Great. My wife to be intentionally ticks people off while driving.

[MechAg94]

The second was last week.  I make a right on red into a two lane divided highway and take the far lane.  Only one lane turns into this road so I can pick where I go and I'm making a "Michigan Left" where you do the right-turn, left-turn dance across a divided highway.  When I merge into the turn lane somebody honks at me. The guy behind me also made a right on red, or perhaps the light went green when I pulled through, and he made a beeline for that left turn lane and managed to get there right about the same time I did.  I had cut him off.  Entirely my fault, but it's not common for somebody to drive that aggressively.  Unless it went green the instant I hit the accelerator he broke some kind of traffic law to get into that position.  I got the frick out of his way and locked the door when I saw we'd be sitting a red light together.

That is not your fault.  If someone is going to driver that aggressively, it is up to them to plan for other drivers to not see them and allow for it.  It sucks for that other guy sometimes, but it happens.  You can't drive aggressively and just assume that everyone else will continue at the same speed and in the same lane.  Often they don't make any changes, but sometimes they do.

[BrokenPaw]

GigaBuist:

Your girlfrend's attitude reminds me of a saying I heard once:  "The person who is rude to the waitress is not a nice person, no matter how nice he or she is to you."  A nice person is polite to everyone, regardless of social status.

It sounds to me like she has a pretty deep mean streak, but that she's aware that it's socially unacceptable to take it out on people she knows, so she takes it out on people on the road because they're faceless and therefore don't "matter".

A mean streak like that will eventually be more than a "streak".

Serious question:  Does she drink?  And (the real question) if she does, what's she like when she's had a few?  You can tell a lot about a person by how they behave when they're drunk.

-BP

[Balog]

Serious question:  Does she drink?  And (the real question) if she does, what's she like when she's had a few?  You can tell a lot about a person by how they behave when they're drunk.

-BP

What does it mean if I get sleepy?

[BrokenPaw]

Serious question:  Does she drink?  And (the real question) if she does, what's she like when she's had a few?  You can tell a lot about a person by how they behave when they're drunk.

-BP

What does it mean if I get sleepy?

Probably it means that you're old and need a nap.  Happens to me all the time.  With or without alcohol. 

If your personality does not change significantly, then that (as a rule of thumb, based upon my experience) means that you do not wear a mask (or not much of one, anyway) in order to hide your true self when you interact with people. 

-BP

[MillCreek]

Your girlfrend's attitude reminds me of a saying I heard once:  "The person who is rude to the waitress is not a nice person, no matter how nice he or she is to you."  A nice person is polite to everyone, regardless of social status.

More wisdom that I agree with.  Back when I was on the dating market, this was one of the ways that I assessed people.  If they were rude to service employees or others without a reasonable basis for doing so, I removed them from consideration.  My life experience has taught me that such people and I would not be compatible.

And PS: I should point out that when I am out road riding on my bicycles, I never intentionally block or hold up traffic.  If I have to for safety reasons, I try to resolve the issue as quickly as possible to minimize any traffic holdups.

[GigaBuist]

Your girlfrend's attitude reminds me of a saying I heard once:  "The person who is rude to the waitress is not a nice person, no matter how nice he or she is to you."  A nice person is polite to everyone, regardless of social status.

She's great with wait staff.

Serious question:  Does she drink?  And (the real question) if she does, what's she like when she's had a few?  You can tell a lot about a person by how they behave when they're drunk.

She talks a lot and never gets to the point. So, no real change from when she's not drinking.

[atomd]

She talks a lot and never gets to the point.

I just heard a million tiny voices in the distance yell out "sounds like my wife"

[Scout26]

She talks a lot and never gets to the point.

I just heard a million tiny voices in the distance yell out "sounds like my wife"

I often tell Mrs Scout that stories have a beginning, middle and end....and that it's important the keep them in the correct order.....

[Gewehr98]

I just heard a million tiny voices saying that she's GB's future ex-wife. 

