dogbro

I punched a guy Saturday morning. I am not amused when motorists amuse themselves by playing intimidation games with cyclists. The two anecdotal lads pull in to a parking lot a block or so ahead of me thinking to have some "dialog". I place my bike on the parking lot ground and approach the driver exiting his car. The driver assumes the posture of an open handed karate stance... how silly. The passenger says "are you going to fight both of us?" Right then I zing one straight into the drivers mouth. He twists away hand covering his mouth. I guess that is what the open handed stance is for. I turn to the passenger with the reply "looks like I got time for both of you." He quickly backtracks to the passenger side of the car. Both the driver and the passenger got in the passenger side door. While they were thus involved I picked up my bike and moved between two parked cars.

powers2b

Chuck Norris did a similar scene in Walker Texas Ranger (episode #12).

Enjoy

genec

What exactly was the incident that started this?

dogbro

Boulevard... three lanes of travel in my direction. Light Sat. morning traffic. Density: less than one car per block. Me in right lane. Motorist in adjacent lane matching my speed. Eye contact with passenger. (Thery knew I was there) Lane change, rapid approach from the side. An intimidation move meant to cause a panic evasion... which would have been to wreck.

bunnyrabbit

Fighting is never a good idea man, lots of people carry weapons. I might even avoid that street for a little while. Of course they probably deserved it, but that's beside the point.

webist

I agree. The risk is great. I bet it felt real good though. Didn't it?

reich17

Is that the one where Chuck annihilates 5 attackers at once without sustaining a scratch?

H23

Great,

Now these fine gentlemen might take their revenge out on another (unwitting) cyclist-- perhaps they will simply door him or maybe "tap" his back wheel with a bumper.

dogbro

Fighting never a good idea... I suppose that to some degree I agree. But damn if I am going to forfeit my rights to some would be thugs that would presume to establish a hegemony of intimidation. Fighting never...? I don't know. Imagine a life of cringing and cowering before thugs that aren't necessarily even substantial. This idea of no violence ever, under any circumstance... When I was a kid, I learned politeness and respect... it involved a fat lip or two.

wabbit

Same here, the hell with DIALOG. Just turn down a side street and wait for them to pass or go away.

timmhaan

yeah, avoid that area for a while - you may well be a marked man by now.

Allister

While part of me is cheering, I reckon if I'd done something like this I wouldn't post about it on a public forum.

That said, the guy got what he deserved. And don't try the 'you should have called the cops' line. Everyone here knows that the police would have done nothing about these thugs.

galen_52657

If you approached in a non-threatening way and the driver assumed a fighting stance, you may have feared for your safety (considering the previous action) and been well within your right to defend yourself with a pre-emptive blow. I applaud you. They will think long and hard before trying that again.

I had an incident with a young lad at a shopping center entrance. I was on the road approaching the entrance, the young man saw me, waited until I was almost to his car, then he gunned it like he was going to pull out right in front of me, causing me to brake hard. He hit the brakes and laughed. I stopped, got off my bike, walked up to his window, asked him if he would find a knuckle sandwich funny, he started stammering, at which point I emptied my bottle of Gatoraid on his dad's front leather seat, and rode off.

John E

I'm with Allister; I have very mixed feelings about this entire thread. I do agree that the driver was justly rewarded for his immature behavior, but I do worry about potential escalation and retalliation.

powers2b

I always thought it was funny that his side kick never showed up until the fight was over.

Allister

I personally think it's about time these idiot drivers started worrying about potential retaliation, especially when it's them that start it. A lot of them only act this way because they feel impervious in their tin boxes, or can easily outrun us. Catch them at the lights though and the majority of them suddenly aren't so brave. Bullies are almost always cowards - they only pick fights with those they think are poweless to retaliate. Confront them and they run away like little schoolgirls, as in the above example.

�����

What? Your right to assault people in public? You're on a bike... ride away.


So, would you call this a 'pre-emptive strike'? Are you now forming a 'coalition of the willing?'


