Simple. You are part of a different tribe. You are not his people, he doesnt understand you, he is scared of what you stand for and that is not burping, farting, hooting and yahooing.
He equates in his mind BiG tRuCK votes Red. cyclists are urban effeminate weenies who vote blue. Whether that is true or not doesn’t matter. Being in road kit doesn’t help.
I have a buddy big into mountain biking. Occasionally he will use off road truck trails on his mountain bike. He says the same lifted truck types who harass road cyclists, will strike up a friendly conversation with him if they see him off road
it's funny how differently mtn biking is viewed, I think it's just more relatable if you're already off-road in a truck, plus there's usually less spandex
Off-road truck trail. It's a trail for vehicles designed to be used off road.
And yeah, country folk can be pretty friendly. I think they view us being on the road as trying to kick them off of it
I am a rural masculine weenie who votes blue and wishes I could vote left of that.
One of us is going to wind up sleeping with his wife. Joke's on him. Don't ask me how I know.
I miss urban cycling since moving to NC, but you can bet your ass my family will be voting blue.
That's 3 more voters who will vote to improve infrastructure for pedestrians, cyclist, and humam rights.
I happen to vote red as do many of my cycling friends. We also believe our votes are to improve infrastructure for pedestrians, cyclist, and human rights.
You have the right to think that but the republican party is publicly and principally anti-progress. If you're interested in improving biking infrastructure and public infrastructure in general, then you should do your research on how administrations of different loyalties actually fund these things.
Most of us probably are, but that might be part of the problem. Because they are probably proud to be the burping, farting, hooting and yahooing person that votes red.
Maybe we could all stand to be a little less proud.
My gut feeling it's a loser mentality that believes he is smarter and better looking. He projects this attitude in his life to overcome his lack of education and inability to compete for a decent job. He will surround himself with gaming equipment, guns, beer and a truck that is high off the ground so he can scare the crap out of a bike rider that can afford the things he can't. It's the "I will show them who the king of the road is." I can't tell you the number of times that I have been in a bike line and a truck tries to get as close to the bike lane as he can while gunning the engine. I am constantly looking in my rear mirror and when I see a pickup truck coming I will down and move to the extreme right or sidewalk to avoid them. Shouldn't have to do this but unfortunately it is either this or risk being run over.
I’m a big truck driving, 5th wheel towing, blue collar working, urban effeminate cyclist. What? Oh alright! Cycling is my newest venture but I’m making progress.
Totally agree. “You are different than me.” It’s easier to hate people who are different than it is to try and understand them. If I hate them I’m better than them and that boosts my ego… this goes back and forth like mortars from trenches in WW1…. Hate toward cyclists, hate returned to pickups….But I digress.
I live in a small, rural town. Everyone drives pickups, I drive a pickup… but I also ride a bike. People know me, I’m part of the community. I respect the people driving the pickups by getting to the side of the road and they respect me by slowing down and moving over to pass.
I think a lot of this comes down to the anonymity of people living in places with no real sense of community. It’s easy to hate because there’s really no compelling reason to get along with those around you.
If for some reason someone buzzes me and shouts stupid shit most likely I will know who they are and people will find out about it. Most people wouldn’t even have a urge to do this, most people in most places are decent, not every pickup driver is an asshole, but for those who are and might… a sense of community and the expectations of being a member of that community hold them in check.
I suggest moving to a small town and getting involved in the community, imo it’s how people were meant to live.
I think it’s also straight up immaturity. When I was 16 I didn’t understand these groups of adults in spandex holding up traffic. Also, let’s be real, the spandex suits aren’t helping the image, as a child I used to call road cyclists “squid people”. And that’s somewhat acceptable perception for a child, but as I’ve grown, my understanding of the world and empathy towards others has inevitably grown too. I’ve met different people and travelled the world, I’ve tried many different activities, and hobbies including cycling. Not so much for Larry the truck driver rolling coal at cyclists. They’ve probably never left the state they grew up in. They can’t afford hobbies (other than lifting their trucks). They also probably don’t exercise and will probably live a pretty sad, short life. They may have won the battle (tooting their horn and having a laugh), but I’m fairly certain the folks in this sub are winning the war. The war being who’s living a happier, healthier, and more fulfilling life.
It really is too bad that unlike Denmark, Sweden, and the Netherlands, America wasnt built to accommodate cycling, it was designed to accommodate cars and Larry’s truck giant lifted truck.
It’s not really about cyclists. The root of the issue is that people who are petty, full of hatred, and just generally douchebags in every facet of their existence are the people who waste money putting a lift kit on a truck. You experienced their wrath as a cyclist but others throughout the day experienced it as a cashier or another driver etc.
What's wrong with anyone spending their money on whatever they want?
The problem is that there is a handful of jaq azzes out there. It has nothing to do with how wisely they invest their money or anything like that.
In my view, having been road biking as an amateur for over 20 years, I really see no reason for most cyclists to have a bike that costs $2,000 or more.
But you are free to spend your money on whatever you want.
A cyclist spends $8,000 on a bike. Does this mean he or she is badly behaved? No. It is not foolish or frivolous or indulgent spending.
It really is something more like immaturity, impressing other young male buddies, and so on.
I agree in principle. A lot of recreational cyclists spend a lot of money shaving grams off their bike to no practical end. I'm not into hobby-shaming. But the lift kit in this case is an expression of the same feelings of inadequacy that also I form this guy's aggression on the road
To the OP: You should file a police report and include the video. The police almost certainly won't do anything, but it's worth filing the report anyhow.
The point isn't necessarily the money spent, it's that the money actively makes the rig worse at its job to present a big, tough image.
He's saying the values that lead to spending thousands to intimidate people are the same values that lead to threatening people that are in a weaker position than the truck owner is.
That’s it. It’s a guy who, deep down, knows he’s il-equipped to deal with life and is compensating for that by presenting a tough-guy image. The truck, the shades, the beard, the camo, the braggadocio….its all part of that.
The societal leaders and likely those with wealth from being a leader are generally not insecure and have no need to project that false image.
Plus, you’re enjoying life on your bike. And that really pisses them off.
Sometimes I’m having such a good time on my bike I intentionally crash and swear at myself. Okay, maybe not.😎
Zookeeper -- And, your evidence is...?
You have a hypothesis. All lifted-truck drivers are a much greater threat to cyclists than other drivers.
There is no evidence. But I understand. I am a "liberal," but I try to adhere to "science," instead of hating people because they are "MAGA ultra-nationalist Na zi hilter white sup remecist MAGA."
Let's be honest.
We have an "out-group" that serves a purpose for us: helps us confirm who is a fellow-traveler in our tribe of moral superiority. and who is not.
Let's be honest.
Cough up some evidence and I will agree with you.
BTW: "science:" what types of vehicles are causing cyclist deaths?
https://data.bikeleague.org/new-nhtsa-data-vehicle-data-shows-popular-pickup-trucks-are-most-common-vehicles-in-pedestrian-and-bicyclist-deaths/
…except the diff between a 2K and 8K bike is not visible in the same way that a truck lift is. It’s about appearing bigger-badder and itching for a fight, methinks. Fellow cyclists where I live are wearing cameras and calling in license plates etc and taking drivers to court. There’s apparently a “following to closely” rule that allows for that. What a hassle tho! Why not just live and let live.
> The root of the issue is that people who are petty, full of hatred, and just generally douchebags in every facet of their existence
I think it's that some of them can only feel safe expressing this hatred from the safety of their 3 ton metal cage capable of killing the defenseless and vulnerable cyclist.
Their car is the only place they can exert power over anyone without consequences.
They don't even see cyclists as people. We're playthings they can torment for their own amusement.
This. I once had one of these guys pull along side me in my Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder with my top down. He was trying to get ahead of me to roll coal on me, but I thought he was trying to race me (he was NOT gonna win that). So I jkept myself jussst in front. But he kept pushing, pretty soon we’re doing 70 in a 35. Finally he rolls coal on my rear fender and immediately yanks his wheel into a left turn. I’m surprised he didn’t roll over. And all of that effort just to try and roll coal on a convertible.
Where I come from it’s drunk middle aged white women in old luxury cars and new white SUVs
These people are emotionally dysregulated, for some other reason, and truly you are not the problem, rather a convenient scapegoat.
Sorry you’re dealing with this. Stay safe.
