The Slice: We mostly get along in the wheel world

Back before becoming a Spokane bicycle commuter in 2008, I noticed something.

It was this: Some bike riders are inconsiderate twits.

Then I started riding a bicycle myself. And I came to a realization.

I was right. Some bike riders are inconsiderate twits.

I suspect a few of my two-wheeled brethren will regard me as a traitor for saying that. But that’s because they are in denial.

If you spend much time on Spokane’s roads, you undoubtedly have seen cyclists do all sorts of annoying things. We all could make lists.

But here’s the thing. In my opinion, the traffic offenses committed by bike riders are nothing – nothing – compared to the transportation affronts perpetrated by drivers.

Partly, that is a function of numbers. There are simply many more drivers than bike riders.

Still, there is more to it than that. Here’s my theory.

I suspect that automobilists, as a cycling friend calls those behind the wheel, commit such an appallingly huge number of transgressions that we almost become inured to poor decisions on the road. These instances of bad judgment become akin to background noise. After a while, you just get used to it.

But when a cyclist cuts you off in traffic, you are more apt to remember it because it does not happen every day.

I also believe I know why many cyclists seem incapable of or at least unwilling to admit that bike riders are not perfect.

It’s because they fear inviting the same forehead-slappingly tedious piling-on arguments that cycling haters trot out over and over.

How many times does it have to be pointed out that 99.3 percent of bike riders also own cars and thus pay all the taxes noncyclists do?

Of course, it could be argued that some bike riders are insufferable when it comes to patting themselves on the back for exercising and being good to the environment. But I think the reason that infuriates certain drivers is that it represents a different choice than they themselves have made. That blows their minds.

You want to know one of the biggest secrets in Spokane? The majority of cyclists and drivers get along fine.

Today’s Slice question: Which Civil War battlefield is closest to Spokane?