Commuting - Leftover food got tossed at me while riding home at night.

I just had a nice ride going home from the girlfriend's house until I encountered some punk ass kids in a SUV. I rolled up to the light with my bike and noticed three teenagers in a SUV (Ford Explorer). Their windows were down and I could see them. When the light turned green, I took off on my bike as fast and I can and then one guy from the rear window threw a bag of food at me. It appeared to be a McDonalds bag of leftover (fries and/or burgers) and it hit my right arm. I quickly gave them the middle finger and cursed them with the "F" word. I saw the driver immediately stepped on the brake and took off. I was pissed of that I got some punk ass kids throwing crap at me. What should I have done in this situation or in future situation like this. I was thinking about carrying a few golf balls with me as payback in similiar event in future. :mad:

I've reached back to get my cellphone out of my pocket and then proceeded to speak into it loudly enough for the car occupants to hear. Mainly I asked for the police, mentioned the location, and then repeated the license number of the car a few times.

Then I enjoyed watching the antics as the car sped off, made an immediate turn into some neighborhood and appeared to make some additional turns as well judging from the engine sounds. Course I hadn't actually called 911 - but they didn't know that. Bet the driver was pretty nervous for awhile about the chance the police would check up on him.

Something like that happened to me around 1971, was riding home from delivering newspapers, about 5:30 am, and someone in a Mustang threw a bag of fast-food leftovers at me, hit me in the back. Petty folks do tend to take advantage of those who they perceive as weaker than themselves.

Maybe it's because I'm getting old and afraid, but the best thing you can do is nothing. Just accept that moron kids will be moron kids. They have to wake up, look in the mirror and be moron kids. That's punishment enough. I would have pulled over and called 911 of course.

The bottom line is that you weren't hurt (except maybe dignity) and doing nothing means no potential for harm, arrest, etc. I know this must have been really infuriating, but there could have been worse outcomes when you lock horns with three kids who are clearly too young to have judgement or perspective in an SUV. No matter how right we are, no matter how gross or ignorant the person in the car is, we're the ones who are vulnerable and we're the ones who are going to be seriously hurt if something crazy happens.

No matter how right we are, no matter how gross or ignorant the person in the car is, we're the ones who are vulnerable and we're the ones who are going to be seriously hurt if something crazy happens.

Sadly, this is the truth. There's nothing you can do except make the situation worse. If it's a one-time thing, I wouldn't even worry about it. If it happens repeatedly, you need to get the law involved.

........ I saw the driver immediately stepped on the brake and took off............ :mad:
I thought only Audis & Priuses/Priii did that?

Meh. Cool down, enjoy the ride. Don't let morons bring you down to their level.

Maybe carry some condiments in your pannier in case it happens again?

Personally I'd want to blast an airzound or chuck something at them, but it would do nothing but escalate the situation. Stop, breathe, cool down, get rational, call cops if warranted in future episodes (hopefully there will be none). I think it boils down to intent--did they want to hurt you or just annoy you? Yeah, it's a slippery slope, I know. A bag of leftovers might have been meant to annoy/demean you, but could ht you in the face, cause a wreck, etc. Your call on how threatening/dangerous it was/could be. None of us here can make that judgment since we won't be there with you if it happens again.

If it was me and I was able to get a vehicle description and license number, I'd be phoning the local authorities. If anything, it will log the vehicle into the data base for possible future incidents by the same perpetrators.

I just had a nice ride going home from the girlfriend's house until I encountered some punk ass kids in a SUV. I rolled up to the light with my bike and noticed three teenagers in a SUV (Ford Explorer). Their windows were down and I could see them. When the light turned green, I took off on my bike as fast and I can and then one guy from the rear window threw a bag of food at me. It appeared to be a McDonalds bag of leftover (fries and/or burgers) and it hit my right arm. I quickly gave them the middle finger and cursed them with the "F" word. I saw the driver immediately stepped on the brake and took off. I was pissed of that I got some punk ass kids throwing crap at me. What should I have done in this situation or in future situation like this. I was thinking about carrying a few golf balls with me as payback in similiar event in future. :mad:

Outrageous, but there is nothing much to be done. It is their problem they throw garbage at other people, not yours. If you have plates and a description of the person who threw the garbage phone the police, experience shows there is at least a charge of battery which can be laid.

If you get the license plate #, call the cops and report an assault. They probably won't do much, but sometimes they'll show up at the registered owners house and ask them who was driving the car and whether they were throwing crap at people. If it's the parents' car, they'll give the kid hell. Or at least they should.

I'd ride in a neighbourhood where people actually throw decent food out their windows... there is nothing like a free meal.

:)

Once had some guys in a pickup throw a whiskey bottle at me and I was so pissed off that it was empty I followed them home to discuss proper manners.

