Ran a local 5K this morning to test out some speed work I’ve been doing lately. At the finish there was a large group of finishers hanging around in front of a parking lot of a apartment complex. A pissed off and impatient tenant leaving the parking lot laid on his horn, reved the engine of his Lexus and nearly mowed over a little kid. Dozens of stinky runners circled his car, kicked it, threw stuff at it, etc. I kicked the door! It was great. Finally the endurance athletes got back at the drivers. The bad news I suppose is this is one driver who will go out of his way to make it unsafe for future runners/riders on the road.
Geez, that’s a dangerous situation for all involved. Where was the race?
Wow. The left side of brain says “Yeah!” The right side of my brain – not so much (Borat).
Here is my recent story. Out on a run 2 weeks ago and a couple in a F-150 pulls up to a stop sign - I make eye contact – and then she proceeds to roll the stop sign and almost hits me. Okay, that’s life in the road – I am responsible for my own well being. While I am glaring at her she gives me the “shit happens” shrug and drives off. Was I pissed. I watch her go down the road about a half a mile and pull in a nursery. Perfect. I double back about a half mile where one of our local finest is running radar. Given all the time I spend in the streets most of the local cops know me and I had waved at the pony tail in the squad car when I went by. Yep, I knew her and asked if she would mind going down and park next to the Silver F-150 at the nursery – not do anything – just sit there to spook them. She said sure. About an hour later I am headed back and she waves me over and said I owed her one. She let them have it. It made my day. But I am still wary of all silver F-150’s.
That guy should have waited hours to leave his apartment if need be! He should have known the 5k was going to use his parking lot ahead of time and planned accordingly. He now knows the power and importance of “endurance athletes”.
We had a similar incident happen at a run start here in Naples. A very impatient elderly driver purposely drove directly into a crowd of runners waiting to start, blaring his horn. One runner ended up on his hood and he kept going through the group. Luckily there was a uniformed officer right there directing traffic. The guy’s excuse? “He was late for church”.
He was taken away in handcuffs.
That’s the kind of reaction that gives runners/bikers a bad name. Sort of like when Grandpa Elwood proudly proclaimed he knocked down a high school runner because his bike path was blocked. This is the wrong reaction, morally and legally. That this reaction is bragged about and tolerated, even applauded, partially explains why runners/bikers continually get second-class treatment while out on the paths/roads.
no, it doesn’t.
look at the chronology of the event. the guy nearly ran down a 7 year old. no way he should still have a license.
i’m not sure i ‘applaud’ it but i sure sympathize.
i guess i have to state what should be assumed. the driver was wrong. he’s a jerk.
my point is, the OP exacted revenge for a wrong that was not committed against him. we all have those urges. doen’t make it any less wrong.
Reminds me of the Seinfeld episode when they park their car in the handicap spot at the mall and the car got trashed.
I have to agree here (well, kind of). Unfortunately, the police were about a half mile up ahead at the next intersection directing traffic. My wife and I ran up past them on a cool-down run after the incident and I let them know that angry non-participants were getting out of control.
I lack any tolerance whatsoever for jerks on the road…like the guy this morning that was too anxious to get into Cabela’s to get his hunting/fishing gear and laid on his horn directly behind me on my bike because he thought I was in the way. He’d been behind me maybe 3-5 seconds. Without thinking I turned around and flipped him off (of course after he had made his turn). He was an impatient asshole.
So if a guy is honking his horn and revving the engine, where were the parents of the 7 year old? As far as the fishing and hunting gear comment, thats a passion no different than triathlon. Imagine yourself in a traffic jam trying to meet the group to traqin or race. I see more rude self absorbed behavior by triathletes than any sterotype. Really, he was wrong and so were you.