Share the road

Brigitte Rittscher, of Warm Beach, rides along Lovers Lane earlier this year. Brigitte Rittscher, of Warm Beach, was riding her bicycle east along Norman Road Oct. 9 when she was harassed by occupants of a Ford Explorer.

The driver of the vehicle was a heavyset man in his 20s, and there was a passenger and at least one person in the backseat.

They yelled, “Get off the road,” and added an expletive. That’s when Rittscher felt an object hit her left hip. It happened so fast, she said at first she wasn’t sure what had occurred.

She and the friend she was riding with weren’t able to get the license plate of the vehicle.

Rittscher, 54, said she wasn’t completely sure if the men were aiming at her, or at the parked cars she was riding past. Whatever the intent, the projectile cut her hip and left a painful bruise about three inches in diameter.

“If it hit me anyplace else, I would have been off of my bike,” she said.

She finished the 25-mile ride, and reported the incident to the police the next day.

Rittscher has heard about similar incidents happening to others. Other cyclists have been shot at with pellet guns, she said.

For cyclists, the yells are familiar, Rittscher said. Some drivers will buzz past, and others will hit the gas to send up a cloud of smoke the cyclist is then forced to breathe.

For the most part, drivers in the area treat bicyclists well, said Mark Everett, owner of Stanwood Velo Sport.

There are incidents that occur, like what happened to Rittscher, he said. More often the abuse is verbal, rather than physical.

Some fail to realize that bicycles are considered vehicles under state law, Everett said.

Everett encourages bicyclists to wear protective gear including helmets, good shoes and gloves, and to be as visible as possible with both lights and reflective apparel, since some people drive distracted. The more a cyclist looks like a circus, the less likely he or she is to be hit, he said.

When Everett is cycling, he said he uses a mirror on his bicycle to improve his visibility. It makes him more confident on the road.

Like drivers, bicyclists need to follow the rules of the road, including signaling and stopping at stop signs, Everett said. He advises cyclists to stay within three feet of the white line on the side of the road, or use the shoulder. That helps vehicles safely drive around cyclists.

Drivers should try to give cyclists at least three feet of space when passing, Everett said.

Bicycling is a healthy activity and one Rittscher enjoys. In the last year alone, she has put 4,500 miles on her bicycle. It’s a good way to see neighborhoods.

“It’s hard, and I like that,” she said. “But I don’t like the abuse that some of us have to endure.”

There is plenty of road to share, Rittscher said.

There are some who have taken up mountain biking instead of riding on the road because of abuse from drivers, Rittscher said.

However, she plans to stick to the road.

Staff Reporter Kristi Pihl: 629-8066 ext. 125 or kpihl@scnews.com.