Author Topic: Coal rolling. Apparently it's not just an American thing.  (Read 5701 times)

dragoncar

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Re: Coal rolling. Apparently it's not just an American thing.
« Reply #50 on: June 27, 2019, 02:14:18 PM »
Sorry this happened to you.

Quote
Dangerous sociopaths can be found all over and through all modes of transport.

Sadly, having now experienced a bit of prejudice you get to enjoy the second stage where people come of the woodwork to tell you that what you went through was justified, actually, because somewhere someone like you (in this case, a cyclist) did a bad thing once.

I'm sorry for that too.

Who said it was justified?

MrUpwardlyMobile

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Re: Coal rolling. Apparently it's not just an American thing.
« Reply #51 on: June 27, 2019, 09:09:03 PM »
Sorry this happened to you.

Quote
Dangerous sociopaths can be found all over and through all modes of transport.

Sadly, having now experienced a bit of prejudice you get to enjoy the second stage where people come of the woodwork to tell you that what you went through was justified, actually, because somewhere someone like you (in this case, a cyclist) did a bad thing once.

I'm sorry for that too.

Who said it was justified?

Nobody did.

ender

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Re: Coal rolling. Apparently it's not just an American thing.
« Reply #52 on: June 28, 2019, 09:49:44 AM »
I thought of this thread when talking to a coworker who apparently had a motorcycle drive onto the curb and try to push him off his bike.

Like... WTF. Yes, bikes can bike on the road too.

Wolfpack Mustachian

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Re: Coal rolling. Apparently it's not just an American thing.
« Reply #53 on: June 28, 2019, 10:53:25 AM »
Ok, seriously, this is a whole level of anti-biking that I guess I never knew about. I don't doubt people's stories they've told, but is this really the experience of most/many bikers? I've passed bikers before and can't claim that I've done it perfectly safely or what have you, but man, there's a difference between that and straight up assault. This is insane.

GuitarStv

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Re: Coal rolling. Apparently it's not just an American thing.
« Reply #54 on: June 28, 2019, 12:30:43 PM »
Ok, seriously, this is a whole level of anti-biking that I guess I never knew about. I don't doubt people's stories they've told, but is this really the experience of most/many bikers? I've passed bikers before and can't claim that I've done it perfectly safely or what have you, but man, there's a difference between that and straight up assault. This is insane.

I wouldn't say that it's common.

Generally, riding my bike around is a lot of fun.  The majority of people are courteous, leave space, and treat cyclists reasonably well.

Close passing or being cut off by a vehicle tends to be,  if not the norm . . . certainly no exception though.  It's very common to have cars honk vindictively, or to yell stuff at you as they're driving by too.  Five or six times I've had people pull up next to me, match speed with me, and  angrily yell stuff at me (usually about how I have no right to be cycling on the road).  I've had drinks thrown at me a couple times from moving vehicles, which is much scarier.

Stories from other cyclists of similar events aren't uncommon, but this is the first time in probably over twenty thousand kilometers that I've really felt that the guy had intent to hurt me.

Le Poisson

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Re: Coal rolling. Apparently it's not just an American thing.
« Reply #55 on: June 28, 2019, 01:54:31 PM »
Ok, seriously, this is a whole level of anti-biking that I guess I never knew about. I don't doubt people's stories they've told, but is this really the experience of most/many bikers? I've passed bikers before and can't claim that I've done it perfectly safely or what have you, but man, there's a difference between that and straight up assault. This is insane.

I have been biking since I was a kid, and I can count on my fingers the number of times I've seen this kind of behaviour. Sadly, these outliers stick with the human psyche in ways that normal experience does not. Also, sadly, it only takes on of these moments to make you into a statistic whether you are on a bike, walking, or driving.

Because of that, folks tend to remember the one person who cut them off in traffic and forget about the thousands of other cars stuck in the same traffic.

Laserjet3051

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Re: Coal rolling. Apparently it's not just an American thing.
« Reply #56 on: June 28, 2019, 02:03:43 PM »
Fascinating, though despicable phenomenon. Prior to this thread, I had never experienced, nor heard of "coal rolling," despite being an avid cyclist, with many 1000s of logged miles on both coasts of the USA. Of course, I have been subjected to other attacks from motorists and pedestrians over the years, though none, qualified as coal rolling. I'll certainly have to keep my eyes open for this moving forward.

Le Poisson

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Re: Coal rolling. Apparently it's not just an American thing.
« Reply #57 on: June 30, 2019, 06:37:56 AM »
More info on Coal Rolling here - https://auto.howstuffworks.com/coal-rollers.htm - I looked up some of the hashtags in the article, and twitter posts using the hastags mentioned run back at least 8 years. I wasn't aware this was thing in 2012.

