Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - road rage in chicago

greetings, i've been reading BF for a couple of months now.. I'd like to share a story from a while back, in the hopes that the person involved may be a member. I'd love to know how things turned out.

It was roughly two years ago, and a warm day. My wife and i were biking from Humboldt Park headed east. I think we may have been on Thomas St. Anyway, we were coming up to Western, which I've always considered one of the most treacherous crosstown avenues in the city; people drive this 4-lane like a free-form drag race. So as we're aproaching the intersection this dude appears from the alley next to us and is hauling some serious ass. I'm pretty sure he was riding fixed, but at the time i was still geared up and wasn't as observant of such details (but oh how things have changed... Erika says that now i rubberneck at fixies like most guys drool over other girls ). This guy's bike looked like a real beater, tons of mis-matched parts and paintjobs. Showing no signs of slowing, he barreled into Western ave. hellbent on making it across, weaving in and out of oncoming cars. I lost sight of him behind a truck.

And then the inevitable SQUEEEEEAL. BOOM. CLUNK.
EEK! the traffic clears up and we see the unlucky rider laid out in the left turn lane, with an 80's sedan sitting in front of him. As the dude's getting up, the driver gets out and lets him have it, shouting & making threatening gestures. The dude hops back on his now wrecked bike, and starts pedaling the hell outta there. His bars were bent and twisted sideways so badly i'm still in disbelief that he could ride at all. He headed across the street and down a one-way the wrong way.

the guy in his car FOLLOWED HIM. THE WRONG WAY DOWN A ONE-WAY. we followed as well and watched in horror as the car closed in, his bumper just a few feet from the bike. The cyclist made a daring hairpin turn the other way towards us. So did the car, squealing and burning rubber. As the dude is riding past us he's yelling THIS CRAZY M******* IS TRYING TO KILL ME! as the car followed in hot pursuit we were yelling at him... the cyclist went back to the congestion of Western ave. and rode about a block down the median, with the driver all the while right behind him.

We called 911.

anyway, i've thought of that event many times since. if anyone knows the guy, i'd like to know how he is. :(

anyway, i've thought of that event many times since. if anyone knows the guy, i'd like to know how he is. :(


this sounds strangely familiar, i dont know who it is and have only visited chicago a few times.

the cyclist got away in the end but he lost his red beret and the car driver picked it up and kept it for some reason. a few months later the car driver made a bad financvial decision at his job and got ****canned. he decided the only way to get his pride back was to emulate that riders individualism and self-determination, so he went to the bioke store, bought a white track bike, and became a messenger. you should see the bike dance moves he can do in his loft. he still can't decide if he's in sf or nyc though

the cyclist got away in the end but he lost his red beret and the car driver picked it up and kept it for some reason. a few months later the car driver made a bad financvial decision at his job and got ****canned. he decided the only way to get his pride back was to emulate that riders individualism and self-determination, so he went to the bioke store, bought a white track bike, and became a messenger. you should see the bike dance moves he can do in his loft. he still can't decide if he's in sf or nyc though


i still think they just moved the coit tower to nyc for the shooting and then took it back immediately afterwards.

This fits the title of the thread, but is not a direct response to the rest.

Last night, my girl and I were stopped at wilson and ashland, waiting for the green. This aggro dude pulls up behind us with his girlfriend in the passenger seat. While I am busy concentrating on my trackstand, said aggro-dude decides to push his way on through. He taps my the girl's back wheel with his bumper. She yells "Hey! What the ****?!?" I asked her what happened and she tells me. I look back at the driver and say something along the lines of "What's your problem? I don't mind waiting a few light-cycles with you stuck behind me." A.D. says something cavemanish like "Me brake [sic] your face!" I then proceeded to read him his licence plate number " 5 3 5 5 1 7 9!" (Yes that is the license plate number on his silver honda.) He tells me that I won't be able to remember that after he beats my head in. He then retracts this statement telling me that my helmet would probably preserve my memory. He dares me to read the license plate again. I do. Light turns green and we start rolling. He then tries to run me over, while his girlfriend is laughing her ass off. I yell obscenities. He gets out of the car and is telling me what he is going to do to me (he is not playing nice.). The girl and I make a "U," shoot down ashland a block, make a right and then a quick left in an alley and disappear.