Once had some guys in a pickup throw a whiskey bottle at me and I was so pissed off that it was empty I followed them home to discuss proper manners.

Did they make it up when you caught them?

Unfortunately, this is trending toward the norm for nighttime riding. Not the norm, but getting there. I posted recently about blowdarts and a general increase in heckling frequency. I'll stop right there to avoid getting into the Grandfather Corollary, where it becomes evident that my inner curmudgeon has matured enough for me to become those father figures from my childhood. You know, 'Get off my lawn you damn kids' and other fine selections from Cranky Cyclist Vol. I.

Did they make it up when you caught them?

In a way, yes.

You should have responded in kind - threw them a free bottle of tabasco, ofc open so as not to have them being bothered with opening it. And make it the most hottest sauce that you can find, to make sure they are pleased :D

Call the police to see what they will do. Get the license plate number, description of the vehicle, and don't let it ruin a ride. Sometimes the police will do something and sometimes they won't. Just let them know that you take this matter seriously and hopefully it will spur them to action. Even if it is just an inquiry to the perpetrators on their part.

I stopped out in the middle of my night ride about a month ago. The next thing I know I have a light in my face and am being asked all these questions about why I stopped in front of his house. I say I'm riding and enjoying the moon (It was a full moon just low on the horizon framed between two trees and I was trying to get a shot with the camera) and then he continues on and starts telling me not to stop there and I have no right to stop there, which is a sure fire way to ratchet me up considering this in on a public road and his house is 40 yards or more from it. He start threatening me with dogs and I go through the whole law thing so he goes inside to either get the dogs or call the sheriff. I tell his wife whom he leaves standing out there to have a nice night and send the sheriffs down my way and ride off. I get a little ways up the road and here comes this pickup that stops in front of me, the guy gets out saying "Come on over here and talk to me, I'm not such a bad guy.." "yeah right" I say as I start pulling out my pepper spray, I have no idea what he has planned since I haven't been chased on a bike in 25+ years. Then he tells me has something better than pepper spray and starts yelling at me, asking if I know who he is and that he has had death threats against him. I yelled back I didn't give a ***t who he was, he could carry his **s right back home. I continued on with my hands on the spray for a while.

So here he was out on a barely traveled FM road with a stranger and he has death threats against him. hmmm whats wrong with this picture. I should have been scared but I was to angry and besides, if someone was this eager to chase a stranger down who may have wanted to kill them they couldn't be to bright.

You live in Tx. Carry a Glock with you on your rides. If they had stopped it would not have escalated. Unless they were really really dumb.

I stopped out in the middle of my night ride about a month ago. The next thing I know I have a light in my face and am being asked all these questions about why I stopped in front of his house.

First thing I'd do is go down to the tax assessor's office and try to find out how far the right of way extends from the road centerline at this house, (which will also get you a name) then go have a talk with the sheriff about his activities. Trying to stop you after the original incident could easily be construed as a serious threat, and telling you he's "got something better than pepper spray" while he's otherwise acting out of control is coming really close to justifying deadly force in self defense as it is.

Maybe carry some condiments in your pannier in case it happens again?
A quick round of BBs would quickly fix them. I am not one to go around shooting at people but those kids would have been in deep bird turd had they tossed the meal at the one who had a gun and blew out their back window.

A quick round of BBs would quickly fix them. I am not one to go around shooting at people but those kids would have been in deep bird turd had they tossed the meal at the one who had a gun and blew out their back window.

I'm not one to escalate a situation by using some sort of firearm or pellet gun either, though my town may not be as bad as a Mexican border town, if the carload of teens don't come back at you later on with more firepower, their wacked out parents will.

I'm interested in hearing a story about a commuter actually shooting at somebody else and having things work out.

What is wrong with people? Don't do anything? No wonder we're going down the tubes when nobody is willing to do anything. Call the police with a description and license number and file assault charges on the bums. Make their lives as miserable as possible so maybe they'll learn not to do such things. When nobody stands up to evil you wind up with nothing but evil.

writing down the license plate number and making a reckless endangerment complaint to the THP?

they will grow to vote against their own self interest, repeatedly , I expect.

What is wrong with people? Don't do anything? No wonder we're going down the tubes when nobody is willing to do anything. Call the police with a description and license number and file assault charges on the bums. Make their lives as miserable as possible so maybe they'll learn not to do such things. When nobody stands up to evil you wind up with nothing but evil.

Righteous and correct.

A couple years ago I had something similar happen. I was riding home from work at night and got a Big Gulp of ice thrown at me. I was alert enough to get the make, model and license plate of the car and called 911 to report an assault. I gave the dispatcher the direction of travel, let them know I wasn't injured and that I'd be moving on.

I got a call later that night from a deputy saying he went to their house, and gave em hell for a bit. Since the assault didn't take place in his presence and I wasn't injured it was a stale misdemeanor at best and nothing was done. I didn't expect that anything would be done, but hey, I'll take it!

