A Developing Cyclist Complex

When I first bought my bike, I was talking to a friend of mine about it. She warned me against becoming one of those "aggravating" cyclists that have a total disregard for cars. I glossed over some of the things I'd already been doing, but tried to essentially tell her "yes, I won't do that."

That's easier said than done.


I do yield to cars when it looks like they're going to beat me through the intersection at 4-way stops (or if they don't see me & it'd be their right-of-way anyways), I don't run red lights (unless it's a T-intersection that doesn't cross me), & I have lights with me when I ride at night.

(Originally, I was going to try to stop at stop signs, but it seems to confuse drivers. Many of them are so used to bicyclists just running them that it actually seems to hold up traffic by not....due to the difficulty of communicating to each other.)


But it's hard not to want to get more aggressive. Lots of car drivers are assholes, & have little regard for me being there. It's more like I'm seen as an irritation just by existing, & have no right to be on the road.

I've stopped counting how many times that I've almost been hit (which is a pretty scary thing since I don't have health insurance). But I have had someone almost make a left hand turn into me into a parking lot, been cut off by a person on a cellphone pulling out, as well as someone pulling into a parking space. I regularly have people drive really close to me when I come up Fulton after work, which is why I now ride close to the dotted white line to force them entirely into the next lane (for my safety). And finally, for the first time, I got swore at last night. Some woman at an stop light yelled at me to get my "bitch ass off the street."

Wow.


It's making me want to get more involved in the SF Bike Coalition, & participate in Critical Mass. I want to really find ways to advocate that I have just as much right to be there as the cars do...& I'm way healthier than them for myself & the environment. (You'd think in a green city there'd be a greater appreciation for those truly helping curb pollution...but I guess not.)


There was also this billboard on Geary that I really wanted to vandalize. (For the record, I didn't.) It really pissed me off about it saying "healthy cars pollute less".


Sure. They do. And the convenient little website on the bottom gives you tips on how to help keep your car "healthy" so that it is better for the environment.

But is that really the answer?

Maintain your car & the world will smile down on you!

FUCK NO!

It might be less, but is that really what we should consider to be good enough?!




So, yeah. I'm getting the cyclist complex. Someone really trying to do some good, & getting looked on as a second-class commuter.




Just see if I don't fight back.