Bike Rage [Momentum Planet]

illustration by Chris Bentzen

I could see their faces through the passenger window. He: leaning over the Pathfinder’s steering wheel, barking into a cell phone. She: peering at me through the glass with the startled look of someone surprised by a wild animal. As I punched the car door, I could see my own reflection, too: face pinched and flushed beneath my helmet, lips mouthing:

“You almost killed me! You almost killed me!”

If you are a bike commuter, you know there is nothing unique about this moment. It began with a driver’s careless migration into the curb lane and my realization that I was about to be squeezed off the road yet again, or sideswiped if cell phone guy decided to turn right. A yell didn’t get his attention. The door punch did. We were stuck with each other at the light. The window opened a crack. Obscenities were exchanged. I felt the heat of indignation in my veins. At some point I heard myself yell: “Fat boy!”

[continue reading at Momentum Planet]