HT_USMC
Registered
Great weather here today - got up to 80. Of course I rode to work and going to enjoy the rest of the day as I can. So I rode during lunch... only to find the only idiot in Dallas in a huge Maroon Dodge Ram Extended Cab (plate 08S-HW4).
Now we're both doing 65ish in lunch-hour traffic. The right lane (number one lane) and the extra lane (added for the on/off ramp) are busy with people entering/exiting the highway. He is one of these people entering the highway, I needed to exit. So he is in the number one lane, I'm in the number two lane. He has no blinker on, I'm about to turn mine on. I see his "body language" and prepare for him to come over but he does this so slowly I wasn't sure if he was timing this to be the worst possible scenario for me or if he was just riding his line. Because he's in the number one lane full of people getting on and off the highway he's doing roughly 5 mph less than I am... so I'm slowly passing him. Things are crowded though and I have very little room up front, with flickering brake lights (other people forcing their way into the number two lane) and the person behind me wants to ride on the hump.
As I get up to his driver side door/window I look over and realize he is in fact coming over. Slowly, but he's coming over into me. So, I growled the throttle to get his attention. This is my usual approach and normally works like a champ. He came over anyway, watching each other the whole way; eye contact; bumper watching; more eye contact; is that my pipe next to his bumper?! He got within 6 inches of my right pipe at one point.
I didn't/couldn't change my speed but was already down to 4th doing 65 so I could split lanes should said j@ck@ss decide to get fruity. If I had the need to brake, I would have been tapped in the rear by numb noots, nudged sideways, pulled a highside and dead on the highway.
So, of course, I gave him the go to hell glare. He changes lanes again and again shares my space, obviously on purpose. He rolls his window down as he pulls up next to me as if to say something and only shrugs at me. Not the normal "whoops" shrug... it's the "let's start some friction, I'm a d--k" shrug. I shrug back because I like friction and when you're an idiot I too can be a d--k. He starts mouthing about how small the bike is and that he didn't see me. I raise the visor and shout back, "I passed you then we made eye contact, idiot... are you f-ing blind". I offer to pull over and discuss things a bit further. He then eases over into my lane as if I wasn't there. So I politely smashed the holy living @!#$ out of his passenger mirror with two meaningful thumps and yelled into his open window (now 6 to 8 inches away) "Unless you plan on running me over, you'll take the bike out, pay for it, I'll get a new one... but a-hole, I'm going to be in the bed of your truck and you're going to have to stop sooner or later". Needless to say, he opted out for anything else, eased back into his lane, surveyed his mirror and I held up a finger to let him know he was "number one" and got behind him until I could exit.
I was suprisingly calm about the whole deal, though I would have checked his chin had he pulled over. There wouldn't have been a word shared, I simple would have rung his bell and then some.
Cage or not, the rest of the ride was great. Lunch was delicious. My left hand does hurt a smidge but better that then to have lost the bike or myseslf. I just hope it costs him enough to fix it that he'll think twice before messing with anyone on a bike again. Could have been a lot worse and could I have sped away, I certainly would have. I'm going to have to start carrying pennies I guess.
Now we're both doing 65ish in lunch-hour traffic. The right lane (number one lane) and the extra lane (added for the on/off ramp) are busy with people entering/exiting the highway. He is one of these people entering the highway, I needed to exit. So he is in the number one lane, I'm in the number two lane. He has no blinker on, I'm about to turn mine on. I see his "body language" and prepare for him to come over but he does this so slowly I wasn't sure if he was timing this to be the worst possible scenario for me or if he was just riding his line. Because he's in the number one lane full of people getting on and off the highway he's doing roughly 5 mph less than I am... so I'm slowly passing him. Things are crowded though and I have very little room up front, with flickering brake lights (other people forcing their way into the number two lane) and the person behind me wants to ride on the hump.
As I get up to his driver side door/window I look over and realize he is in fact coming over. Slowly, but he's coming over into me. So, I growled the throttle to get his attention. This is my usual approach and normally works like a champ. He came over anyway, watching each other the whole way; eye contact; bumper watching; more eye contact; is that my pipe next to his bumper?! He got within 6 inches of my right pipe at one point.
I didn't/couldn't change my speed but was already down to 4th doing 65 so I could split lanes should said j@ck@ss decide to get fruity. If I had the need to brake, I would have been tapped in the rear by numb noots, nudged sideways, pulled a highside and dead on the highway.
So, of course, I gave him the go to hell glare. He changes lanes again and again shares my space, obviously on purpose. He rolls his window down as he pulls up next to me as if to say something and only shrugs at me. Not the normal "whoops" shrug... it's the "let's start some friction, I'm a d--k" shrug. I shrug back because I like friction and when you're an idiot I too can be a d--k. He starts mouthing about how small the bike is and that he didn't see me. I raise the visor and shout back, "I passed you then we made eye contact, idiot... are you f-ing blind". I offer to pull over and discuss things a bit further. He then eases over into my lane as if I wasn't there. So I politely smashed the holy living @!#$ out of his passenger mirror with two meaningful thumps and yelled into his open window (now 6 to 8 inches away) "Unless you plan on running me over, you'll take the bike out, pay for it, I'll get a new one... but a-hole, I'm going to be in the bed of your truck and you're going to have to stop sooner or later". Needless to say, he opted out for anything else, eased back into his lane, surveyed his mirror and I held up a finger to let him know he was "number one" and got behind him until I could exit.
I was suprisingly calm about the whole deal, though I would have checked his chin had he pulled over. There wouldn't have been a word shared, I simple would have rung his bell and then some.
Cage or not, the rest of the ride was great. Lunch was delicious. My left hand does hurt a smidge but better that then to have lost the bike or myseslf. I just hope it costs him enough to fix it that he'll think twice before messing with anyone on a bike again. Could have been a lot worse and could I have sped away, I certainly would have. I'm going to have to start carrying pennies I guess.
