(no subject)
I just got back from what was, for the most part, a beautiful bike ride. I've been laid up for a few weeks now with a few minor injuries, and was really looking forward to getting out to take in some of the lovely colors.
Unfortunately, my ride turned sour towards the end. I was riding down a long stretch of a 4 lane rode (2 huge lanes in each direction), when this huge truck pulls up next to me. The passenger rolls down his window and screams "YOU SUCK" at me with such force and violence in his voice that I felt he might as well been screaming "I HATE YOU" at me. While the words themselves were easy to laugh at, I was instantly shaken. I didn't do anything to these guys. They hadn't even been stuck behind me; they were just cruising in the other lane and felt the need to dredge up that much emotional energy to express their feelings towards me as a cyclist. They got slowed up further down the road, and so I had the chance to pass them and blow kisses and wave, which is what I usually do when people yell at me. Again, the dude screams out the window at me "you STILL suck. you SUCK you SUCK you SUCK!"
What the fuck. I really felt they would have happily run me over, given the chance. I rode away from that feeling shaken. It's odd, because I get yelled at a lot...every bike rider does, but it's usually no more than a half-hearted and annoyed, "get out of the road!" or, "get on the sidewalk!" Those are easy to ignore, but the seething hatred in this dude's voice was frightening.
The violence didn't stop there. Less than 5 minutes later, I was riding down a quiet street near my neighborhood when I looked to the right to see a bunch of landscapers working in a yard. Right as I looked, one of the workers threw a shovel at one of the others, hitting the guy in the leg. The guy who had been hit proceeded to jump and attack the guy, and a fist fight commenced.
I guess I just don't deal with violence so well, because these two scenes combined left me choking back tears for the rest of my ride. There is a disturbing amount of violence in this city, so much of it which I have been witness to in the 5 years that I have lived here.
Unfortunately, my ride turned sour towards the end. I was riding down a long stretch of a 4 lane rode (2 huge lanes in each direction), when this huge truck pulls up next to me. The passenger rolls down his window and screams "YOU SUCK" at me with such force and violence in his voice that I felt he might as well been screaming "I HATE YOU" at me. While the words themselves were easy to laugh at, I was instantly shaken. I didn't do anything to these guys. They hadn't even been stuck behind me; they were just cruising in the other lane and felt the need to dredge up that much emotional energy to express their feelings towards me as a cyclist. They got slowed up further down the road, and so I had the chance to pass them and blow kisses and wave, which is what I usually do when people yell at me. Again, the dude screams out the window at me "you STILL suck. you SUCK you SUCK you SUCK!"
What the fuck. I really felt they would have happily run me over, given the chance. I rode away from that feeling shaken. It's odd, because I get yelled at a lot...every bike rider does, but it's usually no more than a half-hearted and annoyed, "get out of the road!" or, "get on the sidewalk!" Those are easy to ignore, but the seething hatred in this dude's voice was frightening.
The violence didn't stop there. Less than 5 minutes later, I was riding down a quiet street near my neighborhood when I looked to the right to see a bunch of landscapers working in a yard. Right as I looked, one of the workers threw a shovel at one of the others, hitting the guy in the leg. The guy who had been hit proceeded to jump and attack the guy, and a fist fight commenced.
I guess I just don't deal with violence so well, because these two scenes combined left me choking back tears for the rest of my ride. There is a disturbing amount of violence in this city, so much of it which I have been witness to in the 5 years that I have lived here.