Dear Dr X,

I’m emailing about the interaction we had this Monday afternoon heading north from Capitol Hill near the intersection of 10th and Roanoke.

As someone who’s mostly looking to get around the city alive, I found it terrifying, and your reaction deeply perplexing. From your bio, I can tell you’re an educated, giving person who most likely cares deeply for the people you touch, which made it all the stranger.

From my perspective, here’s what happened:

I was traveling downhill, north on 10th ave (one of the only marked bike routes between Capitol Hill and the u-district), within 5mph of the 25mph speed limit according to my GPS, and in the center of the lane (right where the painted bike markings tell me to be, and far enough away from the parked cars to avoid an unexpected open door)

There were other cars about 20–40 yards ahead of me

You pulled out to the left to pass me and were traveling side by side with me — you in the oncoming lane, me in the travel lane

With a red light at Miller St and slowing traffic ahead, you merged back to the right into the travel lane while I was still parallel to you, coming less than 12 inches from my handlebars and squeezing me against parked cars

Finally you braked

Then, I turned around to you and made a motion with my arms trying to indicate how close we got and request that you leave me more space.

You shook your head at me and yelled “You’re not a car”

I’ve thought about that last statement a fair amount, and what’s still unclear to me is what it implies for you; what should I have done differently?

I know traffic in Seattle can be frustrating. Still, I have to wonder what you had to gain with such a dangerous pass, given my proximity to cars in front and the way traffic bunches up at the Roanoke intersection every day.

If there’s something specific I did to set you off, I’d genuinely love to learn about it so I can avoid that kind of thing in the future; otherwise, I’d encourage you to please reconsider your attitude toward people on bikes. It’s really scary to almost be hit by a car moving that fast, let alone consider the consequences of actually coming into contact.

Thanks for listening.