What is it that is so bad (threatening?) about bicycling that makes drivers hate cyclists so much?
You get out there on your bike, and you're in the fresh air (if you're not stuck behind a diesel truck or a line of traffic), you're getting exercise, your bike was built with far less materials than your neighbor's car, it uses less fuel, and it still allows you to slow down and chat with the neighbors.
In some cities, you can get places a lot faster by bike- hence, the use of bike messengers.
The thing that I don't get about cars is, what gives people this sense of entitlement that means that EVERYBODY has to have a car, it's their god-given right, and there's got to be something wrong with people who either choose not to drive, or can't afford a car?!
Every time I get on my bike, in San Francisco, Oakland, or Berkeley, even if I'm only riding ONE mile, I am nearly hit by some part of a car. Either it's someone opening the driver's side door into the bike lane, or someone who's not looking where they're going, or someone who doesn't bother to stop all the way at a stop sign to look around and make sure it's safe to go (am i the only one who paid attention in driver's ed?), or someone who can't be bothered to use their turn signal before a. entering traffic or b. turning.
So please don't say that we don't share nicely. The cars don't share nicely.
And the fact is, CARS HAVE NO FUTURE. Human-powered (and animal-powered) transportation existed before cars, and it will outlast them, but we'll have to navigate around tons of abandoned car dinosaur bodies. How much money are you willing to pay for your gas? How much for insurance? How often do you have to replace your car due to a pileup like the one in the picture above? How much longer till you go crazy from sitting in traffic? (at least you can breathe, with your air conditioning and vent. we're basically sucking on exhaust pipe) Which takes up more space in the landfill-- a broken car frame, or a broken bike frame? Which breaks down faster? Probably the smaller item.
Even this website i found when i googled sometihng about car exhaust says, "Vehicles possess two exactly opposite qualities. One is being useful, friendly, and attractive. The other one is being destructive and to some extent, being lethal. The reason for owning a car may vary according to the person.... Everyone is aware of the pollution the environment is currently suffering from. The more cars operating in a community increases the chance of pollution. Looking closely at this case creates the realization that the pollution brought about by the vehicle exhausts threatens those innocent souls who inhale them as well as the environment itself. Clearly enough though, the number of vehicles continues to escalate despite the government efforts of antipollution measures and required devices. For one, the United States and Canada are faced with the dilemma of hazardous exhausts mainly because of the reason that car nowadays are becoming bigger. Also, pickup trucks, vans, and sports vehicles are now produced to replace smaller and lighter passenger cars. The exhaust produced by all combustion engines deliberately produces adverse effects both on the health of car users and the plain bystanders. " (
http://www.carpartswholesale.com/cpw/exhaust.html)
guess what, the bikes aren't getting bigger. although i do sometimes find that the bike parking at a store is being taken up by some jerk's motorcycle.