an embarrassment for NJ cycists

[AngryScientist]

cross posting from across the hall. this article really hits home. i dont ride anywhere near where this incident occurred, but probably see some of these clowns at other NJ events, bike shops, whatever.

i know there are 3 sides to ever story, but based on this article, i am enraged that something like this could occur on the streets of my state, or anywhere. to bring a young lady to tears, is simply unacceptable. pack mentality, bullying. terrible. these boneheads must have been in team/club kit, shouldnt be too hard to find, i hope they do, and throw the book at them.

http://www.nj.com/hunterdon-county-democrat/index.ssf/2012/08/young_tewksbury_woman_says_bic.html

[Aaron O]

I have to say, this statement she made does make me wonder:

Some of the bicyclists gave her the finger, but she said bicyclists always do that “when you get in their way…

That seemed like a pretty big generalization and made me wonder if the reason she has problems is because of her. That certainly wouldn't excuse banging on her car and attacking her, but it does make me wonder about the damsel in distress element of her story.

[AngryScientist]

i agree Aaron, 20 year old girls can certainly make some bad decisions on their own, but no matter what, a group of cyclists needs to rise above crap like that, certainly not lay their hands on her property. 3 sides of the story though, for sure.

[Aaron O]

i agree Aaron, 20 year old girls can certainly make some bad decisions on their own, but no matter what, a group of cyclists needs to rise above crap like that, certainly not lay their hands on her property. 3 sides of the story though, for sure.

Hands down - I'm not justifying bad behavior, I'm just suggesting her attitude there didn't jibe with the sweetie pie image she's attempting to carve for herself.

A lot of people are stupid. When they wear uniforms with other stupid people, they get even dumber.

[christian]

A lot of people are stupid. When they wear uniforms with other stupid people, they get even dumber.That's .sig material, right there, folks.

[Rueda Tropical]

story does not add up to me. Scratched her car with his handlebar? How with a wrapped handlebar while sitting on the bike would he do that? If the story is true the cyclists should be jailed.

If she is lying to cover the fact that she hit the cyclist and that's what started it all she should be jailed.

[christian]

I have to say, this statement she made does make me wonder:

Some of the bicyclists gave her the finger, but she said bicyclists always do that “when you get in their way…

That seemed like a pretty big generalization and made me wonder if the reason she has problems is because of her. That certainly wouldn't excuse banging on her car and attacking her, but it does make me wonder about the damsel in distress element of her story.

Totally agree. I've been driving, what, 21 years now, and no cyclist has ever given me the finger. :no:

[Chance]

3 sides of the story though, for sure.

In the end when (or if) they find the cyclists it will be her word (one) against that of many (more or less 30). Not sure why she is trying to find them.:confused: May not work out the way she expects.

[Aaron O]

Totally agree. I've been driving, what, 21 years now, and no cyclist has ever given me the finger. :no:

I don't recall ever being given the finger by a cyclist as a driver or passenger. If she has legions of cyclists giving her the finger, I have to wonder what she's doing that I'm not doing. I also don't recall ever seeing a pack standing in the street blocking traffic.

[AngryScientist]

In the end when (or if) they find the cyclists it will be her word (one) against that of many (more or less 30). Not sure why she is trying to find them.:confused: May not work out the way she expects.

the problem is, whatever the truth is, that an article like this was published. it makes us look bad, no matter how you slice it. i hope the police, or whoever does find the cyclists. let them tell their side of the story. i'm inclined to believe she did not make up the whole story...

[Earl Gray]

I wish everyone would stop picking on us cyclist.

She was most likely Fat and jealous of our smooth legs.

She deserves to go to jail! She clearly is just covering up her aggression towards some up standing guys out to get a bit of exercise.

If only NJ had a 3' law.

She's a witch!

If only everyone was like us

[Chance]

the problem is, whatever the truth is, that an article like this was published. it makes us look bad, no matter how you slice it. i hope the police, or whoever does find the cyclists. let them tell their side of the story. i'm inclined to believe she did not make up the whole story...

