"They're Trying to Kill Us" - Blog Post on Above Cat

[Clean39T]

https://abovecategorycycling.com/jou...ryingtokillus/

"I turned, and there was the Ford, 500 meters in front of me. Within ten seconds and three corners, I was ten meters off its bumper. It was a rental. In it, the driver, a male, late 30s, and a female passenger wearing oversized aviators. I was confused why he’d felt the need to nearly kill me. My anger resurfaced. For a split second, I felt like a dog with its cornered quarry, naively figuring out what to do with the prey it had run down. Then I saw the brake lights. And by then, it was too late.

Within seconds of the catch, the Ford had screeched to a complete stop directly in front of me, an intentional brake-check. I slammed into the driver’s side rear bumper, hitting the ground at 50km/h."

Did anyone else read this and have a hard time sympathizing with the OP? I mean, I empathize with the suck of crashing, but chasing a car at 50km/h and not keeping a safe stopping distance is all sorts of not-smart...and how does he even know the driver didn't just accidentally stop-short and then freak out after getting run into?

[FlashUNC]

When you drive a two-ton machine capable of killing people, the fault isn't with the person you decide to brake check because you're a petty douchecanoe.

So, no, I've got a lot of sympathy for Nate and I'm glad he's not dead.

[Jaybee]

Is it possible to place the fault with the douchecanoe driver and also wonder what exactly you would expect to happen after you caught him? What's the best case scenario here? He stops, you exchange pleasantries, and he begs a thousand apologies, gives every rider a full lane for the rest of his days?

I get that we are not using our rational brains in that moment, but there aren't many ways that ends well. I'm glad it didn't end worse.

[Clean39T]

Originally Posted by FlashUNC

When you drive a two-ton machine capable of killing people, the fault isn't with the person you decide to brake check because you're a petty douchecanoe.



So, no, I've got a lot of sympathy for Nate and I'm glad he's not dead.

I'm glad he's not dead too (of course).

[rnhood]

Nate sounds like an idiot to me. I hope the bumper wasn't damaged.

[tuscanyswe]

Originally Posted by rnhood

Nate sounds like an idiot to me. I hope the bumper wasn't damaged.

Jeez

[FlashUNC]

Originally Posted by Jgrooms

Looking for a confrontation, he got one. Its a wonder his superior cycling skill set, as the article is laced with, didn’t prepare him for contact w someone who had already demonstrated no concern for a cyclist. The dude is full of himself imo.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by Jaybee

Is it possible to place the fault with the douchecanoe driver and also wonder what exactly you would expect to happen after you caught him? What's the best case scenario here? He stops, you exchange pleasantries, and he begs a thousand apologies, gives every rider a full lane for the rest of his days?

I get that we are not using our rational brains in that moment, but there aren't many ways that ends well. I'm glad it didn't end worse.

Um, he wasn't looking for a confrontation and explicitly says so. Weird how we're so eager to eat our own.

Under normal circumstances, I’d have no trouble catching up on the approaching descent to dispense a piece of my mind – but it was early on Saturday, and it was mid-September – traffic was light, giving a reckless driver a straight shot down the hill. It was all things considered, a hopeless (and pointless) endeavor that I opted not to engage in. I pocketed my rage. By the time I reached the upcoming left-hand turn towards Mill Valley, I’d not seen or heard of the Ford, assuming they’d sped off to the right, down the tourist-jammed California State Route 1 to the sleepy burg of San Francisco.

I was wrong.

[HenryA]

From the blog story cited by the OP:

“The white Ford Fusion rocketed past, skimming my left side by an inch or two. Automatically, I threw up my hand in in perplexed disgust. I rarely give quarter to aggressive drivers. I’ve been hit too many times and had too many friends killed to relent. “

Go home and look in the mirror. What you will see is a large part of your problem.

I’ll reference the movie “Midnight Cowboy”

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=c412hqucHKw

[etu]

"The ambulance stopped. I fought the EMTs. I didn’t want to go with them. I knew how much that cost. I’d been here before. Coerced into the back of the medical transport, I relented, and the morphine drip started. I woozed in and out of consciousness, taking the time to horrify the world by posting an Instagram story. It was all okay, if but for a minute.

And then it wasn’t. I was lying in the worst ER I’d ever visited, filing a police report while orderlies hacked apart the nicest CHPT3 kit I own, and the 54-year-old gentleman one bed over was in cardiac arrest. He would die in ten minutes, surrounded by a cadre of doctors and nurses, and nobody would care. I awaited a spot in the X-Ray queue to confirm everything I already knew. Diagnosis? Concussion. Fractured clavicle. Minor knuckle fracture. 4-6 weeks of suffering."

As someone who has worked in a trauma bay, this is entitled, repugnant, arrogant, ungrateful, insulting, and ignorant. Actually, it makes me wonder if he wrote this in a state of shock, where his brain wasn't quite getting the oxygen it needed to think clearly.
If you're a true friend of Nate, you should really get him to take the post down for his own sake.

[Jgrooms]

Originally Posted by etu

"The ambulance stopped. I fought the EMTs. I didn’t want to go with them. I knew how much that cost. I’d been here before. Coerced into the back of the medical transport, I relented, and the morphine drip started. I woozed in and out of consciousness, taking the time to horrify the world by posting an Instagram story. It was all okay, if but for a minute.



