Originally Posted by Digital_Cowboy

What would our weapon of choice be?

Originally Posted by billdsd

A guy I know who's 6'5" and whose weight tends towards the upper 200's (former football player) and rides a recumbent says that nobody ever harasses him, and he takes the lane regularly on major routes. I wonder why they don't harass him?

Oh yeah. I forgot. Bullies are cowards. They won't pick on the big dude who could squash them like a bug.

Originally Posted by CB HI

Helmet laser sight guiding miniaturized AGM-114 Hellfire II.

Originally Posted by billdsd

Generalize much?

That is not even close to true. The people who think that bicyclists don't have a right to the road are a small minority.

Originally Posted by billdsd

A guy I know who's 6'5" and whose weight tends towards the upper 200's (former football player) and rides a recumbent says that nobody ever harasses him, and he takes the lane regularly on major routes. I wonder why they don't harass him?

Oh yeah. I forgot. Bullies are cowards. They won't pick on the big dude who could squash them like a bug.

Originally Posted by r_kangaroo

wow, what the hell is wrong with people. I just started cycling again (I'm 25 now, haven't really been on a bicycle since high school) and after cruising this forum and seeing stories like this, I'm actually scared of crazy people in cars. What nutters.

Originally Posted by hairyman

It's a strange world out there. In the past few years I've been noticing a huge increase in selfish, uncivil behavior.


I've personally been attacked on my bike three times in the past 18 months by angry motorists:

-One drove ahead of me and around a corner, got out of his car and waited, then ran out into the road and shoved me to the ground as I came around the corner. No charges from the police.

-Another sideswiped me with his pickup truck several times before finally knocking me down, then jumped out of his truck, tackled me into the ditch and started choking me. DA wouldn't prosecute -- cited "self-defense".

-Just this week I was riding on an empty road when someone came up from behind and sideswiped me with his car then slammed on the brakes and swerved into me, knocking me to the ground in front of the car. They lurched forward and hit me again with the front of the car before backing up and speeding off around me. Police can't find the driver due to illegally-attached license plates.

Then there are at least half a dozen people in the same timeframe who have stopped in the middle of the road, exited their cars and come after me. I got away from those ones without injury.


I carry police-grade pepper spray now and I would wear a camera, but I can't afford it.

Originally Posted by limeylew

Here is the camera that I use and it is VERY affordable:-

https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

The instructions are in Chinglish but ENGLISH instructions are also available online.

Hope this will help you.

Originally Posted by CB HI

Helmet laser sight guiding miniaturized AGM-114 Hellfire II.

Originally Posted by Digital_Cowboy

In your second case, how was that "self defense?" A person in a 2-ton vehicle tries to do his best to turn you into road kill, then jumps out and tackles you and proceeds to choke you and that's "self defense?" Where did that DA go to law school? Did they go to law school?!?

Originally Posted by degnaw

Can I suggest this version instead?
https://cgi.ebay.com/808HD-11-HD-DV-K...item2564420a4a
Video quality is leaps and bounds above the standard #3 or #8.

Originally Posted by degnaw

Not to nitpick, though, but the camera in the article is a handlebar camera, not a helmet camera.

Originally Posted by genec

Yeah but then you've got to ride around all day with that thing strapped to your bike, just waiting for the right situation... and what the launch would do to your paint... oh my.

Originally Posted by sggoodri

When I was 15 I built a double-barrel rocket launcher that mounted to the frame of my bike, with a launch control panel that attached to the handlebars next to the brake lever. The rockets used Estes D-size solid propellent engines. I never went through with adding explosives to them because I couldn't really imagine ever wanting to hurt anyone, and I didn't like the risks of blowing myself up. I mostly just wanted to see if I could do it. Turns out that as long as the exhaust end of the launch tube is aimed away from the frame and wheels, no harm will come to the bike. Smells kinda bad, though.

A few months later the TV show Street Hawk aired, and many of my friends wanted me to build rocket launchers for their bikes, motorcycles, and even cars. I decided that I didn't want to be in the arms business, and didn't want the technology to fall into the wrong hands, so I haven't built weapons since.

Originally Posted by hairyman

That had me scratching my head, too. The police officer who read the DA's decision to me said that since I was yelling and cursing at the driver through his open window, the driver was scared for his safety and "didn't know what I was capable of".

Originally Posted by degnaw

Can I suggest this version instead?
https://cgi.ebay.com/808HD-11-HD-DV-K...item2564420a4a
Video quality is leaps and bounds above the standard #3 or #8.

Originally Posted by hairyman

That had me scratching my head, too. The police officer who read the DA's decision to me said that since I was yelling and cursing at the driver through his open window, the driver was scared for his safety and "didn't know what I was capable of".

Originally Posted by Digital_Cowboy

So we're to believe that the driver and the DA and possibly the cop thought that for no reason that you started yelling and cursing at the driver. That that equaled a more serious crime by the driver?

Originally Posted by hairyman

I neglected to mention that there was definitely some hanky-panky going on behind the scenes. The driver who attacked me is a well-known local good ol' boy and the police officer who investigated the incident admitted to being buddies with him.

Also, the police department of the town in which this incident occurred had been harassing me for several weeks before the incident. They pulled me over a number of times for "not riding far enough to the right", even though I was riding to the left to avoid a hazard, which is perfectly legal here.

I don't work in that town any more so I haven't ridden my bike there lately, but I have an open-ended threat from the police to pull me over the next time they see me "riding on the road".

I don't know how far up the chain the shenanigans went, but there certainly was some corruption on the local police department level.

Originally Posted by Seanholio

For double the price it had better be!

Before anyone gets any gas over this, the device only costs $40.

Originally Posted by hairyman

Are the videos on your YouTube channel from the #11 camera? They seem to be pretty good quality.

Originally Posted by Digital_Cowboy

Not a good situation for anyone then. I'd suggest a call to either the sheriff's office or the state police. As I would say that a cop who is friends with someone being investigated is a clear conflict of interests.

And that open-ended threat from the police also needs to be investigated by either the sheriff's office or the state police.

And as Genec and I discussed in one or more threads, I just love how motorists (and LEOs) expect us cyclists to ride through conditions that they themselves wouldn't drive their cars, i.e. a broken bottle in our path no problem your tires aren't worth as much as those on a car, yet ironically I know of at least one person whose tires are cheaper then what I'm riding on. He get's his tires for $20.00 a piece. I paid $60.00 each for mine. So even though all four of his tires cost more than one of mine, both of mine cost more than all four of his.

And yes, they're Specialized Armadillo's. And just because I have "bulletproof" tires, that doesn't mean that I want to ride through an "impassable" debris field.

Originally Posted by genec

Armadillos are only bullet proof to a point... Yeah, I like 'em too. Bit heavy though.

Originally Posted by CB HI

I think we should all become cyclist who hunt road raging motorist. It is an extremely safe sport .26 x .08

Originally Posted by RStewinCA

I am not a math PHD, but I would think that .26 + .08 would be closer to correct number?