Drunk driver attacked me this morning on Roskildevej

threaded

I had a car pull up beside me and start shouting something. Not really wanting a conversation with a strange person in the dark, I called back in English that I don't understand Danish. He then started shouting something else, still in Danish, about remembering it was his bicycle I was riding, and some other gibberish. He didn't sound right in the head.

With that he drove onto the cycle path and tried to knock me off my bicycle.

Missed luckily, and I pedaled on. I see cars pull onto the cycle path and cyclists having to swerve to avoid them often enough that I didn't think anything of it, and I already had him tagged as a nutter.

Next thing, same car pulls in front, onto the cycle path and bloke jumps out and stands in the cycle path. I set to go around, and as I do, he throws a punch. Close, but no cigar, and close enough that I can smell the beer. Oh no, 'One of those'.

'One of those' happens quite frequently in Denmark. Some people, after a skin full, which is quite common this time of year, go out and find someone who is on their own to attack, and it's usually early in the morning.

It helps a lot for them if you're a foreigner, so my answering in English probably didn't help.

So how to stop this becoming any nastier? I have to find another person, pull up, and call the Police. I'm right in the middle of Roskildevej, but I can see there are people waiting at the approaching bus stop. Have another near miss with chummy as he mounts the cycle path again before I reach safety. When I get there I stop, and ask if anyone would care to phone the Police. Everyone studiously ignores me.

Chummy, like they do, not wanting witnesses, as soon as he sees there are some, drives off. I didn't get his number plate either, darn it. I remonstrate with the people at the bus stop for their cowardice, which now marks me as a nutter, so I set back off on my way to work. Kept an eye out for chummy at the next couple of junctions but he was long gone.

I call the Police, but without a plate there is nothing they can do. Didn't push it anyway as my experience from the many accidents I've seen, is if you're a foreigner, your statement isn't worth taking.

Amusingly: one of my co-workers after hearing me chatting to the police relates he had a similar run-in with drunks on the train.

Ah, Christmas is coming, and it's Friday morning. Many companies have their parties on a Thursday evening, so Copenhagen is over-run with drunks the following morning. It's what eventually puts me off cycling in Denmark this time of year, not the snow, not the rain, not the dark, or the cold: but the blessed drunks on the cycle path.

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