lineinthewater

That's the entire point: there is nothing stopping them from doing it to someone "cowering in the gutter" OR sitting in the middle of the lane (they could have easily pulled into the opposing traffic lane and done the exact same thing - hoping to topple me on the pavement). I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and hopefully assume you aren't making a direct reference to my story, or my riding style. Because, seriously, who in their right mind would try to be antagonistic towards a normal cyclist that was outright assaulted on a road? I ride at a NORMAL distance from the shoulder. I don't fault anyone for riding in the middle of the lane, or in the shoulder, depending on circumstances - so I'll avoid the adjectives and the biker ego when describing riding style.

lineinthewater

Despite all those who would tell you a mirror is Fred or whatever BS they spew, a mirror is a lifesaver. And, tell me, what is the downside to wearing a mirror? I used to think I'd have a blindspot. Nope. I used to think it would annoy me. Nope. I don't solely rely on it, but it makes things much safer - like I said, name the negative?

I'd highly recommend a helmet mounted mirror. I used a handlebar mounted mirror for many years, and I thought I would never like a helmet mounted one - but, after about 5 uses, I was hooked.

unterhausen

No, I've been assaulted too, and I would never assign any blame on you for what happened. I know that nothing a cyclist does will stop some of these people from trying things like this. However, I can't imagine that most of the people that do the sort of things you described in your OP would ever actually hit a cyclist with the vehicle. I know the people that assaulted me were fairly normal teenagers from upstanding families -- in fact, the guy that punched me was the son of my Boy Scout troop leader. I simply can't imagine them hitting my wheel with the bumper of a car, that exceeds boundaries that most people wouldn't even consider. My only regret from my incident is that I didn't pull the guy out of the car; he was sitting on the windowsill and would have been easy pickings. I was riding up a big hill on the shoulder, I'm sure it just seemed like an amusing thing to do in the short time they had to think about it.

lineinthewater

Now, logically, there is almost no difference (in my mind) between someone trying to shove you (with their hands) to the ground at 20mph and someone brushing your rear tire with their fender - the potential damage to rider/bike is about the same. But I get your point - these cowards aren't thinking about the consequences, and perhaps there is some distinction in their f'd up minds.

sggoodri

Belligerent drivers are unlikely to intentionally rear end you because they are afraid that such an impact with you or your bike will damage their car. Most belligerent drivers know that they don't want a bike tangled up under their front end.

In the OP, it sounds like they didn't want to scratch their paint, either. If the intent is to injure the cyclist, why not just sideswipe the cyclist? Because they don't want to make contact with their vehicle.

himespau 

bummer, dude. Hopefully, karma will catch up to them.

adablduya

so, i suppose that if you were able to get the car to stop, and then pummel the perp to death, the cops wouldn't do anything about it because they didn't witness it ? i like that theory. vigliante justice rocks >

dougmc

Even so, the officer should have taken a report, and you should have pushed for it if he didn't want to, or call 911 and make your report to them if he won't/can't take it.

Why? Because if they did this to you, they probably will or have done it or something similar to somebody else, and perhaps more than once. And if they keep doing it, somebody will probably catch the full plate or description or something. And then the police will go back through old police report, find yours, find that the first three of the plate matches and the crime matches, and oh look, their case just got a whole lot stronger.

Artkansas 

I can empathize with the O.P. I've had a car passenger reach out and grab my elbow attempting to pull me down. Fortunately, he couldn't get a good grip. I wasn't able to get the license though.

And you know how the next time you go through that place, in the back of your mind, your thinking that the same thing may happen.

It didn't. 24 hours later at the same spot, the passenger in a truck shot me with a pellet gun.

Variety is the spice of life.

himespau 

Hope you got a license and the jails got a new inmate after that one.

unterhausen

Yes, I really don't think they thought it through. Falling off of a bike can be fatal or cause serious injury, but people don't think of it that way. I don't recall if I had the complete description of the car in my case. I halfway recall that I didn't, but these kids were out causing trouble and the cops put two and two together and nabbed them. It's always worth making a report, cops don't realize how often cyclists are assaulted. I have only been the victim of one crime when not on a bicycle, I can't count how many crimes I've been victim of when on a bicycle. Certainly, many of these crimes are fairly petty, but I'm using the same accounting in making the comparison.