I was just subject to some pranksters on my ride home from High School today!

I guess I was the perfect target though. I guess they saw me and said, "Hey, look at this guy, 15 year old preppy black guy on a bicycle wearing a helmet in school uniform (I go to a catholic school)."

So (for those of you who know Chicago) I left school 35th & Michigan Ave. I was riding south on King Drive. Less than a mile from home I crossed 73rd street. I was doing a steady 16mph on the far right side of the road. Then I felt something hit my bookbag and splatter on my pants and stuff. Man I'm glad I didn't use my panniers today. Then a little red Toyota Corolla with some rap song drove by with three older boys laughing. I was furious!

So there is a stoplight at 75th street. I was determined to get back at them. So I sped after them at nearly 30 mph. They were looking out for me and I stopped about twenty feet behind them and waited for the light to turn green. They were in the middle lane, a car was waiting to turn left in the far left lane, and a CTA bus was picking up passengers on the far right. The light turned green, I shot foward, keys in hand. I passed them leaving a nice long scratch from fender to fender of the little red corolla.

"OH Hell Naw!" I heard one of them yell. Now that scared the **** out of me. Fearful of being run down or something I cut in front of the bus and rode over a curband onto a crowded sidewalk. I was now riding down the sidewalk and they rode alongside me throwing eggs. One almost hit me. Still mad I missed my turn and pursued them to the next stoplight. I rode behind them at about twenty mph. The light turned green just as I caught up with them I stuck my footout and kicked their mirror. The mirror was rigid and made of fiberglass. It cracked and was hanging. I hightailed it home feeling very pleased with myself.

Ultimate Revenge! Yay!

congrats you just turned every other cyclist in Chicago into a target.

Wow, I would not be mad any longer...Sounds like you got them 100 times worse than they got you. The problem with escalating it to that level is that they WILL be looking for you now, and they will be prepared when they find you.

I am all for an eye for an eye retailiation, but keying their car and damaging the mirror.....they were eggs for hecks sake. A more 1:1 retaliation would have been a bottle of cytomax dumped inside an open window.

You're lucky they did not stop and fill you full of lead.

Yeah I did get them back pretty good. Maybe a bit much. I doubt I will see them again, and If I do they probrably won't recognize me. I wear a balaclava on windy days like this and they probrably didn't get a good look at me anyway. Plus it was the first thing I could think of. And the whole filling with led thing. Nah they were high school students and risking their freedom over damage to an already raggedy car seems irrational. If i thought that they may have been armed I wouldn't have done this.

well done. hope they don't get all bent and take to the next level.
I would have stopped at the key... every time the driver looks at the mirror he's gonna get pissed...

I don't agree that one bad incident with a cyclist turns all cyclists into targets, maybe they will learn that sometimes people fight back...

I usually wait until they have parked and aren't around the vehicle, then have fun

Don't count on it. I have no trouble recognizing motorists who harass me even months after the fact despite the fact there are a lot more of them than cyclists and their cars are more similar.

People use anything about you to recognize you -- your height, build, color, equipment, where and when you were encountered, etc. You get a pass for going over the top this time since you don't have much experience with this sort of thing. However, you'll get in real trouble if you do stuff like this very often.

Find a new route for a while...

Umm what dream world do you live in? People kill each other for much much less. Specially if there is perceived "lack of respect", and B.S. like that.

The best part is you go to Catholic school and will probably be their boss one day. Or perhaps one of them will be the defendent in your courtroom.

I used to get so heated when I had insults thrown at me, never eggs though. I have since learned to just brush the insults off my shoulder, since i know they are much more ignorant. Just keep save, and I will say it took a lot of balls to do it, just hope you don't pay for it later.

+1

Also drop that uniform on the ride home or you might get run over if they find you. Entertaining story though.

-1. Meekly retreating would encourage them and make other Chicago cyclists into a target.

You're very well spoken (or written) for a 15yo.

I know, not really relevant, but there ya go

Chicagoan, you are indeed a well spoken young person. I support you standing up for yourself. Punks need to know there are consequences. I probably would have left after keying them though Watch your back and changing clothes and mixing up your route a bit might be wise.

I call shenanigans.

The key would of been enough but they deserved it. They might not be able to buy rims now.

By the way are you my clone? We are both 15 and both wear helmets while commuting to catholic school.

Yes, that is good advice. I'm sure that in a place like Chicago there are alternate routes.

Yes, it's usually best to let it go. Now, if those jerks had gotten egg on my newly-painted Gunnar all bets would have been off. I've heard of messengers carrying small squeeze bottles of brake fluid---one squirt, unnoticed by the motorist, and paint bubbles off the offending car. Nice....

I too have knocked a mirror off of a vehicle however my case ran a touch different.
I was on a workout (not commute) ride and was cranking up a hill when 2 rednecks honked and yelled... you know it. I cought them at the light and confronted them verbally. After explaining how we had equal right to the road and so on he threatened me, twice. Said he would run me over, so I told him he would go to jail.
Then he tried, when there was about 6 inches from his truck to the curb I decided I was gonna hit the whole truck or knock off his mirror. I hit the mirror and he sped off leaving it behind.

Although I don't think your actions were the best thought through, perhaps there were alternatives.
Nor do I think my actions were the best thought through, there was a ton of adrenalin. (especially because I pulled and cought him at the top of a mile long hill in a 35 mph zone)

Assuming they were high school or college age (as I am) I know this would be talked about with their buddies, and everyone has at least one buddy who would try to explain how wrong the driver was. Who knows if theywould ge through.

Just be careful there, nobody wants to see a cyclist INTENTIONALLY run down... It's sad enough when it's an accident.

WWJD?


(come on, you know it had to be said )

I don't know but I have been honked plenty of times and buzzed by cars with WWJD stickers on the back. So I am guessing he would do the same thing as OP?

What you did was probably a felony. It certainly is in my state. Your folks' hard-earned tuition money will have been wasted when you get your education at the juvenile detention center.

I agree that people get shot for your kind of conduct.

Rise above the big pile of stupid people. Keep safe.

Right. But assault is ok. Got it.

Yeah there was quite a bit of adrenaline involved. People do 40mph or so during this stretch and I caught them in two blocks. The fact that egg was on my favorite bookbag, my 4 month old bike, and my pants is what got me going. had my ulock been in reach, as adrenaline fueled as I was, the mirror may have gotten that instead.

I have to admit that it was fun though. These guys were just pranksters, not gangsters, they couldn't have been more than 2 years older than me. NOw had I been stuck at a redlight or something, they probrably would have gone after me on foot. Thats why I waited just until the light turned green to get them.

Thanks everyone, I am told this quite often. Well Spoken

I think I will ride down State street tommorow. And wear a different coat. Another thing though, I didn't have my glasses on today and I look really different with them. So I should be fine.

I must say the most fun part was when I rode over a curb at 15mph and passed a bunch of people waiting on the bus.

Nasty