Fairmont

So, tell your story of when you were riding along, minding your own business, and then........


I'll go first (stop me if you've heard this).

One time I was riding up a long hill when I got off the bike to push (yeah, yeah, I know. I should have worked harder), but that's not the point.

As I was pushing up the hill that hot early fall day, I felt an agonizing concussion and sting on the back of my lower left leg.

I had been pegged with an orange from a jeep traveling at about 50 mph. Man, that was SOME PAIN. I was breifly frightened, and then, looking up I made eye contact with one of the guys in the back of the Jeep, perhaps the guy who threw it. All the dudes in the Jeep were laughing hysterically, but when I made eye contact with that one guy, we quickly recognized each other, and his laughing smile instantly faded to a look of frightened horror.

I was ticked off, to say the least, but never pursued justice of any kind.

And the worst part? I was hot and thirsty, yet the orange mysteriously bounced out of sight after slapping the back of my calf. It would have been yummy.

shubonker

Who was he?

I had an umbrella drop on me from a bridge i was riding under, didn't hit me though. If it did i might have to kill somebody. What am i saying? I wouldn't have said ****.

Schwinnrider

I was riding home one evening. My route takes me through a subdivision. As I was stopped at a stop sign, a clapped out Lincoln Town Car came careening around the corner too close for comfort. I yelled "HEY! TOO CLOSE!" or something like that, and pedalled on. The guy turned around and came after me. He got out and threatened to "kick my ass B**CH". I talked him down but I don't want to deal with that nonsense again.

VeloBusDriver

I'll add a funny one just to lighten things up. Generally, I don't have too many problems other than people cluelessly driving too close. One such driver had her window open with her little "Taco Bell" dog in the passenger seat. I didn't see the dog until after it had barked at me precisely when she passed. Scared the hell out of me but the dog was just excited - not mean. "Yoquiero Taco Bell!"

Grim

Items thrown at you is assault.

Get tag call police. I put a guy in jail for throwing a beer mug at me (while I was in my car). They can also get nailed with littering (and unfortunately that may be the bigger fine).


Chuckleheads get away with it they are likely to try again since there was no repression to their action.

matthew_deaner

I was once attacked by a dog while riding and shot it with a .38 in self-defense.

making

a real commuter would have shot the dogs owners too.

5kdad

Some people, sadly, have little to do, other than annoy others. Probably the same punks that were bullies when we were in school.
And we can be sitting ducks.
I've only had one incident. Riding up a small hill, narrow road, car behind me had to slow for oncoming traffic. When they passed, was a bunch of teens out on a Sunday afternoon drive. Someone threw a hard plastic cup at me, but missed their target.
Small price to pay for all the benefits we have!

Hot Potato

1987, riding rural roads in the midwest, as a pickup passes at 50 mph I hear this strange whirring noise and feel a breeze on the back of my head. Beer bottle missed my head by mere centimeters.

Twice now, major always congested suburban four lane undivided no shoulder throughfare a block from my house. I will usually ride the sidewalk a block or so to cross at a traffic light. Young men (hate to call them men when they behave so childishly) make obscene gestures and comments. I find this truly puzzling, the mere sight of someone riding a bike enrages them? But I will take being yelled at over having beer bottles thrown at my head.

12bar

My best one was a long time ago when I was going to the handball court and a mustang came up beside me, the passenger slammed his hand on the door and yelled something, it scared the snot out of me. It also caused me to pick up the pace and catch them at the next 4 way stop. As I approached the car I saw the passenger raise a 16oz Bud to his lips. I reached in the car and grabbed his shoulder and shouted gotcha, at which time beer came shooting out his nose the driver started laughing hysterically and I said "are we even?" he nodded and we went our separate ways, it was priceless.

Thomas Brock

A couple months ago I was bicycling to my daughter's house (about 6 miles on streets) and had a plastic soda cup tossed at me.

Good times, I tell ya.

på beløb

I get an attempt at a physical attack about once a year, usually around Xmas/New Year by a drunk. Run off the road, thrown articles: maybe once a month. Shouted abuse is a weekly occurrence. Yet one should weigh it against what you'd get commuting by car, or using public transport. Cycling is certainly way safer in comparison.

Regularly see car drivers slugging it out on my commute, makes me laugh, not too loud mind you, they might have a difference in opinion, but the sight of a cyclist laughing at them will give them new focus...

pirate

Last night some idiots screamed at me and yelled "fixie for life dood!' as I was crossing the bridge on Fair Oaks going toward J street. I just laughed.

