OT: road rage


As many of you ride on the tar too, I'll describe something that happened
tonight in the event there's something that can be learned. Took what was
to be a short "balance ride" (no dabbing... probably 18 miles) after dinner
tonight. I was making a left turn from a two-lane road to a four-lane road.
There were two oncoming cars I let thru and was basically at a stand-still.
I put the bars over and induced some lean and started to power into the
turn aiming for the right track of the left lane when my left mirror was
filled with "truck" at the same time there was lots of tire noise. I was
certain I was about to get surprise punched at my 8 oclock. I made for the
center line and was ready to go much harder to the right once I saw open
space but just as the mirror came on line, it too was full of truck. The
tire noise went from my left rear to my right rear, back left, and then
right... followed by hard acceleration and aggressive, sloppy, one-handed
steering by the male occupant.

I saw him look in his mirror and observed him get instant religion and
slowed to more than 5 mph under when he saw my fairing. I stayed back until
I felt sure he was well-behaved and passed him making sure I had no
on-coming traffic in case I needed an out. After I passed him (slowly), he
freaked out again aggressively tossing the pickup truck into my lane and
accelerating up behind me. There was a stop light shortly there after and I
had actually picked spots in the intersection I was prepared to go if he
executed on what I was taking as threatening behavior. I was watching him
every second in my mirrors.

We were in the left lane and I was signaling to go left onto the 4-lane
road. The light turned green, and I went out into the intersection, and
again, the *** in the truck was FILLING my left mirror, and making much
much more tire noise than he was before even. Again, I created room to the
right and DICKHEAD tracked me and shot by on the right and said something I
didn't pick up, at which point I'd had it and yelled back "nice driving
***". He braked hard so that he was next to me and watched me, not
looking ahead even once, for probably a quarter mile while he scalloped
toward me... little darting actions which I took as threats. I bailed out
to a left side street the second time he did it and called 911.

I have no idea how to handle this situation. I can dodge *anything* between
my 3 and 9 oclock. I seek that out and that is why I was heading where I
was heading. I am ready at EVERY stop to get out of the way if someone
fails to stop. I brake *great*. I have assumed in these rides and drills
that I will be dodging some raggie that *accidentally* was going to hit me.
This guy was in another class of threat. I have to admit I felt the
situation was quickly escalating to him deciding to take me out with his
truck. As I began my turn away from him, my left board did touch for a
moment and I had selected where I was going to go on the sidewalk between
the trees if he followed.

I've been riding unarmed because carrying feels like strapping my own
personal rock on to my side that I can fall on when I encounter my next ice
cream sandwich on the ground in a parking lot. Truth be told, I'm sick of
carrying just to go get some lunch but that goddam city is too chock full
of psychos that I don't care what happens if I drop it now.

After the call to 911 on the side street, I circulated in the area because
the dispatcher said she was sending a few cars over. I looked to see if the
guy was still local. After 5 or 10 min of looking, I left the area and went
looking for some coffee. I figured they had my name and number. I cut thru
a parking lot in front of a friend's store where I used to buy all my
hockey equipment back when I had a life. From that small lot, I observed
two older black women just up the street, one holding a baby accompanied by
2 or 3 kids around 10 years old... dodging cars. I swear... dodging cars
with a fucking baby (NOT that the little *** will grow up to be one whit
different than the retards holding it). Not just once. Maybe three times.
I turned to ride thru them (cautiously) to get home and once again, my
fairing again made an impression. This short, fat (I know.. who am I to
throw this term around) black woman in 20 huge curlers and a... casual..
almost... uncaring(?) mode to her dress, turned and "ran" in a panic that
would have been funny if I was wound up tight. As I passed this
low-reflectance Phyllis Diller... jiggling away from me... I know I asked
myself out loud: What the *** is wrong with these people?

No... the night still wasn't over. As I approached the very next light, a
white Crown Vic PI with one of those antennas civilians mount to make their
CVPI's *look* authentic comes screeching out of a parking lot on my left
with a civilian looking driver just fixated on my bike. He had a weird
expression on his face I can't describe other than it was some "we're in
the same club... hi.. it's ME" expression. I do like to meet collectors and
restorers as much as anyone, but he just seemed *weird* and I was already
approaching the same shitty mood I was in when that 7-11 murder/robbery
happened in front of me just 25 seconds behind me, so I cut up into a gas
station parking lot just as I hit the stop line to lose him.. and he
FOLLOWED me. *** THIS WHOLE AREA CODE. I did a hard uturn around what I
think were gas pumps and just went the other way while thinking I'll make
my own coffee at home. A CVPI with blacked out windows has been waving at
me for a good year or so and while this guy had no tinting at all, the rest
of the car seemed the same. Someone tell Guido someone's after his job as
my stalker.

I ultimately got over to "the good side" of the city where I was in the
right track and right lane (definitely in low confidence mode by now) of a
4 lane road waiting a red light. The oncoming traffic was all stacked up in
their right lane at the light. When it turned green, the lead on-coming car
gassed it... steered hard to port and directly in front of some ricer
accelerating hard in their passing lane *JUST* missing each other. I
started to go.. saw what was happening and braked. Only the guy behind me
didn't seem to be braking too, and I had to enter the GD intersection while
it was full of idiots.

*** TONIGHT.

*** this city.

*** street riding.

My bike is parked for a while. I can ride, well I think, but tonight was
the single most bull*** night of riding I've had and after the ice cream
sandwich thing Saturday, I have no desire to ride anything except my Lexus
*** box and my tractor. Not in that order. I was asked to call in and file
a report of some kind, but I think it'd be a waste of time.... there are
too many nut jobs out there to make it worth someone's while to go chat
with just one of them.

If you ride on the street... be careful. Be calibrated to just how "out
there" some of your lane mates are.

Mike


--
Mike W.
96 XR400
70 CT70
71 KG 100 (Hodaka-powered)
99 KZ1000P
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