Posted on 12/18/2005 5:19:40 PM PST by bikepacker67
So this morning I'm tooling along, cycle-commuting on my way to work, and got buzzed (passed unnecessarily close) by an SUV. Road conditions were clear except for the gutter, which was icy and rutted, so obviously I was where the passenger side tire tracks. The opposing lane was clear, with plenty of sight ahead (although was double line) So this guy was just being an azz.
I didn't flip him off, I didn't scream, I just raised a left hand with a shoulder shrug saying basically, thanks alot for nearly hitting me.
Well, this guy was itchin' for a fight... he slams on the brakes about 50 yds ahead, so I just pass him on the right - of course he has his window down and is cursing me out for "being in the middle of the road", and "what's my f'n problem"
I'm yelling back "Why didn't you use the other f'n lane?!"
So then he gets behind me and decides to "scare" me, revving up close to me, then hitting the brakes a couple times (maybe 20 seconds worth). Mind you, this is a relatively busy main artery through town, and there are cars coming the other way, (I imagine behind as well, but I was too busy keeping an eye on dyckhead).
He then decides that the best course of action would be to get a few 100 yards a head, park his car in a senior center parking lot and, I guess, lie in wait, to "take me on".
Problem for "Genius" was, the parking lot is on the other side of the road - and traffic was coming, plus this guy was 6' even and all of 290 - so he wasn't moving fast.
And I can fly...
About 1/2 mile ahead I hit town, and stopped at a phone to call 911 - I had memorized the plate PLUS, I have the whole thing in AVI format (at least what occurred in front of me - unfortunately not him threatening to hit me from behind)
Maybe I should get a second one of these and point it to the rear!
Here's some stills of the video (in chrono order):
Ohhh.... and the cops took my statement, and later came back (where i was working) and had me identify the guy from a picture they printed up from the DMV.
I call them "reckless drivers"
Reminds me of the time I was on a surface street in my car. Traffic was backed up solid and we were stopped. A number of us were about 50 feet from making a right-hand turn onto another street, so we pulled over onto the shoulder to bypass the stopped cars. Some guy decides we're cheating or something and pulls out to the right a bit to block me. I thought he was another right-turner so I waited a bit. When he did nothing more, I just pulled out even further and snuck on by him, which really set him off. When I passed, he started shouting and shaking his fist. I paused there for a second and then said to the young lady he had sitting in the passenger seat, "You can do a lot better than him, miss." He didn't take it well. My fond hope is that it planted a seed in the young woman's thoughts and she ended up finding a less volatile boyfriend than that loser. Snicker.
Well, in the first two pictures it looks like he was giving you very wide berth. As in he was hugging the left side of the lane. It was a two lane highway, where was he supposed to go?
I have about 20,000 miles under my azz, many of it in the Red States, and BY FAR, Massholes and Connecticunts are the bastards of the roadway.
Hell, out in stixville Florida, every time I took a break some "good folk" would invariably stop and ask if I was broke-down and needed a ride.
And here's another thing... Truckers... I've NEVER had a problem with professional drivers that understand the rules of the road.
I ride about where the right tire track is (maybe 6' from the edge - with safety vest and rear red LED's), and when I see cars approaching (and they've seen me) I ease over as close as safe for the conditions.
I'm not some "John Kerry channeling Lance Armstrong" wannabe trying to hinder traffic and make statements. I'm just trying to get where I'm going.
Some motorists need some education.
I had a couple freak out on me in a parking lot last week. We were both in cars and came to a three-way stop in a busy shopping center lot. I was there first, so I went first and parked. The overweight couple in the car disagreed, and pulled up next to me as I was getting out of my car. They were were screaming curses and giving me the finger, but I just laughed at them. Just looking at the guy, I was pretty sure I could kick his a** if it came to it.
MY POINT is that in nearly 35 years of driving, I've yet to see someone on a racing (or sport) bicycle obey a basic stop sign. NEVER.
I seen groups of 40 or more on back delta roads take up an entire lane of a two way highway (where one cannot pass) and laugh if you try to pass. YOU own the road... So the next time you blow a stop sign because it's inconvenient you for to stop remember this post and know I speak the truth.
You want to stay safe?? Instead of investing in a bike cam, get yourself a trainer.
You're on in a thousand. Stay safe!
I suspect the roadrager was not the one that put the 'fish' symbol above the license. I know that it is commonly used by some to represent that they are Christian. And it doesn't look like the Darwin fish with legs, that some from that religion display.
You always on the lookout for this kind of thing with a camera?
It's having to put up with arrogant jerks riding 15 mph in the traffic lane and pretending they own the road. Beyond that, cyclists are OK.
What are you? Crazy?
He's supposed to give me at LEAST 3 feet, and he was travelling at about 40mph.
I think you need to get perspective on those pics, that camera is mounted on the right side of my head tube, so the left edge of handlebars is about 10 inches from this azzhat's rearview mirror.
Ask yourself this... would he have passed a mailman that close, that fast?
You were in the middle of the road..
You dialed 911 for this?
Funny thing is, I have HOURS of video, but never met this much of a jerkoff.
Ohh sure, I get buzzed all the time. I'm a motorist too, but I guess I DON'T THINK I OWN THE ROAD, no matter what mode of travel I choose.
I mean c'mon folks, I wasn't in the MIDDLE of the ROAD in those pics. This JA could have EASILY passed me without incident.
And once again, this is Sunday-F-N-Morning, not Rush Hour!
I'm quite with you there! And I agree about the truckers being about the best, though it's the trucks which are (part of) the reason I no longer cycle-commute. Most of the ride is (was) on a two-lane highway with minimal shoulder; it's just too frightening to have a big-rig barrel on by at 55 MPH a foot or three away.
I do have to say I miss the cycle-commute... where I used to live it was faster to ride in than to drive.
Is that Wilbraham Road?
What was the speed limit on that highway? Because there is no way you were going more than 25 mph for any good stretch of time and I'm betting that highway's speed limit is a lot higher than that. So in your world, he or anyone else should just cruise along at 18 mph as to not screw up you and your riding. You said you are a vehicular cyclist because you consider yourself a vehicle. Good for you. Then either learn to peddle at 40 mph or stick to the bike lane.
Allen Street just before Hampden Minimart area.
Just remember you can't win in a collision, nomatter how right you are. Even yielding can be deadly. A cyclist riding near a job I was working at, moved over, lost control on the edge of the asphalt, and fell in front of the trailer wheels of a loaded semi. He was a very experienced rider, with top notch equipment.
Maybe that's true for drivers in CA. It isn't in WA, I assure you. We have rather specific laws here about how the roads are used.
Damn, still can't place the exact location and I lived within 3 miles for 23 years of my life. Rode my bike down that thretch thousands of times.
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