Well I didn’t think I’d be posting this…

Out for a very pleasant ride today with Mrs Boblo when we were run off a very narrow section of road by an impatient motorist. The driver pulled in a little way ahead so we stopped for a chat. A civilised ‘could you please give cyclists a bit more room’ request soon descended into us being told we had to ‘share the road’ (the bit under his wheels presumably) then ‘cycle somewhere else’ then personal insults to my wife and I.

What made me angry was the complete indifference to us and the potential consequences of his actions. He walked away dismissing us as not worthy. This soon changed with a slap on the side of his car. It’s funny (?) how people regard their vehicles higher than the well being of another.

There followed a full and frank exchange of views and a little bit of handbags. Bear in mind, I have never fought anybody, ever in my life so I am not a physically aggressive person. Thankfully my wife refereed and we continued on our way without too much unseemly rolling around.

I read about these types of confrontations all the time on cycling forums and it is sad to say, ‘they’ simply do not give a toss. Cyclist are about as important as the paint on the roads to them (less probably). I know I need to just ignore any future incidents as talking is unlikely to result in a mutually acceptable outcome and any interaction will probably just escalate. It makes my blood boil though just thinking about today’s incident and how it played out.

My new take on how to deal with this is a completely different approach from the outset.

Instead of:
“Excuse me, your driving is terrible, please leave more space”
or:
“You ****, learn how to drive”

I have swapped to:
<breathless with scared look on face> “oh god, you scared the life out of me… <panting> bloody hell. I thought I was going to die. Can you leave a bit more room next time”

I don’t know if it is because it makes me look more vulnerable, but it gets me a much better reaction, and I haven’t failed to come away with apologies and promises to take more care. This from the kinds of London and countryside drivers who with the first two techniques have wanted to fight me.

Might be worth a try next time (and there will be a next time!)

Dave

That was a good post boblo, sorry to hear about your altercation! I seem to be hearing more and more about this sort of thing, hopefully it’s only because there is a rise in the number of cyclists on the road rather a change for the worse in driving culture

Thankfully my wife refereed

😯 What rules did she use? Marquess of Queensberry or cage fighting?

Bend the wing mirror back passenger side, and open a rear door, usually helps the situation reach nuclear level.

or just get out a notepad and ask SIR, are you the registered owner of this vehicle.

Take up more space next time, cycle 2 abreast. Go out in a much bigger group – cycle 3 abreast.

Really give them something to moan about. Maybe fashion something like this and attach it to the back of your bike.

If anybody insulted my wife infront of me there would be only one outcome. Just saying

If somebody insulted my wife in front of me I’d probably buy them a pint 😉