Things that relate to human nature seem to be set in stone. We seem to always need to take a stance, on one side or the other no matter what the issue is. As cyclists we love to be on the road and have to share the road with pedestrian, cars, buses, trucks, even animals like squirrels, dogs, cows, pigs, chickens (I've seen a lot of those on the road in Cuba).

It seems that every one is in everyone's way. And with our human nature automated response, we're right and they are wrong. Last year I remember reading about a Planet Energy (now SpiderTech) rider Francois Parisien having an altercation with a driver (link is in French) after a close call. He ended up in the hospital with a head concotion.

Last fall, a cyclist in Toronto died after a dicussion between the cyclist and the driver escalated. A few weeks after that incident I'm coaching a triathlon group and one of the cyclists in the group decided to try and reason with a driver. Nothing came out of that discussion, but at least it was not violent. For some reason it's always the other person who is wrong.

And then I see discussion threads here and there about whether one should bring a gun on a bike ride to protect oneself. This is getting out of hand.

I think there is only one solution to this. It's simply to be more tolerant, respectful and aware of the people and things around us. There is no point arguing over something when both parties are pumping adrenaline and all they want to do is tell the other person they are not behaving correctly. There is nothing wrong with saying "I'm sorry about that, I'll be more careful next time", no matter which side you are on.

I received an email from Jonathan @ www.sharethedamnroad.com who offers jerseys that speak without talking to get the cohabitation message out. A little "thank you" in the rear-view mirror may be appreciated.

One thing won't change, is we have to share the road, so let's try to understand each other.