The Prophet

It seems to me that we are seeing an upsurge of tailgaters, and otherwise impatient, rude, irresponsible drivers lately.

Understandable, with the stress of the economy, job loss threats looming, housing issues, etc. Unfortunately, there is not much you can do from a realistic, or pragmatic persepective.

Best advice is to pull over at the first opportunity, and let 'em pass. From a preventive measure angle, you could teach your children how to behave in such situations, and mention it in passing to co-workers and friends, etc.

There is a great deal of study on this subject available, that spells out how folks who haven't fully developed emotionally cannot deal with the same experiences normal folks face every day - delays in traffic, people in front of you, drivers obeying the posted speed limits, etc. - and display aggression and impatience when exposed to such normal everyday activities. Kind of like the little kid who can't wait in line, and gets fidgity and whiney after a few minutes, then falls to the floor kicking and screaming. These are those same kids all grown up!

Anyway, two wrongs rarely make a right, so retaliating, flipping the bird, or otherwise aggressively responding to tail-gating types will only trigger more pent up emotional aggression, and messing with 5000 pound vehicles on the highway with your 700 or so pound bike is not a great idea.

Ride safe!

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• A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving. ~Lao Tzu
• Motorcyles are not my whole life, but they make my life whole. ` me

Speedtrip

Getting tailgated on a bike is rarely a problem with me. Couldn't tell you the last time I got passed by a cage on two lanes.

Lots o' idiots clogging up the roads though. I firmly believe that talking on a cell phone is impared driving! I've tried to cut back on my single digit salutes.

The Prophet

What always puzzles me is: I purposely choose backroad, 2 lane, "road less traveled" roads that twist and turn, have some hills and valleys, are scenic, but are rarely used if possible. Once in a while, a farmer will have his cultivator, tractor, hay baler, etc. on the road, and you need to slow down to 10 MPH or so, and pass carefully, while giving a friendly wave. No problem. These are fantastic, fun roads, but certainly not the quickest way from Point "A" to Point "B".

Why then, do folks in a hurry, driving silent, hermetically enclosed land yacht SUV's, gabbing on the cell phone, kids in back watching a DVD, therefore obviously not interested in scenery or driving challenges... why are they surprised and irritated when they encounter someone ahead of them, and then pschopathecly tailgate and endanger that person, solely because of their impatience / lateness / ego / self entitlement... whatever?

If you are in a hurry, take the four lane interstate.... please!

On the other hand, as Speed sez, I speed, break speed limit laws admittedly, and can speed when and if I choose to, but then again don't want to be forced by a tailgater to break the law. Might a multi-layed set of standards there!!!

Stilll, don't drive your land yacht on single lane backroad byways, and then get pee'd off and emotionally unstable as soon as someone appears in front of you. In a hurry? Take the Toll-way!

Ride Safe!

Speedtrip

We get the other end of the spectrum around here. Lots of flat landers come to drive our twisty mountain roads especially in spring and fall. When the floaters, campers, cruisers get out it can really slow traffic down. Not many passing zones around either. On the bike if I get behind an exceptionally long procession I'll find a shoulder and pull off till traffic clears. If I'm out with the family on a Sunday drive and feel that I'm holding up someone I'll also pull over and let them by. The interstate is a whole new ballgame I make frequent trips to Dallas where traffic is a nightmare and totally get why people road rage. Don't think I could live in a large city for long before going to the dark side.

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-Shaun-

Speedtrip

PS:

I thought the part where you said Illinois had a curve was funny!

The Prophet

I know the stereo-typical perspective Speed (LOL), but we DO have tons of great roads, you just need to know where to find them.

Nothern Illinois, near the Northwest - Galena area is absolutely fantastic, and a very popular real riders venue. Anywhere that there is a sizable river - Mississippi, Illinois, etc, just parallel along each adjoining bank and you have some extremely nice roads.

Now, having said, that - keep it a secret... PLEASE! One of the things we occassionally have to do - when we see a gaggle of big dresser Harleys or cruiser packs - is pull over near a scenic overview (yes, we have these too) and wait about ten minutes or so for them to proceed. Nothing worse than having to follow a pack of 10 MPH Harley hogs through a nice twisty area. That said, they have an equal - and just enough - right to ride through as any of us, so all due respect paid. To each his own...

I (we) don't brag loudly about our great roads for that very reason. Google "Utica, Illinois" for example, then follow routes 6, 178, and 71 around the Illinois River / Starved Rock State Park / Buffalo Rock State Park / Illini State Park area. Keep it an absolute secret. Some of the greatest, most scenic, most challenging twisties you'll ever find. Fantastic people in the tiny towns along the way, 19th century homes and downtown "Main Street" areas, Historic Register places, town festivals, we even have waterfalls!! Awesome historic area, please keep it quiet. I go here almost every weekend with the wife, definitely every Sunday morning. It's our "church", about a twenty minute ride from our front door, and then you can spend 2-3 hours tooling around.

The Great River Road, up and down the mightly Mississippi River banks, is another fantastic one. As well as anything near Galena up through Southwest Wisconsin.

Now, having said that, we also are famous for Highways 80, I-90, I-94, arguably the most boring, straight, and level roads ever built, and Tollway 88, another dreary, sleep inducing slab. I believe they come new with potholes and cracks already installed! These were built for the most part during the mafia owned construction firms / political scandal / graft era (still are!) so profit was the driver, not design or a pleasant driving experience.

Wisconsin would be a good model on proper roadbuilding. Beautifully designed and maintained roads IMO.

Lastly, let's not forget that the world renowned "Route 66" begins in downtown Chicago, Illinois. It's been absolutely ruined by "progress" (I-55) for the most part, but you can find old 2-laners that flank it until you get down into central Illinois, where it starts to show some of it's form greatness.

Where we live, we're 10 seconds (driveway length) from a scenic country road, and can ride all day on old, twisty, farm and great, hilly country roads. You just have to move far, far away from the densely packed, flat, urban areas to enjoy life as it should be.

Ride Safe!