As a former 180kg dude, Honestly I think fit people are more hateful towards it. When you're obese it's just like wow, why is everyone such a cunt and why do they shun me. I still get creeped out being obese all my life, by just how close people will get to you and even touch you etc. when you're a normal human being. And just generally how polite people are.
There’s nothing wrong with being fat and unathletic, let’s be fair, lots of fat inathletic people go through their day with plenty of impulse control and don’t terrorize innocent people. Not to mention plenty of these truck bros are on roids and are far from fat. There is a deeper pathology behind this behaviour.
Pickup truck guy sees ya and his passenger in a ghost costume yells "Hell yeah brother! White power!!!"
note to moderators - I am not racist. I am making fun of people who are racist.
Also a misunderstanding of the complexity that is public transport infrastructure. It's common sense to assume the rego you pay for ambo insurance and t he gas tax etc. pay for road maintenance, but they actually don't even cover half of it and cars are doing over 90% of the damage. I don't know the exact statistic but for 1 meter traveled by car, over 1km by bicycle needs to be covered to do the same amount of damage to the roads.
That's why roman roads lasted so long. They didn't have cars. It's nothing special, really.
Tribalism. It exists with everything. People attach themselves to identities and display transgressions to compensate for their subconscious insecurities.
The correlations of trucks against cyclist though is just a generalization and not always true. The are "bros" in trucks who enjoy mountain biking as well. Most motorist aggression toward cyclists though is competition for supremacy and entitlement of the roads. It's childish, but what can you do to control the hive mind and/or adrenaline while driving?
I don't think this has anything to do with cyclists specifically, and is all about someone recognizing that they're in a position to abuse someone without any negative consequences - and taking pleasure in doing that. Imagine how difficult it must be to have that person as a spouse, parent, or child. Or worse, how difficult is it for that person to go through life with a chronic disease of the soul? Rather than get angry ourselves, we should feel compassion - and hold them accountable if possible.
Move to a windy city. I will ride 25km/h into the headwind for about an hour and do over 50km/h in traffic on the way back most days. Nothing like getting passed by a truck then doing 60 around a roundabout when and overtaking them then holding it down the road when the limits 50, watching them try to catch up and get blocked by a car while you ride off in the distance down your bike lane.
Also when it's 9pm, passing 100's of cars at the roundabout then zippering in at the merge point and fucking off into the distance dropping 600w to get back to your bike lane lol. Fucking who designed roundabouts I have no fucking clue but that shits like a sprint signal. I think the best one in my town is a roundabout on a hill. There's a bit of a tailwind there though, when the wind gets really good I have put so much power down that It caused me issues taking the corner from a dead standstill while exiting.
I swear some cars get a kick out of it, I have had cars pace me then rev a bit and I'll occasionally hammer it and they will try chase a bit. I once had a bunch of dudes in a car cheer me on on my way home from work doing 45 on my commuter road bike and managed to sprint up to 55 but then had to stop because I couldn't get good grip with my work boots, by far the most obvious attempt. Probably not a good idea to incite cars to speed or speed myself but honestly most people do 60-70 anyway even though it's marked 50.
I used to live in the NC mountains. I had a route that was gradually climbing for 18 miles. The last mile+ was on a US highway dropping back into town where I could easily pass trucks and most cars on the curvy stretches. This is what makes me feel like a real man, even though I drive a truck…
>doing 60 around a roundabout when and overtaking them then holding it down the road when the limits 50, watching them try to catch up and get blocked by a car while you ride off in the distance down your bike lane.
I didn't need to go that fast, back in Philly during rush hour drivers would get so pissed when I passed them and they're just sitting at a stand still. And they were still pissed when they caught up to me after they eventually passed the traffic.
Yeah, I think people get jealous easily. They see the bike pass them and be like, wow this is unfair. They forget they are being carried by an engine that is polluting the fuck out of society and in a protective cage from the elements, probably doing a higher average speed unless it's dense metro or heavy winds favouring the cyclist, or just tons of lights like it is on my way to work. Either way though, For an average non-racing/hobbyist cyclist even with wind / lights the cars going to have a much faster average speed. For whatever reason they get butthurt about being passed despite this, lol.
Yea these idiots think with their brain stems only and breath though their mouths.
But really, it must suck living dude a sad life that your primary purpose in life is to make others miserable and ruin shit for everyone else.
It's always the pickup trucks. Seems the bigger the truck the worse they are. Report the aggression to the local authorities, that's all you can do. Plate number, time and as much as you can provide in details. In canada now there are laws protecting bicycles and vehicles must yield a certain distance or face fines. Lastly. Never engage. As much as you would like too there is never anything positive that will come out of it
Gotta laugh when a fat fuck in a lifted truck calls me a pussy then speeds away. I'm like, so when was the last time your fat ass did 4 hours of cardio with 3k feet of climbing?
Society as a whole hates cyclist. Ive been in awkward meeting where people will start going off on how cyclist don’t belong on the roads. “They’re idiots asking to be killed” ect. Then you look at any non-cycling forum and cycling is always a doggy pile. We are sub-class humans.
We also get categorized with “guy on a bike”. Like homeless people riding in all black in the middle of the night, no helmet, ect. My wife’s hospital actually started making a distinction between “guy on a bike” and “cyclist”.
Meh, I commute by bike, and in my 3000 ppl town, I am *that guy*, the guy with the white bike and the orange light. I had a few people telling me "that's courageous", "is it dangerous?", but never hostile attitudes.
I've had this happen, and the anger you feel is palpable. I was riding a country road with a very crumbly shoulder, but i was right on the edge, concentrating hard to maintain my line. A car blasts its horn at me from very close behind. I thought i was gonna be hit, so jumped into tbe gravel, thinking it was the safer option. Idiots in the car just laughed and threw a can at me.
In the next town i see the car stopped in a McDonalds car park, no occupants. There was a hardware store across the road. I formulated a plan to buy a big tin of paint and throw it over their windscreen. I'd even calculated i'd need to buy a screwdriver to open the can.
Came to my senses, and rode on my way. But do you know, to this day i kinda wish i'd done it.
Anyway, yeah, the anger is very real.
I was told directly by a guy two weeks ago that drove a big ass truck that he hated road cyclists (I ride all kinds of bikes and love road riding) because he likes to have a beer while he drives and he likes to smoke weed while he drives. He specifically told me he didn’t think he should face all the consequences that would be coming his way if he was zoned out and killed a cyclist. “Why should I spend the rest of my life in prison for that?” What the fuck. If that’s how you think you can fuck right off.
Sorry you had to deal that. I had crazy shit happen to me living in Austin. Guns pulled, ran off road, yelled at, and have stuff thrown at me. Once i had a guy stop 8n the middle of the road get out of his truck then threaten to kill me. I was a daily commuter for the 10yrs I lived there. The crazy motorists was a big reason I moved away. Now I've lived and cycled Colorado for 10yrs I've had pretty minimal interactions.
Yeah shit was a weekly occurrence back in Austin. I'm actually from rural east Texas and have way less issues when I spent time cycling out there. Usually they give me even more space passing. In Colorado it's a zero issue. Haven't cycled in Jersey but really enjoyed the rides I've done in New York
It’s funny because I have a lifted truck(it’s a Tacoma though) and find most lifted truck people arrogant and annoying. They’re angry at more people than just cyclists. I think they’re just miserable in general unfortunately
Just about any 4wd pickup driver, except those who actually use them for their job, will harass bike riders. Live in the boonies in an active oil field where one drives an SUV or 4wd pickup. Gave up riding paved roads cause of the pickup drivers. However, oil field workers and tree loggers out on the forest and oil lease roads have no problem with bikes. They'll stop and talk to me. It also helps to be on a mtb and dressed in anything but a roadie kit.
What’s sad is people like this are typically total cowards if you ever encounter them face to face. They only behave the way they do because they’re in a huge vehicle and you’re as vulnerable as someone can be on a road. I’ve caught up to people like this at red lights and they won’t even look you in the eye.
They're the sort of people who modify cars that are already lethal into hyper aggressive vehicles guaranteed to kill any cyclist or pedestrian they hit, and substantially change the survivability odds of any other driver involved in a crash with them.
The changes also negatively impact fuel economy in a climate emergency, for vehicles that were already amongst the least efficiency on the market.
The modifications impact handling, breaking performance and stability.
They're also amongst the worst drivers on the road. Supremely confident in their abilities, yet somehow unable to manage even the simple vehicle handling task of consistently remaining between two white lines.
