I had a strange thing happen to me on this morning's commute.
I just started my ride up Citrus, a six-lane wide city street. An 18 wheeler was parked at the donut shop on the other side. The driver yelled something at me that was entirely incomprensible. Not wanting to stop and chat, I just yelled back, "I don't know, sorry."
As I continued up the street to my first light, I heard a semi approaching far behind me. I thought nothing of it as I waited for the light to change, and made a left turn onto Badillo, a four lane wide street.
As I was making the turn, my imagination got the better of me. "Did that driver think I insulted him, by any chance?" I thought nothing of it until the semil also turned left onto Badillo...he was now two blocks behind me.
I figured I'd let him get about a half block back, then duck into one of the residential streets crossing Badillo...just to be sure. As I did, he quickly slowed and turned onto the same street.
My heart was beating pretty well at this point. I had him beat on low-end acceleration and manoeverability. He had me beat on size and top speed. I was also lit up like a Christmas tree with multiple lights and a reflective vest, so hiding was out of the question. When he was about 50 feet back, I turned into a parking lot, made a quick U-turn and rode in the opposite direction. Before turning back onto Badillo I looked back up the street and he just kept going.
Coincidence? I sure hope so.
But a semi on a residential street?
My imagination is pretty good at 3:45 in the morning. No one would have found my body for hours. Growing up in the city makes you a bit more cautious than the regular rube, I think. Probably nothing, But I was extra careful and I'm typing this now.
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It sounds to me like your instincts were spot on.
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Having grown up in Corona, I'd like to think that's not what happened. But at 0345, yeah, it seems likely. That's sad.
Of course, I often forget that I had a bike (and a wallet) stolen from me in high school in Corona, too. (锕侊箒)~~~~----------------------------------------------------------------------
who knows if it was coincedence or not, but you played it safe and are here to tell us about it.
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He hate you!
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You need to run all your lights through a single switch so you can hit "emergency stealth mode" when necessary.
The other thing you could have done was try to talk to him and ask what was up from a semi-safe place (I.E. other side of a jersey wall median or something). But I agree, at 0345 I would be a tiny bit unsettled...
It could easily have been confusion on his part too, maybe what he yelled was "Can you show me how to get to XYZ" and your "sorry" sounded like "sure".
(锕侊箒)~~~~---------------------------------------------------------------------- Originally Posted by Eggplant Jeff
It could easily have been confusion on his part too, maybe what he yelled was "Can you show me how to get to XYZ" and your "sorry" sounded like "sure".
I can just see the post on TruckForums now...
I was parked at a donut shop, when I saw a cyclist passing by. I yelled out to ask whether they knew the way to San Jose, and they yelled back, "Sure."
They took off really quickly, but I managed to follow them onto Badillo only two blocks behind.
Thankfully, they slowed down, and let me get about a half block back, but then they ducked into one of the residential streets crossing Badillo. I quickly slowed and turned onto the same street.
Fortunately, he was lit up like a Christmas tree with multiple lights and a reflective vest, so I probably wouldn't lose him. When I was about 50 feet back, he turned into a parking lot, made a quick U-turn and rode in the opposite direction. I guess San Jose must have been straight ahead, and he had gone out of his way to show me, so I just kept going.
(I should add, Eubi, that I think you did the right thing. Even if their intentions were completely harmless, you couldn't know that, and they had a huge advantage if they wanted to hurt you.)
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Originally Posted by Eggplant Jeff
It could easily have been confusion on his part too, maybe what he yelled was "Can you show me how to get to XYZ" and your "sorry" sounded like "sure".
I can just see the post on TruckForums now...