Last weekend I was the driver and I got confronted by a bicycle rider. I was coming over a rise, after which is the turn into my housing track, and veering right to get out of the flow of traffic so I could safely slow down to make the right turn. Came over the rise and there he was riding on the WRONG side of the road; no helmet, weaving on an older bike not adjusted to his body, and carrying a load of stuff in a bag swining on the handlebars. I was able to swerve around him (luckly no cars behind me) and he followed me down my street when he saw me turn. He got to my house and started yelling at me about how I almost killed him and how I ought to watch out for bicycle riders. I hit the button on the garage door opener and pointed inside, giving him FULL VIEW of my cruiser bike, my hybrid/commuter with lights/HELMET/relective vest hanging on it, and my SS/alt commuter (my cyclocross/touring bike was inside). The look on his face as he stopped yelling was priceless! I mentioned "Its good you're riding a bike to do some errands, but from my experience you might find it helpful to get a helmet, get a basket to hold your cargo, AND take the time to cross over to the PROPER side of the road where you can safely ride WITH traffic".

Nice Story...

Beautiful.

Why didn't you give him a precious HELMET? And a bike adjustment too, while you were showing off your "PROPER" goodies to the ill equipped cyclist on an unworthy bike? Maybe then he could appreciate your Lordly Status!

I am NOT impressed with your behavior or attitude towards the "other" cyclist, no matter what side of the road he was riding on or how stupid he was to follow you home.

To the OP: They only yell at me if there is no shoulder and they can't get around me. If possible, I change my route.

How would you have handled surfriders incident with the wrong way cyclist who followed him home?

Not sure I would have gone home Probably called 911

But if it was a given that a confrontation was inevitable, I would have started with the fact that riding on the wrong side is illegal and dangerous, and that the rider had caused his own near death experience.

++++

I gotta agree with this! I live in Hamilton, and this is where all my incidents have occured.

We got alot of skids in this town.

C'mon, dude you've gotta be kidding!?...turnabout is fairplay regardless of what side of the 'road' you're on. The guy got his *** handed to him by someone w/superior skills, equipment, experience, etc. Yeah, there was a little smug satisfaction in the post, but why not? Surfrider's done his homework and one-upped a guy who's now going to buy his OWN helmet, develope his OWN skillset and improve his OWN quiver of steeds. Surfrider didn't owe 'wrong-way cyclist' anymore than what he gave him...a fair lesson in humility. If W-WC has half a brain he'll take a six-pack of dark beer, ring Surfrider's doorbell and ask if he could bring his bike over for some geekin' time.

ILTB would have run into the house, jumped on the internet and told that guy that he was not a real cyclist like ILTB is.

On second thought, ILTB would have jumped on the internet and told all of us that he just met a real cyclist.

No, I wouldn't get on the Internet to brag about my smug satisfaction about "one upping" anyone by showing off my allegedly "superior skills, equipment, experience, etc." demonstrated by flashing the equipment in my garage. Especially one upping someone, who as described by the OP, sounds as if he might have diminished capacities or is just plain stupid for following the OP home. And I certainly wouldn't imagine that "the guy [who] got his *** handed to him" by the self satisfied OP is going to "improve his quiver of steeds" or take any other positive action after this confrontation.

Nor do I act like a mindreading Snarkster and post snide remarks about the imaginary things other posters might do.

Still a great story.

Do what Jesus would do, but let me behave like Beelzebub in telling you about it?

This is a contrarian view worth considering on the fringe, completely lost by it being delivered at the tip of a sledgehammer. Wow. ILTB, I just can't keep up with your bitterness.

I don't really confront them. I might yell something back or give them my personal #1 sign (sign language ya know), but that's it.
Mostly I laugh at them.

'Taint bitterness Bub, its calling a spade a spade.

Ya mean Jesus would practice one upmanship by displaying personal possessions to someone without and think that display of material provides a basis for preaching the Right Way to behave?

I agree that getting all smug about such a confrontation and bragging about or admiring such an obnoxious attitude is in line with the Beelzebub reference.

You didn't answer the question ILTB. How would you have handled surfriders incident? Inquiring minds want to know.

This rider was riding on the wrong side of the road...meaning in the opposite direction...and "weaving on an older bike not adjusted to his body, and carrying a load of stuff in a bag swining on the handlebars.", yet after almost being hit, was able to turn around, see where surfrider made his turn and follow him home, catching him there while he was still outside, before opening his garage. Wow, that wobbling dude on the ill-fitting bike with the load swinging from the bars was one fast mofo, or surfrider lives right on the corner where he turned.

Forgive me if I am skeptical that the incident happened as described.

As far as my own reaction had it happened like that and I was surfrider...I would have said, "sorry dude, didn't see you there riding on the wrong side of the road." Then I would have either went about my business or matched whatever escalation he foolishly (he's on my property) wanted to pursue. I definitely would not have opened my garage and showed off all the cool stuff that could be stolen if one wanted to break in.

I'd like to think I would have acted as Chipcom suggests in the post above. That would certainly be the high road as well as sensible action. If I was foolish, I might respond to provocation and escalate the situation to some unforeseen conclusion. But I would not be bragging on BF about acting like a fool or a Safety Holy Roller with lots of stuff in my garage.

my siblings live in the Melrose/Fairfax area
i visit often

my tactic is to carry a digital camera within quick access
often its in video mode, or i simply snap shots

i've had some issues with the Metro. more so than plain traffic, as it often times becomes a Leap Frog of sorts between cyclist and buses.

just being able to document anything that should occur, is the first step

a camera pretty much tells the story.

strangely, people seem to "straighten up" when they see you with a camera.

often i'm in awe of LA Traffic, so there i'll sit at a huge intersection, snapping off some pics.

First, I wasn't riding a bicycle, I was driving a truck. I thought I was nice by not simply giving Mr. WrongWay "the finger" and telling him to "get lost". Instead I gave him a few nicely-worded suggestions on how to improve his chances of surviving the Southern California streets, and gave him kudos for running an errand on his old (or should I say "classic"?) bike.

Need a little more detail on why I was in a truck? I opened the garage door so I could put the stuff I just bought at the lumber yard inside: eight 4x4 posts and twenty 2x4 rails, plus eight bags of concrete mix for the posts, that I was going to use for a replacement fence; can't haul all that on a bicycle!. Mr. WrongWay cyclist rode up on the passenger side of my truck just as the door was going up. Three of my bikes are kept in the garage and easy to see if the garage door's open. He put his own foot in his own mouth.

Give him my helmet? Hmmm . . since its sized for me, might not fit him properly, so it might actually be dangerous to do that - might give Mr. WrongWay a false sense of security. Then again, I was thinknig about getting a new one in January (at an after Christmas sale). But considering how much its depreciated in value over the few years I've had it, and Mr. Wrong-way's poor judgement of safe riding, it might qualify under the old motorcycle axiom "a $10 helment for a $10 head".

Surfrider, don't worry about it. You're on BF, where there always has to be negativity and someone getting the last word.

Have a nice Xmas!
-Roger

Do you need an extra large helmet for an extra large head?

The issue is why you made/make such an issue of another cyclist's choice on wearing an optional piece of equipment? And why you think showing off all your bicycles to Mr. (as you describe him) $10 head gave your scolding/nannying/preaching any extra credence?

BTW, couldn't care less if, why, or what you were driving that day or any other; did someone ask?

Don't confront motorists (especially if they call for backup). I won't tell my story, but I can tell you that it got pretty ugly and luckily I managed to get away with only a sore jaw and a pair of lost glasses.

Just let it go and don't escalate. There's no point.