As others have suggested, her story doesn't seem 100 percent either. Perhaps she and others have figured out that they can attack cyclists more effectively by making up stories. How do we even know that any of it occured at all?

Not saying she's wrong or not being truthful, just that we don't know much. Yet from the tone of your OP it's clear that the damage against cyclists has already been done. You took her side so imagine what non-cyclists will do. Actually hope they can find the group so either they can be punished or tell their side of the story. Leaving it this way does cycling the most damage.

[thegunner]

oi tewksbury twp. my old hood too :(

[AngryScientist]

You took her side so imagine what non-cyclists will do.

that's right. my initial inclination was to take her story at face value. there is little doubt that she is really not a totally innocent victim, i'm sure there was some provocation, but i have to believe she didnt make up the whole story.

thinking more on it, who knows what we can believe??

[PQJ]

If true, sure, it doesn't reflect well on cyclists at all. But it sounds like a bunch of hogwash to me.

[Aaron O]

that's right. my initial inclination was to take her story at face value. there is little doubt that she is really not a totally innocent victim, i'm sure there was some provocation, but i have to believe she didnt make up the whole story.

thinking more on it, who knows what we can believe??

I'd wager everyone acted like an ass.

[boxerboxer]

The story smells like BS to me. It's possible it's true and if so, poor girl. But that many people all in the same kit? Being that awful? Maybe it's just that I ride with a different group of people, but in the 30-45 person shop ride I'm on regularly, if even one person in the group started behaving that way toward a motorist he/she would be yanked off immediately by 29-44 other riders and held til the police arrived. True or not, as someone aptly pointed out, the story sucks!

[Seramount]

I'm having great difficulty accepting this story on face value...

if THIRTY riders all went psycho on her, my instincts say that the woman did something very aggressive to initiate this kind of behavior.

can't understand why some would assume the event was accurately reported without some corroborating evidence.

[fuzzalow]

Dunno 'bout the veracity of this story, but as mentioned, it's out there and there are many, many more who will believe it than not.

Why the general public will believe the drivers' account it is down to this:

- Every reader of this news story is a motor vehicle driver and will side with another driver as a loose bond of in-group identity

- Every reader of this news story as a motorist may have felt impeded in some real or imaginary way by a cyclist at some point in their traverse on public roads

- There is no greater crucible for emboldened, aggressive, douchebag behavior than a group of cyclists, especially a large group with security of numbers. Almost as if misguided payback for the usual experience of being the most vulnerable on the road.

It takes two groups to make a conflict and there is blame to go around for all. But cyclists are far from blameless in these tales of woe. We bring it down on ourselves so the best way is keep the civility high whether pedaling or driving.

We can fix these faulty perceptions one rider and one positive action at a time.

[harryblack]

Angry, I know plenty of douche cyclists and have ridden in Jersey plenty-- with a LOT more problems from pick up trucks and rednecks yelling "FAAAAG!!!!" then other riders-- but does story REALLY sound plausible to you?

Anything can happen, sure but I'm HIGHLY skeptical it went down like this.

cross posting from across the hall. this article really hits home. i dont ride anywhere near where this incident occurred, but probably see some of these clowns at other NJ events, bike shops, whatever.

i know there are 3 sides to ever story, but based on this article, i am enraged that something like this could occur on the streets of my state, or anywhere. to bring a young lady to tears, is simply unacceptable. pack mentality, bullying. terrible. these boneheads must have been in team/club kit, shouldnt be too hard to find, i hope they do, and throw the book at them.

http://www.nj.com/hunterdon-county-democrat/index.ssf/2012/08/young_tewksbury_woman_says_bic.html

[AngryScientist]

but does story REALLY sound plausible to you?



my initial reaction was to believe the basic story. the more i think about it, the more i'm swaying the other way. i think the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle, bad press though, either way.

[Aaron O]

Dunno 'bout the veracity of this story, but as mentioned, it's out there and there are many, many more who will believe it than not.

