Reading the local news this morning I learned not all scooter riding is an exercise in quiet, gentle travel through the world. Scooter horn angers driver in State College did give me a chuckle at first but it shortly turned into a sad commentary on the growing trend of anger on the pavement.
Most of my riding is designed to keep me away from heavy traffic where tempers may simmer. And like a lot of riders I am decidedly passive, docile, and unassuming. Yell at me, flip me off, cut me off, blow your horn, toss a Coke, and I’ll appear to be unaware of the world. Riding past a car with a texting driver, eating a cheeseburger and adjusting their hair and I’ll do nothing more than move away from them. I don’t engage in pointless rants about danger and I certainly don’t endeavor to “educate” them on their failure to live up to the requirements of the road. That kind of direct contact is fraught with more danger than the behavior in question. One never knows who you are going to encounter in another vehicle, their state of mind, or what weapons might be on hand.
Anger is natural and you can’t really control those emotions but one certainly controls what actions they take in response. The guy in the story didn’t make a good choice.
This evening I had to ride back to work to pick up a few things I needed to work on. Without a Vespa in the garage I would have been grumbling the whole way back and home again. But as an opportunity to take a little ride, well, you know the story of how therapeutic a ride down a lightly trodden path can be.
And I suppose it’s that grumbling frustration that causes the angry responses we get to read about or see on YouTube. I always figured if I got out of my car to read someone the riot act they would have a Trunk Monkey.
Ah, the Trunk Monkey…
My motorcycle instructor out here pointed out how effective a “holster check” is to defusing situations like this.
I still love the trunk monkey youtubepresentation…a well done commentary on life
I can’t really blame the scooter driver for his reaction. He did what I think many of us would have done…got the hell out of a bad situation any way possible.
I will admit to a bit of road rage at times but then I remember that I’m on the bike…it’s not a battle I’m going to win.
Ah yes, road rage….the inner battle riders must deal with when threatened by unwary/uncaring/distracted cagers.
I really struggled with that early on when I started riding, doing better now, but still working on “letting it go”.
For me, the realization is that sure you can chase them down and confront them but unless you’re willing right then and there for it to escalate to weapons being drawn….then you need to de-escalate, move away from the threat and try and “let the anger go”.
It’s really hard, however, to de-escalate…..really hard. So many emotions mixed into it, self-image, biases, and the built-in fight or flight instinct.
Commuting in city traffic these last few months have taught me a lot, but like you Steve, I’ve found routes that reduce the stress….its more time on the saddle as you avoid the main thoroughfares but in the end, it’s less anger, more riding bliss.
You will always lose in a battle with a car when on a motorcycle/scooter.
Steve:
since I have to commute through miles of urban traffic beside aggressive, tailgating drivers, I have learned to “let go”. I generally pull over and let them pass. Riders have a 2nd sense about which cars to avoid by their car manners.
I nearly got wiped out on the weekend. I was on the freeway going freeway speeds. There were cars coming from the on ramp but I was in the fast, Leftward lane. The lanes started to merge closer and then the Mustang, whom didn’t notice me, pulled right beside me forcing me to move to the left but I had no road left. Then he turned his head and saw me . . . It was very close I could have kicked his door.
anyway it wasn’t worth doing anything other than speeding off and getting away from him
bob
Riding the Wet Coast
Would that we all had a trunk monkey.
Of course I still call my Givi top case “the trunk monkey” even though my water bottle is the most dangerous thing in it.
My rules for riding with errant and possibly irate drivers is to “take myself out of the equation” whether by pulling over and waiting, turning off, or speeding away.
Hi Steve,
That Trunk Monkey looks like just the thing!
I came across your blog some time ago and trolled around; read some of your reviews as well. I’ve never found a blog that I could really sink my teeth into; most seem to be navel gazing. On the day after April Fools however on my first significant ride of the season my front tire washed out on some left over road sand along the side of the road. I was turning off onto a dam access road where I like to take a break. I knew all about the sand, had slowed way down and thought that I was crossing it neutrally, but guess not. Went down hard enough to crack my tibial plateau and do some soft tissue damage to my shoulder. Have been recuperating at my girlfriend’s house ever since. Am just starting to bear some weight on it and will be doing well over the next few weeks.
Since then I’ve done a lot of reading: finished Jupiter’s Travels, Dreaming of Jupiter, Zen and Now (great little take on the Pirsig story) and ALL of your blog! I’m a couple of years older than you, retired from all my trades, recovering from CPPD, an autoimune condition not unlike psoriatic arthritis. Due to resultant bone loss I broke my hip from a fall on the ice a couple of winters ago, and when I feared I wouldn’t be able to ride my bicycle as much as usual, decided to get a scooter. The practical toy became what it did for you, and my life has paralleled yours except that I have time to ride more. I live in the Champlain Islands and camp/tour all over the parts of Vermont, mostly the ‘Northeast Kingdom’, which looks alot like your area. The other place I like is the Monongahela National Forest where I used to go bicycle camping. In my current state scootering makes more sense. Missed it this spring, but will no doubt return next.
The point of all this rambling is just to introduce myself, but mostly to thank you for what you do. Your blend of good photography, personal story, and philosophy seem to hit the sweetspot for a lot of us. For the last year or two of you posts, I’ve been reading the comments as well; first, because I love Mr. Riepe’s remarks, but then I’d start to get to know some of your other readers and it’s a nice little group we have here!
I’m not 100% sure I’ll ride a scooter again; I really don’t want to get hurt again, but it may be that after addictive phases of bicycle riding/racing skulling, windsurfing, open water sea kayaking, back country skiing, montain biking, iceboarding (the board uses a windsurfing rig), nordic skating etc., I may just have to let this play out.
When I think that I screwed up even after seeing the hazard and doing all the right stuff, it makes me think I’m not qualified, so should quit, but when I go further and think that the exact same thing could have happened on a bicycle with worse consequences because of lack of protective gear, and really should quit that as well, it just seems a little extreme, even though the logic is sound!
Sorry to go on so long….best, Phelps
Greetings from Goreme, Turkey. After riding across 5 countries, you just don’t see stuff like that (road rage) over here. Car and truck drivers are ever conscious of motos and yield to them. We travel fast and pass without forward visibility, because we know the car or truck will pull to the right to let us pass, even if something comes the other way. Totally different world.