We decide to file a report for good measure, knowing full well that it will probably amount to nothing. It did yield one reward:

Mr. Silver Honda, licence plate number 535 5179, lives at 5005 N. Clark St.

Let's leave it at that.

C

(p.s. sorry about the rambling. I'm a bit drunk.)

Got a phone number? I'd be down for some prank calls at 3am.

No phone number. Feel free to send creepy letters though. Once again, the address is 5005 N. Clark St., Chicago IL, 60640. The car is registered to I. Gonzalez.

C

That reminds me of two great letter pranks friends of mine have done.

About 3 years ago, a friend of mine sent me a letter with about a thousand little pieces of paper with "anthrax" written on them.

And, on a much less playful level, another friend of mine sent one of her freshman year roommates whom she hated a letter filled with hair.

I think Mister Gonzalez is deserving of a similar sort of letter.

And yes, my friends are crazy.

first one'll get you a good few years in jail. second is just ew.

my band once got a piece of mail that said, "my pubes". yes, the envelope was full of pubic hair.

www.phonelosers.org for all your pranking needs!

www.zabasearch.com

Might help you get a little info on the guy... Without the real first name, I couldn't bring up anything...

If you found his phone number I would definately not use this [http://ws.cdyne.com/NotifyWS/phonenotify.asmx?op=NotifyPhoneBasic] to make a few phone calls.

Mr. Silver Honda, licence plate number 535 5179, lives at 5005 N. Clark St.
Did a google... Sadly, a business is at that address.

http://www.pridetime.com/retail_directory.htm

Under Clothing:

Eagle Leathers
5005 N. Clark St., (773) 728-7228

Good luck anyways!

You know what is kind of strange?
All one has to do to stop someone's mail is
fill out that little card at the post office.

It is very convenient for any of you who
are moving in the near future.

Did a google... Sadly, a business is at that address.

http://www.pridetime.com/retail_directory.htm

Under Clothing:

Eagle Leathers
5005 N. Clark St., (773) 728-7228

Good luck anyways!

Perhaps it's a flat above a shop?

You know what is kind of strange?
All one has to do to stop someone's mail is
fill out that little card at the post office.

It is very convenient for any of you who
are moving in the near future.


they then send a piece of mail to the person listed on the form asking you to confirm the cancellation/redirection, which you then have to present at the post office with id, before they'll enact it

eddie - actually the confirmation thing is just to let you know that they've stopped service. you don't have to present it or anything. at least i didnt when i moved a month ago

Seconded - I've never had to confirm a move - I just get a notice that it's been done.

hey naz - a friend of mine just moved to Chicago. He's a New Orleans evacuee, big bike guy, although not fixed (yet!) and a vegan cook extrordinaire. Can I give him your info? I dunno if he's met too many folks yet.

I'm sorry but people piss me off and do stupid *****, but changing someone's address with the post office is just wrong.

Gregg that link is f*ckin awesome!

i'm also pretty sure changing someone's address would be a federal offense...

i'm also pretty sure changing someone's address would be a federal offense...

probably... mail is a pretty sensitive topic for the feds.. and in my own experience, any retaliation with an angry driver only makes things exponentially worse (see my original - and on review way too long- story).
best to be safe.. and out of jail.

Just let it go. Been there, did not do that, and let it go. There will always be ******s. And when faced with a car/driver, it is likely that you will be on the losing end.

I do find it creepy and have always thought that the ease with which you can change an address is alarming - but mail fraud is a big deal anyway.

Evan - definitely. On a side note: anything good (heavy) coming out of the label these days?

eddie - actually the confirmation thing is just to let you know that they've stopped service. you don't have to present it or anything. at least i didnt when i moved a month ago


word? i did, and i was kinda glad, cause when i filled out the form i thought this is way prone to mischief. i received a letter stating that a request had been made and that to confirm it i'd have to take the letter to the post office, show id and sign it. which i did.

naz - got three new releases out right now, the fiction probably being the heaviest, then REDS (my band), then Sinaloa... i think the Sinaloa stuff is the best though. go check out some mp3s: wakingrecords.com

got a 12" coming out soon by a band called bullets*in that is f'n great. DC mixed with bands like bread and circuits with a touch of good hot water music.

The Eagle, and it's shop, is a leather bar.