The title of this post was supposed to have been: “The Meanest Motorists In Missouri?” I rode this summer with CyclingSavvy instructor Mary Ruth Casey from her beautiful home overlooking the Mississippi River in Herculaneum to Crystal City, where she works. On our ride I was astounded at the number of motorists who honked or hollered at us.
“These have to be among the most uncivil motorists in America,” I wrote afterward on a listserv to fellow CyclingSavvy instructors. ”Mary Ruth and I rode side by side in the right ‘through’ lane. There are two lanes in each direction, with a wide shoulder that tends to be full of debris because of the high volume of fast-moving traffic. I lost count of the number of motorists who honked or yelled at us (somewhere between six and a dozen over the course of about four miles).”
I made a date with Mary Ruth to go back and videotape our ride, which is here:
This time Mary Ruth and I were astounded at how quiet the ride was: No yelling, no incivility. On this four-mile stretch of US 61/67 (also known as Commercial Blvd.) we were passed by 115 motorists. We heard one honk, but in reviewing the video I don’t think it was for us. Every time we rode 61/67, we were never in danger. Without exception, motorists changed lanes to pass us. (On each ride we demanded this treatment: Our position in the middle of the lane made it very clear that we were not sharing.)
So why the difference in treatment? After we had completed the second ride, Mary Ruth and I knew right away. Do you?
Because on the first ride you were being “uppity” by riding side by side
Uppity indeed! The first time from Herculaneum to Crystal City (and back), we rode side by side. How dare we ride next to each other and enjoy each other’s company? Someone who knows Mary Ruth saw us and asked her later: “Is that legal?”
Mary Ruth is a stronger rider than I am. On the videotaped ride with me behind her, she sometimes got pretty far ahead, making the distance to pass us a lot longer. The irony is that when we were side by side, we actually were much easier to pass.
It’s all about the visual signals. Just as controlling the lane fits into what motorists expect and sends the visual signal that they should go around (instead of attempting to stay in the same lane to pass and realizing too late that they must slow down then change lanes), riding side by side sends a signal that you’re “violating” the rules. After all, lanes are for one vehicle only, right? What sort of message did it send in “Easy Rider” when Wyatt and Billy are riding side by side? One of people that are flaunting the law and the natural order of things.
Anyway, it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it. I’ll ride side by side and even if there’s not room to pass safely, I make sure to fall in single file when there’s a car back. Seems to keep everyone happier and it’s a minimal inconvenience to me.
It should be OK to ride side by side if you are not impeding other road users. Actually, that’s exactly what Missouri law states.
It *is* okay to ride side-by-side. Motorcycles do it all the time.
Interesting. Side by side ticks them off more. I hadn’t considered that. But then, the majority of my riding is alone, and when is not, is with more than one other person. I do think groups tend to trigger motorist anger more. You may have heard that at my August CS weekend, when I had a bunch of other LCI’s in town to take the class, a group of about 6 of us that were riding on a local 4-lane arterial during rush hour (not as part of class) got a motorist who laid on his horn continuously for over a minute, twice, before I finally resigned and pulled us into a parking lot to defuse the situation. I have *never* had that happen riding alone under similar conditions.
But then, last Monday I rode with another bike commuter on her first commute to a new job near mine, and we rode side by side on all the 4-lane sections with nary a motorist comment. But then, the traffic wasn’t all that heavy.
I hadn’t heard about your encounter with that motorist asserting his (or her?) territorial rights. How obnoxious! The motorist was probably jealous that you all were on the road on your bicycles when s/he had Something Important to do…
Thanks for posting this, Karen. I love your videos.
Thank you, Dave!
Interesting how sometimes first impressions stay with us. I live in South County and many of my weekend rides are in Jefferson County. Some of them include busier streets like Telegraph, Jeffco (61/67) and Vogel. Some are on quieter streets like Rock Creek or Hillsboro Valley Park. I rarely, if ever encounter angry motorists/honkers.
On the flip side, I might go for a ride in S. County and end up getting veered at, honked at, etc. multiple times during that one ride. Doesn’t happen every time I ride, but frequent enough that it stays with me.
I have always thought it would be interesting if you could somehow “quantify” the behavior of the aggressive motorist and then regionalize it to our metropolitan area. My thoughts on the “aggressiveness” of regional motorists, from least aggressive to most aggressive, would be as follows:
West County (Ballwin, Wildwood, Creve Coeur)
City of St. Louis
Jefferson County
Mid-Town (U-City, Maplewood)
North County
Metro-East
South County
I almost never ride in South County, but had an opportunity to do so in August when Harold and I were invited to a birthday party at the Lodge at Grant’s Trail. We rode to the lodge from our home in the Central West End mainly using Morgan Ford and Union. It was a great ride in both directions in every respect! That ride would put South County near the top of my metro area “Fine Places To Ride” list.
The City of St. Louis used to be at the top of my list until I rode a few weeks back through North City. Harold was leading a bicycle tour for Trailnet on the far North side. I had to leave the group early when they were in O’Fallon Park, and came back to the Central West End mainly across Newstead. The mean comments, sneers, close passes and honking on this short ride home were shocking. For most people a ride like that would reinforce all their worst stereotypes about the city. (My thought was: I have to come back and videotape this!)
Like you Kerry, I live in south county and I find it can be inhospitable for bicyclists. My rides always include Highway 21 as I live directly off of it. I believe that controlling the lane is the only way to go. No riding on the glass encrusted edge of the white line for me. The lanes are not wide enough for both car and bicycle to safely travel so I figure why even let them think they can try. Motorists will prepare to pass you earlier when they realize they need to change lanes to do so, thus there is less disruption of traffic flow and they seem to behave better. I have not had the courage to ride in Jefferson County, not because of traffic but due to my limited tolerance for the steep grades encountered. I have ridden in Metro East, mainly Centreville-Cahokia area and it was okay. St. Louis City rides have been pleasant for the most part. I don’t get out to west county to ride so cannot comment. Overall best place I ride my bicycle is Minneapolis. It is a little far away though.
Hello Karen,
I am the security officer who works at the bank. I was riding East on Chippewa near Morgan Ford just before the overpass where a police car and a bus passed me. The bus actually passed me 2 or 3 times because when it stopped at bus stops I passed it up. Each time a vehicle passed me, I was riding to the right side of the lane. I then decided to ride in the middle of the lane and found that the drivers would change lanes and pass properly instead of riding close to me in the same lane.
Yes! I’m SO glad that you’ve discovered this now, too, James. Asserting your right to fully use the lane that best serves your destination not only keeps you safer, but makes life easier for motorists, who can see from far away that they can’t share this lane with you. This gives them plenty of time to make provisions to pass without stress. Proper lane position shouldn’t be a secret, but unfortunately still is for way too many cyclists.
Woohoo! You can’t see this through the computer connection, but I’m still doing cartwheels after reading your comment. Congratulations! I look forward to seeing you next time I’m at the bank.
P.S. In a city, every lane is a bike lane!
thanks for your enthusiasm. If im not at the Bank on a Thursday, Friday, or Saturday look for me on Venderventer. I might be a little flat but i’ll be there.
Hi Karen,
I wanted to thank you once again for the helmet mirror. It took a little bit of trial and error adjusting it and positioning to the helmet but I did get it to the right length and can see great with it.