[Closed] why is my commute making me angry?

Dress in pink bib tights and blow kisses..
Smile.... It confuses people

Just let them got on with it and enjoy your ride. Most importantly, preserve yourself by remaining calm, and smile. They're only angry because they're jealous of you 🙂

Zone out, don't engage with the idiots.
smile at the nice people.

the monkey in the car - he will always be right in his own small mind. Pointing out his error is a waste of time.

I don't know whether the frequency of aggro is actually going up or if I've just become more sensitive to it and started noticing it more

Guess it just underlines your vulnerability and how so many people don't [i]seem[/i] to give a shit about your safety.

don't argue with idiots.

Report them to the police if they are a problem.

Dress in pink bib tights

who says I don't already 😉

Just let them got on with it and enjoy your ride. Most importantly, preserve yourself by remaining calm

This is the state I want to get back to, been there for the last 15-20 years...

the monkey in the car - he will always be right in his own small mind. Pointing out his error is a waste of time.

I know, I normally wouldn't have said anything, but today it got to me 🙁

dare I say it, but don't read all the crappy threads on't internet about road rage etc

I saw a bell-end in a white van move to block in a female cyclist as she was flitering through traffic and then swear at her
really annoyed I didnt take not of the company and reg and complain to them.

Is it just january blues for all?

mostly I blame clarkson

dare I say it, but don't read all the crappy threads on't internet about road rage etc

As others said ignore the shouty angry types, I blow them kisses, it's only when they actually endanger me that I get a bit nowty.

*there's a depressing number of members who die on the roads.

Zone out, don't engage with the idiots.
smile at the nice people.

This.

I have the odd angry little burst, but it doesn't last long (unless something particularly dangerous has been inflicted upon me) - just think, the alternative is to be in a shitty car with all the other shitty car drivers.

I listen to music when commuting, which definitely helps take my mind off the idiots.

Are you more stressed at work than before? I find that makes a difference as I've found myself stressing about stuff I need to do on the way in, and then struggling to switch off on the ride home. I changed to a less stressful job and now all is better.

Also definitely agree with smiling at the idiots to confuse them 🙂

To be fair most of the obituaries on CTC are for people who have passed away in their 80s after joining the Essex Section in 1934....

DONK - I reckon a cycling organisation is going to have it's fair share of people that die on the roads, just like a climbing organisation will have a fair few who die in the mountains. I don't think it's necessarily a reflection of how safe or unsafe something is, it's just a clustering of the stats (if you see what I mean).

OP - find a new route, that's what I did and it really helped. Still get some idiots, but it's been vastly reduced. Either thsat or get a big effing gun and go wild 😈

it's just a clustering of the stats

To be fair most of the obituaries on CTC are for people who have passed away in their 80s after joining the Essex Section in 1934....

Sorry, getting a bit OT

Don't let them pass their anger and frustration on to you. Smile, wave, enjoy the ride 🙂

amedias - Member

I've been commuting by bike pretty much forever, I do drive but rarely use the car as I find it frustrating and unnecessary, normally I enjoy my ride to work in the morning, it's short (<3 miles) and the roads aren't particularly bad, I often take the long route (10 - 20 miles) home just because I enjoy it but recently the ride *in* to work has been stressing me out, I've not altered my route, I've not altered my riding but I seem to be getting a lot more aggro from drivers over the last few weeks and it's really beginning to get on my nerves.

There has always been a large number of idiot drivers on the road - it's just these days there are an equal number of idiot cyclist on the road.

You were probably riding like most of us way before cycling became a lot more popular (Olympics, recession etc).

It's good that lots of people are riding, but conflict will massively increase due to genetic morons that either drive or cycle.

All my life I've seen some pretty shocking driving on the way to work and these days it's matched with equally shocking dicks on bikes.

The dickheads in the car who shout/beep/pass too close - stressed because they are fat with high blood pressure because they don't ride a bike to work! Laugh at them.

Hope you find your zen like state back.

I've changed my usual routes a bit, going for quieter areas and making the effort to leave early. Seems to help.
Planning routes on google and hitting the walk button also reveals the odd joined up bit you may have missed before.

