Where to begin?

The following incident happened a few weeks ago.

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I’ll try to do a chronology of yesterday’s events.

I was riding home from work along that nasty stretch where some motorists believe I should be in the right turn lane. One of them passed very rapidly on my right, then swerved into the dedicated left turn lane. I stopped behind him. When the light changed, we both turned left onto the cross street. Before completing the turn, he jammed on his brakes and I almost ran into his bumper. He accelerated away.

He remained in the left lane, then made another left into a parking lot. I followed. He parked and threw open his door and began shouting that the roads are for cars, not bicycles. I shouted back and called him an asshole. He pulled out a can of Halt pepper spray and started toward me. I lifted the bike to keep him at a distance, but at about 6-8 feet, he sprayed the canister into my face and eyes.

I’ve never experienced pepper spray, though I carried it for a while as a deterrent against dogs. The effects are unpleasant but not incapacitating. I could see for a short time but it was difficult to keep my eyes open.

I dropped the bike, and before the spray overwhelmed my eyes, I ran at him. I did not want to be blind and defenseless if he attacked further, so the only alternative was to get close in. We fell into some shrubs with me on top. I couldn’t see at all. Another man showed up and separated us. I asked him several times to call the police.

I retrieved my bike from the parking lot and leaned it up against the building. I found a bench, sat down and started washing my eyes with a water bottle. Apparently the bench and a nearby planter had been overturned in the struggle. I don’t remember running into them and I certainly couldn’t see them.

Behind the bench were several credit cards and a set of car keys. I held up the keys. “Are these yours?” I asked. My assailant said they were. I threw them into the shrubs. He found them, got in his truck and started to leave. “Get his tag number!” I said to the other guy. Then I got up and walked to the parking lot. Despite my blurred vision, I got his tag and returned to the bench.

A woman came out of the optometrist’s office and said she’d called the police. Several officers responded and took reports. I remembered the credit cards behind the bench, and gave them to an officer. Sometime in there, my assailant returned to the parking lot, and a police car blocked his vehicle from moving again. The officer with me said that my assailant claimed I’d started the fight, and of course, I was saying that he started it. Without witnessing the fight himself, the officer couldn’t bring charges, though he said I could make a citizen’s arrest (?). Of course the other guy could then take the same action against me. I declined.

The officer took my driver’s license for identification, and said that the matter would go to the city’s prosecuting attorney. Also, he said that the incident report would be available in about a week.

I’ve thought that intersection would be the site of a confrontation sometime. Some motorists get very annoyed at a cyclist traveling north in the through lane. I’ve brought this to the attention of both the police and Public Works. The right-hand lane is separated from the through lane by a solid white stripe. According to both the MUTCD, that makes it a deceleration lane, not a through lane. There are no other markings or signs to indicate this.

Now, I’m not naïve. I realize that some motorists won’t care about proper signage. But some will, and that signage may make them more tolerant of cyclists. Then there are those who believe that cyclists have no place on our roads, and they’re willing to use their vehicles as weapons. Fortunately, these truly malicious people are very rare. We’re far more likely to meet inattentive, distracted drivers, and regardless of the motivation, the potential injury to a cyclist is just as real, just as painful.

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Epilog

Like I said, that was all written a couple of weeks ago. Since then, I’ve talked with an attorney, a former police officer, and the records clerk at our local PD. To keep it short, no charges are likely to be filed against either party. Basically, it’s his word against mine, and there are no corroborating witnesses. So it’s probably over and done with, and believe me, I’m relieved about that. I don’t know the guy’s name, nor do I want to. I’ve learned much from this.

Will I confront another malicious motorist in similar circumstances? That’s something I just can’t answer yet. My gut feeling is that I will, if only because evil people have to be opposed. Remaining silent only encourages them.