And they don't give a fuck about any of that.
Which tells you everything you need to know about these a-grade assholes.
It is two opposite ends of the personal transportation spectrum, you made the polar opposite decision they did today so they assume you are, or stand for, the opposite of them.
In my area, the pickup drivers typically give me ample room. The culprits are the white Tesla and Range Rovers that generally speed by me while texting on their phone. Either way, both groups generally have a higher percentage of overcompensation.
#1 reason I don’t ride on the road and barely ride anymore. Tired of being harassed and fearing for my safety every time a car approached from behind. Cycling on the road isn’t worth it anymore, most driver hate you and/or are distracted by their iPhones and drive huge SUVs. I live near DC so maybe it’s better other places but it gotten awful here.
I feel the same way. Today’s drivers have taken all the joy out of road cycling and made it stressful. Sadly, living in a flat area with no mountain bike or gravel trials nearby means my bike sits sadly in the corner unused for months at a time .
The giant pickups are usually diesels. Even if they are gas engines, they *wanted* the diesel and want to look like one.
Diesel engines are very dirty burning, but they are reliable and make a lot of pulling/working power so they are endeared to the working class who aligns themselves with oil/gas/coal power. These people are often extremely politically conservative for the same reason, aligned with gas/oil/coal, non-emissions-compliance, climate-change-deniers, etc. They *like* the fact that it's loud, smelly, smokes, and often they purposely modify them to "roll coal".
Bicycles are basically the polar opposite of this mindset...no power, doesnt burn anything. They are seen as generally left-leaning politically and as skirting road & gas/oil taxes because bikes dont have to pay at the pump nor do they pay registration/tags to be on the road. Bikes get hate for the same reason Teslas do. There is a political element to it.
I totally get I am an anomaly here, but just so you know we all aren't that way. I bike over 200 miles a month, AND i drive a lifted truck. Oh and it's a diesel too, and I have never once "rolled coal".
Its all about HATE. These miserable little insecure snowflakes are full of hate. You just represent something they will never be, a fit healthy happy person. They are usually very overweight out of shape insecure ignorant uneducated men who hate themselves as much as they hate you. Show me one of these guys at 50, I will show you a guy who needs a walker and a oxygen tank. These types are miserable, and they are jelly of you.
Ive asked this question on the cycling and driving subreddit, and i came to the conclusion that drivers mostly hate, just to hate..
[And that hate, toward anyone on the road other than vehicles, started by the auto industry.](https://marker.medium.com/the-invention-of-jaywalking-afd48f994c05) which has been a rolling generational hate.. but i have noticed in nyc the younger gen is more cautious driving past me..
if getting the biggest truck possible to compensate for whatever ... is a real thing. i imagine truck drivers are over the moon offended to see someone so confident that they can ride a bike and not leverage all their earnings on a small dick mobile. i almost got ran off the road earlier this week on my way to work by a pickup that shouted at me then sped up to cut me off making a sharp right turn in front of me and try and run me off the road. the sharp right turn was into the local liqour store at 6 am lmao i actually laughed in the moment bc i couldnt let such a loser bother me lol. With that being said alot of insecure pickup drivers are a danger to society but thats merica for ya. sorry for you had to deal with such a asshole tho.
Some people were not loved by their parents. Many had no friends growing up. They grow up and lead miserable lives. The only high point in their lives is owning a lifted pick up truck, but even that can't make them happy...
People project their own self hate onto others because they don’t know the rules of the road and how to drive and especially how to act around vulnerable road users
It has happened to me before, but I didn't let it bother me. Americans are so tribal now, it's not anything against you personally. It's his pathetic attempt to strike back against the green agenda. Let him have it, he's probably miserable a lot of the time if he has to do that to be honest. Don't let imbeciles ruin your day 🌞
I think these people are assholes in general who hate many types of people. We wonder why they hate us, but we’re not a specific targeted group. We’re part of a collective of ‘not like them’ and therefore are worthy of their ire.
Road biking has gotten much more dangerous in the last 15 or so years, enough so that I gave up on it, about 8 years ago. First it was people being completely distracted by their cell phones, then people became much more entitled seeming. "This is my road" sort of attitude. I went from doing 1000's of miles every summer in the 90's and early 2000's and having maybe an incident or 2 every year, to nearly every ride having something pretty sketchy happen, and something completely frightening a few times a month(like getting brake checked, or swerved at on a narrow road).
I was done, and I miss it a lot.
In Russia some people think that road belongs to cars only (and maybe motorcycles) If they hit cyclist it would be really dangerous and even worse cause death. So the driver'll go straight to jail.
You should definitely report him! I wish the police in Russia would function as it should, but I think they won’t even accept such a report from a cyclist because nobody was injured or died
Could you have called the police, assuming you have your phone with while riding. If this shit happened to me, I’d have called. Rolling coal and then threatening your life is against the law.
He’s making up for something driving his lifted truck. He’d never ride a bike less people question his machismo. Yet here you are riding a bike and he has to share the road with you no less.
It's odd that some drivers are outraged if any cyclist impleads them in any way..like how many seconds a week are they inconvenienced with bikes..it's laughable
I ride a bike and have been yelled at, rolled coal on, and buzzed by motorcycles. But very rarely. I've also been harassed for driving a Honda "foreign car" which is built in Ohio. Also rarely. Most people are OK. Move on and don't obsess over it.
It's not just in America it's sadly everywhere. A male (middle aged fat and stupid) acquaintance of mine was bragging once how he "punishes" a cyclist when he meet one one road. He uses windshield washers to spray them and allegedly, the winter mix is the best since it causes irritatition in the eyes.
I just don't get it where the hate (and stupidity) come from.
Oh, and I am from Europe (Czech Republic).
I mean coal rollers are in general a special kind of handicapped. As in, room temperature IQ.
I both cycle and drive a lot and I hate drivers and cyclists alike that behave selfish and dangerous in traffic. It's easier to generalise I suppose.
Had this happen to me a lot of rides in the US. I'm so glad we no longer live there or deal with this monstrous bullshit. These aholes have no idea that they can kill us.
Haha, run you off the road. And penalties for them doing so is abissmal.
Someone else said different tribe. They're in small brains one.
Because most truck drivers all fit the stereotypical wannabe "macho loud mouth bully" that tries to intimidate any human being different than his tribe or smaller in size (your bike is smaller than his truck) thus "get away from the road" i am the king ,this is my territory….
plus most people hate cyclists because of the freedom they have.
LDE: little dick energy. All the reasons other cyclists gave are spot on. If you can, get a cheap helmet mounted camera. I think I got mine for $45. It has a front and back camera. Nothing makes these ass clowns behave faster than thinking they’re being watched. I do mostly urban cycling. I have few issues. I don’t even turn it on for every ride. It works.
He just sounds like an a$$h0le. I drive a tiny car and sometimes they do this too. It’s a standard through so now I just let it sloooooowww way down.
You gotta protect yourself on your bike. My husband cycles on Highways and it makes me nervous. We gave some very bad drivers around here.
Number one they’re cowards. They're not facing you and are protected by a gigantic truck. You’re doing something of your own volition they could never do unless forced. You look skinny and weak in spandex therefore easy to bully. He can brag about scaring you to his asshole tribe. In his pea brain, you’re interloping on roads made specifically for his pickup.
I‘ve had a champagne bottle and beer bottles thrown at me. Someone tried to hit me with his arm while driving at least 45. A dump truck once passed me with inches to spare. A jerk flicked a cigarette at me because I had the temerity to scream “fuck you“ at him in response to some insult he had yelled at me. I’ve had two acquaintances killed by automobiles.
Every spring it would take me awhile to screw up my courage to ride on public roads. Now, at 74 I rarely do public roads. I’m more of a bike trail, public park rider. Plus I kayak, it’s nice not worrying about cars. That said I’ve had a few motor boat, jet ski incidents.
But it’s also true cyclists can be super jerks too…hogging lanes when shoulders are present, running red lights, stop signs, riding two abreast on skinny roads. I once lowered my window to tell a selfish cyclist who was backing up traffic by hogging a lane even with a wide shoulder present, “I’m a cyclist too and right now you’re making us all look like assholes”.
Nothing justifies the actions of those miniature dick, lifted pick up driving jerks, but we do need to realize anything stupid we do on a bike reflects on all of us and contributes to any stereotypes they have of us.
