On Wed, Jul 15, 2009 at 2:49 PM, Steve Palincsar<palin...@his.com> wrote: > There are some mighty paranoid women out there. In the course of > commuting to work over the span of 29 years, on three or four occasions > I've been stuck behind women on a very narrow section of bike trail > along a stream that goes under the highway and railroad bridges, then > comes up onto the Mount Vernon bike trail. There are several sections > where I won't attempt to pass because the narrowness of the trail and > the lack of visibility make it extremely dangerous. They've screamed at > me, as this woman did at you; they've demanded that I pass; one acted > with a level of rage and hostility that might have been appropriate if > directed towards a would-be rapist. > > There's no knowing what's up with people like that. Perhaps it is fear, > as has been suggested. Maybe they've been assaulted on the bike trail. > It doesn't do for you to take it personally.
I know a couple of women who get annoyed at cyclists behind them, but it's entirely the competitive point - they've both been road racers and hate it when men feel like they have to prove their prowess by passing every woman on the road. Not that this is at all what Steve was doing, just their take on having a male cyclist on their wheel. Of course, they don't lose their temper about it, they just sigh and put the hammer down and pass them back. I agree that there's probably a big safety component to it too, and feeling vulnerable. If this is someone who mostly drives and is used to their cycling in small doses, she might have felt pretty exposed to danger being on a bike (i've heard this from both men and women novice cyclists). Not much to do about it other than smile and wave, try to be friendly. -- Bill Connell St. Paul, MN --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
