This would be a VERY realistic scenario if the US escalated the personal handgun arms race to the point where it was a NORM that cyclists packed heat for protection:

Driver pulls a bit too close to cyclist, likely unintentionally, but enough for the cyclist to feel his life was threatened. Cyclist shouts, screams, and stays up. Manages to pull up beside to the slowing driver who's wondering what all the screaming is about.

Cyclists shouts "WTF (etc) !!!!" and a big shouting match ensues (as it does already). Cyclist is prepared and busts out his true and trusted handgun, because he feels legitimately threatened now, since a guy in a big vehicle that can be used to run him over, is arguing with him.

Guy in the car seems the handgun, and instantly fears for his life. Because society's handgun carry rate has escalated to the point that even most cyclists are packing, of course Mr. driver is packing as well. He does what he (and many of us today) would consider reasonable when confronted by an angry guy brandishing a gun - he fires on that guy.

In the span of seconds, one or both guys are shot. Likely over nothing.

This is a good reality for us to support, right?

What about when swimming?

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Speargun or a Bang-stick

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My bad: Condition Yellow

Thank you. Who knew?

I'll have to work "Combat Readiness" into the warm-up for my next run or ride! :)

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

speargun?

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Find out what it is in life that you don't do well, then don't
do that thing.

As a matter of fact I do. That pretty astute of you, however, that was a choice that I made while in the Marines, as it pertained to my MOS (job). Once is not indicative of the other. The rifle on the tattoo only tells a partial story. The words some of the rest. Either way, simple because possession of an item does not make it an enthusiasm. I only have a modest amount of tri gear, but I can assure you that I am very enthusiastic about it as sport.

??

what an f-ed up country you live in bro and I'm sorry :(

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Oh God please no,it is bad enough that triathletes pretend they are fighter pilots by calling thier bar set-up a "cockpit" .Last thing we need is a bunch of "soldiers" getting ready for combat in every transition area..

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I guess when you're trained to kill you are always looking for a situation to bust out your training.

I had thought about converting the bar ends of my clip ons into gun barrels but then I'd only be able to shoot people in the
back and that doesn't seem very sporting.

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Find out what it is in life that you don't do well, then don't
do that thing.

I personally don't see that happening but that is interesting. I guess that most cyclists have no self control? Perhaps everyone is correct then and we should just stay off the road. Of course not. That's not what you are implying, now is it.

Funny thing is, I have had that happen to me and Wife. Guy forces me off the road at an intersection with a huge conversion van. I look at him though the window and tell him to watch out or be careful. Something like that. Wife and I turn into a parking lot to figure out the rest of our route. This fucker comes hauling ass into the parking lot and right at us. I jump off my bike when we stops and we getting into a shouting match. Where am I wrong here? Should I just cower and say sorry for getting in your way? Yeah, and then he keeps doing it to everyone else. People like that need a lesson taught. And when you have people standing up for their rights to life, then people start behaving a whole lot differently.

So go ahead and label me a gun nut. But I tell you what, I am the first person to open doors for women, men, kids, you name it. I answer with sir and ma'am, and clean up after myself. I chase people down in a race and then encourage them to pass me up. You would never pick me out of a crowd as someone who carries a firearm, as I do so discreetly.

But then again, if that biker is so unhinged in the first place, then maybe he needs to stay off the road.

Not saying you're a gun nut, and I clearly don't know the full details of your encounter, but again, I could easily imagine a situation whether you were in the right or not, where aforementioned crazy guy was packing a concealed carry as well, and then after you pull out your heat, he pulls out his heat. To me, that just made an already bad situation, 100x worse.

Even though I think that driver's a D-bag, I highly doubt he was out to kill you specifically, both times, even after he came hauling into the parking lot after you. If he wanted you dead, he would have just run you over and been done with it. That should have stayed a simple argument, plain and simple, no physical altercation required. I know now you're going to say now that it was inevitable that the personal assault was coming, and I'm not going to argue with you, but for me, it's a bit farfetched to think that he's going to literally murder you in the middle of a parking lot. I would have busted out my phone cam, calmly explained that he's welcome to say what he's like, but I'm going to record as evidence, and then rode away. Heck, even if he pushed me down off my bike, the last thing I want is for a gun to appear in the middle of a fisticuff fight.

(You didn't even need the videocam - you have a witness right there, actually.)


Again, I'm not trying to single you out, but these anecdotes of "Wow I'm SO thankful I had a gun - it literally saved my life in this personal encounter after the other guy backed down quick!" abound on the gun forums, and almost always, it doesn't sound to me anything like a situation where I personally would want to involve a gun. Especially for ones in wide open public places. Yes that guy might back down 19 out 20 times, but then that 1 time, he either doesn't forcing you to fire on him, or he pulls out his own weapon firing on you. And no, I'm not going to disagree that you're so skilled and so fast that he would never pull that off (that's the main response to that line on those forums.)

I was also trained to defend the innocent, protect property, and preserve life.

Any fool can pull a trigger. But it takes a man to look a stranger in the eye and tell him you care for him and his family. I spent 4 months in Haiti with the Marines helping US doctors administer medical care along with food and water and enjoyed every minute of it. All the while having a rife slung across my back and a pistol on my hip. Good thing that killing did not get in the way.

But please, i have not ad hominem anyone on here, so don't do it with me.

Should I just cower and say sorry for getting in your way?

No.

