Abuse from cars...any revenge stories?

[Snelvis]

Yesterday I had my worst case of abuse from a car. I couldn't make out any words - it was just yelling in order to scare the s*#t out of me. Normally when this happens, I just ignore it but this group of approx 18 year olds (4 of them) decided to go around the block and repeat their yelling tactics not just one more time but 4 times in total. Twice I nearly caught up with them at the lights but to avoid me they would reverse and take off down a side street (which was extemely bad/dangerous driving)

By this stage I was fuming and after the 4th I actually armed myself with a rock and intended doing some damage to the paintwork or window. I sat in the gutter and waited for the 5th round and when they came down the street to see me waiting they did a U-Turn. The fact that 4 guys in a car were too scared to face 1 guy on a bike is evidence of their cowardice. I guess I won considering that the ran away but afterwards I was concerned at how angry it made me and how excessive my intentions were.

Doe it get anyone else this angry? Does anyone have any other ways/stories of getting back at these idiots?

I live in Newcastle, Australia which I think may be the capital of the world for this sort of behaviour. I once even had it come from a national company removalist truck (brightly coloured vehicle with logo on the side) - I took the plate number and reported this one to the head office and even received a follow up letter apologising and saying it had been dealt with.

Cheers,
Mark

 

[ridinslow]

I have had a couple of run ins here in Boston. One comes to mnd that happened last summer.

A coouple of kids in their parents car were making it a habit to harass me (something about our schedules coincided so that we would meet on the road two or three times a week) Usually it was yelling and honking. The last time it happened - one of the kids leaned out of the car window and spit on me as they drove by.

Needless to say - that set me off, they had gotten too far away from me to do anything about it, so Ijust fumed for a couple of days untill the most logical thing I could have thought of occured to me.

The next time I saw them, I just followed them home. I still smile when I think of the look on thier faces when I rode up into the driveway.

I had a nice talk with the owners of the car (parents). While I was respctful and nice to them I was real careful to let them know that I wouldnt tolerate anymore harrasment from Jr. without involving the police dept. They were just as careful to let me know that Jr wasn't going to be driving anymore.

I havent seen the kid driving since then, but I have seen him on a bike. It doesnt get much better then that.

 

[Jim's ride]

My uncle is 6"4 with a build to match. He had a car almost run him over making a left turn in front of him.
Two days later he spotted the same driver and car, gave the bloke a huge dent in the passenger side door with his steel caps on the way home from work.
The driver said sweet F' all.
Not good advice to take such action, but I'm sure that driver will think twice about cutting a cyclist off again.

 

[mozza]

One of the best stories I ever heard about his kind of thing was when a cyclist was forced of the road by a bus. Fortunately he wasn't hurt and he hmanged to catch the bus up, he then hit the safety engine cut-off switch, causing the bus to stop. He cycling right on by...

Rather than shouting at him, the bus passengers had seen the earlier incident and cheered!

 

[bikeguy]

Teenage hooligans. It's the hormones or something.

 

[Grits]

I have had a couple of run ins here in Boston. One comes to mnd that happened last summer.

A coouple of kids in their parents car were making it a habit to harass me (something about our schedules coincided so that we would meet on the road two or three times a week) Usually it was yelling and honking. The last time it happened - one of the kids leaned out of the car window and spit on me as they drove by.

Needless to say - that set me off, they had gotten too far away from me to do anything about it, so Ijust fumed for a couple of days untill the most logical thing I could have thought of occured to me.

The next time I saw them, I just followed them home. I still smile when I think of the look on thier faces when I rode up into the driveway.

I had a nice talk with the owners of the car (parents). While I was respctful and nice to them I was real careful to let them know that I wouldnt tolerate anymore harrasment from Jr. without involving the police dept. They were just as careful to let me know that Jr wasn't going to be driving anymore.

I havent seen the kid driving since then, but I have seen him on a bike. It doesnt get much better then that.

It is true that revenge is very often sweet!

 

[tpat3]

Yesterday I had my worst case of abuse from a car. I couldn't make out any words - it was just yelling in order to scare the s*#t out of me. Normally when this happens, I just ignore it but this group of approx 18 year olds (4 of them) decided to go around the block and repeat their yelling tactics not just one more time but 4 times in total. Twice I nearly caught up with them at the lights but to avoid me they would reverse and take off down a side street (which was extemely bad/dangerous driving)

By this stage I was fuming and after the 4th I actually armed myself with a rock and intended doing some damage to the paintwork or window. I sat in the gutter and waited for the 5th round and when they came down the street to see me waiting they did a U-Turn. The fact that 4 guys in a car were too scared to face 1 guy on a bike is evidence of their cowardice. I guess I won considering that the ran away but afterwards I was concerned at how angry it made me and how excessive my intentions were.

