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Young rednecks and pickup trucks (rant)
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Don't have many problems with motorists but any time that it has happened it's always been some young redneck in his 20's driving a pickup truck. The beer guzzlin', junk food eating idiots are the ones who should be out riding bikes instead of developing a middle age spread by the time they reach thirty.

Happened again tonight on our group ride, some young redneck jerkovski in a pick up truck almost runs us off the road and gives the middle finger salute while doing it.

Why are these young guys so hostile to anyone who particpates in sports other than beer belly baseball or hockey. I just don't get it. Anyone with insight into this.
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Re: Young rednecks and pickup trucks (rant) [cerveloguy] [ In reply to ]
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I'm no expert, but generally these people do these things because they have low self-esteem, hence the very large truck to bolster said esteem. I just gotta think these are people who are trying to impress someone, whether it's friends, rivals, girls, boys, mothers or fathers. Find out what the family and/or home life is like and you'll probably be able to figure out the reason pretty quickly.


Sean
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Re: Young rednecks and pickup trucks (rant) [haystack] [ In reply to ]
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"but generally these people do these things because they have low self-esteem"

I agree 100%. I teach 11th grade and it's always the same with kids who need to pick on other kids and who do the vandalism and are simply jerks. It's the kids who completely lack all confidence and have no self-worth. They fill the void in their lives by bringing harm to other people and objects (vandalism). The kids whose parents are involved with their lives, who participate in activities, and are truly confidet about their abilities are never the ones to cause the problems. I'd bet I can pick out the kids in my class who are going to drive down the road some day and give us bikers a scare. It's not a hatred towards bike riders, it's simply one more way of bringing people down to make themselves feel better about themselves.
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Re: Young rednecks and pickup trucks (rant) [cerveloguy] [ In reply to ]
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I had a man in a blue pickup truck about 30 scare me last Friday when I was doing a 100 mile ride by myself. There was a dump truck behind me. It had been going slow way before he came on me because I heard him and kept looking to see what was making all the noise. Well, I kept hearing a horn blowing too but knew it wasn't coming from the dump truck. Sounded like a car horn. Well, needless to say the dump truck caught up to me and was going slow waiting for a chance to pass me. Kept hearing the car horn behind him thinking what is going on. Anyway, we got to one section where there was still a solid line in the road but there was a gravelly, grassy area on the side with a couple driveways clumped together. Very much a country road out in the county. So here I sat with this dump drunk on my left and all of a sudden I feel something go along my right side and it's the jerk passing on the gravelly,grassy side. he was basically riding partially in a ditch as he was trying to pass us on the right. He spun out in the gravel spit of grass came very close to taking me down and the whole time he's spewing out profanity. All to go stop at the stop sign that was down about 100 yards. I was so much in shock that I couldn't even think.

About 10 miles down the road I started thinking about how close I came to being gone. I thought for all I know I could be gone right now and only thinking I'm riding. Maybe God has taken me up and I'll be riding in heaven for the rest of my life. But I had to laugh because I was riding on a windy day and on a road needing to be paved. And it wasn't "heaven". I guess you can guess the rest of the conversation had with myself. I'm pretty sure I'm still alive.

I hope he had the scare of his life but I bet he went on to work and went off on the "stupid bike rider" who got in his way and had no right to be on the road anyway.
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Re: Young rednecks and pickup trucks (rant) [cerveloguy] [ In reply to ]
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A different redneck story.........

Each fall I end up helping the local Ironman aspirants with their long rides. Two of us stopped in at a convenience store one very warm day, where there were three good ol' boys (youg ones, though) sitting in a pick-up. They asked how far had we been, and I said about 80 so far, with another 20 to go.

They looked at each other, and then one said with a serious face "Do y'all do that for FUN????"
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Re: Young rednecks and pickup trucks (rant) [cerveloguy] [ In reply to ]
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I know I have run this into the ground before, but a "redneck" is defined as a "white member of the southern, rural working class." I guess you were in southern Canada? So, the guy who harassed you was probably not a redneck, just a jerk. Jerks come in all sizes and races and from all parts of the world. Seriously, most true rednecks are among the best people you would ever want to meet. Having lived in the deep south for 27 years, married a farmer's daughter, gone to high school football games every Friday night, eaten fried mullet with cheese grits and hushpuppies too many times to remember, owned several pickup trucks, lived in two trailer parks, drunk Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, yada, yada , yada, I consider myself an expert on rednecks, if not at least an "honorary" redneck. As I said before, if I am ever stuck 50 miles from home on my bike, I'll bet it's a redneck that gives me a ride.
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Re: Young rednecks and pickup trucks (rant) [tri_bri2] [ In reply to ]
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 I live in College Station Texas right now and we have plenty of the aforementioned. People generally feel entirely too comfortable in their cars and get overly aggressive all too often.



The ironic thing though is that I have trained in College Station and Bouder, Colorado. and in Boulder I routinely encountered angry motorists, but in College Station its less of a norm. I get harassed by college kids (even though I am one) when I ride and run quite a bit, but it is usually pretty harmless. Having said that, there are certain roads that I won't ride on anymore because I consider them "cursed."



Justin D
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Re: Young rednecks and pickup trucks(Extended Rant) [ In reply to ]
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Years ago when I would be running the roads near my Muskoka area cottage, people driving cars( Remember them? You know, those sensible, reasonable size, fuel effcient vehicles that people drove years ago)would often stop and ask me if I needed a lift. This would be particularly so if the weather was inclement. Now, no one stops. The lumber on past in their massive SUV's and trucks kicking up a cloud of dust.