[Balog]

And PS: I should point out that when I am out road riding on my bicycles, I never intentionally block or hold up traffic.  If I have to for safety reasons, I try to resolve the issue as quickly as possible to minimize any traffic holdups.

I wish bicyclists would realize that some roads are simply not suitable for them to ride on. Steep one lane each way roads with no shoulder are not good places to be. When I drove a commercial truck it drove me nuts being stuck behind a bike doing 10 mph (if that) up a hill on a road too narrow to pass. 

[BrokenPaw]

Your girlfrend's attitude reminds me of a saying I heard once:  "The person who is rude to the waitress is not a nice person, no matter how nice he or she is to you."  A nice person is polite to everyone, regardless of social status.

She's great with wait staff.

The waitress  is just the symbolic socially-unimportant person that the aphorism uses to make the point.  The underlying idea is "people who are nasty to others who have not earned it, have an unresolved and possibly undisclosed issue".

Before you marry her, I would explore in some depth why it is that she seems to enjoy pissing off people on the road so much.  Something about her personality isn't adding up.

Maybe you're dating fistful, and you just don't know it.

-BP

[Archie]

May I add my voice to those who suggest extreme caution in this relationship?

Stop and think about it:  Do you really want to spend the rest of your life with someone who demeans and ignores other people?  She isn't going to treat you much better in the long run, and when it's over, she will do her best to take everything.

"Trust me on this one", he said as he underwent his third divorce...

[MillCreek]

I wish bicyclists would realize that some roads are simply not suitable for them to ride on. Steep one lane each way roads with no shoulder are not good places to be. When I drove a commercial truck it drove me nuts being stuck behind a bike doing 10 mph (if that) up a hill on a road too narrow to pass.  angry

Those roads scare me too.  If I am unfortunate enough to be one and I am holding up traffic, I will pull over as far as I can, dismount, and wait for the traffic to go by.  Otherwise, if it is steep, the only way to ride up is to ride in a switchback pattern, and that will block traffic.

[Balog]

I wish bicyclists would realize that some roads are simply not suitable for them to ride on. Steep one lane each way roads with no shoulder are not good places to be. When I drove a commercial truck it drove me nuts being stuck behind a bike doing 10 mph (if that) up a hill on a road too narrow to pass.  angry

Those roads scare me too.  If I am unfortunate enough to be one and I am holding up traffic, I will pull over as far as I can, dismount, and wait for the traffic to go by.  Otherwise, if it is steep, the only way to ride up is to ride in a switchback pattern, and that will block traffic.

You're from here so you may know the road I'm thinking of. Going to Juanita up Finn Hill from Kirkland. To me, a bike on a road like that is a hazard no different than someone trying to run across an interstate.

[Perd Hapley]

Or she'll be buying me a new car after she rear-ends me........

She doesn't tailgate.  She knows that's actually illegal and unsafe. She just rides right off your bumper, or whatever distance suits her, one lane over, thus creating a rolling roadblock.

And LIKES it.  That's what bugs me.

Previous comment withdrawn.  I don't drive that way. 


Gewehr, about the "Double points for annoying a biker," where's your sense of humor, man? 

[The Annoyed Man]

fistful, you have to understand something: the "things that annoy a biker" are things that the police quite often call "attempted vehicular homicide".

 You have NO idea how many times I've had some schmuck in a cage try running me off the road, because they couldn't be bothered to LOOK before moving over...

[Gewehr98]

I have no sense of humor when it comes to people intentionally mucking about with somebody on two wheels, regardless of what brand is on the bike's fuel tank.  They're already at a disadvantage compared to the cagers, and yet you want to screw with them on purpose?   

[BrokenPaw]

I have no sense of humor when it comes to people intentionally mucking about with somebody on two wheels, regardless of what brand is on the bike's fuel tank.  They're already at a disadvantage compared to the cagers, and yet you want to screw with them on purpose?   

I'm guessing that fistful meant that the comment was meant to be humorous and not taken seriously.  Not that he actually goes out on the road and bothers bikers.  His talents lie elsewhere; to wit: he has successfully annoyed at least two bikers right here in this thread, without putting anyone in danger at all.

