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I am currently evolved in local biking events, but in another city I had to resolve conflicts between transit operators and bikers. In one of many similar incidents a “2 wheeled savior of the planet” actually thought it was OK to board a public transit bus and threaten a diminutive, female driver. The militant attitude and flagrant disregard of traffic laws by some bikers creates an image that my bikers friends do not deserve and creates hostility with motorists.
There’s not enough information to evaluate the cyclist/driver situation.
But after 2 1/2 years in Asheville, the only guns I’ve seen are on cops.
However some cyclists are getting out of hand. In Raleigh not that long ago I was at an intersection facing an ongoing car that didn’t take off right away when the light changed and didn’t have a turn signal on. Since I was turning I did the safe thing and didn’t immediately slam on the gas.
A cyclist passed me illegally in the ongoing traffic lane while giving me the finger and yelling something. I was going in the same direction, pulled into the center turn lane and passed him rather speedily, not a legal move but not endangering the cyclist unless he pulled something very unexpected and erratic without signaling.
He came up on my left side at the next light, partly in the oncoming lane, and started yelling at me through the window.
I was prepared to defend myself, didn’t have a gun, but next time I’d open the door on him if that happened and knock him over since there was no ongoing traffic and I felt threatened.
Hate to say that but he was bigger than me and he was totally going ballistic like a meth fiend.
Between that and group bike events for cyclist rights that are going so slow and blocking multiple lanes I don’t see how they can be legal, I’ve kind of lost my sympathy for cyclists.
I’m still very careful around them. I was hit twice back in the day when I biked everywhere by people who weren’t being careful, one of whom may have hit me intentionally, but I have no further interest in supporting cyclist causes.
Hate to be that way but having people act superior all the damn time cause they can ride a bike and then dealing with such behavior just kind of kills any sympathy.
By “…this part of the country”, Byrne implies that if this incident had happened anywhere except the South, that bicycler would have been free to verbally (and maybe physically) harass the driver.
Since his being on a bike implies that he is in better physical shape, I suspect the driver may have needed an equalizer.
Ergo, anywhere but in the South, a bicycling bully is free to prey on the weak, but down here we rednecks have the gall to defend ourselves.
Go back where you came from, Byrne. And don’t come back. Your music sucks.
Big Al,
David Byrne is so cool they had to turn off the AC at Thomas Wolfe.
I dare to say you don’t have a clue as to what you are talking about.
The show was amazing.
You clearly haven’t been following “BigAl” for very long. He’s a troll of the lowest nature.
“Big” “Al” drives an SUV made out of jello, which has no chance in a collision with a cyclist.
You’re right Sean – the biker was probably wrong to confront the driver, and we don’t know enough to judge.
Hell, that aint nothing in Asheville check out this story:
Police say firefighter Charles Diez was upset that a man was riding a bike with his 3-year-old son on a busy street so shot the cyclist in the head. The bullet embedded itself in the rider’s helmet.
Diez was arrested on attempted first degree murder charges, but lucky for him the fire department in Asheville, NC is keeping him on paid investigative leave, so he will continue to draw a salary.
http://boingboing.net/2009/07/27/firefighter-allegedl.html
Looks like the scumbag judge in that case is retiring instead of facing a re-election:
http://www.thesmokymountaintimes.com/articles/2013/05/20/news/5.16.13.news08.txt
F*#K Diez and Downs.
Diez was terminated two weeks after the incident.
http://www.mountainx.com/article/25253/Former-Asheville-firefighter-gets-4-months-for-shooting-cyclist
It’s funny – all these people buying guns for protection, when what they really need is some good data encryption software for all their communications. They waste their 300 bucks on a nice gun that they will never kill a person with, but won’t spend 150 bucks on a piece of software that protects them from the government they claim to distrust. I guess that’s the unquestionable “magic” of the free market at work. Americans wasting their money.
Their faces have been ‘shopped in that picture, right? Or at least I seriously hope so . . .
Let’s see….a cyclist that has a “short fuse that needs to be addressed” is seen by the author angrily confronting a driver. The cyclist is then backed down with a weapon. Sounds to me as if the gun owner behaved responsibly. What do we know about the driver/gun owner? Nothing. Could it be an elderly man? Or perhaps a woman with a child in the car? Sorry if I view this differently and not as “embarrassing”, Curious.
“Sounds to me as if the gun owner behaved responsibly.”
Sounds like you’re part of the problem. How embarrassing.
Prove me wrong, pal. You can’t. Let’s not let facts cloud our bias, right?
The obvious solution? More guns!
That is most likely how the NRA would respond.
Well that’s embarrassing! It was a great show with high energy from the audience. I hope this gun episode doesn’t impact DB’s impressions of Asheville or his desire to return.