bikeriding in hell

I ride my bike. A lot. I commute to school and work on my bike. And I'm having to deal with my own road rage lately because these fucking drivers won't let me cross lanes or make a fucking left hand turn.

Yes, I use hand signals. Sometimes I feel like one of those people at airports who signal where the planes should go. You know, the ones with the reflector vests and the pointy things. I mean, I can't be more clear about the hand signals, really.

I get honked at and yelled at and ignored. I almost got crushed into the sidewalk this past weekend because someone didn't look before they made a turn.

S suggested that I avoid Pacific avenue (the main street outside of our building) so, I tried to get off of it ASAP today and still - got honked at, ignored and ran off the road.

I curse. A lot. And it doesn't really help. But when you have a life threatening experience once a day, it doesn't seem to matter, the curses just seem to flow.

I try to avoid riding my bike during rush hours. I even try to avoid lunch hour if at all possible. But, there are places I need to be and sometimes they're at these times. Sometimes I just take the fucking bus during rush hour.

Feh. Any other city bike riders out there have any suggestions? I got a hug and some calming essential oil from a classmate tonight before I got on the bike to go home. I want to keep riding my bike but I don't want to feel like a nervous reck everytime I do.