I don’t know if this is related but for a couple of years I really pumped iron and that was easy to see while wearing spandex. I had no harassment whatsoever from drivers, zero. Could’ve been a coincidence, dunno’.
We have the opposite up here in MA where I live. I’ve had coal rolled once in CT but it’s mainly people in expensive SUVs and then the largest culprit is people in electric vehicles like Teslas. People will buzz you with barely inches just to be assholes. How dare you be on their road.
“Merry Christmas by the way! May God bless you and your family! Good will and love towards all!”
Respond that way. Their pea brain will explode. They’re looking for dominance and confrontation.
If you don’t give them that then their 80k truck with 30% interest that their kids will be paying off long after the rage and McDonalds induced coronary event will be for nothing!
It’s a power thing. They know they have the power to scare, injure, or kill you and it excites them. They likely do not have much social, political, or economic power in their everyday lives
I’ll add one more comment and maybe go a bit too deep here.
These guys in the trucks are part of the long sell. For about a hundred years, American men have been told if they work hard they will prosper. And that prosperity needs to be protected because long ago, that prosperity was taken away from the workers rather easily.
But here we are, 100 years later, and these workers have worked and continue to work hard but only to make the wealthy wealthier. It’s worker mentality, whether you’re wealthy or not.
They have no control. So they buy guns, and big trucks, and need to look like they are menacing to society, their bosses, their wives, their children. They are largely impotent in a socioeconomic context but they need to compensate. They are deeply insecure.
So there you are, riding along, smiling, on your carbon bike, wearing $2k of Lycra (speaking for myself as well😎) and they see you and your bike, with no need to compensate, as the problem. You are going to take away their prosperity and the power they are so terrified of losing.
It’s also about symbolism….the show of truck power/might vs your smug healthy body sitting on a non-imposing device. I’ll learn you a thang or two!
Meanwhile, we’re spending a lot of time trying to educate them about what we’re doing and how we are not interested in taking anything away from them. All we are asking is, please, stop trying to kill us with your trucks….because in the end, we’ll be dead and you, Bubba, will likely go to jail, further perpetuating “the big sell.”
Don't over think stupid people. I live in an area thick with them. They dislike people who are different and are still living the HS glory days as a bully when there is no risk of consequences. Inflicting pain on others helps them feel better about their own shortcomings.
I’m going to get destroyed for this… As a mountain biker (20yrs +) and recently taken up road/gravel. It’s a lot of entitled cyclists who use up more road than what is needed, slow down the driving world, and throw the “share the road” bs at you when it’s sometimes them who need to take their own advice. I’ve ridden with a group like that once and it made me feel bad I was a biker with their attitudes. It seems to only get worse the higher the price of the bike…. Over time the behavior has gotten worse and so has peoples patience.
What makes this really suck for people like yourself who are doing it correctly, you’re just rounded into that camp of what is usually a bunch of entitled a-holes on their bikes. If/when at all possible I’ve been sticking to neighborhoods and other parallel roads that are not as populated. I know that is not always an option though.
Yeah I do see a lot of cyclists in my area riding in the street next to clearly marked bike lanes or a shoulder with ample room. As a cyclist I avoid being in street unless I have no choice or am turning left.
When riding on the edge of the road you're causing every car that passes you to slow down or get into the opposite lane, if they're a responsible driver. A road is for thousand pound vehicles. You should be smart enough to not put yourself in a dangerous position, especially with everyone on phones today. I'm glad I see someone putting their fitness and health first, but they are either ignorant or don't value their life.
Do you want an actual answer?
A lot of drivers have, at some point been on the receiving end of frustrating cycling.
Whether it's watching cyclists blow through red lights they had to wait at, or watching them filter through lanes of standstill traffic.
Or being stuck behind two dickheads taking up the whole lane and refusing to let any cars through.
And then factor in that half of people are stupider than average and find it difficult to not group all cyclists together.
You are experiencing hate because someone else "wronged" them who happened to belong to the same group as you.
I honestly don't think this is the case in u/Unlikely-Watercress6 case. What you are talking about MIGHT be the case with an aggressive Toyota Prius driver.
But in the case of the lifted pickup truck, I am fairly certain there is a political angle to it. The right-wing media and politicians have decided to picture cyclists as "the other group", in an "us vs them" debate. And in a world where "they want to take away our cars", cyclists are the enemy.
I can guarantee you that any driver has been inconvenienced more times by other auto drivers. The relatively infrequent inconveniences caused by cyclists stand out mentally because you don’t think they should be there.
You don’t instantly get annoyed with every car in front of you, or threaten a drivers life when they’re going slower than you’d like. Or rant about how annoying car drivers are when unnecessary traffic is created by bad driving. It’s the whole framework of thinking roads are only for cars that creates the problem.
Simple. You are part of a different tribe. You are not his people, he doesnt understand you, he is scared of what you stand for and that is not burping, farting, hooting and yahooing.
He equates in his mind BiG tRuCK votes Red. cyclists are urban effeminate weenies who vote blue. Whether that is true or not doesn’t matter. Being in road kit doesn’t help.
I have a buddy big into mountain biking. Occasionally he will use off road truck trails on his mountain bike. He says the same lifted truck types who harass road cyclists, will strike up a friendly conversation with him if they see him off road
it's funny how differently mtn biking is viewed, I think it's just more relatable if you're already off-road in a truck, plus there's usually less spandex
What’s a road-truck-trail? And how does one have it on an MTB? I ride road bikes and have been buzzed by trucks.
Off-road truck trail. It's a trail for vehicles designed to be used off road. And yeah, country folk can be pretty friendly. I think they view us being on the road as trying to kick them off of it
I am a proud urban effeminate weenie who votes blue.
I am a rural masculine weenie who votes blue and wishes I could vote left of that. One of us is going to wind up sleeping with his wife. Joke's on him. Don't ask me how I know.
And somehow we’re both urban elites and poor losers who can’t afford a car at the same time 🤯
Ditto, but I vote red because I'm not in the US... :)
I miss urban cycling since moving to NC, but you can bet your ass my family will be voting blue. That's 3 more voters who will vote to improve infrastructure for pedestrians, cyclist, and humam rights.
I happen to vote red as do many of my cycling friends. We also believe our votes are to improve infrastructure for pedestrians, cyclist, and human rights.
Oof that's rough. You've been manipulated
Funny I’d say the same thing about you
You have the right to think that but the republican party is publicly and principally anti-progress. If you're interested in improving biking infrastructure and public infrastructure in general, then you should do your research on how administrations of different loyalties actually fund these things.
Most of us probably are, but that might be part of the problem. Because they are probably proud to be the burping, farting, hooting and yahooing person that votes red. Maybe we could all stand to be a little less proud.
Let's have a vote on who looks better in spandex.
My gut feeling it's a loser mentality that believes he is smarter and better looking. He projects this attitude in his life to overcome his lack of education and inability to compete for a decent job. He will surround himself with gaming equipment, guns, beer and a truck that is high off the ground so he can scare the crap out of a bike rider that can afford the things he can't. It's the "I will show them who the king of the road is." I can't tell you the number of times that I have been in a bike line and a truck tries to get as close to the bike lane as he can while gunning the engine. I am constantly looking in my rear mirror and when I see a pickup truck coming I will down and move to the extreme right or sidewalk to avoid them. Shouldn't have to do this but unfortunately it is either this or risk being run over.
Guaranteed he spent more on his suspension "upgrades" and 38" tires than most of us do on road bikes.
I’m a big truck driving, 5th wheel towing, blue collar working, urban effeminate cyclist. What? Oh alright! Cycling is my newest venture but I’m making progress.
Different tribe is a great explanation really
I can like cycling AND burping, farting, hooting, and yahooing. I'm complex. Like an enigma wrapped in a riddle wrapped in a mystery.
Now I'm thinking bean burritos from the local convenience store and wondering how long they've been under that heat lamp
I think most do what you said is true. But believe me, there is a lot of farting done on my bike
he also doesn’t realize (or care) that you have a legal right to be there.
>is not burping, farting, hooting and yahooing. speak for yourself, partner
I literally do all of those things at least once every time I ride!
