October 7, 2014
by Bikeyface
Bike Creep
The other day I was enjoying the wonderful cool autumn weather on my ride home.
When all of the sudden I was interrupted.
And I realized there was something lurking over my shoulder.
I thought he was trying to pass me… but he didn’t.
I know drivers complain about tailgators. But they should consider themselves lucky that they can’t feel that stranger’s breath on their cheek.
I know that feeling only too well.It,s the same when someone shoots past with no warning it scares the living day lights out of you
I can’t say this is a phenomenon that I’ve ever encountered. And as a woman biking in a big city, I’m familiar with all sorts of creeps and their creepy behavior. But I guess it’s just not something that bothers me. Or maybe it means I’m the creep. 😛
I did have a funny incident a few years ago when my path coincided with another cyclist’s path for a few miles. It was all down a popular cycling street and then we made one turn together. I had passed him early on, then he was following at a safe distance. We stopped at a red light together and he verbally assured me that he wasn’t following me and that he was worried I was creeped out.
I am hyper-aware if I end up accidentally following a female bike rider for any point and I have actually said sorry for following somebody before as well.
Ha ha ha! This made me LOL.
I was the creeper this spring… Just starting out riding after a ten year hiatus… I was and kinda still am out of shape… I live in a small college town with a lot of runners and I was on my way home from the store bags in tow… I came upon some female runners and I passed them until I hit the first hill… they passed me… I passed them on the way down… not real fast because I was already tired… they passed me kinda on the level… I was definitely getting the creep stare,… but really I am just a fat old tired dude trying to get a little healthier… It was kind of embarrassing to be overtaken by runners, but they were really fast…
But then there’s those people who pass and get in front of you at a stop light, forcing you into the “creep” zone. If you are going faster than them and there’s no opportunity to pass due to a narrow bike lane and dense traffic to the left, what’s a person to do in that situation? I’ve also noticed that as biking gets more popular in urban areas the amount of personal space I used to find in the bike lane has definitely become more scarce, so perhaps a certain amount of “bike creepiness” is just something that we will have to accept as a condition of success for higher ridership. A gang of bicyclists in a huddle is certainly a different dynamic than just oneself and one other person though, for sure!
I personally try to never pass another bicyclist until I know I will be moving faster than them, as well as avoid passing when approaching an intersection where they might turn with no warning. I’m happy to hang back several bike lengths until there’s a safe place to pass, but this approach is certainly not universal so we end up dealing with a lot of leap-frogging.
Holy moly, that looks like me and my bike. Was it me? Where did this happen? I try to swing around people in the car’s lane, but I’m not perfect. Need I apologize?
I thought bike creep was the n+1 phenomenon.
http://www.velominati.com/the-rules/#12
Isn’t this called “half wheeling” but I agree, it’s annoying because you automatically sense someone is there and yes it’s creepy.
When this happens I just tell the person, draft me, or pass me. If you want to chat, then come along side and let’s talk.