Sure, the road is full of retarded drivers and that's a hazard I am willing to assume every time I go out and ride. Sometimes driver mistakes are purely accidental and sometimes they are caused by just being really stupid.

That aside, something has been in my mind every time I have been out in the past month. There seems to have been a large number of driver vs. cyclist matchups lately (and we know who usually wins those) so these thoughts have been quite pervasive recently. I seem to always be paranoid that the next car coming up behind me is going to have it out for me. That for some reason this next guy is not going to straddle the double yellow for me, or is not going to go REALLY wide left just to show me that he knows I'm there, or is not going to simply wizz by me. I keep thinking what would I do, or how would I react (if I could) if someone were to intentionally try to side swipe me, or started gunning their engine RIGHT behind me, and would anyone really, deep down, have the stupidity to attempt to claim someone's life for no reason other than that they are riding a bike? Perhaps I am being paranoid, but as Andy Grove says, "Only the paranoid survive."

So I was wondering, has anyone been intentionally hit, riden off the road, hit with a mirror, etc.? I am not talking about accidents. Everyone has those and it's a matter of time before I do too (well, I hope not...knock, knock). Did you try to avoid it? Did you know it was coming?