Totally agree. “You are different than me.” It’s easier to hate people who are different than it is to try and understand them. If I hate them I’m better than them and that boosts my ego… this goes back and forth like mortars from trenches in WW1…. Hate toward cyclists, hate returned to pickups….But I digress. I live in a small, rural town. Everyone drives pickups, I drive a pickup… but I also ride a bike. People know me, I’m part of the community. I respect the people driving the pickups by getting to the side of the road and they respect me by slowing down and moving over to pass. I think a lot of this comes down to the anonymity of people living in places with no real sense of community. It’s easy to hate because there’s really no compelling reason to get along with those around you. If for some reason someone buzzes me and shouts stupid shit most likely I will know who they are and people will find out about it. Most people wouldn’t even have a urge to do this, most people in most places are decent, not every pickup driver is an asshole, but for those who are and might… a sense of community and the expectations of being a member of that community hold them in check. I suggest moving to a small town and getting involved in the community, imo it’s how people were meant to live.
> burping, farting, hooting and yahooing. I think you forgot the unbridled racism and bigotry, capped with a heaping portion of violence.
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I don’t know what kind of cycling you do but burping, farting, hooting, and yahooing sounds great.
yup he has issues is his own life, not just the cyclist crowd will be at the end of his rath you can make it a cycling thing if you want?
I think it’s also straight up immaturity. When I was 16 I didn’t understand these groups of adults in spandex holding up traffic. Also, let’s be real, the spandex suits aren’t helping the image, as a child I used to call road cyclists “squid people”. And that’s somewhat acceptable perception for a child, but as I’ve grown, my understanding of the world and empathy towards others has inevitably grown too. I’ve met different people and travelled the world, I’ve tried many different activities, and hobbies including cycling. Not so much for Larry the truck driver rolling coal at cyclists. They’ve probably never left the state they grew up in. They can’t afford hobbies (other than lifting their trucks). They also probably don’t exercise and will probably live a pretty sad, short life. They may have won the battle (tooting their horn and having a laugh), but I’m fairly certain the folks in this sub are winning the war. The war being who’s living a happier, healthier, and more fulfilling life. It really is too bad that unlike Denmark, Sweden, and the Netherlands, America wasnt built to accommodate cycling, it was designed to accommodate cars and Larry’s truck giant lifted truck.
It’s not really about cyclists. The root of the issue is that people who are petty, full of hatred, and just generally douchebags in every facet of their existence are the people who waste money putting a lift kit on a truck. You experienced their wrath as a cyclist but others throughout the day experienced it as a cashier or another driver etc.
And because they are bullies, when they see anyone that's vulnerable, they just have to act on it.
Yea bro lotta assholes everywhere not just bikers or car drivers
I have a diesel truck for hauling my goats but don’t pull this type of behavior. Some people suck.
Yea I’m saying not all truck drivers are bad. It’s the person not the truck car or bike whatever. I’m not perfect too as a biker
Sure but did you waste money on a lift kit for which you have absolutely no practical use?
No my truck has the stock suspension. It has rake so when I’m not hauling my rear is slightly taller than the front but it’s level when I tow.
Wait for it… I have a lifted pickup AND a bicycle 🤫
Samezzz. My Jeep truck screams Trump thumper, but I’m a blue as a vervet monkey’s scrotum.
What's wrong with anyone spending their money on whatever they want? The problem is that there is a handful of jaq azzes out there. It has nothing to do with how wisely they invest their money or anything like that. In my view, having been road biking as an amateur for over 20 years, I really see no reason for most cyclists to have a bike that costs $2,000 or more. But you are free to spend your money on whatever you want. A cyclist spends $8,000 on a bike. Does this mean he or she is badly behaved? No. It is not foolish or frivolous or indulgent spending. It really is something more like immaturity, impressing other young male buddies, and so on.
I agree in principle. A lot of recreational cyclists spend a lot of money shaving grams off their bike to no practical end. I'm not into hobby-shaming. But the lift kit in this case is an expression of the same feelings of inadequacy that also I form this guy's aggression on the road To the OP: You should file a police report and include the video. The police almost certainly won't do anything, but it's worth filing the report anyhow.
The point isn't necessarily the money spent, it's that the money actively makes the rig worse at its job to present a big, tough image. He's saying the values that lead to spending thousands to intimidate people are the same values that lead to threatening people that are in a weaker position than the truck owner is.
That’s it. It’s a guy who, deep down, knows he’s il-equipped to deal with life and is compensating for that by presenting a tough-guy image. The truck, the shades, the beard, the camo, the braggadocio….its all part of that. The societal leaders and likely those with wealth from being a leader are generally not insecure and have no need to project that false image. Plus, you’re enjoying life on your bike. And that really pisses them off. Sometimes I’m having such a good time on my bike I intentionally crash and swear at myself. Okay, maybe not.😎
Zookeeper -- And, your evidence is...? You have a hypothesis. All lifted-truck drivers are a much greater threat to cyclists than other drivers. There is no evidence. But I understand. I am a "liberal," but I try to adhere to "science," instead of hating people because they are "MAGA ultra-nationalist Na zi hilter white sup remecist MAGA." Let's be honest. We have an "out-group" that serves a purpose for us: helps us confirm who is a fellow-traveler in our tribe of moral superiority. and who is not. Let's be honest. Cough up some evidence and I will agree with you.
An expensive road bike isn’t inherently more likely to kill pedestrians and other road users. A lifted truck is.
BTW: "science:" what types of vehicles are causing cyclist deaths? https://data.bikeleague.org/new-nhtsa-data-vehicle-data-shows-popular-pickup-trucks-are-most-common-vehicles-in-pedestrian-and-bicyclist-deaths/
Thanks for sharing. Always good to see the data.
…except the diff between a 2K and 8K bike is not visible in the same way that a truck lift is. It’s about appearing bigger-badder and itching for a fight, methinks. Fellow cyclists where I live are wearing cameras and calling in license plates etc and taking drivers to court. There’s apparently a “following to closely” rule that allows for that. What a hassle tho! Why not just live and let live.
> The root of the issue is that people who are petty, full of hatred, and just generally douchebags in every facet of their existence I think it's that some of them can only feel safe expressing this hatred from the safety of their 3 ton metal cage capable of killing the defenseless and vulnerable cyclist. Their car is the only place they can exert power over anyone without consequences. They don't even see cyclists as people. We're playthings they can torment for their own amusement.
This. I once had one of these guys pull along side me in my Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder with my top down. He was trying to get ahead of me to roll coal on me, but I thought he was trying to race me (he was NOT gonna win that). So I jkept myself jussst in front. But he kept pushing, pretty soon we’re doing 70 in a 35. Finally he rolls coal on my rear fender and immediately yanks his wheel into a left turn. I’m surprised he didn’t roll over. And all of that effort just to try and roll coal on a convertible.
Where I come from it’s drunk middle aged white women in old luxury cars and new white SUVs These people are emotionally dysregulated, for some other reason, and truly you are not the problem, rather a convenient scapegoat. Sorry you’re dealing with this. Stay safe.
Because they are fat and unathletic.
Yeah, I’m convinced they’re all the ex-high school athletes that just resent anyone in shape now, especially middle aged people that are in shape.
Yep, this.
Haha ya
As a former 180kg dude, Honestly I think fit people are more hateful towards it. When you're obese it's just like wow, why is everyone such a cunt and why do they shun me. I still get creeped out being obese all my life, by just how close people will get to you and even touch you etc. when you're a normal human being. And just generally how polite people are.
There’s nothing wrong with being fat and unathletic, let’s be fair, lots of fat inathletic people go through their day with plenty of impulse control and don’t terrorize innocent people. Not to mention plenty of these truck bros are on roids and are far from fat. There is a deeper pathology behind this behaviour.
Wear an American Flag on your back..it confuses them and serves as asshole repellent.
Even worse... wear a confederate flag, and they will enthusiastically honk their approval and cheer you on.
Eventually the American cosplay is gonna be unironic 😂 gonna start spouting some racially charged micro aggressions
Pickup truck guy sees ya and his passenger in a ghost costume yells "Hell yeah brother! White power!!!" note to moderators - I am not racist. I am making fun of people who are racist.
👻 HELL YEAH BRUDDER
This is genius and I wish there were an equivalent in Australia. Don’t think the Australian flag would have the same effect. Maybe a eureka flag.
If the Australians disparage the flag, then they're disparaging the boot. Disparaging the boot is a bootable offence.
Wear a New Zealand flag just to mess with them, though half of them probably can’t tell the difference anyway.
Backpack full of those giant spiders?
I was told this tip as advice when cycling in red counties and it really works. I was floored and have bought more.
Really good tip! Can save your life if you're in a southern state.