And then it wasn’t. I was lying in the worst ER I’d ever visited, filing a police report while orderlies hacked apart the nicest CHPT3 kit I own, and the 54-year-old gentleman one bed over was in cardiac arrest. He would die in ten minutes, surrounded by a cadre of doctors and nurses, and nobody would care. I awaited a spot in the X-Ray queue to confirm everything I already knew. Diagnosis? Concussion. Fractured clavicle. Minor knuckle fracture. 4-6 weeks of suffering."



As someone who has worked in a trauma bay, this is entitled, repugnant, arrogant, ungrateful, insulting, and ignorant. Actually, it makes me wonder if he wrote this in a state of shock, where his brain wasn't quite getting the oxygen it needed to think clearly.

If you're a true friend of Nate, you should really get him to take the post down for his own sake.

This sort is looking at his site traffic first and foremost, and that’s all that matters.

He’s so experienced at the ER I’m surprised he couldn’t bust into the local rx & treat himself in the alley. Next up we’ll need a gofund to pay his medical bills.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[HenryA]

Originally Posted by etu

"The ambulance stopped. I fought the EMTs. I didn’t want to go with them. I knew how much that cost. I’d been here before. Coerced into the back of the medical transport, I relented, and the morphine drip started. I woozed in and out of consciousness, taking the time to horrify the world by posting an Instagram story. It was all okay, if but for a minute.

And then it wasn’t. I was lying in the worst ER I’d ever visited, filing a police report while orderlies hacked apart the nicest CHPT3 kit I own, and the 54-year-old gentleman one bed over was in cardiac arrest. He would die in ten minutes, surrounded by a cadre of doctors and nurses, and nobody would care. I awaited a spot in the X-Ray queue to confirm everything I already knew. Diagnosis? Concussion. Fractured clavicle. Minor knuckle fracture. 4-6 weeks of suffering."

As someone who has worked in a trauma bay, this is entitled, repugnant, arrogant, ungrateful, insulting, and ignorant. Actually, it makes me wonder if he wrote this in a state of shock, where his brain wasn't quite getting the oxygen it needed to think clearly.
If you're a true friend of Nate, you should really get him to take the post down for his own sake.

X 1000

And he did this to himself.

[crankles]

Hmmm. this one is hard to parse. If he wasn't looking for a confrontation , just how is one supposed to interpret this...

"I turned, and there was the Ford, 500 meters in front of me. Within ten seconds and three corners, I was ten meters off its bumper – even a leisurely-descending cyclist can moves faster than a car on the tight ramps into Mill Valley. It was a rental. In it, the driver, a male, late 30s, and a female passenger wearing oversized aviators. I was confused why he’d felt the need to nearly kill me. My anger resurfaced. For a split second, I felt like a dog with its cornered quarry, naively figuring out what to do with the prey it had run down. "

That certainly can be read as Nate intentionally bombing down for 10 seconds, railing the 3 corners, and trying to make the catch. Heck he even calls it a 'catch' in the next paragraph.


...never mind. read it a little more carefully...

"It was all things considered, a hopeless (and pointless) endeavor that I opted not to engage in. I pocketed my rage."

I'll read that as his *NOT* trying to make the catch.

[Tony]

I think a lot of us have a little Nate in us, I do, more so than some. I have to check myself and not be foolish. Responsible thinking keeps us free from choices that lead to painful consequences. Unfortunately he's reaping those consequences, hope he's ok and learns from this experience.

[DukeHorn]

Originally Posted by crankles

Hmmm. this one is hard to parse. If he wasn't looking for a confrontation , just how is one supposed to interpret this...

"I turned, and there was the Ford, 500 meters in front of me. Within ten seconds and three corners, I was ten meters off its bumper – even a leisurely-descending cyclist can moves faster than a car on the tight ramps into Mill Valley. It was a rental. In it, the driver, a male, late 30s, and a female passenger wearing oversized aviators. I was confused why he’d felt the need to nearly kill me. My anger resurfaced. For a split second, I felt like a dog with its cornered quarry, naively figuring out what to do with the prey it had run down. "

That certainly can be read as Nate intentionally bombing down for 10 seconds, railing the 3 corners, and trying to make the catch. Heck he even calls it a 'catch' in the next paragraph.

It's not the confrontation issue. It's speed management on a busy road. He talks about how slow car traffic is in Mill Valley (and yes, it can be slow) and then talks about flying up to the back of a pickup. It's total supposition that it was a deliberate brake-check since the author wasn't even paying attention to the road. Whatever happened to defensive riding on a car congested street? If it's a rental, I'm sure the people didn't give a flying f about a cyclist "chasing" them. They probably just frustrated with the traffic in Marin County....

He pocketed his rage but that didn't prevent him from closing the distance quickly when he found them.

[FlashUNC]

Originally Posted by DukeHorn

It's not the confrontation issue. It's speed management on a busy road. He talks about how slow car traffic is in Mill Valley (and yes, it can be slow) and then talks about flying up to the back of a pickup. It's total supposition that it was a deliberate brake-check since the author wasn't even paying attention to the road. Whatever happened to defensive riding on a car congested street? If it's a rental, I'm sure the people didn't give a flying f about a cyclist "chasing" them. They probably just frustrated with the traffic in Marin County....

He pocketed his rage but that didn't prevent him from closing the distance quickly when he found them.

It wasn't busy.

traffic was light, giving a reckless driver a straight shot down the hill