To the gal driving the black Pontiac...

I've blogged about this before. 

I guess it bears repeating.

Rock Island is probably the most traveled trail in Lincoln. The intersection at Essex Road (the first street intersection north of Old Cheney) is a source of much frustration for me. Today I let it get the best of me.

To the gal driving the black Pontiac who stopped to wait for me at the bike trail/street intersection at Rock Island and Essex Road at about 5:15pm today: Sorry I flipped you off.

A word of advice: just drive. We cyclists are expected, nay REQUIRED to stop there. When motorists stop to wave me through, I feel like the universe is all out of whack.

I know you waved me through. I know you think you were being nice.

Just drive.

I was already waiting for the SUV coming from the right. There isn't enough room for your car, the SUV and my bicycle.

Just drive.

My hands were off the bars. My left foot was on the ground. I was expecting you to just drive.

There was a car pulling up behind you when I decided to leave. In an effort to keep them from getting angry with me and bicyclists in general, I pedaled through the intersection in front of you.

Maybe I should have reached over and grabbed the stop sign post. That's worked to diffuse these situations in the past with a laugh from both parties.

Maybe I shouldn't have given you my best impression of a "gangsta glare" as I passed. Maybe I should have listened to what you actually said as I pedaled away instead of just flipping you off.

I heard what you said after the fact. I realized then that I goofed and probably made us cyclists all look even more like jerks.

But I was legally obligated to stop at the street intersection. It's for everyone's safety that the cyclist stops. We are the slower traffic intersecting with a higher speed intersection.

So just drive.

Let me let you in on a little secret: We know you're there. We can hear you. I guarantee you that we see you before you see us.

If we didn't, your cars would be wearing us as hood ornaments.

And that would suck for both of us.

So just drive.