Bitch 3x Diaries or The Bike Lane

The Bitch 3X Diaries©

by Marci Baun © 2000

Driving in the bike lane.

Driving in the bike lane is one of Los Angelenos favorite pastimes...at least during rush hour. Heaven help the cyclist!

I cycle. To me, bike lanes mean a certain amount of safety on a road otherwise dominated by cars. When I see some I'm-too-much-in-a-hurry-therefore-waiting-in-traffic-does-not-apply-to-me driver using the bike lane, unless they turn right, I get mildly irritated. Okay, it really curdles my milk! Not only is this stupid and rude, but it is dangerous.

Most cars see bikes as vehicles only when it suits them. If a car sees us rolling through a stop sign (like they don't do it!), they shake their fingers at us. We shouldn't, of course, but when no one is around, I will. Any other time, a car will cut in front of us and turn right (or left), thinking they have time to turn before we broadside them, open their doors without looking, pull out of a parking lot in front of us because "we are smaller and slower than they are" and can't retaliate, drive by us at 50 miles per hour, missing us by a matter of inches... The list goes on and on and on...

A number of my friends have ended up in the hospital because of these people. (Bikes can go faster than most people think. The group I ride with frequently exceeds 20 miles per hour and can maintain that pace for two or three hours. Imagine trying to stop when someone opens a door unexpectedly in front of you or turns suddenly and you miss them by less than a foot even though you hit the brakes hard.)

Even before I rode, these types of drivers annoyed me and witnessing their comeuppance delights me to no end.

The other morning as I drove to work, one of these I'm-too-much-in-a-hurry-therefore-waiting-in-traffic-does-not-apply-to-me drivers decided to use the bike lane to circumvent three measly cars in front of him, one of them being mine. With a disgusted eye, I watched this selfish so-and-so pull even with the person at the front. I silently, okay not so silently, fumed at his rude behavior.

So, there I sat, waiting for the light to change, glowering at the impudent punk in the bike lane, and praying that the car in front of me wouldn't let the boob in. (Not the safest behavior, I know, but...) Then, before my delighted gaze, a bus turned left onto our street and stopped at the bus stop, effectively blocking our bike lane driver. As the light turned green and we passed him by, I chortled with glee. Ah, poetic justice! Now, if only they'd stay out of the bike lane.

Although I'm sure that some people will always drive in the bike lane when it suits them, I'm also positive that it won't deter me from cycling. So, as long as I do, I'll don my helmet and watch for the idiots...who drive in the bike lane.

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Marci Baun is the editor-in-chief of Freya's Bower and Wild Child Publishing. At one time, she imagined herself as an actor/opera star. Now, she just imagines alone time where she can breath and relax without "Mommy, will you play with me?", "Mommy, I peed in my underwear.", "Mommy..." :) And, yes, she's very aware of how precious this time is. She just needs reminders to breath and calm down when the day has taken a southern bend.