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

[54ny77]

this story is saddening.

if only because of what road cycling has become for many. myself included.

there are areas i just hate, hate, hate riding. no joy in it whatsoever unless i'm on the road by 5:30 a.m. and back by 7 or 8 at the latest.

[FlashUNC]

Originally Posted by Jgrooms

You may wish to reread it.

“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.”

Anger, dog, quarry, prey, run down...boom.

Quite the author as well as superior ex pro.

Let's review the timeline he's outlined in the article rather than selectively reading:

1) Jerk Ford passes like a jerk.
2) Nate let's it go, and continues on his route, thinking Ford took the other turn, and is not giving chase to anyone back into Mill Valley.
3) Ford actually didn't, and Nate stumbles across him unexpectedly on his route.
4) Nate sees this, not sure what to do about it, and gets brake checked into oblivion before anything could be decided.

How you're turning this into Nate hunting anyone down -- other than use of some creative license and hyperbole -- doesn't jive with what I'm seeing in his post.

[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.


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[MesiJezi]

Don't bring a knife to a gun fight.

What the driver did was unquestionably wrong. Period.

What the cyclist did was unquestionably foolish. He had the power to change how that situation played out, and he chose poorly.

I won't/can't excuse the driver, but I'll join the others asking: "What did he expect?"This kind of stuff only further divides the cycling and non-cycling communities.

That self-aggrandizing post reminds me of the forum post from that dude who was chasing down a Strava KOM and killed an older man crossing the street a few years ago. I don't think his post will garner a whole lot of sympathy.

[William]

Reminds me of this thread...

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showth...ghlight=endura







William

[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.

[pdmtong]

Nate's contributions here on this forum and vsalon from product knowledge to ride experiences, not to mention selling some really nice stuff at affordable prices, is appreciated.

I hope Nate recovers fully from this.

[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

[joosttx]

Originally Posted by rnhood

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

Dooood. BTW he's a pretty smart and accomplished guy. Plus he's got good hair.

[joosttx]

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.


...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.

It's so easy to catch cars on that stretch of road without trying. It's really the norm.

[pdmtong]

My read on this is he got brushed by a jerk, unexpectedly caught up to him, and got intentionally brake checked onto the floor.

If it was unintentional then the driver, upon hearing or feeling the impact would have stopped and gotten out to see what happened.

[Clean39T]

Originally Posted by pdmtong

Nate's contributions here on this forum and vsalon from product knowledge to ride experiences, not to mention selling some really nice stuff at affordable prices, is appreciated.

I hope Nate recovers fully from this.

I also hope he recovers quickly and would never wish harm on anyone - but I still think this piece is ill-advised and needs a rewrite.

IMHO, the takeaway should be "stay safe out there, cars are big, they always win, live to ride another day" and "support bicycle advocacy and share-the-road signage".