i'm still trying to divine wisdom from this episode. my only clear take-away is that the older i get the more helmets appeal to me.

FTW!!!! ;-)

With the extra aero benefit of that helmet, he might have caught the cyclist.

Of course, there are those who will say that he likely would be injured worse, or not protected at all even with the helmet.

Almost looks like he's smiling. As if imagining a graceful dive into a pool of Twinkies,

i'm still trying to divine wisdom from this episode. my only clear take-away is that the older i get the more helmets appeal to me.

Their argument kinda reminded me of a Month Python skit, accents and all.
Obviously, the cyclist is trying to film these kinds of incidents.
But, he only used words.
In these parts, the driver committed at least a few felonies and misdemeanors.

That motorist is going to run over the next cyclist he sees. Don't be an antagonistic twit on the bike.

dongustav wrote:

Thats bull. This cyclist clearly had this on his mind when he left the house. I commute to work on my bike often, and that car didn't look like it was speeding or driving very close at all, and seemed to just pass him and pay him no mind. Even IF the cyclist was riding down the middle of the road, the guy in the car didnt honk or yell anything at him. The cyclist caused this whole thing by chasing the car and starting the argument specifically so he could be famous for 5 minutes on Youtube.

I commute to work 7.5 miles each way every day, and I have front and rear cameras on the bike. Bike cameras are very wide angle so close calls don't seem that close on the footage if you don't know what you're looking at. Here's an example from my commute last night:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ef7htyl1x9xihi6/150730_too_close.mp4?dl=0


You can see from the footage that I'm centered in the bike lane. The left end of my handlebar is just inside the bike lane. The car clearly comes into the bike lane as it passes me (look at the tires). Hopefully that gives you a visual reference for how close it was. I can assure you it was less than 12 inches from my handlebar as it passed. I passed the driver at the light and looked at her and she had her hand over her mouth looking at me and appeared visibly shocked that she'd almost hit me (clearly by mistake). The car in the video posted above looks just as close to me. There's no line to verify but I'd bet it was pretty close. I'm sure the cyclist was shaken by it.

I also think it's crazy to think that the cyclist had this in mind when he left the house or knew the driver. (How crazy is it that you would even think that!!???) He was most likely just commuting to work like the rest of us do every day. Having someone cut that close is scary, and if it's obvious they did it on purpose and aggressively, it's enraging too. I know because it happens to me now and then on my commute (including last night obviously, though that one seemed clearly by mistake). The cyclist lost his cool but he did not get physical. The motorist threatened the cyclist first, by passing too close, and then got physical twice. I think it's pretty clear that the motorist is not mentally stable and also committed multiple crimes.

I have to admit, the "F" bombs sound so much classier in a british accent...

The problem is you can't just complete ignore a motorists like that. He got way too close to the cyclist when he passed him and based on his "explanation" it would seem that it was intentional. If he's not confronted, he will just keep buzzing cyclists because they are in his "way".