I wrote a few weeks ago about hitting some guy in the head at a club, and how I had no instinct whatsoever to run away.
So today, I was leading the strenuous Cascade ride (18-21 mph on flats), and some jerks in a white SUV pull up alongside me and another rider. Obviously with malicious intent, and with both the front passenger and the back passenger windows rolled down, they yell something obnoxious. As is always the case with drive-bys, you can never hear what the words are, but I was definitely startled and my bike wavered a bit. I could hear them laughing out the window as they passed.
Thom, the other rider, immediately picks up the pace; there's a red light ahead and the car will surely get stopped there. I follow suit, but Thom really has the power when he wants so he pulls away. I yell, "Get 'em with that water bottle!" - which has some orange stuff in it, so I know it would be nasty in the car.
Thom nearly reaches them when they veer to the left and make what was obviously an unscheduled left turn. We cross the street together.
And you know what? I was disappointed. I was secretly hoping they'd come back.
Isn't that ridiculous? What in the world could I do, a small girl on a bike, with only a water bottle filled with plain water to threaten them with. They've got a humongous vehicle able to crush body parts and carbon-fiber with the slightest glance. But I wanted to fight. BRING IT ON.
Where did this come from? It's so natural, so instinctual, but at the same time, I'm not sure it was always there. Is this some kind of confidence brought on by weight loss, athletic accomplishments, higher self-esteem?
Anyway, I hope it doesn't get me in trouble.
In other news, my weight has been below 140 for three days now, so I'm calling my "140 by Sept. 27" goal completely met. And to celebrate, I ate a brownie and french fries. Oh my goodness. I'm skipping dinner.
(Okay, I'm not. I'm going back to a healthy plan and will have a salad with low-fat protein. But skipping meals is so tempting when I make mistakes. Then again, so is over-eating and starting over tomorrow. Both are really sucky solutions.)
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One time, I was DRIVING through a small downtown, and two cyclists (with the fancy bikes and the gear) were riding up on my ass while I was trying to find a parking spot. I ended up stopping short to avoid someone crossing the street, and the guys rode up behind me and shouted, "asshole! Watch where you're going!" as if the fact that they were tailgaiting me was MY fault. Then they rode away. That was almost a year ago and to this day, I still think of clever rebuttals that I could have thrown back at them. It still burns me that they probably saw me as some a-hole driver who doesn't give a s*** about bikes. In fact...I secretly wish one of them would have crashed into the back of my car. Rather than pay for his bike, he would have had to pay for my car! But anyway, I know exactly how you feel.
The problem is that we just don't appreciate people who try to have fun at others expense. Nothing good comes out of it. Its against the law to mess with a cyclist in the State of Georgia. Thems fighting actions for me too :-)
They OBVIOUSLY didn't know who they were messin' with. =)
Glad your safe, though, seriously.
Great job hitting the goal, I'm trying to reach a weight that starts with 14-, so far, I'm hovering in the low 150's. =)
My favorite comment from drivers is, "I pay taxes!" As if that means since they pay taxes they are entitled to the road. of course I pay taxes too, but that seems to rarely enter the pea brains that they are working with.
Once I started beating on a car of some guy who was yelling at me and who had almost hit me. He drove off in a hurry and I too chased him. Part way through the chase I started wondering what I was going to do when I caught the guy.
Worst case was on a RAMROD training ride up to Crystal and we had a beer bottle chucked at us. Thankfully no one was hit but the injuries could have been quite serious.
Perhaps with age or in my experience as a firefighter where I've scooped up more than one car vs. cyclist (no fatalities yet), I'm just happy to finish a ride with no close calls. Still pisses me off when some asshole screams at me catching me off guard. BTW rear view mirrors are dorky, but I find them useful.
Congrats on meeting your goal!
So far I've only had words thrown at me and thrown words or a finger back. If a bottle flies at me, well, I'm not sure exactly what I'll do. But I'm guessing fight will overpower flight instinct.
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