Getting ready for IM Australia and my training buddy found a great Aussie tri-forum. (As if I don’t waste enough time reading this one) Anyway, here’s a great example of the sardonic wit you will see in some of these threads:
http://forums.transitions.org.au/index.php?act=ST&f=2&t=3762&s=7cc3e8d28f1bb4ad9774668bae858f86
All the triathlon forums are civil compared to some of the scuba forums I used to play on. They even make rec.sport.triathlon seem polite.
Is that the same Slowman? Didn’t sound like him.
The Liverpool kiss, when executed correctly, is in fact a devastating move, especially when you are wearing a helmut of some sort.
Well that’s enough of that. No more riding around the Melbourne Airport.
That guys experience was nothin. Someone asshole was throwing pennies at a marine i ride with, the marine caught up to the guy at a light and tapped on his window. Asshole rolls down his window and starts yelling. marine tries to pull him out of the car, but can’t becuase he is wearing a seat belt, he punches the asshole in the face, wips out a knife and slashes all the guys tires, and rides away casually.
Nobody fucks with a United State’s marine.
“All the triathlon forums are civil compared…”
I just read it. I take that back.
I have to agree with you Francois, it’s hard to hold back sometimes yet after riding the roads for almost 20 years I have had my share of incidents and in my own mind I believe that roads are for automobiles, bikers are just borrowing them. Ride defensively. Carry your cell phone, get the license number and let the Police handle any gross negligence directed toward you.
The momentary satisfaction of a little revenge is not worth the potential consequences for you or the cycling community at large. Your advice is spot on.
Fair enough, but in all honesty, parrallel comparisons for possible repurcussions could be made for a lot of occurances. He wanted revenge on cyclist before his nose was broken and his tires slashed, if anything he might think twice before messing with another cyclist. Had the marine let him go, what makes you think that he never would have molested another cyclist again.
I agree, it wan’t the smartest action, but i get sick of motorist playing around with my life. I know far to many people who’s lives have been ended or drasticaly altered as the result of careless motorist. These motorist get slapped on the wrist and are let loose back on the roads. Cyclist are gaining very little by passivly turning the other cheek.
I used to be your friend when I was a roadie. Believe me, rural Iowa roads are probably some of the most cyclist-unfriendly in the country. A buddy and I used to tag team people like that guy, I’d ride by the window, bang on the roof, and argue with them, while my buddy tried to kick out their taillights. We thought we were pretty cool at the time. What I learned was:
For every asshole you get back at, there are a hundred more waiting to run you off the road for no reason. The fact is that the majority of fat, redneck, stupid Americans will never appreciate what we do (of the fact that we pay a much larger percentage of the taxes that fund the roads we ride on, than they do).
If the law gets involved in a situation like yours, guess what, your friend is going to jail, not to mention throwing away his career (I sent many soldiers packing for less-dumb things than your friend did).
As others have mentioned, instead of just being a dick, that guy is now looking for cyclists to hurt. Thanks alot!
So, anyway…I’ve left my days of road rage behind me. I try to avoid the busy roads, and ride defensively. That’s about all you can do. (BTW, if that is how Marines act, I’m glad I did my time in the Army.) All your friend did was make it harder for all the rest of us to get a fair shake on the road.
Chris