This morning's commute and other commuting stories

Flayed knees are painful. Probably explains the bobby head.

Flayed knees are painful. Probably explains the bobby head.

I'd probably delete that second one if I knew how.

^^^ You have to feel sorry for the team mates in the BG that didn't get invited for the photograph.

Got a question, feel like this would be the most appropriate place as if I start an entire thread for this I'll probably be (verbally) destroyed

Whenever I have 'oh shit' moments in virtue of automotive twattery, I find that for the first minute or so I'm rarely angry, because instead I just hold onto the 'oh shit' feeling (had a pretty big crash in the arse end of October so my confidence is still wobbly).

So my question is, is there a particular aspect of the incidents that you latch onto mentally to provoke instant anger? I always wind myself up by becoming angry at least 5 minutes after the cock-end that nearly took me out is probably long gone, and sit down when I get home thinking about all the things I SHOULD have said/done

Need to stand up for myself more whilst on the roads. It's strange as I've a history of anger troubles, they just never arise at the time of aforementioned twattery

i think you're going about this the wrong way. Aspiring to road rage doesn't sound very healthy.

Not aspiring to road rage, just need some form of technique for adequately delivering information to drivers in such a way that it may make them at least think twice about the same move next time.

Rather than staring as blankly at them as they do to me.

Think of all the nice things you can continue to do today and the days to come because you (insert oh shit moment ) and breath deep. If the driver is still there calmly explain why you felt at risk. Getting all zen and explaining in your best grown up voice confuses them and they sometimes learn.

So admin, much pieces of paper, very gloves

So my question is, is there a particular aspect of the incidents that you latch onto mentally to provoke instant anger?

Need to stand up for myself more whilst on the roads. It's strange as I've a history of anger troubles, they just never arise at the time of aforementioned twattery

Best not to dwell on it, here's what the Highway Code said about it;

147
not allow yourself to become agitated or involved if someone is behaving badly on the road. This will only make the situation worse. Pull over, calm down and, when you feel relaxed, continue your journey

Two punctures, one failed patch, a 3 mile walk to the nearest minicab office, a 15 minute cab ride to the nearest open bike shop. Epic 3 hours commute.

Still the riding either side was nice.

Not aspiring to road rage, just need some form of technique for adequately delivering information to drivers in such a way that it may make them at least think twice about the same move next time.

Rather than staring as blankly at them as they do to me.

Don't let them live in your head. It's not as if they're paying rent!

That's good advice. Hard to do, but good advice.

Ollie if you're not angry in these situations it's a blessing. I've worked hard over the years on not getting angry, or at least not channelling my anger into shouting swear words at motorists, because funnily enough they don't like it, it's not constructive and it can often spur them on to do something even worse. People can really take umbrage at being sworn at, it turns out.

Now I channel my anger into forcefully tapping on their window, but then politely and calmly explaining what they did wrong and would they mind awfully not doing it again. I have been pleasantly surprised by the results of this, possibly because they can still tell I'm angry but they can also tell that I'm holding it back and really trying to be pleasant, but if your immediate instinct isn't anger that's good, it just sounds like you need to be a bit more reactive and quicker to take the opportunity to politely provide your fellow road users with feedback...

I had a lovely commute in this morning, the thermometer said 3.5 degrees but it felt much warmer in the sun. I spent quite a lot of it near an Eskimo Ice lorry which was dripping all over the place, almost as if the contents were being melted by the sun.

I though about trying to tell him his ice was melting but I thought he'd think I was taking the piss.

Seems strange to have a generalised 'flyer' when each encounter with the 4-wheeled folk is very different in nature tho

Fox, thanks for the advice, maybe that's a better way of putting it. I don't need to get angry I just need to consolidate my thoughts and react (calmly-ish) on the spot

I can't see flyers helping. As soon as you, I was going to say confront a driver but maybe that's too strong, as soon as you address a driver who's made a mistake they will get defensive and aggressive, in my experience, especially males.

Roll the flyer around a shit and leave it under their windscreen wiper.

These flyer things sound great but there are a few differing things I like to get across sometimes. What I think I'll do instead is memorise some words, kind of like verbal flyers and deliver them from my mouth to their ears, maybe mix and match different ones depending on what point needs getting across.

Blokes often simply will not concede they did anything wrong. take a punishment pass, if you confront them you get the inevitable "You were in the middle of the road!" Which is basically admitting a punishment pass, it's admitting that the driver saw you but overtook anyway, it was my fault for..being there. With left hooks I've sometimes thought about scraping their near side with my pedal, clipped in it would take some jiggling and scratching to get clear. Then I think I don't want those thoughts in my head, it kind of presupposes conflict and mayhem and violence. I've shaken my head at drivers and they sound the horn. I've turned round to a tailgater and they shrug and hold their hands up. Couldn't care less.

I can't think of a way of approaching a driver that would lead to a positive result, I'm afraid it would just escalate things so I tut in my head and carry on.

A shake of the head or a shrug of the shoulders is usually as far as I go. I'd feel like a self righteous prick riding around with various public informations flyers about my person, may as well start handing out 'no shitting' ones to people with dogs and 'don't drop this too' ones to litterbugs.

^^I'd hate someone less if they swore at me, people already think cyclists are smug cunts.

A shake of the head or a shrug of the shoulders is usually as far as I go. I'd feel like a self righteous prick riding around with various public informations flyers about my person, may as well start handing out 'no shitting' ones to people with dogs and 'don't drop this too' ones to litterbugs.

There's 'don't eat smelly food' signs on buses.

Buses >>>

Jeez if I was driving (which I do sometimes) and a cyclist gave me a flyer, I'd think they were a.) weird b.) passive aggressive (even if they handed it to me with a smile) and c.) socially awkward at best. I also think having a flyer which covered every possible transgression would be practically impossible, so it would also probably be partly inaccurate.

The opportunities to talk to a motorist don't always present themselves but when they do (it's normally when I catch them up at lights) I'm capable of politely pointing out what they did wrong and asking them not to do it again. I like to think most people would be too. It works best when you appeal to their human nature, which is difficult to do through the medium of flyer.

Not on the commute, but was this morning. Made me shout tea all over the place.

Buses can >>> people on buses handing out 'don't eat smelly food flyers' can >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>