FIREstache

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Re: Coal rolling. Apparently it's not just an American thing.
« Reply #58 on: June 30, 2019, 07:01:21 AM »
Ok, seriously, this is a whole level of anti-biking that I guess I never knew about. I don't doubt people's stories they've told, but is this really the experience of most/many bikers? I've passed bikers before and can't claim that I've done it perfectly safely or what have you, but man, there's a difference between that and straight up assault. This is insane.

I've been biking for many years for thousands of miles, but I've never had any negative experience with motor vehicles, just dogs and one kid on a bike who turned right in front of me, but I was able to avoid an accident.

I do the vast majority of my riding outside of urban areas where traffic is fairly light.

KBecks

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Re: Coal rolling. Apparently it's not just an American thing.
« Reply #59 on: June 30, 2019, 07:29:18 AM »
I have never heard this term, "coal rolling" before.   I am glad you are unhurt.   I saw a truck in my area the other day that was putting out a lot of black smoke.  It was stupid.

My husband sometimes bikes with our dog attached to the bike for exercise. He gets comments from people who think he's abusing the dog.  She loves it.

Also, I had no idea Canadians were that vicious.
« Last Edit: June 30, 2019, 07:42:16 AM by KBecks »

PoutineLover

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Re: Coal rolling. Apparently it's not just an American thing.
« Reply #60 on: June 30, 2019, 07:58:43 AM »
I bike every day for 8 months of the year in a large Canadian city, and most of the time most drivers are courteous, but there are definitely assholes to watch out for. Most common is not giving me enough space while passing, or cutting me off while turning so I'm always vigilant. Have also had a couple people open their doors into me or very close, now I give parked cars a wide berth. Don't think anyone has been downright malicious, but once in a while people will yell shit like get off the road. The incident in the op sounds horrifying though, I'm glad it didn't end up causing physical harm and I hope that guy doesn't try it on anyone else.

Roland of Gilead

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Re: Coal rolling. Apparently it's not just an American thing.
« Reply #61 on: June 30, 2019, 08:48:49 AM »
My wife just told me about a new biking law in Washington state that makes it illegal to pass a bicycle by slightly crossing the center line to give them more room.  You either have to pass the bicycle by getting closer to them, which makes a big blast of wind to shake them or you have to fully cross into the oncoming traffic lane to pass.

I don't know how I feel about this as both a driver and a cyclist.   On the one hand, I always would move a bit into the other lane when it was safe to pass a bicycle and I would slow down, especially on mountain roads where there are steep grades and the cyclist is doing 3 mph.  There is a stretch of Hwy 20 where there are miles of double yellow center line and not much shoulder.  I do not see people following a cyclist for 40 minutes at 3mph to 5mph while they ascend these grades.

GuitarStv

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Re: Coal rolling. Apparently it's not just an American thing.
« Reply #62 on: June 30, 2019, 09:09:17 AM »
My wife just told me about a new biking law in Washington state that makes it illegal to pass a bicycle by slightly crossing the center line to give them more room.  You either have to pass the bicycle by getting closer to them, which makes a big blast of wind to shake them or you have to fully cross into the oncoming traffic lane to pass.

I don't know how I feel about this as both a driver and a cyclist.   On the one hand, I always would move a bit into the other lane when it was safe to pass a bicycle and I would slow down, especially on mountain roads where there are steep grades and the cyclist is doing 3 mph.  There is a stretch of Hwy 20 where there are miles of double yellow center line and not much shoulder.  I do not see people following a cyclist for 40 minutes at 3mph to 5mph while they ascend these grades.

Seems like something that would just lead to increased upset feelings all around.

It's not possible to safely pass a cyclist while remaining in the same lane.  There just isn't enough room.  If the cyclist moves a few inches to the side to avoid a pothole as you're passing, you're likely to hit them.  As a cyclist I'd probably be inclined to then modify my behaviour by cycling further to the middle of the road to force vehicles to pass safely by using the oncoming traffic lane.  Otherwise they're going to be tempted to squeeze by in a dangerous manner.

KBecks

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Re: Coal rolling. Apparently it's not just an American thing.
« Reply #63 on: June 30, 2019, 09:22:51 AM »
I think with the car doors opening people just don't expect a bike to come by, or to come by fast.

PoutineLover

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Re: Coal rolling. Apparently it's not just an American thing.
« Reply #64 on: June 30, 2019, 11:56:45 AM »
I think with the car doors opening people just don't expect a bike to come by, or to come by fast.
That's why the Dutch reach is good practice. Open your door with your right hand instead of the left so you have to slightly turn and look behind. Easy switch, saves lives.