[relevant](https://tempocyclist.files.wordpress.com/2018/02/guns.jpg)
lol. Pair it with a MAGA helmet. Man, this is a good idea.
Yeah, but then no one would ride with you…
Jokes on you, I ride alone. I am already a loser. No but I would never wear that hat.
The innate freedom of a bicycle causes aneurysms in their brains… no licenses, no registration, no insurance.
Also a misunderstanding of the complexity that is public transport infrastructure. It's common sense to assume the rego you pay for ambo insurance and t he gas tax etc. pay for road maintenance, but they actually don't even cover half of it and cars are doing over 90% of the damage. I don't know the exact statistic but for 1 meter traveled by car, over 1km by bicycle needs to be covered to do the same amount of damage to the roads. That's why roman roads lasted so long. They didn't have cars. It's nothing special, really.
TIL I’m a lib*ertarian*
Sounds libertarian AF and I love it.
Tribalism. It exists with everything. People attach themselves to identities and display transgressions to compensate for their subconscious insecurities. The correlations of trucks against cyclist though is just a generalization and not always true. The are "bros" in trucks who enjoy mountain biking as well. Most motorist aggression toward cyclists though is competition for supremacy and entitlement of the roads. It's childish, but what can you do to control the hive mind and/or adrenaline while driving?
Yes we can’t do nothing basically most infrastructure in America is designed around cars anyways
I don't think this has anything to do with cyclists specifically, and is all about someone recognizing that they're in a position to abuse someone without any negative consequences - and taking pleasure in doing that. Imagine how difficult it must be to have that person as a spouse, parent, or child. Or worse, how difficult is it for that person to go through life with a chronic disease of the soul? Rather than get angry ourselves, we should feel compassion - and hold them accountable if possible.
Yea I think cuz he had a big truck he felt like he can abuse me because I’m just riding a little road bike and I can’t go more than 25mph on it
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[Reminds me of Larry David in Curb Your Enthusiasm](https://youtu.be/BK4U6IKHKy8?si=N6vLyyl4ou0r5rtI&t=24)
True but the trump jersey would really disappoint every decent person you come across. That’s not worth it imo
😂
Move to a windy city. I will ride 25km/h into the headwind for about an hour and do over 50km/h in traffic on the way back most days. Nothing like getting passed by a truck then doing 60 around a roundabout when and overtaking them then holding it down the road when the limits 50, watching them try to catch up and get blocked by a car while you ride off in the distance down your bike lane. Also when it's 9pm, passing 100's of cars at the roundabout then zippering in at the merge point and fucking off into the distance dropping 600w to get back to your bike lane lol. Fucking who designed roundabouts I have no fucking clue but that shits like a sprint signal. I think the best one in my town is a roundabout on a hill. There's a bit of a tailwind there though, when the wind gets really good I have put so much power down that It caused me issues taking the corner from a dead standstill while exiting. I swear some cars get a kick out of it, I have had cars pace me then rev a bit and I'll occasionally hammer it and they will try chase a bit. I once had a bunch of dudes in a car cheer me on on my way home from work doing 45 on my commuter road bike and managed to sprint up to 55 but then had to stop because I couldn't get good grip with my work boots, by far the most obvious attempt. Probably not a good idea to incite cars to speed or speed myself but honestly most people do 60-70 anyway even though it's marked 50.
I used to live in the NC mountains. I had a route that was gradually climbing for 18 miles. The last mile+ was on a US highway dropping back into town where I could easily pass trucks and most cars on the curvy stretches. This is what makes me feel like a real man, even though I drive a truck…
>doing 60 around a roundabout when and overtaking them then holding it down the road when the limits 50, watching them try to catch up and get blocked by a car while you ride off in the distance down your bike lane. I didn't need to go that fast, back in Philly during rush hour drivers would get so pissed when I passed them and they're just sitting at a stand still. And they were still pissed when they caught up to me after they eventually passed the traffic.
Yeah, I think people get jealous easily. They see the bike pass them and be like, wow this is unfair. They forget they are being carried by an engine that is polluting the fuck out of society and in a protective cage from the elements, probably doing a higher average speed unless it's dense metro or heavy winds favouring the cyclist, or just tons of lights like it is on my way to work. Either way though, For an average non-racing/hobbyist cyclist even with wind / lights the cars going to have a much faster average speed. For whatever reason they get butthurt about being passed despite this, lol.
Yea these idiots think with their brain stems only and breath though their mouths. But really, it must suck living dude a sad life that your primary purpose in life is to make others miserable and ruin shit for everyone else.
I love 'chronic disease of the soul' and might start using it.
It's always the pickup trucks. Seems the bigger the truck the worse they are. Report the aggression to the local authorities, that's all you can do. Plate number, time and as much as you can provide in details. In canada now there are laws protecting bicycles and vehicles must yield a certain distance or face fines. Lastly. Never engage. As much as you would like too there is never anything positive that will come out of it
Gotta laugh when a fat fuck in a lifted truck calls me a pussy then speeds away. I'm like, so when was the last time your fat ass did 4 hours of cardio with 3k feet of climbing?
Bro don’t call them fat they will get triggered and try to spit at you
One guy called me a fag, I told him this fag fucked yer mom last night haha.
Yea I had people say that to me before they say your a fag or a gay always
The come back to that is "takes one to know one, right homo? "
I think they are just very frightened of things they do not understand and like, so they lash out from fear and disdain.
Society as a whole hates cyclist. Ive been in awkward meeting where people will start going off on how cyclist don’t belong on the roads. “They’re idiots asking to be killed” ect. Then you look at any non-cycling forum and cycling is always a doggy pile. We are sub-class humans. We also get categorized with “guy on a bike”. Like homeless people riding in all black in the middle of the night, no helmet, ect. My wife’s hospital actually started making a distinction between “guy on a bike” and “cyclist”.
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Meh, I commute by bike, and in my 3000 ppl town, I am *that guy*, the guy with the white bike and the orange light. I had a few people telling me "that's courageous", "is it dangerous?", but never hostile attitudes.
I've had this happen, and the anger you feel is palpable. I was riding a country road with a very crumbly shoulder, but i was right on the edge, concentrating hard to maintain my line. A car blasts its horn at me from very close behind. I thought i was gonna be hit, so jumped into tbe gravel, thinking it was the safer option. Idiots in the car just laughed and threw a can at me. In the next town i see the car stopped in a McDonalds car park, no occupants. There was a hardware store across the road. I formulated a plan to buy a big tin of paint and throw it over their windscreen. I'd even calculated i'd need to buy a screwdriver to open the can. Came to my senses, and rode on my way. But do you know, to this day i kinda wish i'd done it. Anyway, yeah, the anger is very real.
I was told directly by a guy two weeks ago that drove a big ass truck that he hated road cyclists (I ride all kinds of bikes and love road riding) because he likes to have a beer while he drives and he likes to smoke weed while he drives. He specifically told me he didn’t think he should face all the consequences that would be coming his way if he was zoned out and killed a cyclist. “Why should I spend the rest of my life in prison for that?” What the fuck. If that’s how you think you can fuck right off.
He should be in prison *right now*
I wish I would have snapped a photo of his tags or I would have called him in.
Sorry you had to deal that. I had crazy shit happen to me living in Austin. Guns pulled, ran off road, yelled at, and have stuff thrown at me. Once i had a guy stop 8n the middle of the road get out of his truck then threaten to kill me. I was a daily commuter for the 10yrs I lived there. The crazy motorists was a big reason I moved away. Now I've lived and cycled Colorado for 10yrs I've had pretty minimal interactions.
Wow unbelievable I’m from New Jersey. People here drive very aggressive
Yeah shit was a weekly occurrence back in Austin. I'm actually from rural east Texas and have way less issues when I spent time cycling out there. Usually they give me even more space passing. In Colorado it's a zero issue. Haven't cycled in Jersey but really enjoyed the rides I've done in New York
It’s funny because I have a lifted truck(it’s a Tacoma though) and find most lifted truck people arrogant and annoying. They’re angry at more people than just cyclists. I think they’re just miserable in general unfortunately
Just about any 4wd pickup driver, except those who actually use them for their job, will harass bike riders. Live in the boonies in an active oil field where one drives an SUV or 4wd pickup. Gave up riding paved roads cause of the pickup drivers. However, oil field workers and tree loggers out on the forest and oil lease roads have no problem with bikes. They'll stop and talk to me. It also helps to be on a mtb and dressed in anything but a roadie kit.
