For the record, I'm not the hero or martyr type, especially over something as silly as riding a bike. Also, I've been on a bike probably 85% of my life's days, and this was the first time I've been in a riding-related confrontation that reached this magnitude. The vast majority of NY drivers are very good. I also try to avoid situations that might put other cyclists in danger by some idiot's perception that one cyclist = every cyclist.
Seems to me that if you'd have just ridden on you could have avoided the whole thing. Instead you provoked a confrontation with two knife wielding idiots in a van with obviously anti-social instinct vs. you on a bike. Looks to me like you made a bad situation worse with poor judgement, bad decisions, and juvenile conduct.
Of course auto-bike confrontation is one of the reasons I took up mountain biking many years ago. Thanks for the reminder.
I chase them down whether they might have a 9mm or not.
I'd never do it, but if I wanted to make an impression I'd get their license number, pay off whoever I had to to find out where they lived, and start sending them packages that made it obvious that somebody they'd messed with knew where they lived and, probably, is some kind of psycho.
Like I said, it's not something I'd do - but if you want one of these guys to think twice next time before they pick on somebody, that's probably a more effective method than just getting in their face for 20 seconds or so. -- PeteCresswell
Of course it's hard not to see the coincidence of two threads recently - what's in the pack (revisited) and commute. Here in the redneck commonwealth of virginia it is legal to carry a firearm with minimal permitting. I can imagine (what's in the pack) somebody's camelback or mule having not just hammer gel or gu or a chain tool but a handy-dandy gun for those times (commute) when a beer bottle flies their way.
Of course it's hard not to see the coincidence of two threads recently - what's in the pack (revisited) and commute. Here in the redneck commonwealth of virginia it is legal to carry a firearm with minimal permitting. I can imagine (what's in the pack) somebody's camelback or mule having not just hammer gel or gu or a chain tool but a handy-dandy gun for those times (commute) when a beer bottle flies their way.
But they're so HEAVY! 😉
LOL! Are you kidding? My buddy (The NYC Cop) has this little ass glock fine line or slim line or something for his ankle holster and the thing feels like a match box car in my hand. These glocks are getting ridiculous, in my mind. The thing feels like a cap gun when you fire it. I won't be surprised if they start coming in fashion colors. Sick [censored]!
Now his Sig Sauer service and off-duty pieces look and feel like real hand guns. They have weight to them and when you are holding them they feel like a piece of equipment - not a toy! They would definitely weigh your pack alright.
ditto, but I suspect a large part of the OP was fiction.
Quoted message said:
CDB
Actually, no. That's exactly how it happened and what I told the cops. The guys in the van acted in a threatening manner, followed me down a sidestreet for 3/4 of a mile, hit me with the bag while I was riding, then stopped and continued to menace me. I may be skewed and I may have acted badly, but I think that that's a lot of provocation. I know it probably comes off to a lot of people like I'm portraying myself as a tough guy or a thug. I'm not. I've been in my share of dustups, but I'm too sensitive to pick on people and I've never started a fight in my life. I don't take my life and health lightly -- I still have to ride back and forth to work. Next time I'll get their plate. Whether people in the group think I was right or wrong doesn't concern me. I'm just telling the story by stating the facts. I figured people would have had similar experiences. I guess not.
ditto, but I suspect a large part of the OP was fiction.
Quoted message said:
CDB
Actually, no. That's exactly how it happened and what I told the
cops.
Quoted message said:
The guys in the van acted in a threatening manner, followed me down a sidestreet for 3/4 of a mile, hit me with the bag while I was riding, then stopped and continued to menace me. I may be skewed and I may
have
Quoted message said:
acted badly, but I think that that's a lot of provocation. I know it probably comes off to a lot of people like I'm portraying myself as a tough guy or a thug. I'm not. I've been in my share of dustups, but I'm too sensitive to pick on people and I've never
started
Quoted message said:
a fight in my life. I don't take my life and health lightly -- I
still
Quoted message said:
have to ride back and forth to work. Next time I'll get their plate. Whether people in the group think I was right or wrong doesn't
concern
Quoted message said:
me. I'm just telling the story by stating the facts. I figured people would have had similar experiences. I guess not.
Plenty have had similar experiences but didn't "slap the hood". Retaliation is best left for a later time. Get the plate. You'll either come across the vehicle again, or get a friend (or friend of a friend) to run the plate. It's not that hard. Wait a few weeks and pay a visit in the middle of the night if it's that important to you. Sometimes it is, other times you just blow it off. The dirtbag that was at the pumping gas at the local convenience store last week had no idea I was the person who busted out the back window of his [censored] Cavalier. I rode right by him, just kept looking straight ahead. He probably didn't remember throwing an empty beer bottle at me about a month before, but I sure remembered him when I found his car parked at his home one night when I was out riding late. You can't reason with people like that, so just bide your time until the right moment presents itself.
Corvus Corvax <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
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Are you for real? Stalking and vandalism are ok, but a momentary expression of frustration isn't? I've slapped so many hoods in NYC that I've lost count.
Quoted message said:
And you accomplished... what? At least the dirtbags in the van that
pulled the knife on Senor Puss knew what it was they'd done to provoke it.
CC
What else would yoou expect from Ricky the ChickenShit?
<[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
ditto, but I suspect a large part of the OP was fiction.
Quoted message said:
CDB
Actually, no. That's exactly how it happened and what I told the
cops.
Quoted message said:
The guys in the van acted in a threatening manner, followed me down a sidestreet for 3/4 of a mile, hit me with the bag while I was riding, then stopped and continued to menace me. I may be skewed and I may
have
Quoted message said:
acted badly, but I think that that's a lot of provocation. I know it probably comes off to a lot of people like I'm portraying myself as a tough guy or a thug. I'm not. I've been in my share of dustups, but I'm too sensitive to pick on people and I've never
started
Quoted message said:
a fight in my life. I don't take my life and health lightly -- I
still
Quoted message said:
have to ride back and forth to work. Next time I'll get their plate. Whether people in the group think I was right or wrong doesn't
concern
Quoted message said:
me. I'm just telling the story by stating the facts. I figured people would have had similar experiences. I guess not.
Plenty have had similar experiences but didn't "slap the hood". Retaliation is best left for a later time. Get the plate. You'll either come across the vehicle again, or get a friend (or friend of a friend) to run the plate. It's not that hard. Wait a few weeks and pay a visit in the middle of the night if it's that important to you. Sometimes it is, other times you just blow it off. The dirtbag that was at the pumping gas at the local convenience store last week had no idea I was the person who busted out the back window of his [censored] Cavalier. I rode right by him, just kept looking straight ahead. He probably didn't remember throwing an empty beer bottle at me about a month before, but I sure remembered him when I found his car parked at his home one night when I was out riding late. You can't reason with people like that, so just bide your time until the right moment presents itself.
It would probably be a much better idea to retaliate later. I slapped the side of a bus that squeezed me into the curb but obviously the bus driver didn't care. The third big incident when I caught up to somebody I either spit my water or squirted my water bottle at the driver and his girlfriend after he faked like he was going to run over me in his cool Camaro. I immediately hopped up on the sidewalk and stopped behind a traffic light in case he did try to run me over and even though the guy looked like he could pound me into the ground he took off. This was in a much more conservative and well to do area so I wasn't concerned about a gun.