Recall that this is fistful we're talking about here; he's only malicious to other people's intellects. 

-BP

[The Annoyed Man]

Calm down, bro... remember it's Fistful. And it's also "Be Kind to the Mentally Challenged" month...


 Too often, people think a vehicle is nothing more than a toy. When the only vehicles involved are cars, no biggie. When you add bikes to the mix...

 Two occurances spring to mind. One was in my first month of riding: came up on a Metro that was doing 40 in a 55, so I passed. Guy got pissed, and proceeded to come up to roughly 6 inches off my back tire. And was laughing about it.

 Second thing was two weeks ago: I popped my rear tire doing 75 on the freeway. I bring it up because, had that happened in the first instance, I would have had a car going over the top of me at roughly 65. Do the math on how likely I would've been to survive that...

 So yeah: we tend to loose our sense of humor when people talk about "screwing with bikers" on the road...

[MechAg94]

Two incidents come to mind:

1.  I was driving 75 down a two lane farm road in my pickup.  A biker was ahead pulled over.  I noticed he started rolling forward, but was only doing 5 MPH or so.  About when I was 50 yards back, he guns it and pulls out in front of me.  "He guns it" is a bit strong as he only got up to about 60 MPH (eventually) and I had to slam on the breaks to keep from hitting him.  When I passed him, he put his hands up like "what was that about?".  I figured he was too stupid to try to explain it. 

2.  Same road, different day.  4 or 5 bikes were riding together.  They were going basically at the speed limit and had me and a few cars piled up behind them.  They were riding spread out such that it took a long time to pass them and the road was busy enough that long passing opportunities weren't coming.  I finally just got up and cut in between them a couple times before finally passing the last one.  I don't think they liked it, but they weren't giving anyone any other choices. 

A-holes come on two wheels and four.  The 4 wheel types can just be oblivious to those around them.  It is the 2 wheelers that I just don't understand.  Why drive stupid on a motorcycle? 

[Boomhauer]

Hey, Strings, I want to know what happens when a biker has a blowout. Do you end up sliding across the ground, or are you still in control?

I give motorcyclists plenty of room and respect. Motorcyclists and commercial truck drivers seem to be the most concentious drivers on the road...well, except for some "bikers" who seem to like showing off and creating a danger to others...ya'll know whom I am speaking about.

[MechAg94]

I agree with that.  I make every effort not to tail bikes too closely and give them room.  Most of them are fine on the road.  It is just occasionally, I come across one or a few that seem to be trying to upset other drivers. 

Most of the big groups of bikers out here are part of some event.  You don't see many groups of more than 4 or 5 bikes at a time. 

[The Annoyed Man]

What happens when the back tire blows at 75? The ass end comes up roughly 50* to the direction of travel, and you suddenly feel VERY mortal.

 I managed to keep some control. Honestly, I think I was getting help from above: by rights, when the back end came around like it did, I should've dumped and been sliding face-first down the road, with the bike coming after me. Instead, I fishtailed for a bit, then rode it into the ditch...

[Bogie]

Next time you "annoy" a biker, remember folks like me...
 
I used to carry a few "largish" chunks of gravel in a pocket. I got too paranoid, they went in the air over my shoulder.
 
I wasn't the only one.
 
As for driving aggressively - she'll do it until she has a reason not to. Gigadude, you obviously aren't reason enough. Sometime someone is gonna call her on it, and she's going to have a problem. Or she's going to have an accident.
 
I now drive a cage, and I drive it like old folks get busy... carefully, and with deliberation.
 
And remember, next time you angrily honk at someone, while you're not slowing down, that could be Jenny in the other car, and she'll have no idea that you're honking. Because she's deaf. Besides - any time you're honking at someone because of something, you should be slowing down and creating distance between you and them, not closing on them.
 

[Perd Hapley]

Oh, bother.      When I said "annoying a biker," it was pretty obvious I was referring to the incident in the first post.  Wasn't it?  Whatever you may think of her driving, she did nothing to endanger the biker so far as I can tell.