Thanks guys, really think a change of route might be in order, even if just for a few weeks, just don't want to feel like I've been bullied off my normal route if that makes sense?

Going to take the long route home tonight, stop off at the seafront, smell the ocean and look out across the waves and try and try to regain my former calm 😀

Zone out, don't engage with the idiots.
smile at the nice people.

the monkey in the car - he will always be right in his own small mind. Pointing out his error is a waste of time.

Ride a penny farthing to work. Better than blowing kisses and dressing like a total fanny. Guaranteed to raise a smile as well.
2 miles eh! - easy peasy as well.
Think about the kudos at work when you rock up on one, folk will never look at you the same again. "Ordinary", not me mate!

jameso - Member

This again. And wear civvies. I ride the same section of roads through town in my roadie kit as well as sometimes in jeans or trackie bottoms, a down jacket and trainers with a beanie hat on. I notice less dumb passes and more general space as a bloke on bike rather than a 'cyclist'. Dress chav, people are scared of chavs )

I think you have a good point there, if I ride the same route on my road or CX bike in cycling gear I get way more agro than on my city type bike in more conventional gear.
I think its probably the idiots that find it frustrating your getting through the traffic quicker as a "cyclist", but if you look like joe public your just on a bike?

Is it because you keep reading STW where apparently getting really angry all the time is the best way to deal with things as a cyclist? 😉

I can remember a point about 5 years ago when I actually managed to flip my switch on this.

I was out riding in Surrey with a friend I'd not ridden with before. We were riding 2-abreast on an otherwise very quiet road, and a driver coming the other way (who had masses of room) honked and screamed at us to get into single file.

My friend was unflustered. As we rode on, he simply said [i]"we shall not allow these people to pollute our minds with anger"[/i].

I have been successfully repeating that to myself over the years since. It works well.

...... then when I circled back and pointed out it was a cyclepath and specifically designed to take you past this particular set of lights ......

that's your problem there, you need to let it go

@grum and llama, normally I would, and maybe I'm in the minority but I'm actually disappointed with myself for getting angry, I don't find it to be a constructive use of my time and normally very much like BigDummy's mate, but lately I find it's been creeping in and I want to put a stop to it.

I would try the riding in civvies but it's uncomfortable/impractical for the longer rides on the way home and I prefer the safety blanket of my reflective gear, even if it does nothing for the angry ones, it makes me more visible to the inattentive ones (I hope) and I want to make sure I'm doing as much as possible to be seen.

we shall not allow these people to pollute our minds with anger

Nice mantra 🙂

Good advice BigDummy. I do sometimes want to hurt the fools though, but it's not the answer.
Anyway, I'm off the bike with commute related broken arm at the mo- 100% rider error too.

Try some mindfulness/meditation.

BigDummy - Member
"we shall not allow these people to pollute our minds with anger"

Yeah I like that, nice and succint.

I would try the riding in civvies but it's uncomfortable/impractical for the longer rides on the way home and I prefer the safety blanket of my reflective gear,

yes defo find that chill pill, maybe take a slightly different route into work, a bit of variety might help take your mind off the plebs. they've always been there and always will be.

we shall not allow these [s]people[/s] posts to pollute our minds with anger

I just think there's something about the pro-roadie look that riles some

Drivers hate cyclists. They believe you shouldn't be on the road and if you get hurt it's your own fault because you shouldn't have been there in the first place. Unfortionately, I think that's the view of most drivers at the moment.

I've been finding commuting irritating lately due to what seems like an increase in the number of cyclist-hating bell-ends on the roads.

My own theory on it is that the number of cyclists in Leeds has increased, there are more cycle paths/lanes than there used to be, and drivers resent cyclists sailing past them when they are stuck in traffic. Whilst my cycle commute can be stressful, it's still nowhere near as stressful as sitting in a traffic jam, dealing with taxis cutting you up/pushing in, and an ever-burgeoning number of temporary traffic lights, so I just try and pity the drivers, thinking they are probably more miserable than I am.

