RoyIII

Nice going. That plus 911 is the way to handle it. That dislocated shoulder will remind him of the day. Sometimes they both turn on the 3d party. I'm glad that didn't happen. I'm in Texas and here she'd probably have shot him - or should have.

phillypino215

i guess it would have to depend on what part of the SRT. theres a portion of that trail where i wouldnt want to mess with those people at all...

OldTryGuy

Glad it turned out OK.

My wife's cousin lost an eye and has brain damage from his attempted good samaritan intervention.

Dudelsack 

My pet peeve is cyclists blasting through a crowded MUP, expecting the seas to part and humanity to flee if they yell "on your left" loud enough. Recently I saw this with some old goat on a MTB and he looked stupid. I considered going Cinzano on him, but I don't carry a pump and I didn't want to waste one of my CO2 cartridges by throwing it at him.

Geez, what gets into people. The MUP runs parallel to a road, so anyone in the park who wants to set a land speed record can hop a curb and go for it.

North Coast Joe

Holy moly!! Big stones, fella'!! I hope I would have the courage to do as you did.

blacknbluebikes 

I feel bad for bikes that get bought by bent people.

wobblyoldgeezer

Me neither. Well done you!

Weatherby

Philly is the only part of Pennsy w/o the second amendment; otherwise, the assailant might be dead.

Louis Le Tour

They all do.

Rowan

Forget all the accolades (deserved as they are), I just want a blow-by-blow account of how the guy ended up with the dislocated shoulder!!

The guy's behaviour was disgusting. I am not a fighter, but would stop to assist in such a situation. And just like dealing with a a dog (how appropriate a comparison), I would keep the bike between me and the guy and as he lunges, just let the bike fall back towards me. I have visions of the assailant falling and getting tangles, and hopefully breaking something.

bruce19

I applaud your willingness to intervene on behalf of someone else. I might have done it a little differently but that's all imagined from the safety of my computer chair and not in the moment. Have to admit it would be interesting to know how the perp sustained his (deserved) injury. FWIW here in CT a younger person assaulting a Senior Citizen is considered to be roughly the same as someone with a deadly weapon due to the age difference. This becomes significant when said Senior Citizen needs to defend him/herself legally after use of a deadly weapon in self-defense.

009jim

I still see it too often on my rides.

Dudelsack 

The OP IS a deadly weapon, or so it would appear.

donheff

+1 Good intervention.

Moyene Corniche

Disagree strongly, at 6'3 I can take care of myself and I would never keep going if I saw someone abusing someone else...
Assuming they know each other is nonsense and a cowardly way to excuse yourself from offering assistance to someone obviously in need..
I seriously doubt that on a bike path your scenario is accurate... Regardless even if they did know each other the aggressor is a jerk and needs to be told that his behavior is unacceptable....

MickeyMaguire

East of you, on 940, I heard from the local guys that some rednecks were throwing beer bottles and golf balls at cyclists. One guy got a nasty cut on his head from a beer bottle and another guy had a ruptured spleen from a golf ball planted in his back by some idiot in the rear end of a pickup truck (Blakeslee area). I used to ride over by Hickory Run Park. I later moved to Mid Ohio.

CrankyFranky

Good on you NOS. Sounds like a good outcome to a dodgy situation - good call on your part. Were the police in evidence in the end? Time for helmetcam to put him in the slammer.

Little Darwin

Yeah, I have been pretty fortunate. A few years ago some redneck yelled at me to get on the sidewalk, and I lost my cool, and yelled back. I have since then prepared my comeback for that particular statement... "I am not walking." but I was much less polite that time. He slammed on his brakes, and proceeded to lecture me concerning why I should be on the sidewalk, so I pointed out that according to state law, a bicycle is a vewhicle, and is allowed on the road. He lamely said that he has a CDL and knows that bicycles are not allowed on the road. A few seconds later, he started off, and so did I... He slammed on his brakes. I am not sure whether it was just to intimidate, or to actually force me into hitting his car, but I said loudly, "Sir, that is assault!" He drove off a few seconds later without saying a word.

I don't typically ride on the road right now, at least until I get in better shape, but I am riding in the Tour de Scranton Sunday, so I'll see what sort of morons make their presence known.

Zinger

'Nother good job here.

Obviously this guy is some sort of a nut.

Y'all take care out there though. Stuff breaks easier and heals slowly when you're old......Don't ask me how I knows that.

crtreedude 

What I tend to do is take out the cellphone and dial 911 - and let the person know I am now connected with 911 - and being recorded. Tends to calm people down really quickly. 911 will not send someone if the problem isn't escalating, but it is nice to have it all recorded, if it does. (I used to work developing systems for 911 so I know what works - and this does)

I do this because I don't have an "off switch" when it comes to conflict. I don't want to go up for a man slaughter charge because I got involved.

As someone said, my hormones are in remission now, so I tend to do the calm, rational thing, instead of welcoming the conflict. Good for you to step in and caring, too many people don't. Good too that you only dislocated his arm.

Regarding having to slow down, interval training, if I recall, is speeding up and slowdown, repeat, so having to apply brakes shouldn't upset anyone, and if you want to do time trials, don't do it on a public venue!!!

dbg

I didn't mean to imply "never". I'm just advising caution. I was relating what actually happened to my son.
And ..a recent attempted intervention in my town resulted in a well liked local teacher being stabbed to death. Be very careful.

Zinger

You don't want to play with someone with a knife that's for sure (unless you choose risking sacrificing your life for another's) . I've seen how a knife can change someones life for the very worst, over very little, when I ran downtown hotels. You guys do be prudent with your "better" instincts out there in some of these situations. What's a win for one situation might not be for another.

Glad this one turned out like it did though.

az_cyclist

Kudos for stepping in for the girl, NOS88. It does make me wish I had some martial arts training. The suggestion to call 911 is a good one as well, probably better for most of us.

dbg

In the case I described the knife was not initially wielded or visible. Good samaritan tried stop an escalating arguement. Got stabbed to death.

The problem is: you never know.

Steve Sawyer

While I'm pleased that you were able to intervene and "do the right thing", I'm afraid if I were to try the same thing I probably would have been the one to end up in the hospital (or worse).

Glad things worked out - sounds like the guy deserved what he got...