Is cycling in New York any different from Toronto? The stories I hear give the impression things are a notch rougher there.
The hardest part is when you’re new to bike commuting, before you realize how much you should assert yourself on the road. Sometimes you really need to stay away from the curb to stake your claim, and other times it's better to stay to the right. On No Impact Man, a New York cyclist tackles the dilemma of being “polite and charming” while being assertive enough to stay safe in traffic. He has good reason to be nervous after getting hit earlier this year.
On the other hand, I seem to have subconsciously decided, since getting hit from behind by a car, that getting mad and shouting is, at times, appropriate. It has the effect of keeping me, and other people, safe.
Then there’s the other type of “assertive”: you know the feeling you get after someone gets too close to you; the feeling that makes you feel obliged to talk to the driver. Even if there’s nearly no chance of you teaching that driver a lesson, even if the driver may develop more of a hate-on for people on two wheels, somehow leaving your complaint unspoken seems like a disservice to cyclists everywhere and, therefore, unethical. Before you know it, you find yourself explaining the highway traffic act to some stranger.
I’ve actually avoided these experiences for a while, until yesterday morning when I pedaled hard for about 1 km to catch up to a guy in a van who buzzed me, while honking at me. He wasn’t a very good listener, but at least I interrupted his phone conversation. Maybe it’s the heat, but I see other cyclists have met with bad drivers this week too. Sometimes though, things work out oh so perfectly:
I was outside unlocking my bike when I saw the truck pulling up to the back of the building. “We meet again!”
Check out the full story on Dodgeville.
More information on cycling assertiveness can be found at Bicycle Safe and, even better, the Can Bike courses.
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