I ride a pedal bike. Been doing it for decades. Good at it. Got a good bike. Ride with traffic, in the road, at the prevailing speed, like i supposed to. 75 PACS 3501. Wear a helmet. Have a blinky light. Generally, you know, just a guy trying to get around Philly without getting run over.
Just about every other day I get some yahoo, almost always a middle aged white guy in a truck or SUV, honking at me, yelling at me, riding right up on my ass, etc. Occasionally they actually try to run me off the road (last Saturday night, 10th & Washington, grey Volvo, approx. 30yo white guy, FOP badge on the plate the number of which i unfortunately misplaced). Sometimes they think it's fun to blow past me at a stop sign and then stop in the middle of the road in front of me so i have to hit the brakes to avoid becoming a trunk ornament (yesterday morning, silver BMW, PA license YFJ-0822, approx. 45yo white guy w/ bad moustache).
Now, Philly is a hostile place. I get that. It's dirty. It smells bad. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's full of people who wish they were somewhere else. Fine. The thing is, these guys who try to kill me several times a week are totally out of their minds incensed that some guy with only two wheels is ahead of them. I don't get it at all. Is there something in the water that shrinks the dongs of folks who have been here too long? I get around a bit, from time to time, and i've never seen anything like it. WTF, Philly?