kill.cactus

A WARNING TO ANYONE IN THE REGION OF SOUTH EASTERN MICHIGAN:

I was biking eastward on Cavanaugh Lake Road, before its intersection with Pierce Road, just west of Chelsea, MI. I came upon a particularly bad section of road and needed to merge to the middle of the lane for about 10 meters. A greenish-grey Jeep Cherokee (newer model – 2005 or later) drove up within feet of me and laid on its horn for several seconds, startling me. It swerved around me dangerously and I gave the driver the finger for a few seconds, infuriated. It stopped in front of me and the driver lowered his window. He was in his early 20s, Caucasian male wearing a white shirt and jeans (I would find these details out soon enough). He had a brown haired Caucasian woman sitting in the passenger seat and a child in the back. Usual angry yelling ensued from him. I surprised myself with how articulate I was, citing Michigan vehicular code pertaining to cyclists and refuting his claims that he was “protecting my ****ing wife and kid from g** a** idiots.” This infuriated me. I barked to him “I on my bike am endangering your family? Sir [and yes, I always addressed him as “sir”] you are the one who is at fault here. Not only did you nearly run me off the road, but your crazy maneuvers put you, your wife, and your child in danger. YOU ARE USING YOUR VEHICLE AS A WEAPON.” He proceeded to use every derogatory synonym for “gay” he could think of. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing – remember he is supposedly protecting his family. I looked him in the eye and said “I feel bad that your wife and kid have to see you like this.” He opened his door and started threatening me. Suddenly I felt a little less bold and dismounted put my bike in between him and myself. Still though I stood strong and said “I’m not looking for a fight. If you take a step towards me you lower yourself in the eyes of your family, and you’ll regret it once I call the cops.” He cursed at me several more times and sped off. I DIDN’T GET HIS LICENSE PLATE NUMBER.

I talked to people who were riding the same route as me and asked them if a man matching his description in a greenish-grey Cherokee gave them trouble. No one said anything. I’m very disappointed that I lost my temper and yelled at him AND didn’t get his license number. I am proud that I did not curse at him or his family once, and that I was polite in my language (aside from the volume).

I left the county sheriff a message and when she or a worker calls me back, I shall detail the event. I strongly hope that either he will be known for behavior like this, or that when he DOES assault a cyclist in the future that my description will tag him with yet another complaint.

DO NOT LOSE YOUR TEMPER LIKE I DID. GET THE LICENSE EVERY TIME. And if anyone has trouble with this man, message me on the forums and we can appeal our case to the police as two or more individuals.

Thanks.

ctyler

It's so hard not to lose your temper with stupid idiots like that. But, you're right, get the license number and call the police and file a complaint.

donnamb 

I'm sorry this happened to you, but I grew up in SE Michigan, and I can assure you that there's more than one seriously dangerous driver there. It's a good part of why I left.

I-Like-To-Bike

I would think Ann Arbor is teeming with disgruntled people given the last two Saturday's Big House results.

Boss Moniker

Wow, thanks for the info. I ride through Ann Arbor every day, and often will ride out to Dexter, Chelsea or Pinckney. Thankfully I haven't had any trouble with drivers out there... yet. Interestingly, your altercation seems almost politically charged, as he seemed to assume you were *****exual. Now, I'm not trying to generalize here, but quite a few towns west of Ann Arbor have pretty a pretty strong KKK following (Hell, MI for example). This may not be related, but it speaks of some of the types you will encounter out there (conservative as hell). Remember, Ann Arbor is 25 square miles surrounded by reality.

Now, I don't blame you at all for losing your temper, though it probably would have been partially your fault if you got hurt as a result. Very strong words, though, "I'm sorry your wife and child have to see you like this". I'll be keeping my eyes out when I'm in the area, and I'll be sure to get the license plate number if I can.

pj7

Naw, we rednecks (and yes, I am admitting that I am one) love to call our poor little victims ******s, **********s, queer, etc. It puts them as far away from us, as heterosexual males, as possible and makes it easier in our minds to constitute what we are doing to them.

kill.cactus

Rule one of commuting in Ann Arbor:
Avoid going to work on Football days. Even when we win.

kill.cactus

Lol, someone in an english class of mine said "Ann Arbor is a little town full of dreamers surrounded by a state full of little people who like to hunt."

I'm fairly conservative (by AA standards), but I'm strongly against bigotry and hate. Especially to *****exuals and ethnic minorities, since it just gives conservatives a bad name (or a funny one... depending on how you look at it).

donnamb 

Very wise advice.

flargle

If your reason for cycling is to prove to everybody else that you're right and they're wrong, then you reacted in exactly the correct manner.

If your reason for cycling is to get from point A to point B in a safe and efficient manner, then you did everything wrong, and this opinion is based on your own account of the interaction.

Oh, and if you flip someone off and insult his manhood, don't puss out when push comes to shove.

genec

It's really hard to not lose your temper after first being threatened and then having to go on the defensive against such idiots displaying such poor road behavior.

You are already working hard, your HR and BP are both up, then you are flooded with adrenaline as you avoid a near miss... you know the person you may face already has displayed poor behavior, so anything further is not likely to turn "nice."

Yeah, it's tough to not lose your temper.

Blue Jays

Bump to the top for anyone who may have seen the altercation and have a license plate recorded. Good luck.

fordfasterr

I always have trouble controlling myself when I encounter these types of idiots....

I need to try really hard to take photo's of the cagers and their tags ...


I have posted pics of some of these fools on BF in the past =) and the halarity ensues.

V-Rock

I think we all can relate to the losing our tempers part.
My first instance of road rage where I was concerned for my life was about 10 years ago (makes me about 14 in the story) when I flipped off a truck that pulled out in front of me. I nearly t-boned his truck as I was about to go over the handlebars since I had to brake to hard and suddenly. I flipped him off, and cut behind him and continued. That is when I hear the truck come charging behind me. He ran me off the road onto the sidewalk and blocked me off. I squeezed around him and started pedaling my legs off. He came after me again and that is when I looked for an escape. Saw a boardwalk across the way to the beach and cut over to it. He cut across behind me and nearly hit me as I jumped from my bike. I started to run up the boardwalk stairs and he jumped out the truck to pursue. This was when I heard someone yell. Turns out I was in such a panic I didn't realize I was right next to the house my family was renting and my father had just stepped out the door and saw what was happening. The guy jumped back in his truck and ran off. I was lucky that my dad happened to be there at that moment. I really feel like that jerk would have beat the crap out of me. A guy ten years older who nearly hit you to begin with and then tried to hit you two more times was going to beat me up for flipping him off.

That is unfortunately what losing temper can get you into. Even if it is well deserved.

And I think this goes to show something about young white guys in big trucks/SUVs...maybe.

trackhub

It's very easy to lose your temper in these situations. You may not have been looking for a fight, but I'd say this guy was. At the very least, he was looking for bragging rights with his beer buddies.

I feel sorry for that woman and the kid. This guy will ruin them both, if he hasn't already.

No maybe involved.

timmhaan

i hope you're using those terms yourself... but i think your commentary is spot on.