Northern California - Haters

I was riding through Alameda at about 10:30 tonight when I had a group of teens on the side of the road decide it would be a great idea to throw something made of glass at me. As I was pedaling by I heard something whip by my head, felt the breeze as it missed by face by about three or four inches, and then heard it shatter on the far side of the road. This was followed by laughter, and then threats, shouts and posturing when I looked over my shoulder at them.
What the hell? Did I do something wrong? What if they had hit me and dropped me in the road? Is that the cue to jump me and steal my bike, or is that when they realize "oh crap, I really f@#$ed up," and run back into their parent's house and leave me bleeding in the gutter?
I don't want anything bad to happen to them, I don't want to go back and beat them up, or have them get run over by cars or anything, it's just got me down on my neighborhood. Who the hell am I living around? Am I surrounded by sadists, or does my neighborhood just share a general lack of empathy or concern for their fellow man?
I guess in the long run I should be happy that I was able to continue by ride with nothing more than rattled nerves and a ruined mood. Still, this was one of the perks of living in this sleepy little town, that I could ride my bike ANYWHERE, at any time, and never get hassled. The easy solution is to not ride down that particular street any more, but I'm angry that I feel I need to make even that concession. Oh well, water under that bridge, but that doesn't mean I'm not still angry about it.

Glad you're OK, but how someone can hurl something at your head for no reason and leave you not wanting anything bad to happen to them is beyond me. If actually hitting and dropping you to the road is what it takes to at least motivate you to call the police then you're better off choosing another direction to ride in to contemplate the social behavior of your fellow man.

No need to get down on your neighborhood because of one incident. Teenagers hanging around on a corner at night can be dick heads -- it is as simple as that. All it takes is a little attitude and the wrong circumstances and almost any random group of teens could end up trashing their lives with felony convictions. Consider yourself lucky if your neighborhood is generally safe at all hours. Many are not.

That sucks, but glad to hear you're ok.

We were on a group ride Sat and one of our front riders got a water balloon thrown at him. The balloon shattered and sprayed water on him and myself. The culprits were a group of teenagers driving a red-neck lifted blazer/suburban type vehicle. I announced out loud that they'd die in a car accident on the freeway sooner than later.

I still mean it. :mad:

Here's hoping, Dave.

I firmly believe that people who deliberately try to harm others do not deserve to exist.

And I believe that people who do pull that crap do get theirs, maybe not as soon as I'd like, but eventually.

We were on a group ride Sat ...

Hey "sweetnsourbkr" it was sure great to run into you and your wife at Peets/Pegasus!

How did you like those tailwinds south of Danville?

A group of kids robbed some other kids in a park in Alameda last year, and shot a girl during the robbery. I expect nothing good from groups of kids hanging out on the streets.

That sucks. Depending on how many there were I would have turned around, taken a picture and called the cops. These punks will most likely run away like cockroaches once they see you on the phone.

Something similiar happened to me summer of last year. I was approaching a red light and passing cars in a bike lane. Then I felt a sting on my right shoulder. I turned around and it was some teenagers in a SUV laughing and pointing. I just got pelted! I stopped, got on the sidewalk and took out my cell phone. I have most of the Police Dept non-emergency numbers in my phone. As I dialed and walked over to get their plate number, the suckers made a U-turn and drove away. Punks.