tuesdays with stubbeh

today went for a ride on my bicycle as i do most tuesdays. After being on the road for a grand total of 4 minutes, i noticed a gentleman buzzed by me fairly closely, as we were about 200 yards from a red light. No biggy, i decided to approach his car and pass it slowly to look inside see if it was somebody i knew, or something like that. It was nobody i had ever seen, so i went by about my business. After the light had turned green, i went up the road about another 2 hundred yards into a part of town that had apparently had trash day (although i don't think so as we're 2 blocks from my house where trash day is friday) and i had to avoid a trash can that was on the side of the road. The same gentleman (in a tan mercedes, early 90's) decided to again come extremely close to me, closer even than the first time, and honk his horn. I should also mention that this is a 2 lane road. Thinking i was dealing with a coward who might be intelligent and flee as opposed to a balsy dumbass who might stop, i gave him a single digit, and called him a name i can't recall.

that balsy dumbass stopped! Now let me just say this is every cyclists DREAM to have some fatass in a mercedes enter into a conflict with him over contention for the road. I. Was. Stoked. Let me also say that conflict can be a mixed bag with me. Sometimes i let stuff go, super easy, sometimes i lose my temper like a powder keg, but more often than not, i am fairly diplomatic. It really depends on the person on the other side of the debate. Never was this so poignantly portrayed than today.

I roll up, and notice that there is a red sports car that parked, not too far behind who probably witnessed the whole sordid event. Immediately the man driving looked like he regretted stopping. Looking straight forward. Eyes dead ahead. I go, "So what the hell man?" and he says (and this is the golden ticket), "watch where you're riding that thing. I could have hit you!" Now, you cant possibly understand the nuances of the speech patterns by what i've written, but let me assure you the manner in which he spoke these words was not, "you were taking up a lane when you shouldn't, because of that i nearly hit you." It was more like, "in the index of choices i had regarding this situation, among them was purposefully hit you with my car." THAT ws the kind of "could" he used.

*snap*

When i get violent, sometimes things get blurry, so i don't remember all of this 100 percent. The following is what i do remember. "OK man, well, lucky for you you get another shot, so go ahead and get out, but just so you know i'm gonna knock your fucking teeth out of your head and break both of your arms, so good luck collecting your teeth." Like i said, its a little blurry. I do remember saying something about the vehicle code, and him saying something to the effect of, "you ought to look it up...blah blah blah". then after i said something i literally cannot recall, he rolled his window up (it was only open a crack, thank god), and drove away. Remember that dude in the red sports car? he drove off too and when he passed me gave me a thumbs up. I had forgotten clean about him. He could have been one of dudes buddies and laid me out with a tire iron or something. That made me feel a little better, but thanks to some asshole i had to spend the rest of my ride on an adrenaline dump. Man i was pissed. Still am. Not knock his teeth out pissed, but still...

anyways here's a post ride pic of me and stubbs.



on to pantera bread to break bread with man, myth, and brother of legend: stafford heppenstall. I wonder if anybody on team redlands will get that joke.