It's good to see this thread take a more constructive and positive turn. Those of us on two wheels really should stick together. We are both vulnerable to aggressive, inattentive or oblivious drivers.

I'll admit, I too can be a bit jaded after years of having my safety jeopardized by my fellow road users simply because I am at the bottom of the "food chain" and don't DESERVE equal respect, so the "militant cyclist" in me may come through at times. Therefore, I do understand how things can escalate.

@Elizabeth

The post was "They informed me that he is a 'Khaki.' I have seen him in Khaki as well". It was stated that he was wearing his flourescent jacket and riding gear. And, I don't think that the gate guards would have given ANY information to ANYONE ELSE as they were not privy to any violation by either party and the complaint was about an incident off base where no police were involved. Again rank was irrelevant.

Posted By Lazarus on 02-09-2011 1:27 PM
I remember when people solved their problems by not resorting to childish immature topic threads on Internet websites

You mean when we shot or stabbed each other in duels? 

Glad that a rant took such a constructive turn.  We all need to share the road better (2 and 4 wheeled alike). 

Posted By tulipsonly on 02-09-2011 5:11 PM
@Elizabeth

The post was "They informed me that he is a 'Khaki.' I have seen him in Khaki as well". It was stated that he was wearing his flourescent jacket and riding gear. And, I don't think that the gate guards would have given ANY information to ANYONE ELSE as they were not privy to any violation by either party and the complaint was about an incident off base where no police were involved. Again rank was irrelevant.

Tulipsonly: I'm not sure how long you've been around the Navy, so please do not take this as me talking down to you. In the Navy there is a big separation between a few different ranks, the biggest being E-6 and below and E-7 and above. The other being Enlisted and Officer. There is a huge disparity between the way "Khakis" (E-7 through E-9 and officers) are treated compared to "Blue Shirts". These double standards cause a lot of discontent with the Blue Shirts when they see Khakis being treated differently because of their rank. I doubt anyone here would refute that this exists. This is why Maelstrom pointed out that the cyclist was a khaki. You have no idea how often I hear "There is nothing we can do about it, they're a Khaki".

Posted By Fireballfish on 02-09-2011 9:42 PM
You have no idea how often I hear "There is nothing we can do about it, they're a Khaki".

Which is total BS garbage.

I'm not discounting what you are saying, because everyone in the Navy has heard it.  However, a sailor is a sailor is a sailor is a sailor.

If a sailor, of any rank, is in the wrong, it's our duty to police ourselves and correct that person.  Granted there are right and wrong ways to do that, but everyone makes mistakes, and shit happens.  The sailor who does nothing is just as much, if not more, in the wrong than the offender.

Well, I cannot speak for what I was told, but I could swear I saw him once wearing khaki pants while riding. Of course he was wearing yellow jacket. But, I couldn't see a full uniform. I just assumed that it was a khaki uniform. Or, hell, it might have been another bicyclist wearing khaki pants with a yellow jacket, because I initially saw the person with the khaki pants & yellow jacket about two years ago. I mainly associated the yellow jacket with the same person. Regardless, I was wrong.

@Kabukidaimyo: Well, we work on a small base, so the chances of us not seeing each other again are slim.

However, after all of this, it is evident that it's not worth fighting over, or even arguing over anymore. We both stated what happened from our perceptions. I have seen what I did wrong. I have let it go.

It's kind of like when you get in a fight with someone. Once the fight is over, & the aggression is gone, the two people usually get along fine.

So, I hold no ill will toward you. When we do run into each other again, I won't feel anger. In fact, I might just give you a nod in recognition.

Again, sorry I reacted that way.

Maelstrom,

To defend you, at my present command we can’t be seen in uniform. We must wear office attire, and many of my pants are kaki, and I wear either black or brown dress shoes with them. I’m not the greatest on uniform regs, but I don’t think I can wear that florescent jacket with a uniform, even on a bicycle. But there is no doubt that you saw me on the bike with kaki pants, but I’m not a (Kaki Pants) the new catchy term for Chief and Officers. I apologize for the attention to detail crack you had it correct.

Take care.
Kabukidaimyo