Mantras

A while back we asked Team Wonderbikers to come up with a chant, mantra or witty bon mot to use when passing motorists feel compelled to scream out their car window. Lot's of great responses posted below. Enjoy!

Here's my chant, mantra or witty bon mot for the Screamer: Live Free or Drive

Craig Maxwell Littleton, CO

I feel your pain. I had three "honkers" while trying to ride in slush, ice, snow, and piles of gravel during the past two months of snow covered ground. And one "barker." You know when the dog waits until he's in your ear to pop his head out of the car window and shout his hello. The only thing I can say is, don't take it personally, hold your line, and try to get back to enjoying your ride as fast as you can. At least I know I'm having a lot more fun on my bike than the honker/screamer is having in the car.

Come to think of it, that's a huge perk for me: no more road rage since I gave up the car and became a bike commuter. Now I have road bliss.

BTW: checked out the new follow your folly site. Very cool.

My SCREAMER difusser is the old tried and true 'way casual application of the Peace Sign' No one seems to take offense and it makes one feel better 'passing it on'.

Thank You

Keep up the good work

Bikes Rule and New Belgium gets my support for their stance!

Just ask the motorist "How can you do that?

Here are some related questions that I find myself asking:

- When I listen to the "slow and go" traffic reports on the radio every morning, I think to myself, "How can you do that?"

- When I look at the car ads in the newspaper, that advertise cars for only $249 or $299 a month, I think to myself, "How can you do that?"

- When gas goes over $2/gallon, and people just keep on buying it, I ask myself, "How can you do that?"

- When I'm enjoying my ride home from work, which frequently includes breezing past long lines of cars waiting at traffic signals, I think to myself, "How can you do that?" (By the way, I do obey traffic signals... but there's rarely a long line of bikes to wait behind.)

- When people are sitting in their cars, in traffic, on even the most picture-perfect days, I ask myself, "HOW CAN YOU DO THAT?!!?" borrowed from my friend Bikeboy.

So just ask the motorist How can you do that? when they yell at you.

Generally the "screamer's" thoughts are corrupted by the self-caused ringing in their ear. Recently, on my commute home from work I was confronted by a likely screamer, who must have temporarily lost her screaming voice. She pulled up next to me at the light and told me how stupid I was for riding my bike on a road "built for cars." I thanked her for her wisdom, and she proceeded to tell me that while she "was all for bicycles," but she didn't think that we should be allowed to ride on the road. It was a strange logic and I didn't know how to respond. It made me think about why I ride . I ride because I enjoy it. I love beating cars off the line at stoplights, and I even love fixing flats from shattered bottles thrown on the road. Why do you ask? Because riding in the rain for four hours beats sitting in traffic for five minutes any day.

I gotta fever and the only medicine is more COWBELL!!

I never understood "screamers", who would (?) I guess. I have been lucky enough that the dreaded screamer has not been present in a while in our part of the world. When it did happen I could always get regrounded with a quick look at my legs pedaling and and when I look back up the incident was gone and out of my mind. I suppose that means I am easy going or something

Blow them a kiss, lift up your arm and scream “WHHHOOOOOO” right along with them, but most of all pity them. As they sit there breathing exhaust and sweating pork rinds and grease in their heated little box, you are out in reality bettering yourself, your community and your world. Woe to the screamer.

Rock on.

I can't claim this idea as my own: "If you were canoing, and an empty boat drifted across your path, it wouldn't make any sense to get angry at it. It makes no more sense to get angry at road raging morons than it does to yell at an empty boat. Just repeat to yourself, 'Empty boat.'" More often I try to remember that they just don't know. They act out of ignorance. If they knew me personally, or knew why I ride my bikes, they would not act the way they do. If they ask me I explain; otherwise I ignore them. Sometimes I pray for them.

Hey New Belgium:
Thanks for all you do for those of us having an out of car experience! When a motorist spontaneously compliments my biking abilities I make sure to give him or her a wave to express my appreciation for the compliment. If you take this approach, make sure that all five fingers are clearly visible - holding up just one can be misconstrued best,

When someone yells at you while you are on your bike, I've found that it works best to smile, wave, and say "have a great day".

After biking to work (4mi each way) all winter in Fort Fun my new mantra is “thank the city planers for bike trails that go somewhere”, cause when it is time to go “above ground” onto the streets in the snow and slop things get ugly and it is near impossible to give the finger to cars riding in the bike lane when you are wearing mittens!

I like to keep a small handful of confetti in my coat pocket. When someone screams at me (which has been happening often since plowed snow has been piled up in the bike lane since December) I just reach into my pocket, grab the confetti and throw it straight up in the air. I've definitely gotten a couple of audible laughs and if nothing else it makes me smile.

I have always just waved and said "Ride ON!" I know that there aggravation is not from me but from the fact that they don't have the cajones to be out riding in inclimate weather, that and I am out riding and enjoying the bugs in my beard and wind tears on my cheeks. SO just remember, "RIDE ON!" and keep pumpin' yer pedals. Chris R. transplanted from FT C to Boulder, WY

"I'm doing this for you, Fatty!"

I give them the peace sign and just try to let it go and get back into the zone.

The best way to mitigate the buzz-kill of the drive-by screamer is to adapt an ideology that moves away from the harsh, negative feelings which we traditionally link drive-by screaming. This can be done by accepting the drive-by scream as a friendly hello from the screamer; possibly a “top of the morning, to you” type of social interaction. In life, however, it is difficult to infer the intent of an action as positive while it has been well-established socially that the originator of the said action had nothing but a malicious intent. Therefore, it would be fool’s quest to assert the drive-by screamer sought to derive nothing but good intentions from their barbaric drive-by screaming.

