Flagger

My ride to work is littered with construction these days. It probably feels pretty normal to see a flagger from your car. You know how to interact with him. It probably feels pretty normal for a flagger to see you in your car. He knows how to interact with you. He holds up a STOP, you STOP. He holds up a SLOW, you SLOW.

One morning I approached a flagger by bike, a weird experience for both of us. In fact, maybe it was weird the first time that guy stepped onto the road with his powerful sign of STOP and SLOW.

Flagger is holding up STOP. I roll up near him, maybe a car length back, and I give a waveNod. Except... he is yelling at me to BACK UP. Suddenly, I realize this grey encounter of a cyclist on the road is going to happen. He's got some beef to kick with me about approaching him at his sign.

I say to my new friend, Flagger, "What's the matter? Why are you yelling?"

Flagger responds, "It's not safe! You can't be up here!"

"But why? I thought I was supposed to stop at the STOP sign"

"It isn't safe! You are supposed to stop back there! See that? The cars are coming through right here!"

At this point, Flagger gets huffy and hoists his STOP power sign. He walks to where I am standing on the road and he says, "Why you gotta be like that? I was just trying to stand in the shade."

Um. Ok. Clearly, he isn't comfortable with cyclists on the road. He isn't getting it at all. He turns the sign to SLOW and I move on.

This may be one of the odder parts of the interaction: I've passed Flagger for a couple of weeks now. The first day after this was an awkward, stiff chin. A week went by, and he pretended to let me be one of the cars. Two weeks in, he waves a big, open smile, "Hi Miss!"