How best to respond to dangerously belligerant bikers (bicyclists)

On Sat, 06 Aug 2011 13:46:16 -0500, hls wrote:
> I would have whipped out my trusty cell phone and called 911 for police
> backup.

In hind sight, 'after' I was able to get away from the gang, I 'should'
have pulled over and called 911. If, for nothing else, to give them the
location of the gang for them to see for themselves.

Now, unfortunately, they're long gone.

On Sat, 06 Aug 2011 13:52:02 -0500, AMuzi wrote:

> On the Left Coast a 9mm seems to work OK:

I don't know how many were in that belligerent gang of bicyclists, but, I
would put the odds at very many to one (not counting my child); so, even
with a weapon, I would have been far outnumbered by people physically
much stronger than I am - and certainly much more dangerously threatening!

My biggest worry was that they were going to break the windows and hurt
my child and/or myself!

I 'still' don't understand their actions.

On 08/06/2011 01:40 PM, arkland wrote:
> On Sat, 06 Aug 2011 17:27:30 +0000, arkland wrote:
>
>> How would YOU have handled this dangerous situation?
>
> Has this ever happened to you? I'm still shaking from the experience!
>
> DETAILS:
> - Minding my own way on a two lane road. Child in front seat.
> - I slow down,& stay behind, at a respectful distance, for some time,
> awaiting them to move over as any reasonable bikers normally do so that I
> may pass legally& safely.
> - Bikers continue to block the way, two and three abreast.
> - I beep respectfully, a short toot; suddenly the rear-most bikers change
> speed, and one shows what appears to be a disrespectful motion with his
> hand, and then, swerves over the the yellow lines (apparently in a
> blocking move?), the other of the rear-most members throwing or dropping
> an object which bounced obliquely in front of me.
> - I decided to do what anyone would do in that situation, which was
> simply to safely pass the bikers.
> - There were more up front, all of whom I could clearly see, so I warned
> them with a long toot of my horn as I passed, safely far away.
> - Apparently 'something' (unbeknownst to be) in my actions or theirs,
> caused them to become irrational as events only later showed.
> - Further ahead, at a T-intersection stop sign, was an equal sized
> "gang", again completely blocking the roadway.
> - I stopped behind them, and waited far longer than a reasonable person
> would wait, but nobody moved, even though some of them clearly saw me
> waiting patiently.
> - I tooted again, and then suddenly, they surrounded me!
> - Bikers on the front, to both sides, and presumably to the rear!
> - A huge thudding sound, repeated multiple times showed me they were
> STRIKING my windows with the intent to break them, and they were shouting
> loudly.
> - Some even took blocking positions in the front!
> - This sudden escalation in force scared the wits out of me as I realized
> belatedly this was, perhaps, a planned action on their part.
> - All I wanted was out of there!
> - Remember, I have a kid in the front seat - and - I have absolutely no
> quarrel with anyone - and this is clearly an unprovoked attack!
> - I was able to squirm out of there, all the while seeing these strong
> tree-trunk legs outside my window pounding on the glass - but I couldn't
> the faces of the people attacking me from the side as I had my hand on
> the glass to protect my face from the inevitable shattered glass.
> - Luckily, I was able to get past them, and on my way, breathing a sigh
> of relief.
> - My passenger was stunned, as was I. "What did we do?", we asked. Why
> did they attack us, unprovoked, and en masse?
>
> Do you think the horn was what they had so violently reacted to?

Probably. but it's not because they were cyclists, it's because they're
assholes. Unfortunately, most people are assholes, and don't like to
have it pointed out to them. Additionally, most cyclists that ride on
the road - at least the "serious" ones - tend to have an inflated sense
of entitlement and a chip on their shoulder.

Let me ask you something, though - is it possible that the cyclists were
deliberately "taking the lane" because they felt that it would have been
unsafe for you to pass at that particular moment in time, e.g. you
couldn't see far enough ahead to be sure that there was no oncoming
traffic? That is the one non-assaholic explanation I can see for them
blocking you in the first place. But sometimes people are just lazy and
arrogant, which is equally plausible.

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On 08/06/2011 04:14 PM, arkland wrote:
> On Sat, 06 Aug 2011 19:49:34 +0000, Kevin Bottorff wrote:
>
>> Next time don`t put your child in a dangerous situation
>> because you were too oblivious to the world around you.
>
> I agree. I had no inkling prior to being attacked.
>
> I guess I'm a wiser driver now - but - I still am unsure how I could have
> prevented the attack (which seemed, based on being swarmed at the
> intersection, to have been premeditated on their part).
>

Was there a Critical Mass ride in your area by any chance? Sure sounds
like a bunch of CM dickwads. Give cyclists a bad name.

nate

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arkland wrote:
> How would YOU have handled this dangerous situation?
>
> I was driving an automobile today, minding my own business, with a child
> in my vehicle, on a two lane road (one lane each way).
>
> I encountered, what ultimately showed itself to be a belligerent group of
> bikers, who, attacked me en masse, and, who prior would not yield the
> right of way, who crossed the yellow line repeatedly, & who apparently
> threw stuff at me and made rude gestures.
>
> At one point, I was so afraid that they would break my windows, as they
> were repeatedly pounding on them. I was so scared, I could only look at
> their legs, I instinctively thrust my hand up to protect me from the
> breaking glass - Lord know how they didn't break it, they were pounding
> so hard on the glass.
>
> All I wanted to do was avoid these people, both before and after they
> showed themselves to me to be dangerously & uncontrollably belligerent.
>
> What should I do to properly report such dangerous activity so that it
> doesn't happen to some other poor unsuspecting soul?

