When you can point this out get back to me, until such a time, don't be so damn quick to be judge jury and commentator on this very emotive subject

you're all wise cornelius, i agree with you totally... until you admitted to taking a night bus... :P

nah, wise words mate.

'ranty spoilt child' Ha! spot on........
im going to have to apologies for that last post,frustration mixed with a bit of rum.

no worries, if your into rum, get some wray and nephew overproof, harsh and raw, but oh so good....

i wasnt a fan....i said it was just for sailors but Robb and dave forced me to drink it.i shall be visiting mount gay again.

that is loverly rum, especially mixed with ting....

is that young persons slang?

yep!

did you take my pension book last time you visited?

somebody called A. Dan has been "picking up me grandads pension" from the post office, they turned off me gas last week....

no i turned your gas off.....ain't you dead yet!? i knew i couldn't trust this unreliable weather

not dead but the cat food is beginning to taste a bit strange and i've got two werthers originals left so that'll last a few more days -

did i tell you about that time in the war when we were taken prisoner... hello... are you still there....

yeah that story is fucking boring!.....get on with it.

Anyone who likes rum should try good, dark rum mixed with tonic, lots of ice and a squeeze of lime. Proper island style drinking and tastes fucking awesome.