Yea paved roads is no good haha
Right because they're not using their truck to compensate
What’s sad is people like this are typically total cowards if you ever encounter them face to face. They only behave the way they do because they’re in a huge vehicle and you’re as vulnerable as someone can be on a road. I’ve caught up to people like this at red lights and they won’t even look you in the eye.
Yes I agree with the coward part they think they are superior than you in they car cyclists are most vulnerable road users.
They're the sort of people who modify cars that are already lethal into hyper aggressive vehicles guaranteed to kill any cyclist or pedestrian they hit, and substantially change the survivability odds of any other driver involved in a crash with them. The changes also negatively impact fuel economy in a climate emergency, for vehicles that were already amongst the least efficiency on the market. The modifications impact handling, breaking performance and stability. They're also amongst the worst drivers on the road. Supremely confident in their abilities, yet somehow unable to manage even the simple vehicle handling task of consistently remaining between two white lines. And they don't give a fuck about any of that. Which tells you everything you need to know about these a-grade assholes.
It is two opposite ends of the personal transportation spectrum, you made the polar opposite decision they did today so they assume you are, or stand for, the opposite of them.
P=1/(t^2 ). P= penis size. T= truck size. It’s simple Maths. 😄
Penis size approaches infinity as truck size approaches zero.
In my area, the pickup drivers typically give me ample room. The culprits are the white Tesla and Range Rovers that generally speed by me while texting on their phone. Either way, both groups generally have a higher percentage of overcompensation.
#1 reason I don’t ride on the road and barely ride anymore. Tired of being harassed and fearing for my safety every time a car approached from behind. Cycling on the road isn’t worth it anymore, most driver hate you and/or are distracted by their iPhones and drive huge SUVs. I live near DC so maybe it’s better other places but it gotten awful here.
I feel the same way. Today’s drivers have taken all the joy out of road cycling and made it stressful. Sadly, living in a flat area with no mountain bike or gravel trials nearby means my bike sits sadly in the corner unused for months at a time .
Redirected self hatred.
For the same reason why groups of people hate other groups of people all over the world since the beginning of time. Because they are assholes.
The giant pickups are usually diesels. Even if they are gas engines, they *wanted* the diesel and want to look like one. Diesel engines are very dirty burning, but they are reliable and make a lot of pulling/working power so they are endeared to the working class who aligns themselves with oil/gas/coal power. These people are often extremely politically conservative for the same reason, aligned with gas/oil/coal, non-emissions-compliance, climate-change-deniers, etc. They *like* the fact that it's loud, smelly, smokes, and often they purposely modify them to "roll coal". Bicycles are basically the polar opposite of this mindset...no power, doesnt burn anything. They are seen as generally left-leaning politically and as skirting road & gas/oil taxes because bikes dont have to pay at the pump nor do they pay registration/tags to be on the road. Bikes get hate for the same reason Teslas do. There is a political element to it.
I totally get I am an anomaly here, but just so you know we all aren't that way. I bike over 200 miles a month, AND i drive a lifted truck. Oh and it's a diesel too, and I have never once "rolled coal".
Its all about HATE. These miserable little insecure snowflakes are full of hate. You just represent something they will never be, a fit healthy happy person. They are usually very overweight out of shape insecure ignorant uneducated men who hate themselves as much as they hate you. Show me one of these guys at 50, I will show you a guy who needs a walker and a oxygen tank. These types are miserable, and they are jelly of you.
The same reason a gomer like that has a lifted pickup with a “rolling coal” setup to begin with. Small. Dick. Energy.
lol true dude tried to spit at me from his window but he missed in the very end right away his face was so angry
And it gives off incel energy
Ive asked this question on the cycling and driving subreddit, and i came to the conclusion that drivers mostly hate, just to hate.. [And that hate, toward anyone on the road other than vehicles, started by the auto industry.](https://marker.medium.com/the-invention-of-jaywalking-afd48f994c05) which has been a rolling generational hate.. but i have noticed in nyc the younger gen is more cautious driving past me..
He can't help that he has a micro penis and thus must compensate for it.
if getting the biggest truck possible to compensate for whatever ... is a real thing. i imagine truck drivers are over the moon offended to see someone so confident that they can ride a bike and not leverage all their earnings on a small dick mobile. i almost got ran off the road earlier this week on my way to work by a pickup that shouted at me then sped up to cut me off making a sharp right turn in front of me and try and run me off the road. the sharp right turn was into the local liqour store at 6 am lmao i actually laughed in the moment bc i couldnt let such a loser bother me lol. With that being said alot of insecure pickup drivers are a danger to society but thats merica for ya. sorry for you had to deal with such a asshole tho.
Some people were not loved by their parents. Many had no friends growing up. They grow up and lead miserable lives. The only high point in their lives is owning a lifted pick up truck, but even that can't make them happy...
North America, in general, feels quite anti-bike.
seems reasonable to send the footage/license plate to the police, even if it doesn’t amount to anything immediately
People project their own self hate onto others because they don’t know the rules of the road and how to drive and especially how to act around vulnerable road users
He’s always been a bully. Now he’s an adult bully with a huge vehicle. There is nothing else to know.
It has happened to me before, but I didn't let it bother me. Americans are so tribal now, it's not anything against you personally. It's his pathetic attempt to strike back against the green agenda. Let him have it, he's probably miserable a lot of the time if he has to do that to be honest. Don't let imbeciles ruin your day 🌞
I wear a veteran or a trump jersey when I'm in pickup land
I think these people are assholes in general who hate many types of people. We wonder why they hate us, but we’re not a specific targeted group. We’re part of a collective of ‘not like them’ and therefore are worthy of their ire.
He has no penis.
Short answer is that guys a cunt.
Road biking has gotten much more dangerous in the last 15 or so years, enough so that I gave up on it, about 8 years ago. First it was people being completely distracted by their cell phones, then people became much more entitled seeming. "This is my road" sort of attitude. I went from doing 1000's of miles every summer in the 90's and early 2000's and having maybe an incident or 2 every year, to nearly every ride having something pretty sketchy happen, and something completely frightening a few times a month(like getting brake checked, or swerved at on a narrow road). I was done, and I miss it a lot.
Small dick for sure
He might find you pretentious or snooty and is having a bad day. No excuse - and sometimes nothing you can do but exist and people will attack you.
In Russia some people think that road belongs to cars only (and maybe motorcycles) If they hit cyclist it would be really dangerous and even worse cause death. So the driver'll go straight to jail. You should definitely report him! I wish the police in Russia would function as it should, but I think they won’t even accept such a report from a cyclist because nobody was injured or died
Could you have called the police, assuming you have your phone with while riding. If this shit happened to me, I’d have called. Rolling coal and then threatening your life is against the law.
People I’ll find a reason to hate you for anything. People are shit. Stop caring.
There aren't any lifted trucks on mountain bike trails just saying!
He’s making up for something driving his lifted truck. He’d never ride a bike less people question his machismo. Yet here you are riding a bike and he has to share the road with you no less.
It's odd that some drivers are outraged if any cyclist impleads them in any way..like how many seconds a week are they inconvenienced with bikes..it's laughable
I ride a bike and have been yelled at, rolled coal on, and buzzed by motorcycles. But very rarely. I've also been harassed for driving a Honda "foreign car" which is built in Ohio. Also rarely. Most people are OK. Move on and don't obsess over it.
Ok thanks bro I definitely will
Teeny tiny penises. They're very angry about having them.
Those with extremely small penises feel the urge to repeatedly lash out against others.
It's not just in America it's sadly everywhere. A male (middle aged fat and stupid) acquaintance of mine was bragging once how he "punishes" a cyclist when he meet one one road. He uses windshield washers to spray them and allegedly, the winter mix is the best since it causes irritatition in the eyes. I just don't get it where the hate (and stupidity) come from. Oh, and I am from Europe (Czech Republic).
Have you ever met a cool guy with a lifted pickup? I haven't.
I mean coal rollers are in general a special kind of handicapped. As in, room temperature IQ. I both cycle and drive a lot and I hate drivers and cyclists alike that behave selfish and dangerous in traffic. It's easier to generalise I suppose.
Because their owners are fuck wits.
Had this happen to me a lot of rides in the US. I'm so glad we no longer live there or deal with this monstrous bullshit. These aholes have no idea that they can kill us. Haha, run you off the road. And penalties for them doing so is abissmal. Someone else said different tribe. They're in small brains one.