Doe it get anyone else this angry? Does anyone have any other ways/stories of getting back at these idiots?

I live in Newcastle, Australia which I think may be the capital of the world for this sort of behaviour. I once even had it come from a national company removalist truck (brightly coloured vehicle with logo on the side) - I took the plate number and reported this one to the head office and even received a follow up letter apologising and saying it had been dealt with.

Cheers,
Mark

Mine is a failed revenge story from this afternoon on my way home from work. I'm in the bike lane in Cambridge, Mass., and a cab begins to cut right in front of me. I holler "hey!", quite loudly, and the cab driver stops trying to kill me and yells to the get f%#@ out of his way. I cleverly tell him f%#@ you! and invite him to step out of the cab after he keeps mouthing off at me. He of course takes off. After a brief pause I decide chasing him down is a good idea. The pursuit lasts a couple blocks and ends when he looks in his rear view mirror while stopped at a red light to see me bearing down on him, frothing at the mouth and flipping him off.

Not an especially proud moment, but I did sort of enjoy the look on his face.

 

[John Knees]

Long ago a clubmate had "words" with a motorist when riding through his home village on the A29 (Capel, Surrey, U.K.). Tony was a Rugby player-turned-cyclist, so built like a tank. He was an architect, and wanted to get his local blacksmith to make a dozen or so copies of a special wrought-iron bracket.

Tony rode off from his cottage, sample bracket in left hand resting on the handlebars, when a twit cut him up. Traffic slowed, so Tony caught up and said "I say, that was dangerous, please don't do that." Twit muttered "fat c*t" under his breath, and a hundred yards or so later, cut Tony up again. "Look old chap (Tony was very English) - I asked you not to do that". More muttered abuse - ignored.

Further on, it happened again, so when Tony caught up, with the bracket, DOING-DOING-DOING-DOING - put a row of dents in the guy's roof. "Look old man, I asked you not to do that" - the driver cowered away, fearing the the final DOING would be in his skull.

It's been long years since I last saw Tony, and he's probably long dead, but I always giggle when I imagine that idiot's face!

 

[jp111]

Oh Yes, I was walking my bike in the cross walk of a busy street/intersection, just out at the center line. A car, without slowing, breezed behind me, and the curb, at full speed. A policeman was sitting in his car, right there,...........it was sweet !

 

[pogmahoan]

I had an incident not too long ago with a bunch of teenagers in the car, yelling abuse and telling me to get the f**k of the road, my first response it to let them know I'm on a vehicle and by law, must ride on the road. They continued to yell and were hanging out of the car, at the lights I stopped and noted their plate number, further up they threw a half-full can of beer at me. Big mistake, I stopped and picked up the can, wrapping my cycling glove around it, put it in my back pocket and gingerly cycled to the local cop shop (with the beer still in it). Handing over the can to the desk sergant, I asked to file a report of some sort. I lucked out, as the sgt. was a cyclist and helped my file the report. As the kids had an open container in the car, they were charged and pled guilty to driving under the influence, underage drinking, dangerous driving and harrassment. One of the original charges was terrorism, as they also threatened to run me over. The guy that had been drinking from the can was on parole and ended back inside for breaking his parole! Revenge is all the more sweeter when it's done within the boundries of the law!
Pogs

 

[Brunswick_kate]

The best one I've ever heard was my husband who was biking home from his tennis lesson. He was carrying his tennis racquet in his right hand when 4 yahoos in a Mustang drove by and flug a glass beer bottle at "the *** on the bike". By some freak set of happenstance, hubby saw the incoming bottle and by some miracle managed to backhand smash it with with his tennis racquet right through the rear window of the Mustang.

Mustang brakes and 4 yobs pile out. Bike brakes and one ****** cyclist climbs off, pounding his tennis racquet into his open hand. The parties square off, a resident of the street calls the police. A few frank and honest exchange of opinions ensues. The jackasses eventually decide they may have some difficulties explaining to the police how the beer bottle got put into play and that furthermore, the barrel chested guy with the tennis racquet is going to do some serious damage. Discretion being the better part of valour, the idiots get back into their vehicle and leave prior to the police arriving.