Assuming someone intended good from an action that was clearly meant to have a negative social effect would equate to the veritable head-in-the-sand/rose-colored glasses technique that is already overused by American society (i.e. watching “American Idol” rather than nightly news, or simply not watching television at all and reading something). To truly mitigate the harm to the social fabric that drive-by screaming may cause, it is on the behalf of the screamed-upon to retort with an unconventional reaction, such as … well, screaming. But scream with a different intention in mind. Scream for joy. Scream for awareness. Scream because sometimes it feels good to scream. If one’s scream is charged with no bad will, then you have successfully changed the negative connotation of the scream.

To take the ill-willed scream, absorb it, cleanse it of negativity, and then release it back into the world as a positive scream is clearly the most effective way to mitigate the buzz-kill. Plus, it might just blow the few mind of the drive-by screamer to see in his audible wake that his prey is joyously screaming.

I don't know any mantras to calm yourself or de-escalate any situation like that, but I would love to hear other people's.

I remember a time about 10 years ago...my friend and I were riding to go see a band play in downtown Austin, TX. Four men in a Mustang pulled up beside us and started yelling all kinds of things at us. I guess they thought riding bicycles for transportation was some sort of homosexual recruitment tool to warp the minds of the innocent youth in America. I reached into my trusty basket, pulled out a beer bottle, and hurled it at the Mustang. They were obviously enraged when the bottle shattered on the hood of their car, but, try as they might, they didn't stand a chance at catching us in the maze of one-way streets.

I was a lot angrier back then. I wanted to send out the message that you can't mess around with bicyclists. Many windshields were spared the fury of my U-Lock due to the fact that I'm not an especially fast rider. I'm glad I never caught up with any of them now. Violence is the last resort of a weak mind.

Today people continue to yell things as they pass by on the road. Half the time it just sounds like one loud sound followed by an unintelligible fading noise. I'm sure it probably isn't supposed to be nice, but now sometimes I try to imagine the people are yelling compliments - like how cute they think I am. Unfortunately, I can't usually convince myself that is what actually transpired.

I think this is a great idea and have a good one for you. Call it a confession or what ever you want, but it goes to prove that Karma is for real.

Way back some 20 odd years ago while riding home from high school in a friends car. I (most likely thinking I was impressing one of the girls in the back seat) yelled something to the effect that folks wearing tight pants were of an alternative lifestyle, at some guys riding bikes. They happened to be wearing rather tight fitting cycling pants.

I have often wondered in guilt on many occasions since then if they heard and what they thought of that silly young punk in the car. Recently, I was making my way along my daily commute in my rather tight fitting cycling pants when some high school kids waiting for the bus called out to me. As I turned around to see what they wanted, they all laughed and told me that only girls or gays wore pants like the ones I was wearing. They wanted to know if, since I was not a girl, was I gay. I immediately burst into laughter myself and yelled back as I continued on, "Won't you always wonder?"

It became clear to me that while one might for the moment think they are being cool one way or the other, in the end, everyone gets what is coming to them.

I have had a lot of screamers in my day and the best resolution that I have ever utilized was catching up to them at the stoplight or stop sign and talking to them. Keep your voice steady but stern and starting off with a "hey man, not cool. I really don't think you want to injure me, do you?". usually the answer is no, and some have even apologized. That's if you can catch them. If that's not possible then yell "You people killed Jesus!". At least it makes me laugh.

I always shout back whatever epitath and expletive comes to mind.....nothing clever at all but the act of shouting always helps me feel like I am where I belong.

I always smile and wave, usually with a thanks, good to see you to added on...every once in a while, i will respond, why yes, i know i have fine legs, thank you.

My frustrated fanatic ferrule of expression whilst being violated by yellow headed motorists is something to the effect of "Ride a Bike Fatty" While I currently live in Boulder Colorado and find little occasion to apply such anecdotes, I found it a very appropriate phrase while riding in the city of Richmond Virginia during the summer of 2005

Looks like a good site. Y'know I haven't been yelled at while riding on the streets of Denver recently. I think it has been too cold for folks to roll down their windows. But this week will be in the 60's so maybe I'll get a screamer or two.

Commuting here in Topeka, KS I get a lot of screamers, honkers, and funny looks. When a particularly inquisitive motorist pulled up next to me one day and with much disdain yelled with cigarette dangling from her lip, "What are you doing out here on the road?" I calmly looked her in the eye and said "Out-living you by 25 years!"

Om Karuna Rasa Sagarayea Namaha (oooom Kah Roo Nah Rah Sah Sah Gah Rah Yea Na Mah Ha) This is a mantra for Compassion in sanskrit.

OR

Om Maitraya Namaha (ooom My tray Ya Na Ma Hah) This is a mantra for friendship in sanskrit

OR

Aham Prema (Ahhh hahm Pre mah) This one is for Divine Love in Sanskrit

Re: Yay-hoos who scream at me or honk the horn while I'm minding my own business riding my bike on the side of the road: Mantra: "I will refrain from throwing a brick through his back window at the stoplight" Repeat a dozen times while my heart rate slows to something resembling normal

I learned this from a fellow cyclist. Just wave at the screamers or honkers. They want to piss you off, they want you to give them the finger because they are pissed that they don't have the pleasure of riding a bike. So don't let them get to you. Just ride on and wave at their rear view mirror.

RE: The screamer de-escalation mantra

I've tried a few. So far, the most satisfying, the most unexpected, and the most peaceful has been:

YEEHAW!!!! sent straight from my belly and my heart and usually accompanied by a swinging arm or a giant wave. Secret: Show them your buzz is immortal!!!

I like to think of "missed connections" ads I might put into the newspaper.

For example,
You: guy in white car driving down Remington
Me: girl on bike you tried to spit on
I like your mullet.

I guess I should start wearing a raincoat.