I am going to stero-type here and I may get into trouble, but it is what I have seen from my anecdotal observations over the years. The type of character, driving the huge truck that gave you the hard time is also the same person who owns a Jet-Ski, a dirt bike or an ATV or a snowmobile ( or ALL of the previous!). They may also have a honking big motor boat that needs to be hauled around on a trailer. They may also have a massive caravan or motorhome parked in the drive way to. Everything they do seems to be directly involved with burning more fossil fuel. They may, as you observed be overweight or headed in that direction and they may also indulge in other non-healthy activities. Bottom line with these folks is that they collectivly are a huge environmental burdan on our society and are also either now or later on, be a huge burdan on our health-care system. Why is it that these people don't seem to get it?


Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog
Last edited by: Fleck: Sep 26, 03 6:50
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Re: Young rednecks and pickup trucks (rant) [tri_bri2] [ In reply to ]
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My apologies tri_bri2 for stereotyping. I used the term very loosely as refering to anyone from a rural area that drives a pickup truck who harrasses cyclists. We have 'em up in south eastern rural Ontario as well.

I live in a rural area also and have to agree that 99% of the time rural folks are much more willing to help a stranger than are urbanites.

As for the rural southern US, for some reason Hollywood always gives the place a bad rap. I've travelled throughout the USA, probably visited more states than have most Americans, and will confirm that people in the rural south are generally the friendliest. Back in the 80's we used to go to Road Atlanta every year for about a decade to watch a car race in October. A couple of times we wanted to really see the south so we avoided the interstates back to Canada and drove on back roads instead to extend our holiday and see a bit more of the country. Everywhere in the rural south people were great.

So my defination of "redneck" wasn't directed specifically at southerners by any means so no offense should be taken. It was really referring to anyone with a certain type of attitude towards cyclists.
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Re: Young rednecks and pickup trucks(Extended Rant) [Fleck] [ In reply to ]
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"The type of character, driving the huge truck that gave you the hard time is also the same person who owns a Jet-Ski, a dirt bike or an ATV or a snowmobile ( or ALL of the previous!)."

From my experience of riding back roads in Ontario, those are exactly the people that give me a hard time on a bicycle. Fortunately, it doesn't appen very often, but when it does....
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Re: Young rednecks and pickup trucks (rant) [cerveloguy] [ In reply to ]
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I've always said that Redneck is based on a state of mind not the state where you live. The biggest redneck I know in North Carolina where I live is from Los Angeles and has only lived in the South a couple years. There's a difference between country and Red. Having lived in the south all but 4 years of my life and having a good number of these "country" folk in my family, (How many of you can say they've been to the Chitlin Strut in Salley, SC), there's an attitude that's included in my definition of Red that's not in Country folk. Country folk would give you the shirt off their backs. For everyone one of the jerks like the one last week there are 100's that are patient and wait on us bike riders on the country roads. Good example of just plain niceness was later in the ride I stopped at a little country store. The owner was friendly asked me where I had ridden, how far I had to go, Even didn't let me pay completely for one item because it would have given me a pocket full of change. Told me "you could've gone to Charlotte". I think I'll make a point of stopping there often to give him business. He was even concerned about a lady out ridding by herself.

I know I ranted but as a whole the area I live in is great to ride in. I've only had 4 incidents since last April. I have to admit though that 3 of the 4 involved young white males. 2 were driving trucks, 1 a rigged up car.
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Re: Young rednecks and pickup trucks (rant) [cerveloguy] [ In reply to ]
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C-Guy--apology accepted. Motors, testosterone (unused), and alcohol are a bad combination. Add that to the fact that in rural areas, there often is a lack of diversion. Therefore, boredom causes some people to seek thrills in ways that they otherwise wouldn't.
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Re: Young rednecks and pickup trucks (rant) [cerveloguy] [ In reply to ]
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Very interesting comments form the forum. I agree. Last month, I was riding down a fairly steep hill to get to my usual path and a group of goof balls decided it woud be funny to toss out a chewed up peice of gum. It hit me on my right shoulder and I took off after them. I had Pepper spray and a bike tool in my jersey and I honestly was so aggrivated that I was going to use it. Unfortunatly, they took off but if they ended up being stopped at the light I was goign to spray them. That's how mad I was. So understand your frustration totally.

They have nothing better to do.
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Re: Young rednecks and pickup trucks (rant) [cerveloguy] [ In reply to ]
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Had a similar incident happen to me last night on a short ride. I live in Dallas, and the only real place to ride (unless you want to drive 30 miles out or so) without being too interrupted is around White Rock Lake in east Dallas. It's very near my house, and there's a great greenbelt with a bike/run path that leads from my house to the lake. However, once you get there, much of the bike route is on roads around the lake (there IS a bike/run path, but you really can't do a training ride on it because there are way too many runners, walkers and recreational bikers). It's a well-known area where serious cyclists do their rides.

Anyway, I was coming up the road past a gravel parking lot, when I heard tires spin on the gravel, and a low-rider came barrelling down the driveway to the parking lot just as I was passing. Thank goodness there was a car behind me on the road, or I don't think those kids would have stopped. In any event, they were pretty pissed, and when they turned on the road, they laid on that horn and yelled at me as they were zooming passed at a rae of speed that clearly exceeded the posted limit.

I'll never understand why these kids have to be such a**holes sometimes. I'm sure I had my moments when I was younger, but I don't recall ever putting someone's life in danger like that.

What ticks me off (and I think there's been countless posts on this subject) is that even if I reported them to the cops and had fifteen bishops as my witnesses, the cops couldn't do anything but issue a warning. Non-cyclists are never going to take this issue seriously until they injure someone, or until the police have the ability to really crack down on these guys.



Steve


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Steve Perkins
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