Why the general public will believe the drivers' account it is down to this:

- Every reader of this news story is a motor vehicle driver and will side with another driver as a loose bond of in-group identity

- Every reader of this news story as a motorist may have felt impeded in some real or imaginary way by a cyclist at some point in their traverse on public roads

- There is no greater crucible for emboldened, aggressive, douchebag behavior than a group of cyclists, especially a large group with security of numbers. Almost as if misguided payback for the usual experience of being the most vulnerable on the road.

It takes two groups to make a conflict and there is blame to go around for all. But cyclists are far from blameless in these tales of woe. We bring it down on ourselves so the best way is keep the civility high whether pedaling or driving.

We can fix these faulty perceptions one rider and one positive action at a time.

I feel no more responsible for the actions of an idiot cyclist than other motorists do for idiot motorists. Stupid and negligent crosses groups, classes and race.

I am not a role model, I am not looking to bridge the divide between road users and I don't want to be a spokesman for my hobby. I just want to ride, have fun and be safe.

If I had to lay odds, the reality went something like this - she was rude and impatient, the cyclists acted like imbeciles, aggravated by pack mentality and it escalated.

[54ny77]

sheesh. somewhere in there is the truth and its likely a lot are at fault. nothing good out of any of that.

there's a local ride out here in so cal that goes through a dangerous single lane road at such warp speeds, the locals really hate cyclists. one guy has a "cyclists: the new hood ornament" sign prominently displayed on his garage door.

cross posting from across the hall. this article really hits home. i dont ride anywhere near where this incident occurred, but probably see some of these clowns at other NJ events, bike shops, whatever.

i know there are 3 sides to ever story, but based on this article, i am enraged that something like this could occur on the streets of my state, or anywhere. to bring a young lady to tears, is simply unacceptable. pack mentality, bullying. terrible. these boneheads must have been in team/club kit, shouldnt be too hard to find, i hope they do, and throw the book at them.

http://www.nj.com/hunterdon-county-democrat/index.ssf/2012/08/young_tewksbury_woman_says_bic.html

[Bob Ross]

The story smells like BS to me. It's possible it's true and if so, poor girl. But that many people all in the same kit? Being that awful?

If it's the local blue & white kit that I think it might be, "being that awful" doesn't surprise me at all. You should see them when they're actually riding their bikes, not just blocking the road gabbing. Talk about "awful"...

[Liberace]

http://newjerseyhills.com/hunterdon_review/news/tewksbury-woman-recounts-cyclists-attack-on-vehicle/article_8f5ea778-dcdc-11e1-91de-001a4bcf887a.html


Photo of her vehicle in the story. Appears to be a damaged passenger side mirror and passenger door. I wonder if by chance she struck a bike or a rider trying to get through?

Nope- she says:

“That’s when one of the bikers coming from my side of the road came up behind me,” she said. “He took his handlebars and went across the whole right side of my car and hit my mirror really hard…my mirror cracked…he started laughing when it happened and when he started laughing, [the others] all started laughing and getting in on it.”

I honestly cannot imagine someone taking his bike with road shoes on and striking her vehicle like that.
Sorry, but I think the woman's story is BS and the cops were trying to let this one fizzle out(saving face for the resident), however the woman and her mother went to the papers. Just my opinion.

[boxerboxer]

If it's the local blue & white kit that I think it might be, "being that awful" doesn't surprise me at all. You should see them when they're actually riding their bikes, not just blocking the road gabbing. Talk about "awful"...

Oof.. Sorry to hear that. May you outlive the bad will they've created.

[gdw]

"I wonder if by chance she struck a bike or a rider trying to get through?"

If she did it would have appeared on some cycling forum by now.

[Fixed]

If it's the local blue & white kit that I think it might be, "being that awful" doesn't surprise me at all. You should see them when they're actually riding their bikes, not just blocking the road gabbing. Talk about "awful"...

Mid life crises Dopers roid rage Gang
All of them in their 40's that sounds logical :bike:
Cheers :)

[67-59]

Doesn't add up to me. I've been driving for 33 years, and I have NEVER been flipped off by a cyclist. Not once. Makes you wonder what she does to experience this regularly....