I once had a couple of kids in the back of a dump truck chuck rocks (shot put size) towards me. I was just very grateful they were bad aims.

What should I have done in this situation or in future situation like this. I was thinking about carrying a few golf balls with me as payback in similiar event in future. :mad:

I carry a fully loaded Glock. Last time it happened, I blew out the punk's wheels. It was fun watching the punk and his SUV careen down a canyon, off Decker Canyon road and burst into flames....

Oh sorry, that is what I would have liked to have done.

Last time it happened to me I just ignored the little miscreant, safe in the knowledge that by riding an SUV and eating fast food he was working himself into an early grave. :D

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u231/853phile/Se/8ball.jpg

Golf Balls? Billiard Balls do more damage.

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u231/853phile/Se/8ball.jpg

Golf Balls? Billiard Balls do more damage.

Ah, the good old Magic Hate Ball.

You should start a bike gang. Go around randomly punching people in their cars. Get a reputation, you know?

In reality, just let it go. These morons are going to do something stupid and mommy and daddy are going to deny them keys to the SUV or stop paying for their gas money or something like that...they'll be on bikes getting crap thrown at them soon enough.

I got a call later that night from a deputy saying he went to their house, and gave em hell for a bit. Since the assault didn't take place in his presence and I wasn't injured it was a stale misdemeanor at best and nothing was done. I didn't expect that anything would be done, but hey, I'll take it!

Double benefit:
1) If someone else had the same happen to them, lost control and got hurt, and only had a vague description of the vehicle, your information and testimony would help pin it on them
2) The deputy almost certainly made that clear to them, so they'll be extra sure not to try it again

These morons are going to do something stupid and mommy and daddy are going to deny them keys to the SUV or stop paying for their gas money or something like that...they'll be on bikes getting crap thrown at them soon enough.

Highly unlikely, and the only way that's possibly going to happen is if the local authorities step in and take the teen's license away.

I took an Airsoft round from a carload of teens joyriding around on my commute. I would have taken a second round if I hadn't taken some evasive action. I notified the local authorities when I got home, but nothing came about it until a couple of months later when a 16 year old boy was arrested for shooting several pellet gun rounds at the side of his neighbor's house.

The 16 year old's home just happen to be a couple of blocks from where my incident occurred.

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u231/853phile/Se/8ball.jpg

Golf Balls? Billiard Balls do more damage.

Some of my friends that ride street bikes carry marbles with them and drop them in front of cars that nearly hit them. A couple of them have been known to knock of side mirrors with their fists also.

BTW... I'm not advocating any of the above.

I took an Airsoft round from a carload of teens joyriding around on my commute. I would have taken a second round if I hadn't taken some evasive action. I notified the local authorities when I got home, but nothing came about it until a couple of months later when a 16 year old boy was arrested for shooting several pellet gun rounds at the side of his neighbor's house.

Our sheriff likes to occasionally remind the kids who might be inclined to cause mischief with Airsoft and paintball guns that anyone mistaking their toys for real guns would be justified in shooting them. Seems one of them complained after he got proned out and held at gunpoint by a passerby who saw him pointing what looked like a shotgun at passing traffic.

Our sheriff likes to occasionally remind the kids who might be inclined to cause mischief with Airsoft and paintball guns that anyone mistaking their toys for real guns would be justified in shooting them.


Here in Cali, it's a little more dicey issue in shooting some for that very reason. One of the reasons why I don't own any firearms.

If it was me and I was able to get a vehicle description and license number, I'd be phoning the local authorities. If anything, it will log the vehicle into the data base for possible future incidents by the same perpetrators.


^^^^^ +1

Don't be tempted to throw anything back. In Virginia, at least, this is a felony, as a young man of my acquaintance found out to his great misfortune. For the same reason, though, it is one you might actually get the cops to move on, depending on your locale, and how much information you can deliver about the 'perpetrators'

I've reached back to get my cellphone out of my pocket and then proceeded to speak into it loudly enough for the car occupants to hear. Mainly I asked for the police, mentioned the location, and then repeated the license number of the car a few times.

Then I enjoyed watching the antics as the car sped off, made an immediate turn into some neighborhood and appeared to make some additional turns as well judging from the engine sounds. Course I hadn't actually called 911 - but they didn't know that. Bet the driver was pretty nervous for awhile about the chance the police would check up on him.

This.

It's an elegant solution - you can carry it as far as you like (you can pretend to phone the cops, or you can really do it), and rather than leaving you wondering whether the cops will take any action, it leaves the perpetrators wondering if they'll get caught.

