There are a lot of reasons drivers hate bicyclists, but I think deep down one reason is that seeing a bike travel faster than them shatters the illusion they have been sold by decades of car ads - ThreadSky

gravelinfluencer.bsky.social • 88 days ago

There are a lot of reasons drivers hate bicyclists, but I think deep down one reason is that seeing a bike travel faster than them shatters the illusion they have been sold by decades of car ads

Reposted from Katie Tightpussy, Editor-In-Chief

people looooooove verbally harassing me for existing on a bicycle. any infraction, as deemed by them? you bet they're gonna shout and honk. motorists are sociopaths. my favorite is when they get mad at me for "being in there way" meanwhile i zip through traffic. they get SO mad when i pass them.

Comments

geoffpearson.bsky.social•88 days ago

Many years ago, I was cycling the ten miles home from my summer job in Newquay, Cornwall. It was "new car registration day", and I overtook a Lotus on its first day in the wild as it languished in a traffic jam.

toddrowell.bsky.social•87 days ago

I think some of it is the “passing me is cheating” feeling, and some of it is that they weren’t looking for things other than cars and suddenly are surprised to see a bike and when drivers screw up they always take it out on the witnesses.

gravelinfluencer.bsky.social•88 days ago

In the words of @tomflood.bsky.social: Bikes deliver the freedom that auto ads promise

katie.bzky.team•88 days ago

i think of that quote constantly. it really is true though. being in a """fast car""" and getting passed by someone pedaling is embarrassing

gravelinfluencer.bsky.social•88 days ago

As someone who also drives, I never feel free behind the wheel. I feel trapped and at the mercy of the traffic I'm a part of. On a bike? I can control things and also explore places my car can't go! My commute to work by bike is *fun*.

darnhyena.itch.io•88 days ago

A great advantage of being on foot or small transport like bikes and scooters is you can just stop where your standing and look around for a moment.

A bakery catches your eye?
You can waltz on over to check it out.

In a car? You can kind of glance at it for a second.

gravelinfluencer.bsky.social•88 days ago

Yes! I make so many more fun, impulse decisions/purchases on foot or bike.

alexanotherone.bsky.social•88 days ago

Most vanlifers seem to have a bike because yeah, even if you're driving deep into BLM land in your van *you can get farther on your bike*

tomflood.bsky.social•88 days ago

❤️🖤

riainceol.bsky.social•88 days ago

I think in the UK at least the average car journey speed averages like 20mph. At that point any bike is going to be more or less just as fast and much more nimble.

stevenbodzin.bsky.social•88 days ago

They genuinely think that we are cutting the line. They are waiting patiently behind the car in front of them while we zip by. They are completely oblivious to how often we have to wait for them.

eschneider.bsky.social•88 days ago

Most drivers (people, really) have absolutely zero patience with, well, anything. Also, most folks aren't self aware enough to realize that to others, they're traffic. :/

gravelinfluencer.bsky.social•88 days ago

Yeah, the general lack of patience, well, everywhere, is really frustrating

eschneider.bsky.social•88 days ago

People also seem to forget that they're name and address is right there on their bumper.

to-resist-despair.bsky.social•88 days ago

Bikes provide the freedom that car advertisements promise.

tharfagreinir.bsky.social•88 days ago

theshawnmorris.bsky.social•88 days ago

I fully understand why bicyclists do it and agree with it now but it took a long time to stop my former car brain from getting annoyed when bicyclists would go through stop signs or red lights.

It just felt unfair in a similar way to like seeing someone cut a line does?

But education fixed that.

toondreessen.bsky.social•88 days ago

As @tomflood.bsky.social says: bicycles deliver the freedom car ads promise.

tomflood.bsky.social•88 days ago

❤️

baro.bsky.social•88 days ago

I think a lot of the rage also comes from some deep monkey brain ideas of power and hierarchy. The person on the bike is small and weak, the driver is huge and strong and can easily kill the cyclist on a whim. So it's upsetting for the weak to be seen as not deferring or subordinated to the strong

rickchasey.bsky.social•88 days ago

I mean, I’d like it to be this, but I think drivers realise the cyclist’s vulnerability and are upset that they, in a car, when forced to share the road with the vulnerable cyclist, are involuntarily made to be responsible for the cyclist’s welfare.

gravelinfluencer.bsky.social•88 days ago

I think there are myriad reasons and this is definitely one of them!

rds773.bsky.social•88 days ago

I’m convinced that one of the things that aggravates insecure people the most is when you make a different choice than they did and visibly enjoy it

gravelinfluencer.bsky.social•88 days ago

People really do so often hate others experiencing joy in a different way. It's sad.

captainahab.bsky.social•88 days ago

I think this is a very NYC specific thing tbh

gravelinfluencer.bsky.social•88 days ago

I think it's applicable in most urban environments.

Even where I am in the suburbs, I can often get to a nearby city just as quickly, or quicker, on a bike versus a car, especially during rush hour.

expanse.bsky.social•88 days ago

For many drivers, it's a sin just to pass them, doubly so if you're in what they consider an inferior vehicle. Bikes are the ultimate insult to people that fragile.

matthewterrill.bsky.social•88 days ago

I don’t mean to equate the experiences, but the *logic* is exactly the same as why trans folks are targeted for hatred. A small minority’s existence confronts the majority with compelling evidence of a freer and more authentic existence, and it prompts fear/anger for many in the majority

rkemb.bsky.social•88 days ago

I had an argument with a driver once because I "kept using the advanced stop lines at the traffic lights" which apparently forced them to keep overtaking me when the lights changed.

rkemb.bsky.social•88 days ago

The fact that at this point I'd caught them up at the next lights four times was blamed on me being unreasonable rather than them not needing to hurry.

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