On my way to work today, I was coming up to a 4 way stop that is usually quite dead. I’ve never ever had anyone stopping at it going the same direction as I am. Today, I came to the stop and two other vehicles were there before me, so being a law abiding cyclist, I waited for them to proceed through. Behind me, all of a sudden, I hear a honking?! I look back and there’s a muppet (as Steve calls them) giving me the finger and the horn. Whatever, I thought to myself. Then, dingle nuts pulls up on my right!
It was now my turn to go through the intersection so I did, and I heard his little CRV sucking air as he pinned the pedal to the floor. I just kept going hoping not to be eaten my the geezers POS SUV. He past me with about 4 inches to spare, and I was on the right hand side of the lane. I was a little more than pissed, but got his license plate number. I noticed that he made a right hand turn up the road a little bit, so I thought, why not. I’m not afraid of a grey haired geezer. Me being 6’2” 195 lbs must stand at least a bit of a chance.
He turned into the Sacred Heart Catholic school. Excellent. As he was getting out of his tin can, I ride up to him, stopped and asked if he knew anything about bike safety. You’re not a F*&%#$G motorcycle, you’re a bike! I politely told him that I have the exact same rights and entitlement as a motorcycle on the roads and if I wanted too, I could ride right in the middle of the road. He continued to argue with me as he pulled out a case for what was probably a bass or some other stringed instrument. I got off my bike, wrote down his license plate number (I wanted him to see that I was getting it) and told him that I would call the police an they can explain it to him. He continued to get all angry and was yelling and I kind of felt sorry for the old guy. He’s just an old moron and there’s nothing I can do to change that.
When I got into the office, I called the school and left a message on the principals VM. After that, I call the RCMP and filed an official complaint. I am still waiting for the principal to give me a ring back, and I’ve been told that an officer will be contacting me today to discuss the particulars.
I was beginning to think that bike and cars could co-exist very nicely in this town, as for the past several months I’ve been more than impressed with the courtesy that Strathmore drivers have been giving me. It happens regularly that I’m the last one to a 4 way stop and every other vehicle will wave me on to go ahead of them. People here seem to have a great deal of respect for bikes and the safety of a cyclist. Unfortunately, not the music teacher at Sacred Heart.
He’ll get his though. I’m making sure of that.
4 comments:
There seems to be muppets in all walks of life, unfortunately. Good luck with the complaint, and let us know how it turns out! I went through a spate of complaints last year, and on all of them except one (where the driver backed out in front of me without looking) nothing happened. I'll be interested to see if it turns out differently for you with the RCMP, as opposed to the municipal police here!
Hey Steve. I think the compliant might turn out okay. After I called the RCMP, they told me an officer would be giving me a ring to get the details. I get the call, and it's my next door neighbor! He is an avid cyclist. He suggested that we press stunting charges. He even said that with him passing me so close and pulling up on the right hand side of me, one slight move and I could have been killed! He seemed almost as torqued as I was! Good news, so we'll see how it plays out. Justice!
Hey Steve, I like your blog very much. We live in the same area. Can you check my personal bog and leave a message? I am wondering if we can meet together in the nearly future.
http://www.bikerkiss.com/blog/maria
Maria, you might have better luck if you leave a comment on Steves blog. I'm not sure that he'd check an old post here.
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