Get the license plate number and file a report with the local police. Many car drivers are idiots they think they are anonymous but they are nothing but. They are driving around in a giant billboard with a name/ID-number on it!

We have a a service in Canada now Called Road Watch - you can file reports like this online. I did one this week, regarding a motorist who was obviously texting while driving. Police have already been back in contact with me to check out a few details. The person who files the report remains anonymous to the person they are reporting on.

Police will check into your report, then if it all checks out, they send a letter to the driver. Three letters, and you'll get a visit from the Police. More importantly, all those reports go on your record, so the next time that driver is pulled over for something else, up pops, "Harassing & Threatening Cyclist - 21/12/2012" shows up on their record.

Imagine the surprise of the motorist to get that letter in the mail - Hopefully it get's through to them that they need to respect all users of the road and that they are not anonymous out there and they are accountable for everything they do!

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

Ok,then how about a bulletproof trisuit? Anyone wear one?

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Find out what it is in life that you don't do well, then don't
do that thing.

Ok,then how about a bulletproof trisuit? Anyone wear one?

I think they use carbon fiber in those high-end bullet-proof vests these days. Could be big sellers to triathletes. You know if it has carbon fiber in it, it has to be better/faster, right? :-)

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

It's not ad hominem because your job history is going to taint your perspective. When you're trained to view everyone as a potential enemy it's easy to get lost in that view. It's like when a doctor says everyone is sick, it's because they only see sick people all day

these pro gun defense people was that of a 6th grader who was intoxicated with the feeling of power it gave them. I'm probably being generous here as well.

It's fear, basically. They are afraid of being in a situation where they will be weak and helpless. Paranoid.

When I started living in my truck (in the wilderness mostly... sometimes in "bad" parts of town), I took the .357 with me because I thought I might need it. I quickly realized that unless I greeted everyone I met with my gun out and loaded, it would be nearly useless. I didn't want to live that way. There was also something about being out there that made all my fear and anxiety disappear. So I got rid of the gun.

Of course I met many people who were packing and ready... some real freaks, too. I was always friendly and fearless, and if they ever had any ill intent they forgot about it.

their gun is a crucial part of self-defense for them several times per year.

Self fulfilling.

Because it sounds like you live in a shithole. Most people can't conceive of living in a place where it's necessary to carry a gun to feel safe. That's not a criticism of you or an ad hominem attack it's just a reflection of the desire of most people to feel comfortable in their surroundings without the need to have a gun close at hand.

Regarding risk mitigation, for most people, carrying a gun is like carrying around a grounded lightning rod while gardening. Sure it would afford you some additional protection in the event of a lightning strike but the probability of that occurring is so low that it's not worth it. If we lived in a place where lightning strikes, or violent encounters, were more frequent we'd probably move.

When will USAT start testing for gunshot residue to see if a triathlete has offed an age group competitor while out on the course?

This is something that needs to be addressed, I'm sure it happens a lot more than we may think.

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Find out what it is in life that you don't do well, then don't
do that thing.

Like some of the people here, I have spent time in active military service as a conscripted infantry sergeant. I am liable to serve at least 1 week a year for remedial training as part of my national commitment.

for me, what is obvious is that people lack respect for what a gun can do. any hack can go into a store and buy a gun in the US (thankfully, not in my country). but not many actually appreciate what it can do.
but I think many ex military personnel have a very healthy respect for what weapons can do. participating in live fire manuever exercises ( and sometimes not entirely trusting the guy carrying a fully loaded automatic running beside you.) , having a machine gun fire over your head, watching what live rounds do to watermelons, walls, tree trunks and helmets ( we did it for fun; no that brick wall will not actually help you much against a military grade rifle, no matter what the movies say) handling live explosives quickly disabuses you of any sense of power that you might have with a weapon. instead, you learn, very tangibly to fear it. first and foremost you are taught the awesome sense of RESPONSIBILITY you have when you have a loaded weapon, a good thing given the amount of cock-ups that happen. this is emphasized every time you go near live ammo, you don't actually load and chamber until the last possible moment when you have to. the knowledge that the slightest mistake or carelessness on your part could end someones life, or at least, severely injure him, is very sobering and enough to make one think twice about owning a gun.

I am blessed to live in a very safe country that has very strict gun laws. but I also understand what guns can do. given the oppotunity to own a gun to protect myself, I think I'd pass. there are better, less dangerous ways to mitigate such unpleasant scenarios. I'd rather not go out every time knowing I had the very real power to kill someone if something went wrong. besides, it teaches self restraint and better human relations.

Honestly all this 2nd Amendment BS is just that..... right to bear arms? We Brits aren't going to come over and have another go I promise you. We had one incident in the UK, Hungerford Massacre, which was just a few miles from where I grew up and immediately changed the law. Yes, there have been one or two incidents since such as Dunblane but, there's no argument, if you impose stricter gun control, gun crime will be reduced... really, why does anyone need to own an assault weapon?

I heard on the news today that two guys were arguing about the Connecticut shootings and one went out, got a gun out of his car and shot the other... You're parodies of yourselves.

oops.

Well, It's to protect yourself against the tyranny of the government. Because my AR-15 is going to save me against Abram tanks, RC drones and 200 million dollar fighter jets. Once again it boils down to paranoia. Americans are skittish paranoid creatures that need deadly force by our side to feel safe in our homes watching TV with our families or when out walking our neighborhood