Yesterday was the first day in a very long time I was actually able to open my windows and enjoy some fresh air. My typical day involves complete silence, so I may concentrate on work or class projects. Living in a rural area, we don’t hear yelling outside our house much. When yelling erupted, I jumped up and headed for the window.
I’m not exactly sure what happened prior to the yelling, but from what I gathered – the substitute mailman didn’t give two bike riders the space they thought they were entitled to. The mailman was obviously shook up a bit, but then who wouldn’t be with dudes on either side of the car yelling in at you? I could hear the mailman saying he was more than 5 feet away from them. I assume that was when he passed them to proceed to our mailbox.
I had my phone in hand and ready to call the police if the yelling turned physical. Once the biker dudes said what they had to say, the picked up their bikes and took on down the road. I watched for a while as they rode off into the distance – what I saw was them riding side-by-side, taking up a full lane, while forcing drivers to pass them on a stretch of curvy road.
My Thoughts:
If anyone is going to be on the road, especially a road that is highly traveled, and they are not in a “normal” mode of transportation that might slow or halt traffic, it is THEIR place to accommodate other drivers – NOT other drivers accommodating them. The chumps on the bikes should have been riding one in front of the other to offer optimal space for drivers to get by them. To ride side-by-side, when there were only two of them was just plain rude.
Whether it’s a bike, Moped, tractor, mower, golf cart or walking a dog – these people make the choice to bring slow moving vehicles on the road. Their choice should not become the inconvenience of regular drivers. Of course drivers should be considerate and cautious, but that’s the extent of their responsibility.
Is that too critical or too much to ask?
