When drivers complain about the ways bikes annoy them, “blocking traffic” comes up pretty high on the list. After all, bikes can’t travel as fast as cars, and sometimes cars have to slow down and wait to pass. But in parking lots or on congested streets, I find the road boulders are the vehicles with four wheels, not two.
About the Bike Commute Diaries: Launched in May 2012 for National Bike Month, this series explores the unexpected and surprising things I’ve learned about bicycling for transportation.
Andrew
January 16, 2013 at 4:54 pm
Yeah, please be careful when riding around slow/parked cars. Better to take up the road than to risk getting “door’d” (see open car door in your photo). You know, as an occasional car driver, I do get irritated when bicyclists “swarm” around me in a seemingly unpredictable fashion. However, as a cyclist, sitting at a stop light in a line of cars (and not splitting traffic to get to the intersection) is pretty bad — sitting in exhaust is the worst!
ladyfleur
January 16, 2013 at 5:30 pm
I stay 5 feet from car doors even if means taking the lane and annoying a driver behind me. Some of them get annoyed even if there’s a car right in front of me and I’m keeping up with the speed of traffic. Maybe they’re just impatient with everyone.
jillycube
January 17, 2013 at 10:25 am
I don’t understand the comment that some driver only people make when they don’t like bikes. I have found myself more agitated with other drivers when I’m DRIVING than with bikes since there are still so few. :/ I’ve heard the whole running stops thing against cyclists too but it doesn’t compare to a whole list of things I’ve seen drivers do when I’m in the car.