Snappy the Clam

Forgot to mention that the day before yesterday, as I had just settled into cruising speed on the Brompton about 100 yards from my building, a guy pretty much stopped in traffic and screamed at me "Get OFF the fucking ROAD!" This is on North Ave, a pretty wide street with 2 lanes in either direction. What's more, his stopping almost caused an accident as other cars had to slow down while he delivered this urgent message.

I still don't get this type of behavior. My wife attributes it to insecurity: that people don't know how to deal with a cyclist on the road, find them unpredictable, and thus they get anxious. Some people react more strongly to this anxiety. I don't know. The intensity of it is really quite frightening - his anger seemed way out of proportion. I mean, I am taking one lane, but I hang to the right, keeping out enough to avoid being doored, and I am passable. In any case, his screaming (he was red in the face) was unnecessary. However, I have smartened up enough to not respond to this type of abuse. Last thing I need is some nut deciding to come at me in a car.