I was out riding with my family this weekend, on a road riding towards the EBBP. At one point, we needed to pull out into the lane because cars were parked in the break down lane. I ride tail when the family is on the road and dutifully took the lane, to ensure motorists passed my kids with a reasonable amount of space. I got “that feeling”. As we pulled back in. were were yelled at, by some kind motorist in a pickup truck, to ride on the sidewalk or the bike path. We probably slowed him down for a total of 10 – 15 seconds, but his reaction to our inconveniencing him was enough to have my son ask whether or not we had done something wrong.
So, to all you motorists out there who are annoyed by cyclists on the road, I’d encourage you to come to one of our meetings. We are more than happy to talk about how we can better share the limited road resources, but yelling at people out your window as you pass by is not the way to go about having this discussion. We are also more than welcome to share with you the laws governing cyclist’s rights to ride on the roads and have a discussion of what rules cyclists need to be following. Whenever possible, RIBike is trying to do our part to educate cyclists about the rules, I’d like to ask whether motoring advocates are doing the same when it comes to their interaction with cyclists and pedestrians.
It’s one thing for me to blow off the overreaction of a slightly inconvenienced motorist, but something entirely different when it affects a child who is just learning his responsibilities when sharing a roadway. Before you decide to shout at other road users, please do your homework and make sure you have your facts right and actually understand the laws governing the operation of your vehicle!