Shouting from a car

Totalnewbie

Cycling along this morning, I heard a motorist shouting at me from a car.

'Oh God,' I thought 'what have I possibly done to upset him?'

Turned out he just wanted directions - he was shouting 'Excuse me!'. Nice to have a friendly encounter.

I must look very approachable; people always ask me for directions whether I'm walking (fellow peds) or cycling (fellow cyclists) but it's the first time a motorist has.

Totalnewbie

Normal service has been resumed.

Got shouted at again on the way home. 'Use the cycle lane!' from a car full of lads as I went round Vauxhall. (The pavement cycle paths there are ok if you're really terrified of traffic - I used them when I first started out - but involve all kinds of toucan crossings and peds like to walk on them - in short, they are a pain)

I'm afraid they got told to **** off. Very loudly and in a rather unladylike manner. I try very hard not to retaliate as there are nutters out there, but the words had escaped my lips before I could help it.

Feel bad now, should have pretended not to hear them.

BentMikey

You're turning into a tough cookie of a cyclist, well done you!

homercles

Funny how when you have a nice experience, a bad one comes along quickly to erase the memory. When you have a bad experience, you can guarantee you'll be waiting a long while before a good one comes along!

Agree re: the paths at Vauxhall Cross - more of a pain to use them, and with more fiddly manoeuvres involved. I prefer to just stick on the road, try and hold some sort of primary position and dash for South Lambeth Rd as quickly as possible!

Totalnewbie

Aw thanks Bentmikey and Homercles. I was feeling a bit deflated and there is no one home to mutter to at the moment!!

I have to admit I avoided catching up with them after that - didn't want them behind me trying anything silly - judging from the unintelligible shouting that followed my reply, they weren't happy.

I was just furious because the other lane to my right was clear - loads of room for them to overtake without aggro even though I was taking my lane.

BentMikey

About the best you can do is wave and smile, knowing you own the moral highground!

Totalnewbie

Yes, I must try to remember that. Coming across like a screaming harpy on a bike is not good cyclist PR!

dirk_van_gently

Well just to add a good note to this thread.
On way home the other evening, I have a slightly downhill hack, then have to execute a quite tricky right turn, the junction is tricky, and sometimes covered in mud. Car behind held back patiently, and car coming the other way waved me on across his path, thus holding back traffic on his side of the road, and meaning that I didn't have to stop in the middle of the road, and the car behind me also wasn't encumbered.
In other words everyone won, because of a little patience.
I waved, smiled, and shouted "thank you" loudly to both drivers.
We are all road users :-)

janm399

I had a few shout as well; the last one being "mate, are you gay?" from a pretty friendly-looking bunch of lads in a small Fiesta. I was pretty sure were just having a laugh, so I shouted back "for you baby, I will be". The driver went bright red and his three mates burst out laughing and they sped off -- it was actually pretty funny.

Eat My Dust

janm399 wrote:

I had a few shout as well; the last one being "mate, are you gay?" from a pretty friendly-looking bunch of lads in a small Fiesta. I was pretty sure were just having a laugh, so I shouted back "for you baby, I will be". The driver went bright red and his three mates burst out laughing and they sped off -- it was actually pretty funny.

lol, I've used "why? are you looking for a date"

(I actually stole this line from Highlander, kind of.

Cop: "Hey Nash, are you a homosexual?"

Nash: "why? are you cruising for a piece of ass")

Totalnewbie

Both good stories. 'For you baby, I will be!' Fantastic.

I'm surprised the boyfriend didn't get any 'gay' shouts the other night.

He had managed to lose my black buff that I lent him, so he took my pink flowery buff instead. He was cycling to a darts match, I presume he removed the pink buff before entering the pub...

dirk_van_gently

Pink Buff

is that some sort of innuendo ? :-)

BTW innuendo is Italian for Suppository.

I'll get mi coat!