I was biking home one night about a year ago and I got egged by some high school kids in an escalade or some other luxury box. I was pissed so I sprinted hard to catch up. Fortunately for me, one of their tires blew out a couple hundred feet down the road so they pulled over. I keyed their car, one big thick scratch down the whole length of the vehicle and broke off the wing mirror before they could even react. Then I was gone into the night.

A friend of mine was riding down the shoulder of a pretty busy road, basically a 40 mph 2 lane highway with a lot of traffic when some a-hole pulled up alongside him and started giving him the typical homophobic, repressed sexuality rant about "biker ****" and spandex. It was a pretty severe grade, so my friend was going in the high 30's, maybe even 40. The idiot in the car never took his eyes off my friend while he was cussing him out, and ended up slamming into the back of a pickup covered with harley and USMC stickers.
I wish I could have been there to witness that.

daven1986

was cycling down a road and some youths threw a cup of water at me. i slammed on the brakes and swore very loudly at them and told them exactly what i'd do if they decided to do that again.

also had some guy ask "do you want me to knock you off your f***ing bike?" after i told him not to overtake on a blind corner - he almost had a head-on.

coloursinmyhead

Moving to Tampa in 2 days from DC and it seems a little overrepresented in this thread…I've been spoiled by facing nothing worse than a honk

JR97

Some gnarley stories. Luckily, the most I can say is getting honked at on the frontage road. Oh... and a bird pooped on me a few days ago.

Lot's Knife

Been shot. Hit with a baseball bat. Gotta love Tucson!

JR97

Damn, dude. Utah is a concealed weapons state. People have been shot and killed for less in "self defense." for that kind of crap.

recumelectric

You're lucky it was just paintballs. This is Arizona, after all, where people can pack heat in the open. There have been incidents with drivers shooting at each other. (I always think it would be funny to carry a hairdryer in the car and point it at aggressive drivers, but I fear they might be packing more in their trucks/SUV's.)

Also, every summer, at least one person freaks out in the heat and runs down and assaults another driver. I'm talking about bashing into their car over and over, running them off the road, and pulling them out to beat them.

...I've also had bullets come into my house, which was not located in a ghetto area by any means.

Strangely, I've never been shot at or assaulted in any way on a bicycle.

12bar

Florida is reported as one of the worst states for cycling and pedestrian accidents part of the problem is the large retirement community and tourists. The other reason is anyone on a bicycle is counted in the statistics and many of the accidents are with people riding bicycles (at night) not serious cyclists. The best riding time of the year here is right in the middle of tourist and snow bird season so if you don't have a mirror get one and use it. I have been riding in and around the Tampa Bay area for over 40 years and really haven't had many problems. The Tampa Bay area also has some great clubs that are more than willing to show you where to and not to ride. If you are a Triathlete you really need to hook up with the St. Pete Mad Dog club they are one of the largest in the country.

ifjlaszlo

This is new experience for me, but an elderly male took a swing at me, after a heated conversation at the stop sign. Hi wanted to turn right I wanted to go straight. I was in his way so hi decided to push me out in to the intersection with his car's bumper.Hi sad I did not have the right to take up the road. The "heated" conversation came after the incident.
Laszlo

hosehead

I've been shot with paintballs too.

One thing I've found out recently is that if you get the plate # of cars that screw with you, you can call the police, fill out a report, and the cops will either ticket the offender or go to their house and have a little chitchat about what behavior is acceptable and what isn't. That includes running their name and checking for warrants. City police are better about actually talking to the people or giving a ticket than the State Patrol, but the State Patrol keeps offenders in a a database so that info comes up if they ever get pulled over.

LittleBigMan

fcormier

These were mentioned in another thread:
-When I cross a bridge to go to work, there is a two way bike path on one side separated from the road by a concrete wall. The passenger in a car coming at me threw me one cent (or a penny if you prefer). I got it in the face at around 100 km/h (combined speed of the car and me), I suspect he was aiming for my mouth (like a toll). I lost my balance and almost fell.
-I got thrown a water bottle.

Brian T.

Not really harassed, but some lady honked at me and when she finally got around me, she yelled "get on a bike trail". Mind you, there are no bike trails around for miles, and my immediate response was "write your congressman".I doubt she heard me though.