Crunch-crinkle-skid, I cross the gravel parking lot of my office.
Zoooom, I traverse the adjacent strip-mall parking lot, merging onto King's Highway, the busy-street part of my daily commute.
Woosh, woosh, woosh, the cars kindly pass me in the left lane.
Up ahead, a man of about 25 is riding a smallish, red mountain bike on the shoulder of the road. I, cruising at my top speed in the traffic lane, will easily overtake him in 3. 2. 1. . . .
"On your leeeft!" I call out, in my most cheerful voice, intended to alert him to my approach and avoid accidental intimacy. I'm glad to have remembered to be safe and courteous. I merge onto the bike path quite a distance ahead of him and begin my ritual enjoyment of its proximity to the lake. "Crooooak," a friendly frog greets me.
Whrrr-whrrr-whrrr. I look behind. It's red-bike man, straining to catch up! Zzzzzz, he buzzes past me, with inches to spare.
"On your LEFT, you BITCH!"
Huh? Um—huh???
"That was a polite gesture, you know, not an insult!"
"FUCK YOU!" and he flips me the bird. I doubt the redundancy occurred to him.
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5 comments:
Ugh. That sucks. So lame!
I've had experiences like this, while either walking or biking, and hitchhikers I know have had some negative experiences hitching (not with drivers who picked them up, so much as drivers who didn't, but flipped them off instead, etc.). I'm not sure what is wrong with people. But don't give up! Just think about the many days you've had of biking where nothing at all has gone wrong!
Yeah. There must be something going on there if he felt the need to attack a person who was treating him with courtesy. Or he just hates women and couldn't stand to be "beaten" by one in the "race" that we were apparently having. Or something.
What did Jesus say about praying for enemies? He didn't mean that guy, did he?
Oh. Sigh. Okay. Enough whining then, Amy.
Dear Jesus . . .
Sorry to hear that.
That does suck.
Mean people suck!
Congrats on all your cool bike riding......how are things going otherwise? Enjoying the pleasant commute???
I thought so too. Do they make bumper stickers for bikes?
It's been fun. On days when I couldn't ride to work, I used to think "Yay, I get to drive today," and now I think "Aw man, I have to drive today."
So I think that's good. Haven't broken anything or died yet.
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