seely

I forgot to post this... its been a few months since this happened but maybe it can still do some good.

Anyways, my friend Vanessa (who I met because she bought a bike from me at our shop) was riding through Cameron Park in Waco, TX where dozens of cyclists ride through everyday. The roads are wide, the hills are steep and there are 25mi of top-grade singletrack as well. Point being, its very common to see cyclists there.

Anyways Vanessa was heading up the first climb on her road bike, going around the first turn in the climb when she noticed there was a pickup behind her. It was holding back, like it couldn't pass but there was no other traffic. This went on through the long slow turn. She began to get nervous since the driver wouldn't pass. The engine revved and she knew it was over at this point, as the driver pulled up next to her while swerving into her putting her in the ditch.

The police didn't even question it being intentional. There were tire tracks going INTO the ditch where she fell. The driver then ran over her bike (thank God she hadn't gone clipless yet), and took off. Not a lot to go on other than it was a white pickup truck. Thankfully she was wearing a helmet (destroyed) and her only injury was a very deep cut on her knee.

Theres a pic of her bike... the hand in the picture is one of the other mechanics who made her mangled dropout into a keychain for her... pretty cool idea but a pretty grim reminder of how close she could have been to death.

I guess anyone in the Waco area keep your eyes peeled and report any aggressive drivers immediately in the hopes this guy messes up again and the we get them off the road.

Phiber

Sweet Jesus. I am glad she did not get seriously injured. Sorry to hear about the bike, as well. That's horrible; God will take care of him. I have to say, though, that if I ever met some guy like that, I would be the instrument of his undoing. I'm all for post-birth abortions. -_- what a nut job.

randya

Pretty common in Texas...it even happened to Lance outside Austin in 1998, see:

https://bicycleaustin.info/justice/table.html (Lance's case is about 2/3 of the way down the table)
https://bicycleaustin.info/justice/

gcasillo

F___ me. What kind of person does such a thing? Sober, even? Glad she's okay, but reading about that made me sick to my stomach.

oscaregg

Remember Oscar's #1 rule of the road: Very often there is a big difference between a motor vehicle operator and a human being.

bkrownd

Remember all those nasty jerks from school? Yep, they're still out there somewhere.

glomarduck

And thats why carbon creeps the ____ out of me (yet I lust for a corima couger)

Chris L

The really sad part is that none of this surprises me. I've been on the end of one or two deliberate attempts myself (fortunately Gold Coast drivers are pretty incompetent, and none of them have been successful yet). I remember one guy back in 2001 accelerate through a red light when he saw me going through on the green. I saw him coming and floored it, he sped through behind me and hit a pole on the other side of the street with such force that his engine cut out right on the spot. He must have really screwed it too, because (fortunately) it wouldn't start afterward either.

mrjon

Witness the power of the fuel flow cutoff switch. If only it could be activated remotely without having them crash first...

cyclingshane73

That's truely disgusting to hear about. Glad to hear your friend is o.k.

seely

Thanks guys... I talked with her today and there is still really nothing to go on. The police think the guy will probably try it again--they said someone that does something like this, especially if they get the desired results the first time, will do it again. I guess if nothing else its just a reminder to be careful and watch who's around you when you're riding, especially alone.

erraticrider

Scares the cr*p out of me. Attempted murder for fun.

gcasillo

So what's the best defense in a situation like that? Stop and make eye contact? Dismount? Keep riding? Start hammering? I'd like to be prepared should I find myself in that situation.

cyclingshane73

I'm not sure that you really good have a bast defense for something like this. Attempting to hammer away from the coward is only going to encite him/her to attack, like a predator stalking its prey, usually as soon as the prey senses danger its already too late. Sorry that's the best analogy I could come up with.

I'm almost inclined to say stop and attempt to make eye contact or look at the coward behind the wheel. Just be prepared to make a run for it minus the bike. Its times like this when a cell comes in really handy as you can dail 911 right away. As long as you know where you are, you can tell the dispatcher all of the pertinent details over the phone before police even get dispatched. The calls are recorded, so God forbid something should happen to anyone during an incident like this, it will be on record.

Being in Canada we can't carry guns, its against the law up here. That said, if I lived in the States and was allowed to pack some heat, I'd make sure I attempted to plug a couple of slugs into that cowards pick-up as it drove away. If anything, the police can then look for a white pick up with bullet holes in it. Then match the ballistics of your bullets lodged into the son of a b***h's truck.

Lonestar1

Sure hope that s.o.b. gets caught. Seely, wonder if the nut will try something like that during the Skittles ride? I doubt it though. Chickensh*t wouldn't dare try it with 1000+/- cyclists around. He's only a tough guy when there's only a gal alone on her bike trying to enjoy her hobby. What a jerk.

seely

Yup he was a real tough guy against a 120lbs girl alone on a bike in his 4,000lbs pickup. I'm guessing he held back to make sure no one else was close enough to really see it. I can't believe anyone would hit a 20 year old girl on a bike. But I guess sadly its not that rare.