I was riding my bike home for work Friday afternoon enjoying the beautiful weather. I was taking the route I always take; I've probably ridden it over a hundred times. As I came to a cross street, there was a car waiting to turn right and begin traveling in the same direction I was. I'm always cautious in this type of situation because often times drivers are just looking for cars and miss seeing cyclists. However, this was an astute driver and he politely waited for me to go by before turning. As I went by him, I made eye contact and mouthed a polite "thank you" so that he knew I appreciated him waiting for me to pass. He smiled and waved. I thought to myself, "What a great, bike-friendly town I live in!"
About a half a mile later, I have to cross the single lane traffic to get into the left turn lane. I'm always careful to follow the correct laws of the road because I don't want to get hit. As I looked over my shoulder to see if it was clear for me to cross and enter the left turn lane, I saw a large truck right behind me. As I continued to travel forward, I waited for him to safely pass and then begin to cross through the lane while signalling to the next vehicle (who was plenty of distance behind for me to safely go through) that I was coming over.
Well, this particular driver wasn't as polite as the first one. He began honking his horn wildly and he followed me into the turn lane. After I (safely and correctly) turned left through the intersection and then moved to the right entering the bike lane, he passed pretty close to me, glared me down, and slammed on the accelerator revving his engine. I just laughed and waved, which I'm sure pissed him off mightily.
As he drove away, I could feel myself getting more and more pissed off. I was getting so angry, I just wanted to yell and scream vent my anger at this d-bag. But, as someone who is working toward non-violence, I realized that this anger inside me is a form of violence. And we can't advocate for non-violence without first ridding that violence in ourselves. I decided that I need to let it go. I could use this type of incident (which happens from time to time) as an opportunity to pray for others... and myself.
As he drove away, I prayed, "G-d, please give that driver more patience, grace, and compassion. And my I become less prideful and angry... and quicker to forgive." Amen.
3 comments:
Oh man... this happens to me almost every single day, and I have noticed that it is mainly two types of people who almost hit me... first some girl with California plates and greek letters on her SUV, second, dude with big truck and a vote Bush/Cheney sticker in his window. These stereotypes don't help me in my continual desire to not characterizing and demonizing people.
I got hit on my bike on the way to a final my senior year. The guy turned in front of me and i plowed into his driver's side door. As i turned my shoulder, and thus my handlebars, to avoid taking the impact directly to the dome, the metal end of my handlebars left probably a 40" scrape down the side of his car. Then, instead of seeing if i was ok, or seeing if his car was ok, he drove off in a hurry. I didn't feel bad about his vehicle, but it did take 45 minutes for my hands to stop shaking long enough to take my final. Karma is real, and she's a b*tch.
I am proud of you for trying to control your anger. It is a very difficult thing to do when the anger is justified! Keep up the good work and BE CAREFUL on your bicycle...Carrie, Cash, and I need you!!!!
xoxoxo
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