There is a wise old saying: Discretion is the better part of valor.

On Sat, 06 Aug 2011 17:27:30 +0000, arkland wrote:

> How would YOU have handled this dangerous situation?
>
> I was driving an automobile today, minding my own business, with a child
> in my vehicle, on a two lane road (one lane each way).
>
> I encountered, what ultimately showed itself to be a belligerent group of
> bikers, who, attacked me en masse, and, who prior would not yield the
> right of way, who crossed the yellow line repeatedly, & who apparently
> threw stuff at me and made rude gestures.
>
> At one point, I was so afraid that they would break my windows, as they
> were repeatedly pounding on them. I was so scared, I could only look at
> their legs, I instinctively thrust my hand up to protect me from the
> breaking glass - Lord know how they didn't break it, they were pounding
> so hard on the glass.
>
> All I wanted to do was avoid these people, both before and after they
> showed themselves to me to be dangerously & uncontrollably belligerent.
>
> What should I do to properly report such dangerous activity so that it
> doesn't happen to some other poor unsuspecting soul?


Depends on what car I'm driving. If it's the Scion, I just let them be.

Blood wipes right off the Mazda and the Caravan...

You just have to be careful not to have any bones puncture your tires...

On Sat, 06 Aug 2011 23:10:52 -0400, aemeijers wrote:

> I see those guys a lot when
> I visit my sister who still lives in the town most of my family went to
> college in- insisting on taking their daily rides side-by-side on
> winding hilly country roads with lots of blind corners, etc.


Some woman in a spandex bike suit was doing that. Here and the guy she was
with were riding side by side in the middle of the lane on a blind corner.
Takes brains...

On 8/7/2011 1:04 AM, Hachiroku wrote:
> On Sat, 06 Aug 2011 23:10:52 -0400, aemeijers wrote:
>
>> I see those guys a lot when
>> I visit my sister who still lives in the town most of my family went to
>> college in- insisting on taking their daily rides side-by-side on
>> winding hilly country roads with lots of blind corners, etc.
>
>
> Some woman in a spandex bike suit was doing that. Here and the guy she was
> with were riding side by side in the middle of the lane on a blind corner.
> Takes brains...
>
>

I should note- I'm not against cyclists, and think it can be a great
form of exercise. (Especially for folks whose feet, knees and ankles are
no longer up to the impact loads of running, or extended walking on
pavement.) In fact, I have a rather nice vintage 10-speed sitting in
basement, because my middle-age ass can no longer take an old-style road
bike seat without annoying side effects, and I simply have never gotten
around to buying a different one. But it is a pastime for residential
side streets, bucolic country lanes, and improved trails in parks or
converted railroad ROWs. It is not a plausible way to commute to work
(unless you live in a small flat town), or a pastime for major traffic
arteries.

--
aem sends...

On 08/07/2011 01:04 AM, Hachiroku wrote:
> On Sat, 06 Aug 2011 23:10:52 -0400, aemeijers wrote:
>
>> I see those guys a lot when
>> I visit my sister who still lives in the town most of my family went to
>> college in- insisting on taking their daily rides side-by-side on
>> winding hilly country roads with lots of blind corners, etc.
>
>
> Some woman in a spandex bike suit was doing that. Here and the guy she was
> with were riding side by side in the middle of the lane on a blind corner.
> Takes brains...
>

Not limited to cyclists. I was once run off the road - actually had
scratches on the side of my car from some hedges afterward, good thing I
didn't have a particularly pristine paint job - because an idiot driver
decided to pass a cyclist around a blind curve. Guess who was coming
the other way...

Before questioning the cyclist's judgement as to riding on that
particular road, there really aren't any good roads to ride on in the
area... to get anywhere useful you're still limited to roads with
either no shoulders or else curbs right up on the white line. Seems
sadly all to prevalent these days... even in rural PA where I grew up
quite often there'd be shoulders, albeit gravel, that you could use to
get out of the way in emergencies...

nate


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On 8/7/2011 7:46 AM, Nate Nagel wrote:
> On 08/07/2011 01:04 AM, Hachiroku wrote:
>> On Sat, 06 Aug 2011 23:10:52 -0400, aemeijers wrote:
>>
>>> I see those guys a lot when
>>> I visit my sister who still lives in the town most of my family went to
>>> college in- insisting on taking their daily rides side-by-side on
>>> winding hilly country roads with lots of blind corners, etc.
>>
>>
>> Some woman in a spandex bike suit was doing that. Here and the guy she
>> was
>> with were riding side by side in the middle of the lane on a blind
>> corner.
>> Takes brains...
>>
>
> Not limited to cyclists. I was once run off the road - actually had
> scratches on the side of my car from some hedges afterward, good thing I
> didn't have a particularly pristine paint job - because an idiot driver
> decided to pass a cyclist around a blind curve. Guess who was coming the
> other way...
>
> Before questioning the cyclist's judgement as to riding on that
> particular road, there really aren't any good roads to ride on in the
> area... to get anywhere useful you're still limited to roads with either
> no shoulders or else curbs right up on the white line. Seems sadly all
> to prevalent these days... even in rural PA where I grew up quite often
> there'd be shoulders, albeit gravel, that you could use to get out of
> the way in emergencies...
>
> nate
>
>
I hear you about 'no good roads' and all. And while I do feel sorry for
the cyclists, my statement remains valid- if there are no safe roads to
ride on to get from where you live, to someplace safe to ride, well, you
need a car with a bike rack, or you need to find a safer way to get
exercise. And add 'bicycle friendly roads' to your list for
house/apartment picking criteria for next time you move. Getting healthy
is a stupid reason to get killed.

--
aem sends...