Ok, now we're getting somewhere... time to schedule another trip to your therapist.

nycm'er

Do you still feel good about your reaction? Do you still feel that you would respond in the same way? And do you think that this response will prevent this from happening again? ( with this driver or anyone else?) I do not want to be perceived as trying to scold you at all, in any way. But I always feel that a mello response would have carried my message much further, which I don't do often enough. Sometimes would love to have the cojones to knock someone's block off- but know I would regret it personally and would worry about retaliation on some other biker.

nycm'er

THEY ARE impervious aren't they? They mess you up and speed away. These people think they need cars to live, how many of these trips that they take do they actually need to take by car if at all?

I think in rereading your post I answer some of my own questions. "thugs that aren't necessarily even substantial." Then did you need to knock one around, if fighting is not always a good idea? Will that get you your "politeness and respect..." Again I am not scolding but asking the questions that go through my head after an "interaction" with entitled moron cagers.

RocketsRedglare

Feels good doesn't it? Years ago, when I was in much better shape - (I was a national rowing champion back in the day) - I once yanked some yuppie out of his BWM, after he cut me off, forcing me off the road and into a ditch.

This idiot then decided to give me the finger with a big smirk on his face.

I caught up to him at a traffic light. He saw me coming, trying to avoid the light by cutting through a parking lot, he got caught in traffic a another light.

I saw his paniced faced, trying to hit the power windows, when I grabbed him and pulled him half way through the window. Happy slapping him along the way. I can't remember what I was saying to him. but it was probably like Ralphie beating up the bully, Farkas in "Christmas Story".

About 5 other people saw this, including some who must have witnessed the original incident, and nobody stopped to help the idiot or myself.

It really did feel good, and I have no regrets doing it.

Of course that was 15 years ago, on Long Island. Southern California (even Irvine and Newport Beach) is a pretty scary place. There are a lot more self-absorbed, self centered, up-tight idiots around here that wouldn't think twice about inflicting some serious harm.

genec

What's real funny is being able to catch some of these idiots... they think they can just "act the jerk" and get away scott free because you are on a bike.

Just goes to show the speed and maneuverablity of a bike.

dogbro

... with a big smirk on his face ... Yeah, that driver had something like a smirk initially. Maybe as though he'd been through a similar episode with a whiney, indignant sort of cyclist who would try argument and reason after having been threatened with death. I think that for him to have stopped and waited for me in that parking lot indicates a couple of things. I think that it indicates that he'd done it before and that the experience left him with a greater contempt for cyclists. It also indicates that he was motivated to pursue or continue his antagonism of me. There are those who argue that I created a debt to karma that others may have to pay. Conversely, it could be that this was the fellow's first hard, fast and real exposure to consequence.

RocketsRedglare

No. he didn't stop in the parking lot. He got caught in traffic. I yanked him out of his car at a red light. And like I said, it felt good.

And just so I don't come across as an idiot. I am a total believer in "Karma/Golden Rule/Do Unto Others" philosophy.

I've given CPR to people fat least four times. I don't know how many tires I've changed for little old ladies that didn't have AAA. My wife is a nurse and we've stopped at more than one car accident to render aid (if we could) before the ambulances sarrived. I've worked soup kitchens, and have given up my patch kit and bicycle pump to homeless guys that are pushing some old clunker with a flat tire and are obviously down on their luck.

And the sad thing is that it doesn't take much out of your time or wallet to do the right thing. And the payoff of a sincere thank you, or just knowing you did the "right thing" is a bigger reward than any sum of money.

Nothing PO's me more than people than vapid and /or arrogant self-absorbed jack-holes. Fortunately they only represent about 3 percent of the population.


Unfortunately for me a lot of them engage in activities that interfere with my activities. If I'm cycling, more often than not its someone driving a BMW or H2 that almost hits you. If im rowing, I always get hit by the wake of some joker piloting a 40 foot motor yacht doing 10-15 mph in a 3 mph no-wake zone. Don't even get me started on jet skis.

Sorry about the rant

galen_52657

Rant on dude....

overthere

Half pulling him out of the car and 'happy slapping' trumps the knuckle sandwich, IMO.

...wish I had the gender and the muscle to do it once in a while!