I've been finding commuting irritating lately due to what seems like an increase in the number of cyclist-hating bell-ends on the roads.

My own theory on it is that the number of cyclists in Leeds has increased, there are more cycle paths/lanes than there used to be, and drivers resent cyclists sailing past them when they are stuck in traffic. Whilst my cycle commute can be stressful, it's still nowhere near as stressful as sitting in a traffic jam, dealing with taxis cutting you up/pushing in, and an ever-burgeoning number of temporary traffic lights, so I just try and pity the drivers, thinking they are probably more miserable than I am.

I've actually stopped commuting on my bike in Leeds because of the increased aggro / near misses / general feeling of vulnerability on the roads. Even walking into work now I feel very vulnerable as a pedestrian and it is not uncommon to see cars flying through red lights at crossings, dangerous overtaking in 30mph residential zones etc.

There seems to be a general angry / aggressive feeling in the UK at the moment. It's a shame people have to direct their anger and frustration at their fellow man instead of at the politicians who have screwed us backwards.

True. Less lycra, more 3/4 shorts or general outdoor trousers over lycra shorts, 'normal' colours, reflectives on bike and lid, bag? Daft as it is, I just think there's something about the pro-roadie look that riles some. Makes you less 'normal' in their eyes and bad driving is all about stressed reactions, snap decisions and not processing thought.

Ah, I'm already pretty much there then on the way in, 3/4 length outdoor shorts and dayglo jacket, no bag, use a rack on the commuter, I only swap to proper gear and stow the baggies for the longer ride home.

Get a child trailor instead of panniers or a back pack.

Maybe add a blonde pony tail.

remember your baggies, peaked helmet and camelbak and you're safe

Drivers hate cyclists. They believe you shouldn't be on the road and if you get hurt it's your own fault because you shouldn't have been there in the first place. Unfortionately, I think that's the view of most drivers at the moment.

Nah, don't agree, Some Drivers just have a strong dislike of cyclists, perhaps cyclists personify some perceived societal ill or another that bothers them.

But it is a minority of motorists, the vast majority of car drivers (who, like cyclists are also people) don't actually behave like dicks, I generally don't get abused by strangers most times I go out on a bike in public, conflict is the exception not the rule IME which is why it sticks in the mind when it does occur...

That said I did re-route my commute last summer due to feeling a bit [I]bullied[/I] like the OP describes, and felt bad for it at the time, like I'd voluntarily given up my right of way just because of a fear of shouty, angry, close passing goons, I've re-adopted the old route lately (due to flooding mostly) and TBH something has clicked and I'm not feeling anything like as harassed any longer... makes me wonder how much of it was in my mind.

January is generally a [I]"bad mood month"[/I] and we've just gone past "Blue Monday". Moods are generally low at the minute, and people act/respond accordingly, but it can only get better as the days get lighter and longer now, and February will mean people don't have to wait so long between paydays...

"Them and us" type threads (like the one I started yesterday 😳 ) don't really help, youtube footage of shouty fools and incidents, Various clarkson (and clarkson-esq) TV, paper and web articles all help build the perception of there being some sort of major conflict between motorists and cyclists, but I honestly beleive its a disproportionate picture that only serves to make things worse as we all take to the road with these ways of thinking now lodged in our minds.

"we shall not allow these people to pollute our minds with anger"

I like that statement/mantra a lot, and I shall adopt it.

Definitely choose a route that avoids as much conflict as possible. Half of my commute is offroad and I love that part. The road part is as good as I can make it, I know where the conflict points are and generally address these by being fairly dominant. As soon as I'm past the danger areas I allow control back to the drivers. It seems to work really well, never had complaints or abuse using this method, I'm hoping because most people can see why I behave that way and that I do get out of the way as soon as it's safe.

As for when abuse happens, nowadays I feel pity for them. It's always in a bizarre place like the OP states, riding along, not slowing anyone down but they feel the need to vent. They're in a car so they're having a far worse commute than me no matter what the weather is like.

"we shall not allow these people to pollute our minds with anger"

I like that statement/mantra a lot, and I shall adopt it.