[tannhauser]

Now why the heck would you be enraged by something you don't know anything about?

That's kind of the way a lot of discussions go here: react emotionally, back off later.

[gdw]

"I've been driving for 33 years, and I have NEVER been flipped off by a cyclist. Not once.'

Come to Colorado. Drive around Boulder for a month and you'll no longer be able to make that claim.

[Jaq]

http://newjerseyhills.com/hunterdon_review/news/tewksbury-woman-recounts-cyclists-attack-on-vehicle/article_8f5ea778-dcdc-11e1-91de-001a4bcf887a.html


Photo of her vehicle in the story. Appears to be a damaged passenger side mirror and passenger door. I wonder if by chance she struck a bike or a rider trying to get through?

Nope- she says:

“That’s when one of the bikers coming from my side of the road came up behind me,” she said. “He took his handlebars and went across the whole right side of my car and hit my mirror really hard…my mirror cracked…he started laughing when it happened and when he started laughing, [the others] all started laughing and getting in on it.”

I honestly cannot imagine someone taking his bike with road shoes on and striking her vehicle like that.
Sorry, but I think the woman's story is BS and the cops were trying to let this one fizzle out(saving face for the resident), however the woman and her mother went to the papers. Just my opinion.

Yeah, I just can't imagine a bunch of guys at the end of a Sunday ride (it was 10:30 am), and one of them using his handlebars "as a weapon" to damage her car.

How does one even do this? And why? Why would you use your bike to do something like this when you could scrape your cleats along her door, maybe pull out an small tool from your pocket and leave a long, nasty scratch?

Sounds more like she probably honked and the guys didn't move right away, so she laid on her horn till everyone's ears were bleeding, then forced her way through, catching some guy's bars. At that point, everyone probably started putting their hands on her car to get her to stop while the cyclist tried to get clear

Still, as AS said; three sides to every story. The group may have been silent about it this long simply because they figured it was just another driver being awful. Imagine their surprise when the story appears and she gets off the first salvo. We'll probably hear something by the end of the day.

[SoulCycle]

Your version sounds spot on Jaq! :banana:

[Tom]

How hard do you have to hit a mirror for it to crack? Maybe somebody needs to demonstrate that, especially attempting to do it while straddling a bike maintaining their footing on cleats. That should be interesting. What did they strike with, coming from behind? The brake lever? Without looking at my bike I think that's the exposed item facing forward - who's going to bang their lever into somebody's car that hard? If it was the guy's hand, just go talk to the local ortho docs because he'll be there with a broken bone. Something doesn't sound right here.

[bikinchris]

Provoked or not. Laying a hand on her car was way out of line. If she provoked it, they should have stayed to defend their actions.

ALL cyclists will end up paying for this. And it's NOT over.

Sorry, that's the way it is.

[firerescuefin]

I always use my 15 pound bike as a weapon against cars:rolleyes:

Likely story:help:

[ergott]

“They all started laughing in my face about it, then they all started circling the car, punching the hood and smacking the windshield, and continued to scream at me through the windshield.”

I'm picturing a future Mel Brooks movies interpreting this. Bunch of spandex clad thugs on bikes. Matching kits of course.

:bike:

[gdw]

The picture with the articlel isn't great but it looks like there is white paint on the mirror and possibly some on the doors and rear panel although it could be the sun's reflection. If it isn't reflected sunlight it probably isn't the primer under the cars paint and was most likely transferred from the item which did the damage. Does anyone know of a handlebar or cap which would transfer white paint that easily?

[67-59]

"I've been driving for 33 years, and I have NEVER been flipped off by a cyclist. Not once.'

Come to Colorado. Drive around Boulder for a month and you'll no longer be able to make that claim.

I have a good friend who lives in Longmont and works in Boulder, so I visit regularly...with most of our activities in and around Boulder. I'm pretty sure it adds up to well more than a month over the past several years.

Can still make the claim.

Maybe it's just dumb luck. Or maybe, just maybe, it's how you drive around cyclists.