GuitarStv

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Re: Coal rolling. Apparently it's not just an American thing.
« Reply #65 on: June 30, 2019, 01:03:47 PM »
I pass parked cars with at least three feet of room to account for doors.  This sometimes bothers motorists, but it seems safer than hoping someone will follow the law and check before opening their door.

Wolfpack Mustachian

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Re: Coal rolling. Apparently it's not just an American thing.
« Reply #66 on: July 01, 2019, 10:38:26 AM »
Ok, seriously, this is a whole level of anti-biking that I guess I never knew about. I don't doubt people's stories they've told, but is this really the experience of most/many bikers? I've passed bikers before and can't claim that I've done it perfectly safely or what have you, but man, there's a difference between that and straight up assault. This is insane.

I wouldn't say that it's common.

Generally, riding my bike around is a lot of fun.  The majority of people are courteous, leave space, and treat cyclists reasonably well.

Close passing or being cut off by a vehicle tends to be,  if not the norm . . . certainly no exception though.  It's very common to have cars honk vindictively, or to yell stuff at you as they're driving by too.  Five or six times I've had people pull up next to me, match speed with me, and  angrily yell stuff at me (usually about how I have no right to be cycling on the road).  I've had drinks thrown at me a couple times from moving vehicles, which is much scarier.

Stories from other cyclists of similar events aren't uncommon, but this is the first time in probably over twenty thousand kilometers that I've really felt that the guy had intent to hurt me.

Ok, seriously, this is a whole level of anti-biking that I guess I never knew about. I don't doubt people's stories they've told, but is this really the experience of most/many bikers? I've passed bikers before and can't claim that I've done it perfectly safely or what have you, but man, there's a difference between that and straight up assault. This is insane.

I have been biking since I was a kid, and I can count on my fingers the number of times I've seen this kind of behaviour. Sadly, these outliers stick with the human psyche in ways that normal experience does not. Also, sadly, it only takes on of these moments to make you into a statistic whether you are on a bike, walking, or driving.

Because of that, folks tend to remember the one person who cut them off in traffic and forget about the thousands of other cars stuck in the same traffic.

This makes sense. I'm glad that true intent to injure is very rare. I guess I didn't realize it was common enough, though, for the, let's say average biker that bikes a fair amount to experience multiple instances of assault (counting, of course, throwing items at you and the like). Pretty sad :-/.

Kris

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Re: Coal rolling. Apparently it's not just an American thing.
« Reply #67 on: July 01, 2019, 10:53:44 AM »
Ok, seriously, this is a whole level of anti-biking that I guess I never knew about. I don't doubt people's stories they've told, but is this really the experience of most/many bikers? I've passed bikers before and can't claim that I've done it perfectly safely or what have you, but man, there's a difference between that and straight up assault. This is insane.

I wouldn't say that it's common.

Generally, riding my bike around is a lot of fun.  The majority of people are courteous, leave space, and treat cyclists reasonably well.

Close passing or being cut off by a vehicle tends to be,  if not the norm . . . certainly no exception though.  It's very common to have cars honk vindictively, or to yell stuff at you as they're driving by too.  Five or six times I've had people pull up next to me, match speed with me, and  angrily yell stuff at me (usually about how I have no right to be cycling on the road).  I've had drinks thrown at me a couple times from moving vehicles, which is much scarier.

Stories from other cyclists of similar events aren't uncommon, but this is the first time in probably over twenty thousand kilometers that I've really felt that the guy had intent to hurt me.

Ok, seriously, this is a whole level of anti-biking that I guess I never knew about. I don't doubt people's stories they've told, but is this really the experience of most/many bikers? I've passed bikers before and can't claim that I've done it perfectly safely or what have you, but man, there's a difference between that and straight up assault. This is insane.

I have been biking since I was a kid, and I can count on my fingers the number of times I've seen this kind of behaviour. Sadly, these outliers stick with the human psyche in ways that normal experience does not. Also, sadly, it only takes on of these moments to make you into a statistic whether you are on a bike, walking, or driving.

Because of that, folks tend to remember the one person who cut them off in traffic and forget about the thousands of other cars stuck in the same traffic.

This makes sense. I'm glad that true intent to injure is very rare. I guess I didn't realize it was common enough, though, for the, let's say average biker that bikes a fair amount to experience multiple instances of assault (counting, of course, throwing items at you and the like). Pretty sad :-/.

I really do think it has something to do with where you're biking. I live in the Twin Cities, and biking culture here is pretty accepted (though people still rail against bikers who disobey the law, and rightly so). But out in the more conservative suburban/rural areas is where I've encountered the aggressive, violent types. They seem to think bikers are less than human (I'm guessing they think all bikers are liberals), so they think it's fun to frighten or even hurt them.