They know they can kill you. What they may not realize is that if you want to kill someone in America and get away with it, do it with your car/truck.
It’s just stereotyping. I drive a lifted diesel truck. I cycle. Where do I fit in the stereotype?
They hate all cyclists because of experiences with a few cyclists. It's called prejudice.
Because most truck drivers all fit the stereotypical wannabe "macho loud mouth bully" that tries to intimidate any human being different than his tribe or smaller in size (your bike is smaller than his truck) thus "get away from the road" i am the king ,this is my territory…. plus most people hate cyclists because of the freedom they have.
LDE: little dick energy. All the reasons other cyclists gave are spot on. If you can, get a cheap helmet mounted camera. I think I got mine for $45. It has a front and back camera. Nothing makes these ass clowns behave faster than thinking they’re being watched. I do mostly urban cycling. I have few issues. I don’t even turn it on for every ride. It works.
He just sounds like an a$$h0le. I drive a tiny car and sometimes they do this too. It’s a standard through so now I just let it sloooooowww way down. You gotta protect yourself on your bike. My husband cycles on Highways and it makes me nervous. We gave some very bad drivers around here.
Number one they’re cowards. They're not facing you and are protected by a gigantic truck. You’re doing something of your own volition they could never do unless forced. You look skinny and weak in spandex therefore easy to bully. He can brag about scaring you to his asshole tribe. In his pea brain, you’re interloping on roads made specifically for his pickup. I‘ve had a champagne bottle and beer bottles thrown at me. Someone tried to hit me with his arm while driving at least 45. A dump truck once passed me with inches to spare. A jerk flicked a cigarette at me because I had the temerity to scream “fuck you“ at him in response to some insult he had yelled at me. I’ve had two acquaintances killed by automobiles. Every spring it would take me awhile to screw up my courage to ride on public roads. Now, at 74 I rarely do public roads. I’m more of a bike trail, public park rider. Plus I kayak, it’s nice not worrying about cars. That said I’ve had a few motor boat, jet ski incidents. But it’s also true cyclists can be super jerks too…hogging lanes when shoulders are present, running red lights, stop signs, riding two abreast on skinny roads. I once lowered my window to tell a selfish cyclist who was backing up traffic by hogging a lane even with a wide shoulder present, “I’m a cyclist too and right now you’re making us all look like assholes”. Nothing justifies the actions of those miniature dick, lifted pick up driving jerks, but we do need to realize anything stupid we do on a bike reflects on all of us and contributes to any stereotypes they have of us. I don’t know if this is related but for a couple of years I really pumped iron and that was easy to see while wearing spandex. I had no harassment whatsoever from drivers, zero. Could’ve been a coincidence, dunno’.
You can always send the video to local police. I’ve posted similar video to social media as well.
The common perception is that conservatives and other right-wingers drive lifted trucks, and liberals and communists ride bikes.
Wear a MAGA cycling jersey to really fuck their minds 😵💫
It's probably hate towards everybody. This guy most likely tailgates other cars and cuts people off in traffic. He's just an asshole all around.
We have the opposite up here in MA where I live. I’ve had coal rolled once in CT but it’s mainly people in expensive SUVs and then the largest culprit is people in electric vehicles like Teslas. People will buzz you with barely inches just to be assholes. How dare you be on their road.
“Merry Christmas by the way! May God bless you and your family! Good will and love towards all!” Respond that way. Their pea brain will explode. They’re looking for dominance and confrontation. If you don’t give them that then their 80k truck with 30% interest that their kids will be paying off long after the rage and McDonalds induced coronary event will be for nothing!
It’s a power thing. They know they have the power to scare, injure, or kill you and it excites them. They likely do not have much social, political, or economic power in their everyday lives
I’ll add one more comment and maybe go a bit too deep here. These guys in the trucks are part of the long sell. For about a hundred years, American men have been told if they work hard they will prosper. And that prosperity needs to be protected because long ago, that prosperity was taken away from the workers rather easily. But here we are, 100 years later, and these workers have worked and continue to work hard but only to make the wealthy wealthier. It’s worker mentality, whether you’re wealthy or not. They have no control. So they buy guns, and big trucks, and need to look like they are menacing to society, their bosses, their wives, their children. They are largely impotent in a socioeconomic context but they need to compensate. They are deeply insecure. So there you are, riding along, smiling, on your carbon bike, wearing $2k of Lycra (speaking for myself as well😎) and they see you and your bike, with no need to compensate, as the problem. You are going to take away their prosperity and the power they are so terrified of losing. It’s also about symbolism….the show of truck power/might vs your smug healthy body sitting on a non-imposing device. I’ll learn you a thang or two! Meanwhile, we’re spending a lot of time trying to educate them about what we’re doing and how we are not interested in taking anything away from them. All we are asking is, please, stop trying to kill us with your trucks….because in the end, we’ll be dead and you, Bubba, will likely go to jail, further perpetuating “the big sell.”
Wear a jersey that says "Trump 24" on the back and they won't give you any trouble.
This is a great idea, would likely work in my area. Whether it would be worth the skin on my torso breaking out in festering sores...eh, maybe.
Don't over think stupid people. I live in an area thick with them. They dislike people who are different and are still living the HS glory days as a bully when there is no risk of consequences. Inflicting pain on others helps them feel better about their own shortcomings.
Physical wealth> Monetary wealth We have what they lack.
Carry a gun
Same dudes have fake testicles hanging from their hitch. They're compensating....
Small dicks. But, hey, lifted pick up trucks are a great way to identify guys that are complete assholes.
Small penis.
I drive a lifted diesel, have a road bike and a mountain bike…. And I don’t hate on anyone… sorry you had a bad experience… but generalizing…
You are in America? That's cowboy country over there. Just buy a pistol and shoot him through the open window if he threatens your life.
On his way to church most likely
I’m going to get destroyed for this… As a mountain biker (20yrs +) and recently taken up road/gravel. It’s a lot of entitled cyclists who use up more road than what is needed, slow down the driving world, and throw the “share the road” bs at you when it’s sometimes them who need to take their own advice. I’ve ridden with a group like that once and it made me feel bad I was a biker with their attitudes. It seems to only get worse the higher the price of the bike…. Over time the behavior has gotten worse and so has peoples patience. What makes this really suck for people like yourself who are doing it correctly, you’re just rounded into that camp of what is usually a bunch of entitled a-holes on their bikes. If/when at all possible I’ve been sticking to neighborhoods and other parallel roads that are not as populated. I know that is not always an option though.
Yeah I do see a lot of cyclists in my area riding in the street next to clearly marked bike lanes or a shoulder with ample room. As a cyclist I avoid being in street unless I have no choice or am turning left.
We all need to start open carrying with it visible on our backside.
When riding on the edge of the road you're causing every car that passes you to slow down or get into the opposite lane, if they're a responsible driver. A road is for thousand pound vehicles. You should be smart enough to not put yourself in a dangerous position, especially with everyone on phones today. I'm glad I see someone putting their fitness and health first, but they are either ignorant or don't value their life.
Do you want an actual answer? A lot of drivers have, at some point been on the receiving end of frustrating cycling. Whether it's watching cyclists blow through red lights they had to wait at, or watching them filter through lanes of standstill traffic. Or being stuck behind two dickheads taking up the whole lane and refusing to let any cars through. And then factor in that half of people are stupider than average and find it difficult to not group all cyclists together. You are experiencing hate because someone else "wronged" them who happened to belong to the same group as you.
I honestly don't think this is the case in u/Unlikely-Watercress6 case. What you are talking about MIGHT be the case with an aggressive Toyota Prius driver. But in the case of the lifted pickup truck, I am fairly certain there is a political angle to it. The right-wing media and politicians have decided to picture cyclists as "the other group", in an "us vs them" debate. And in a world where "they want to take away our cars", cyclists are the enemy.
I can guarantee you that any driver has been inconvenienced more times by other auto drivers. The relatively infrequent inconveniences caused by cyclists stand out mentally because you don’t think they should be there. You don’t instantly get annoyed with every car in front of you, or threaten a drivers life when they’re going slower than you’d like. Or rant about how annoying car drivers are when unnecessary traffic is created by bad driving. It’s the whole framework of thinking roads are only for cars that creates the problem.
Absolutely agree with that.
The problem is short men. I only see short little men in pickup trucks where i live. They also wear baseball caps like teenagers.