Yesterday while riding the mountain bike for a short ride on the rail trail near me I have to ride on a shoulder of a divided highway for about a eight mile to get there. Wide shoulder no big deal. Anyway I notice something strange...something coming at me in midair. A medium Taco Bell soda!!( I find this out after the fact) It didn't hit me but some of the spray did get on my leg.
I normally ride with traffic here but today I didn't want to stop at the light and cross the road so I went against traffic and went to the next light where I turn. Maybe it was all my fault for doing that?

What a a$$, why do people do crap like this. This is the first time thing has happened to me.
I didn't let it bother too much and just went on riding and enjoyed the ride instead of letting it ruin it.

Anyone have something thrown at them hile riding?

Last summer, an apple from an oncoming truck. Hit me on the knee but didn't cause a fall. Good thing because I was descending at 60 kph.

The human race contains many different kinds of people. Some much less concerned about the welfare of others. My reactions to this kind of thing always swing from: "good thing I don't have a rocket launcher on my bike", to "when will people grow up?". I'm glad it wasn't anything more substantial that could have injured you and that what they did throw missed you.

The guy was an a-hole for throwing something at you under any circumstances. There are a few out there.


Don't ride against traffic. Much worse things than having a drink thrown at you could happen.

Beer Bottle

Watermelon

But the worst was years ago when a VW van slowed along side me, passenger window rolled down, a guy leans out and spits me in the face

A few years ago, on a weekday early AM ride, I had just got onto the country road outside our development when the I got hit with an orange as a car wizzed by. I knew there was some construction about 3/4 of a mile away and the race was on. Traffic was lined up at the work site and I caught the car. There were 4 teen age boys going to the local vocational high school in the car. I pulled up along side the door and the kid wouldn't look my way. I took my hand and slammed it down on the roof above him to get his attention and asked if he "wanted to come out to play ball"? Still no look from him or the others in the car. A police man directing traffic asked what happened and I relayed the info. He said that he would take it from there and I went on to complete my ride.

Two years ago, a full unopened can of coke. Missed my head by about a foot. I retrieved the can and caught up with the car. Won't say what happened next, but that is one kid who probably thinks cyclists are crazy. But I doubt he'll pull that stunt again.

Big Gulp.

Super cola wet and it nearly took me off my bike.

The worst for me me was a pint of milk. This was back in the mid 70's before helmets and the evidently unopened carton hit the back of my head at about 50 mph and knocked me into the ditch. I'm lucky it didn't hit my ear.

The first time a dog was hanging out a window and barked really loud in my ear is memorable...

The anonymity of cars brings out the worst in people. However when you know the individual responsible and recognize them it can lead to some delicious revenge.

I was riding in a congested area (this is again back in the 70's) and this firecracker gets thrown at me from a passing car. The car was only slightly faster than me I was able to get a ID on the kid responsible. He worked with me at a screen printing shop! So Monday when he's working and is concentrating on his task I light a M-80 and walk it over to his station and lay it at his feet. The reaction was everything I hoped for.

With the increased use of air conditioning and because this is generally a "crime of the moment" it seems the frequency of incidents like like this are a little rarer. Unfortunately I am being "buzzed" frequently nowadays. This is a disturbing trend.

In 1976, my very first commute home from work, a car slowed enough for the ass-enger to jab me in the side with a baseball bat. I was able to stop without falling and give 'em the finger, but I had bruised and sore ribs for weeks after.

I once was hit by a projectile that was deflected by, not thrown from a car. I was riding eastboud on the Trans Canada Highway, east of Calgary Albera. Out of nowhere, I was struck on the arm by something on the descent. It took a moment once I got stopped to realize, first that there was blood on my arm, and second, that the blood was not mine. I retraced my path to where the object in question lay, and found a freshly killed pigeon, obviously deflected off a moving vehicle.