I live in kind of a dicey neighborhood, and I was petrified someone was gonna start shooting fireworks at me when I rode home from work the night of July 4. I'm not sure I wanna ride my bike on the night of Oct. 30, when most everyone will be celebrating Halloween. I've yet to have anything chucked at me, though I'd say my time's coming.

cattle prod or stun baton. your new best friend... in a situation like that you'll have to provoke them to get them to come out of their car so you can teach them a lesson or two. i don't promote violence but i do promote divine justice...


http://www.stungunscheaper.com/_Monarch_2.8_Million_Volt_Rechargeable_Stun_Baton_wzzz4_Bulb_LED_Flashlight.php?ref=stbtns

for the safety of night riding from jackass teenagers or jackasses in general...

Here in Cali, it's a little more dicey issue in shooting some for that very reason. One of the reasons why I don't own any firearms.

The standard here is reasonable belief - and any belief held by a Californian is presumed unreasonable :P

http://pix.motivatedphotos.com/2009/12/26/633974096262391745-California.jpg

If you get the license plate #, call the cops and report an assault. They probably won't do much, but sometimes they'll show up at the registered owners house and ask them who was driving the car and whether they were throwing crap at people. If it's the parents' car, they'll give the kid hell. Or at least they should.

+1!

Petty folks do tend to take advantage of those who they perceive as weaker than themselves.

It's the vehicle that is weaker than theirs. The person who is driving the car (i.e. sitting in the car) is more than likely weaker than the one riding a bike.

The standard here is reasonable belief - and any belief held by a Californian is presumed unreasonable :P

http://pix.motivatedphotos.com/2009/12/26/633974096262391745-California.jpg

CA is pretty much the pitts when it comes to owning firearms of any type.
Rifles, pistols, shotguns all require a 10-day waiting period, then there's other restrictions in relation to the mechanical workings of the weapon, primarily 10 rd magazine limits.
Then there's also the registering of ammunition everytime you buy that.

However, like the UK and other areas with restrictive gun laws, crime still runs rampant because crooks aren't scared of laws.

All of that withstanding, I'm looking into purchasing either an xD-9, or Sig P226 for CCW in my area.
With the ex-con transplants and meth-heads that like to barrel down the streets in this area, I'd like to have an equalizer in case they want to pull the usual "1 vs. however-many-are-in-each-vehicle" tactic.
In the meantime, I just try to ride along the streets that nobody cares about, or ones that would give a carload of brigands something to cry about.

I will tell you a funny story. It was a few years ago and we were parked on the side ofa a street. Probably smoking weed or something, it was 3 of us. A jeep cheerokee with teenagers drove by and egged my buddies car. This is not the kind of kids car you wanted to egg. He followed them own and they finally got stuck at a red light behind cars. The kid got out and kicked his foot throw one of the jeep windows and pulled one of them out. I don't I have ever seen someone so scared, he kept saying it wasn't him that threw it. His friends just sat there and watched.

So don't even worry, they will eventually mess with the wrong person and get what's coming.

I got the food treatment a few years ago. I was on a bike path when someone threw a gallon-jug of mile from a second-story balcony. Fortunately, I saw it coming and avoided it. That would have hurt and then I would have had to decide whether to let our local anti-bike PD handle it or deal with it myself. I still wonder what I would have decided.

I never advocate escalating a confrontation. I agree with the above, call the police if you deem it necessary and ride on. This is how I behave riding or otherwise, partially because I have a concealed handgun permit and I carry everywhere. I carry a gun in case the other party decides that the situation will be violent, but I never want to be doing anything that could be considered to be escalation while I'm armed. Anyone who thinks that carrying a gun is a good idea because it'd allow you to escalate the situation should never carry one. It is a last resort for life and death situations. If you are the type of person who would be tempted to use it in other situations, don't carry one.

I never advocate escalating a confrontation. I agree with the above, call the police if you deem it necessary and ride on. This is how I behave riding or otherwise, partially because I have a concealed handgun permit and I carry everywhere. I carry a gun in case the other party decides that the situation will be violent, but I never want to be doing anything that could be considered to be escalation while I'm armed. Anyone who thinks that carrying a gun is a good idea because it'd allow you to escalate the situation should never carry one. It is a last resort for life and death situations. If you are the type of person who would be tempted to use it in other situations, don't carry one.

Very very well said.

I never advocate escalating a confrontation. I agree with the above, call the police if you deem it necessary and ride on. This is how I behave riding or otherwise, partially because I have a concealed handgun permit and I carry everywhere. I carry a gun in case the other party decides that the situation will be violent, but I never want to be doing anything that could be considered to be escalation while I'm armed. Anyone who thinks that carrying a gun is a good idea because it'd allow you to escalate the situation should never carry one. It is a last resort for life and death situations. If you are the type of person who would be tempted to use it in other situations, don't carry one.

Well said, but isn't it difficult (and quite obvious) to carry on a bicycle?