jdcii

My commute is about 17 miles one way. My son and I are planning across country trip in 2010 and have started our training. He meets me at my work in the afternoon and we head home together. As we were riding last night, I blew my tire. Not the tube, the stinking tire. The tire split just above the bead. Causing the tube to pinch and popping the tube. So I tried to rig it with some tape. I didn't have an extra tire as this is a brand new Jamis Aurora with around 175 miles on it. I know better now.
Anyways, I tried to rig the tire with some tape, hoping that the tape and the pressure from the tube would allow me to at least get home the remaining 15 miles. Wouldn't you know I didn't go 100 feet before the new tube went. Here's the kicker....
Just before the tire blew the second time we were turning left at an intersection. The cross traffic had stop signs we did not. We were in the center of the road getting ready to make our turn and a little white piece of crap car went screaming past almost killing us. Granted I should have signalled. In my defense, it was a double yellow line at an intersection. As the car past I yelled c*cksucker. The car gets up to the next drive slams on his brakes, slams his car into reverse and speeds to catch up to us, by now, my second flat had happened and we were walking. He pulls into a parking lot across the street and starts having a hissy fit screaming and yelling at me about me calling him a c*cksucker in front of his daughter. After exchanging words with him, me telling him he should learn how to drive and who had the right away, he started pumping his chest and said, "who want some of this", I looked at my son and said call the cops. I wasn't going to deal with some lunatic. All I could think was here he is screaming at me about me calling him a name, which the little kid probably didn't it hear, and he's making a huge scene. Smart. He eventually hoped back into his car after he figured out I wasn't going to give him the pleasure of whooping his arse. He made threats to us that we better be safe on the way home.
We got his plate number.... GFP-4456 (PA) plate. We called 9-1-1. As it happened we were only 1/4 mile from the police department. We stopped in there and made the report. I told the cop that I called the guy a c*cksucker, and he said he didn't blame me. He was going to go have a talk with the guy and explain the rights that bicyclist have and if the guy wants to be a jacka*s about it, then he was going to cite him.
We eventually ended up walking three miles before my wife was able to pick us up. I figured I share my excitement of the evening with you.

Banzai

Wow. That's quite the adventure.

By the way, I love your reason for editing down in the footer. Should be grammar.

jdcii

You got me there, it's early. lol.

mcsteve20

Great story...glad nothing stupid happened.

It got me thinking of something that happened to me about two years ago. I'll be specific for those of you who know the area in Boston around Fenway Park. I was driving down Boylston Street with Fenway on my left. It's a two lane road with stop and go traffic heading towards the on-ramp for Storrow Drive. I was driving pretty slow in the right hand lane when a guy on a bike pulled up next to me and was screaming obscenities at me and my wife.

Honestly, I probably would have pulled over, got out of the car and done something stupid, but I had absolutely no idea why this guy was yelling at me. My wife and I were stunned.

I didn't even remember passing him, plus I was going less than 20 mph in traffic. Well, he turned right to stay on Boylston and I went left towards Storrow. I think about this when I ride sometimes.

The only thing I can take away from this story is that I clearly never saw this cyclist. I must have cut this guy off or passed way too close to him...but I just never saw him. I probably did something wrong, but I have no idea what it was. So be careful when you are riding or driving, because sometimes we just aren't seen.

tekknoschtev

I give you a lot of credit for not losing your temper. We had a similar experience when a woman rear-ended my dad's van. She had little kids in her car and was screaming up a storm about how he was at fault (with more cursing than non-expletives). My mom called the cops, and the cops took care of it.

starla

As if his screaming hissy fit was setting such a great example for her

Sgt Skidmark

You should have replied, No, I want *ALL* of that. (A little Happy Gilmore humor)

newbojeff

Sorry this sounds so nanny-ish, but don't swear. As with your story, you lose a bit of moral high ground.

I was road riding with a friend -- who has a quick middle finger and is quicker with profanity -- when a car, that had all of its windows down, decided to pass us going around a blind right turn. When there was an oncoming car, the driver next to us swerves to the right, coming with in about 6 inches of my friend. My friend unleashes with a loud string of profanity and when we got to a stop about 200 m up the road, he continued, getting right in the car's passenger side window...until we notice the little girl in the car seat in the back.

She was probably terrified. Made my friend promise to cap it at "idiot!" and accusing people of murder, but he's free to yell away.
[nanny off/]

jdcii

I should have belittled him and told my 14 year old son to take care of him.. lol.

jdcii

In hindsight, calling the guy a c*cksucker probably wasn't a good thing to do. The thing is 95% of the time I just shake my head and blow it off. I think with the tire blowing, and the built up frustration from other drivers paying no respect to a cyclist I just let it out. In our fast paced society I just wish people would be respectful of other road users. Everyone should be required to ride a bike on the road for a week straight, maybe they'd have a better appreciation of sharing the road. There again, I'm just fooling myself.

newbojeff

I think I started with "MF!" as my go-to phrase, but now I try to keep it clean. It's a family show.

Back to the original post, your commute sounded like a bit**!

UprightJoe

I grew up in a somewhat rural area. Getting honked at, having obscenities yelled at you, and even having the occasional piece of trash thrown at you from a car window were par for the course while cycling. At least one of the three would happen daily. Occasionally somebody would pull over somewhere and you'd find yourself in a full blown shouting match. Understandably, It wasn't long before I got pretty "quick with the middle finger" myself.

So one day, while I was in middle school, I was riding and some ******* pulled right up behind me repeatedly honking his horn even though I was practically on the shoulder and he had plenty of room to pass. I gave him the finger and yelled "Just f'ing pass me already!". He still stayed right there honking for a solid minute at least while I periodically switched between giving him the finger and shouting obscenities. Finally, I looked back to see what this jerk's problem was and saw that it was my mom.

She was NOT happy to say the least.

Ever since then, I've started going light with the finger and obscenities. I put those into the category of "Escalation tactics" as opposed to "First response".

ItsJustMe

You know, it occurs to me that the guy KNEW he did something wrong, otherwise why would he assume you were talking to him?

Pig_Chaser

Yeah my thoughts exactly, and then the chest pounding and the "who wants some of this" you shoulda said "No thanks, i'm straight"

BroadSTPhilly

@UprightJoe That is ******* hilarious.

I used to yell and scream and flip people off until I realized that it probably made me less safe not more safe. Now if I can catch up to the person I tell them that I have a wife and two little girls and I just want to get to work or home safely. If that doesn't work I punch them in the neck.

lil brown bat

That absolutely floors me. See, I live in a more-than-somewhat rural area, and I'd say the odds of that kind of behavior are really low. You pull that kind of stunt, and next day someone runs into your mom in the general store and says, "Hey, I saw your boy on Tannery Road yesterday. I was riding my bike and he was driving his truck and he threw a beer can at me."

fordfasterr

I would take out my camera and snap some pics of the irate fool... then post them on bikeforums for everyone to laugh.


example... this guy:



or this healthy pair:

UprightJoe

The nearest town was just big enough (population 20,000) that you couldn't quite know everybody. Of course, it was small enough that whenever *I* did something stupid, somebody who knew my parents always seemed to be around to witness it . This was also nearly 20 years ago. I don't get back often but I think things have probably changed for the better since then.

Kotts

New rule: ...make eye contact before responding...