road sharing Traffic

Posted by: Andrew

It’s like cats and dogs. They can get along just fine, and many of us have both, but when they meet “out there,” there’s often trouble.

Just the other morning while I was journaling outside I heard a honk, and looked up. On the bridge in front of me I could see an early morning cyclist who was now stopped in the middle, and he was trying to communicate something to the driver behind him who had honked. Although I am not French, I thought his communication was quite clear. He was using some universal signs and gestures, and from where I was his muffled yells might as well have been English. I also noticed he was using another effective tactic–stopping in the middle of the lane to force impatient drivers to wait. He stood there staring down the driver for about 35 seconds, while a line of cars stopped behind him on the bridge. Then, when he had had enough, he got back on and kept biking.

I was curious to see how the driver would respond. A little nervous too, knowing how impatient drivers can do foolish things. The driver followed the biker for a bit, then gunned around him when there was an opening and sped off.

Kallie and I have had a few of our own encounters. In Geneva we were following our host back to his place and trying to maneuver some tricky turns. At a left turn onto a bike lane, we pulled into an opening in oncoming traffic only to have a car appear. We stopped in the center, and the car slowed too, to let us turn. I did so, but the driver gave us the finger and revved off after we had passed. “Pissing off cars already, I see,” said our host, an avid biker, “that’s good!” He said it with a wink to ease the tension, but I also felt like I’d been initiated into a club or something. Another time we heard the car honk at our teammates behind us, and when it sped past us the driver honked again. I gave him a thumbs up, but I admit it was not genuine. It carried more of a, “that-a-way buddy, good job, you are really going very fast!” note to it. He saw my thumb and raised it to a middle finger, out the window, driving away. I just shook my head and Kallie and I talked about the unnecessary negative energy.

Cars and bikes tend to have difficulty sharing the road. Drivers don’t like to be slowed down, or feel the anxiety of extra vigilance as they pass a biker who is endangered by their vehicle. Cyclists don’t like it when cars zoom by too fast or too close (notice the relative terms) and don’t like the stress and anxiety of hearing approaching vehicles without knowing how they will pass. Unfortunately most of the responses I’ve observed only serve to heighten the negative energy.

And it does seem to be about energy flow. You can feel the anger, hatred, annoyance, and frustration–the projected negative energy–and it swirls inside you and can live in you for awhile if you let it. Conversely, if you receive a smile, a genuine thumbs up, or a good natured “bon courage!”, you can actually feel the strength of the encouragement translated into energy for hill climbing. I for one would like more of that kind of energy. I guess to get it you have to give it. My friend Melody would put it this way: “We need to put more love into the grid.” That’s about it.

So consider this post both observation and appeal.

I would like to see more drivers encouraging and respecting cyclists. I would also like to see more cyclists encouraging and respecting drivers. I would like to receive and give more positive energy.

A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word (or gesture) stirs up anger. -Proverbs 15.1