 

[jcjordan]

Yesterday I had my worst case of abuse from a car. I couldn't make out any words - it was just yelling in order to scare the s*#t out of me. Normally when this happens, I just ignore it but this group of approx 18 year olds (4 of them) decided to go around the block and repeat their yelling tactics not just one more time but 4 times in total. Twice I nearly caught up with them at the lights but to avoid me they would reverse and take off down a side street (which was extemely bad/dangerous driving)

By this stage I was fuming and after the 4th I actually armed myself with a rock and intended doing some damage to the paintwork or window. I sat in the gutter and waited for the 5th round and when they came down the street to see me waiting they did a U-Turn. The fact that 4 guys in a car were too scared to face 1 guy on a bike is evidence of their cowardice. I guess I won considering that the ran away but afterwards I was concerned at how angry it made me and how excessive my intentions were.

Doe it get anyone else this angry? Does anyone have any other ways/stories of getting back at these idiots?

I live in Newcastle, Australia which I think may be the capital of the world for this sort of behaviour. I once even had it come from a national company removalist truck (brightly coloured vehicle with logo on the side) - I took the plate number and reported this one to the head office and even received a follow up letter apologising and saying it had been dealt with.

Cheers,
Mark

I dont know about Newcastle being the worst, i think Adelaide would give you a run for your money.

I offer two incidents which represent the general attitude to cyclists here.

1. this happened last friday on the way home from work. A couple of young twits in a beaten up gemini (you know the type, big exaust and mags but with crappy sounding engine) who decided to come up behind me and hit the horn, scared the **** out of me. I did get my own back though, as one of them hung out the window to say "hey ****** do you shave your legs" to which my reply was "honey for you i would shave anything" which i gave in my best sterotype gay voice. The head when back in the car so fast and all i could hear was him telling his mate to get the hell out of their.

2. I get cut off alot by cars, this is especially true if i am in a bike lane. But i got my own back last summer. I was going down Jetty road in Glenelge, the road was fairly busy and moving slow but i had a decent gap between the moving cars (at about 5km hr) and the parked cars. Then some silly women decided to open a door of her car right in front of me, without thinking i pulled my foot out of the pedal and pushed the door closed. The problem was i have metal SPD cleats, and ran my foot all along her door and front panel. I decided that i would not stick around to argue about whose fault it was and made tracks

 

[HellonWheels]

Probably the worst thing to ever happen to me was back in 1980 when I was riding my bike to work at night...a bunch of drunken teenagers hit me across my back with a half empty bottle of beer...when I got to work they called the police for me, but they never found them--I was only able tos ee part of the license plate number.

 

[closesupport]

Probably the worst thing to ever happen to me was back in 1980 when I was riding my bike to work at night...a bunch of drunken teenagers hit me across my back with a half empty bottle of beer...when I got to work they called the police for me, but they never found them--I was only able tos ee part of the license plate number.

A friend of mine whilst out on his motor bike was bumped, and fell off, but when the guy he was riding with at the time noticed that the driver had made no attempts to stop, he rode up along the side of the car and tryed to tell him what had happened, the driver then presented him with the bird, and gave him abuse. then began to accelerate, he then took off after him since he had made no attemts to stop and the abuse, he caught him up and swung a spair chain across the rear window, but still he didn't stop.

probably didn't equal the amount of damage that was made to my friends fairing and paintwork, but he'll probbaly think twice next time when playing the fool with bikers

but me i'm usually quite firery when i'm out on my bike, its usually a regular thing where i hurl abuse at divers for cutting you up, pulling out on you, or purposly truy to overtake when your already up the **** of the car infront or where they decide they want to drive anear the kirb even though your already there.

 

[less'go]

Back when I first started biking, I was out on a big 4-lane street, when a group of teenagers came up behind me and honked, then passed shouting things like "Oh, t'es bonne! Pedales encore!", etc. They scared the daylights out of me!

I shot them the bird, and shouted a few choice words as they drove off.

Anyway, they pull over about a kilometer later, probably so they could do it again, or follow me, or whatever. But I pulled up next to them, which really surprised them.

Itook off my sunglasses for the eye contact, and laid into them about how that kind of stuff could end me up in the gutter or worse, and did they want to risk casuing me to have an accident, and it really wasn't a good thing to do that to cyclists, etc....

They were really ashamed, apologized, said they wouldn't want that to happen, no... Then they tried to hit on me. I said I was old enough to be their Mother and rode away. End of story

I like to think maybe they won't do that again (eternal optimist). I have all kinds of altercations while commuting, most of the time I try to go see the perp and be sure they know what they did. Most of the time the exchange is positive, but sometimes it backfires.