Bottles, cans, an ice ball, spit, and other debris. Haven't been knocked off the bike yet, and never got revenge on any of these cowards.
A girl I know was hit in the chest with a grape Slurpee (slushy drink) and her riding companion caught up to the idiots and got them arrested.
My ex wife got slapped on the butt once and it almost made her fall. When she got home she showed me the red outline of a hand still visible on her skin.
If I had a rocket launcher.....

I've not noticed anything thrown at me in years but, then, I do not ride counter flow.

I was once awarded a small dog which jumped out of a car window and into my arms. No fuss since we were sitting at a traffic light. The dog was entirely friendly. The owner and I shared a good laugh.

I certainly don't think it was your fault! Takes a real ass to throw something at anyone for no reason other than spite.

I had several beer cans and beer bottles thrown at me when I lived in Texas, years ago. Nothing since.

Several years ago while riding home from work, a young "lady" in a car threw a soft drink in a paper cup at me...............missed me but was close enough that I could smell the cherry flavoring.
Couldn't catch the car.

This might have been the second time I have ever ridden against traffic and might be the last time as well.
I guess not wanting to stop at a light to "save" what? a minute? of time for a ride with no real time constraints could have cost me a lot.
I wish I could have caught them but what then? I would have called the police, I thought about it while riding and that would be the best thing, get the plate number call the cops and let them take care of it.

Good grief

I ride my bike in the Middle East. (At least, until I had a tumble, but I'm coming back from that). Previously, in Indonesia, France, London, Germany.

I've had inattention to deal with, but never hostility, never assault. Distracted and inattentive incompetents , but not aggresive hostiles.

Is this purely American? Because I'm thinking of moving back to Santa Cruz where wife o'mine comes from?

About two years ago I was riding here in the city. Pulled out from a stop sign. As a large green van passed me a teenage young man in the passenger seat threw a large cup of soda at me. Caught me right in the middle of the back. I could hear he and his mother laughing at it as they continued up the street. Took me 4 blocks to chase them down. So there they were. Sitting at a red light and still laughing. Rolled up alongside the passenger. Gave him a short shot of pepper spray and then took off. He had figured it was safe to do this to a gray haired old man on a big mountain bike. They needed an attitude adjustment. And got one.

Had cans and cups thrown at me before, but not a lot. Been yelled at by idiots trying to scare me. Oddest thing was being hit by a snowbball.... odd as I live in north Phoenix. It was after a March storm a few years back, and the snow level was down to around 2500 ft. It was really an iceball, and my hip hurt!

A can of coke hit me on the back of the helmet when returning from jury duty. A beer bottle narrowly missed me and shattered in to thousands of pieces in the parking lot I was passing. Other things too, but the strangest was a bag of french fries.

That's not counting the passenger who reached out and grabbed my elbow trying to pull me down or the guy who shot me with a pellet gun at the same location 24 hours later.

Never had anything thrown at me nor ever even been "buzzed". Had a carload of young women once yell at me but what they yelled was "nice a_s!" so I wasn't particularly offended.

Coffee, soda, candies, coins, but the weirdest was a fast food wrapper casually tossed over the roof as a car passed on my left. Pretty harmless as it was paper but I did catch up to the car and it was an older middle aged Asian woman in a business suit. Totally unexpected and I never did get her to look at me.

If you get the license plate number on the car, call 911 and report it as an assault. As you can see from the replies to this post, the behavior of throwing things at cyclists from moving vehicles is quite common, and will continue to be common if nothing is done, you can help stop this by filing assault charges - it is serious, people have been seriously injured and even killed this way, we should not tolerate the behavior.

Cigarette butt was about the only thrown object I can think of, but lots of close drive-bys, especially from large pickups. But those people are hazards to everyone, not just bikes.

I've become very communicative while on the bike -- I try to signal drivers when I've got to move into the lane to avoid an obstacle, and I wave thanks if they have to slow down to wait for me. I try always to signal my turns and I try to wave to the intermittant traffic out on country roads away from town.

As they say, courtesy doesn't cost much. I figure the more good will I can spread, the better for all.