Doohickie

Yeah, same here. To me waving is my way of giving a driver the finger. Times five

simplygib

Looks like they are closing in on the suspect. It was a rental car.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/6250...ad-rage-attack

Can't wait to see this guy caught.

Ekdog

+1

Can't believe people are blaming Russ. There is no absolutely no excuse for this kind of violence.

sstorkel

In a car versus bicycle conflict, the car is always the Deadlier Weapon. As bicyclists it behooves us to remember that...

Ekdog

The motorist was already enraged, it seems, because Russ and Laura had the temerity to be cycling on a public thoroughfare. He deserves jail time for assaulting them twice: first with his car and the second time with his fists.

dengidog

I'm really glad that he's going to be okay. The biker could have mooned him, shot him the finger and cursed him a blue streak, but that doesn't excuse violence.

I like the idea of just waving. I made the mistake of flipping off a local on a hilly road here because the s.o.b. got close and deliberately honked the horn right next to me. Unfortunately, I usually ride on his commute time, so guess what happened EVERY SINGLE DAY? It finally ended because I had to slightly change my time.

It doesn't matter how right we are, the cars will win every time. After seeing a bike fatality at a traffic intersection, I decided it's time to chill out.

ctyler

That's what I do as well. No reason to escalate a momentary runin with a jerk into something more dangerous.

raybo

Just curious, does this incident give anyone second thoughts of bike touring in New Zealand?

It is on my list and I have to say this takes just a bit of bloom off the dream.

wahoonc

No, there are ******** everywhere, just have to deal with them.

Aaron

Derailed

I'm with you, and the others who have expressed a similar sentiment regarding resisting the urge to respond to agressive motorists -- no good comes of it. (But, just to be clear, I'm not assigning ANY blame to the victim... even after making a firm decision to keep my cool several years ago, I still lose it from time to time.) Unfortunately, any response only encourages the aggressive behavior.

Here's a mildly funny anecdote: about ten years ago I was living and bike commuting in the DC area, where there are many discourteous drivers. I had several angry confrontations with motorists, but fortunately nothing ever went too far.

Around that time, my wife (girlfriend at the time), wanted to discourage my tendency to flip the bird, so she bought some lobster-style gloves for me, with the explicit intention to limit my available hand gestures.

I'll never forget the first time my blood started to boil while wearing those gloves -- I shouted, lifted and turned my arm, and attempted to forn the one-finger salute. But! Due to the gloves I was thwarted, and it got me laughing about the whole thing.

As mentioned above, I still overreact sometimes, but I've gotten much better.

Ekdog

My sentiments exactly.

Chris L

Not really. I've been there twice, and on the whole, the people there are as friendly as you'll encounter anywhere. It's possible to have the misfortune to encounter one idiot anywhere in the world, and if I was worried about that, I'd never leave the house.

xilios

My wife and I have come across a few idiots in just about every country in Europe, there everywhere. After a couple of close calls were we fliped our fingers at them we now just smile and wave. No need to get angry, has no use, just ruins your day.

009jim

This is starting to sound like some members of society consider an assault is acceptable if flipped off. What if you are flipped off by a woman - ok to bash her head in too?

Get real people - if someone flips you you are entitled to flip them back. If you think bashing is an acceptable response then surely you have to accept that blowing someone's head off with a shotty is acceptable if they knock you off you bike.

Dahon.Steve

I've enjoyed their website and how they are touring all over with Brompton folding bikes!! It just makes you aware that touring can be dangerous. I thnk Russ and his girl friend will never be the same after this. Quite unfortunate.

znomit

Cops have arrested the thug
https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post...-on-US-cyclist

contango 

The fact there's one violent moron in an entire country wouldn't put me off. Pick any country and the chances are you'll have a few violent nutters in there somewhere. It's just a question of chance whether you happen to cross paths with them.

Chances are there are at least a couple of people who would do that to you given a specific set of circumstances along the routes you ride every day.

xilios

Hope the jerk gets what he deserves.

Chris L

If you type "gun" into the search box, you'll find many threads with over 100 replies dedicated to that very topic.

tmac100

One person is NOT a plural. Look at other nations and note the nutters there - including mine (Canada) and yours. They are everywhere - and include those bicyclists who run down pedestrians, or who go through traffic which has the right of way, or kick pedestrians while passing them....

Everywhere!! Why should NZ be absent of nutters?

znomit

Wheels of Justice are rolling along....

Jamie Curtis Pene, 39, of the Wellington suburb of Newtown, appeared before a registrar in Wellington District Court today charged with one count of assault.
He did not plea but intimated he would plead guilty at his next appearance, on February 1.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/ar...ectid=10779491

znomit

And this from 2008 ....

A Hamilton man who harassed city motorists and attacked their vehicles has been ordered to pay more than $2600 in reparation.

Jamie Curtis Pene, an unemployed 36-year-old, pleaded guilty to a charge of threatening behaviour and two charges of wilful damage when he appeared in the Hamilton District Court yesterday.

The court heard how on three separate occasions this year, Pene tried to intimidate drivers while riding his bicycle.

On May 26, Pene was cycling through the intersection of Ulster St and Mill St in Hamilton when he became involved in a disagreement with a motorist. During the confrontation, Pene kicked the victim's car, causing significant panel damage. He later told police he had acted "in a fit of rage".

Then on June 8, Pene was cycling along Hamilton's Grey St when he began closely following a motorist.

The court heard how Pene spat on the victim's car and punched and kicked the vehicle's door. He continued to follow the motorist on his bike before chasing the car on foot along Hood St.

The following week, in Claudelands, Pene tried to kick a car as it drove past.

Community Magistrate Gary Moltzen noted Pene's "stack of previous convictions" and ordered him to pay reparation totalling $2654.25 and $130 court costs. He was also ordered to come up for sentencing if called upon within the next 12 months.

"You can't go around kicking people's doors, even if you don't like the person, but I don't know if you even know these people," Mr Moltzen said.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times...pay-for-damage

wahoonc

Obviously has some sort of anger management problem....

Aaron

dcrowell

Don't do a Google Image Search on this guy's name. All you'll find is pasta and porn. Weird.

wphamilton

I think we can say in Mr. Pene's case, "It's not about the bike."