VRE wrote:The motorists of Melbourne demonstrated yet again this morning why so many people start bicycle commuting, then give it up. The continual harassment in the form of unnecessary horn use, verbal abuse, deliberate close passes, etc. (all of which I got this morning) would discourage a lot of people from continuing to commute by bicycle, and so they would give up and return to other modes of commuting
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Yup, after having a good motorist experience yesterday I got the usual this morning.
I had the 'get out of my way, bloody cyclist' honk. And this was after the car had pulled alongside and had a clear lane as I'd finally reached the separated bike lane on Albert St and was moving left to get out of the vehicle lane and enter the bike lane. The female passenger gave me the death stare too. I mumbled about them needing to read the road rules.
Then there were two MGIF idiots who just HAD to floor it to pass the cyclists to stop in the red light line of traffic 20 metres up on Collins St. One car even had to stop half in the tram lane because I was claiming the lane but he just had to pass to get 10 metres
not in front (because I reached the traffic queue just as he did). And the 2nd guy went well over the 40kph speed limit (as I was doing 38kph at the time) just to get in front of the couple of cyclists and get stuck behind 3 or 4 cars at the lights as we all sail past all these cars in our little bike lane and slot in front of the first vehicle. Why? Why Mr Mercedes?
On a good note I had a considerate motorist actually wait for me at an intersection instead of trying to floor it to turn right and get in front of me. Kudos to them.
Last night: Noticed a cyclist who came to the front of the queue on Collins near Exhibition had a hole in his full length knicks right where 'the Sun don't shine'. I was tossing up whether to tell him or not. Decided not to at that point and just sat behind him trying not to stare when he got up out of the saddle.
Then he went through the red light at the top of Collins and Spring St (not a it's-about-to-turn-green red light but a I've-been-red-for-a-while-and-will-be-red-for-a-little-while-more red) and then he also went through the redder-than-red pedestrian light on Macarthur St while I was still waiting for the red light on Collins and Spring. So I caught up to him on Albert St as he turns right into Albert like I do, passed him about halfway down Albert (as I had to wait for another light on the corner of Albert and Macarthur) and I try and tell him "You have a hole in your pants" to which he replies "On ya love". So I'm a bit nonplussed at that response to what I said, so I think 'Okay he hasn't heard me' so I turn my head around and say it again but clearly he wasn't listening and just looks blankly at me.
Anyway, I get to the Hoddle St lights and there is a cyclist already waiting at the lights so I dutifully slot in behind him (even though I know I'll most likely be passing him 30 metres after the intersection). Then 20 seconds later Mr Holier-Than-Thou goes past me and stops alongside and a bit forwards of the first cyclist waiting at the lights. So this first cyclist, being a polite man, lets him go first when the lights change, only for Mr Holier-Than-Thou to proceed slowly, wobble over the whole bike lane and show exactly why I passed him previously. So then I have to pass both the polite cyclist in front of me and this slow cyclist. What was the point, Mr Holey??? Yes, I am a girl, but please don't be condescending to me and think you're faster when I've shown you differently. Oh and YOU HAVE A HOLE IN YOUR PANTS WHERE THE SUN DON'T SHINE...