It may be more dangerous for guys in the sense that the attacks usually come from other guys, so there is no "never hit a woman" tabou. As if that really bothers some of these thugs.

 

[el guapo]

People usually yell stupid stuff at me when I'm riding home from swing shift in the dark. Most of my trip is on a blessed lit seperated paved cylcling path along a 55 mph road. So it would be hard for me to catch up and do anything back(I have yet to top 29 mph on flat land. So anyway, I figure turn the other cheek. I would rather control my frustration/anger at other people's ignorance of traffic law and general meanness than fire something back at them. I would venture to say that the vast majority of confrontations turn out with no real "winner" and anger decreases your ability to concentrate and enjoy your ride! So enjoy the cooler air of October and fall colors at the more visible pace of your bicyclye, and the great feeling of 20 mph rides along smooth pavement and ignore the idiots.

 

[Glowingrod]

I have had a couple of run ins here in Boston. One comes to mnd that happened last summer.

A coouple of kids in their parents car were making it a habit to harass me (something about our schedules coincided so that we would meet on the road two or three times a week) Usually it was yelling and honking. The last time it happened - one of the kids leaned out of the car window and spit on me as they drove by.

Needless to say - that set me off, they had gotten too far away from me to do anything about it, so Ijust fumed for a couple of days untill the most logical thing I could have thought of occured to me.

The next time I saw them, I just followed them home. I still smile when I think of the look on thier faces when I rode up into the driveway.

I had a nice talk with the owners of the car (parents). While I was respctful and nice to them I was real careful to let them know that I wouldnt tolerate anymore harrasment from Jr. without involving the police dept. They were just as careful to let me know that Jr wasn't going to be driving anymore.

I havent seen the kid driving since then, but I have seen him on a bike. It doesnt get much better then that.

Congrats on an admirable and appropriate reaction

 

[werzel]

friend riding along the waterfront in sydney was abused by **** in a convertable. caught up 500m down the road at lights, leant in, pulled out his keys, and threw them down a nearby stormwater drain

 

[John Knees]

Wahey!! Nice one.

A couple of my clubmates had a similar experience about ten years ago. They were riding past a T junction in Petworth when a Range-Rover came barging out in front of them.

They stopped the florid-faced idiot and tried discuss the error of his ways. That got nowhere - he blethered on about "demned cyclists" and what he would have done if they'd been in his regiment, so in the end Tom did exactly what you did - reached in grabbed the keys, which he then flung over the wall of Petworth Park House (local stately home).

Tom and his mate then went up to the local nick and to report their version of the the incident, just in case.

"You did WHAT?" said the copper on the desk. He turned round - "Here Sarge, come and listen to this". Between the giggles, the desk-copper police wrote the incident in the log, but nothing ever came of it.

 

[blazingpedals]

Great stories, everyone. Both of these stories seem pretty tame by comparison. While commuting to work, there was an intersection where I regularly had problems with 'right hooks.' That is, the cars would pull alongside me and then do a right turn, right through me. I finally decided to take control. First, I started taking the lane, starting a half block before the intersection. I also resolved to do what I could to 'take out' the next car to do it. Sure enough, one morning an older woman in a brand new luxury car passed me in the left lane and then right-hooked me. I dutifully put my foot out and pushed off. I still fell, but at least it kept me out from under her tires. As I picked myself up, she stopped long enough to poke her head out the window and ask if I was all right. I had no damage, but she didn't even wait for an answer before driving off - with a meter-wide dent in her rear quarter panel! I still wonder what her hubby had to say when she got home.

I'm not the hot-headed type; I'd rather analyze the situation and economize my reactions. Once a guy deliberately ran me off the road, then was stupid enough to get out of his car and start ranting at me, with his teenage son cowering in the front seat. As I stood there deciding what would be the fastest way to disable this guy - he was 6'2" and had a 60 inch waist - the woman who had been riding with me made the observation, "You're drunk!" That put him on the defensive, and when he tried to deny it she told him, "Well then pull up your pants!" Of course NO pants were going to stay up with a belly like that! He blubbered something unintelligible, then decided he'd better just go home and have another beer. That left me relieved that I didn't have to hurt him, but the closure wasn't there, if ya know what I mean. We had another 15 miles to do after that. By then I was cooled off, but the woman was more steamed than ever! We reported the incident as soon as we got back. The sheriff knew him as a regular, um, problem. He never bothered us again. That's closure enough for me.