[MattTuck]

Yeah, I just can't imagine a bunch of guys at the end of a Sunday ride (it was 10:30 am), and one of them using his handlebars "as a weapon" to damage her car.

How does one even do this? And why? Why would you use your bike to do something like this when you could scrape your cleats along her door, maybe pull out an small tool from your pocket and leave a long, nasty scratch?



ahh, yes. the "I didn't murder her, because if I had murdered her, I'd have done it this way and you'd never find the body" defense.

Good luck finding the truth to this one. I hope someone had a GoPro camera rolling.

[veloduffer]

I was on this ride and the riders got strung out after the first 10 miles, as there were 9 climbs on the metric century. I don't think there was any group of 30 cyclists from the ride and didn't hear about such a confrontation during the lunch afterwards.

It may have been a group of riders not affiliated with the ride (Tour de Long Valley) whose charity was the local PBA! In the first 10 miles, we had motorcycle escorts and officers at the busier intersections. Most of the roads had very little traffic either.

I find the story to be a stretch and certainly one-sided. Nevertheless, it's bad publicity for us two-wheelers.
:bike:

[parris]

May find out that she had the damage happen to her car earlier and the cyclist story was easier to go with instead of facing up to her parents. Not saying that's the case but it's not unreasonable to see a young person to try to deflect blame when they're in the middle of tunnel vision. It will be interesting to see how this shakes out though.

[gdw]

"May find out that she had the damage happen to her car earlier and the cyclist story was easier to go with instead of facing up to her parents."

+1 The damage to the car is suspect especially the mirror.

[fuzzalow]

I feel no more responsible for the actions of an idiot cyclist than other motorists do for idiot motorists. Stupid and negligent crosses groups, classes and race.

I am not a role model, I am not looking to bridge the divide between road users and I don't want to be a spokesman for my hobby. I just want to ride, have fun and be safe.

That's fine. Cycling is not a cult and my post is not a calling. No one is asking you to be responsible for the acts of others although as a group we all feel the weight of others ill begotten actions.

For me, if I can bring positive things to the table, then why not?

[Aaron O]

Fair nuff' and I get where you're coming from :beer:

. I know a lot of cyclists who feel like we're all ambassadors and I just don't see it that way. I do my best to ride safely, responsibly and courteously, but I don't go out of my way to make others happy and I don't feel it's my responsibility to correct others.

[kceb_cire]

Fair nuff' and I get where you're coming from :beer:

. I know a lot of cyclists who feel like we're all ambassadors and I just don't see it that way. I do my best to ride safely, responsibly and courteously, but I don't go out of my way to make others happy and I don't feel it's my responsibility to correct others.

+1 to that.

[martinrjensen]

I too am very skeptical of the girls story. it just doesn't add up in my book. Somethings fishy, or at a minimum, missing. And yes, I just don't know how you could scratch the whole side of a car with the handle bars. These guys should be easy to find too. if they were all in the same kit, there were names on the kit because whoever paid for them wants to get noticed. I'm not buying it.

[Louis]

Alien abduction. I think there were also lights in the sky and a tractor beam.

http://www.originalprop.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/et_moon.jpg

[cat6]

Daughters of Mara was a rockband based in Los Angeles, California. The group included the singer Shawn Zuzek, the former The Mars Volta drummer Dave Elitch, the lead guitarist from Submersed Eric Friedman and the current bassist in Marilyn Manson Andy Gerold. Daughters Of Mara's first album, I Am Destroyer, was produced by Garth Richardson (Mudvayne, Rage Against The Machine) and was released on Virgin Records. The group disbanded in 2008. The album was remastered and re-released in 2012.

[cnighbor1]

Men and I am one would best be tollay elimated from this planet.
Charles

[champ]

The comments after the article are frightening - its about 8:1 opposed to cyclists. The common theme is that we "think we own the road", should be on bike paths or deserve to be run over. Not much mention of the responsibility of drivers to maintain a safe passing distance or the life-ending threat that a car potentially represents to a bike rider regardless of where on the road they are riding. I hope there is an update to this article.

[cmg]

so what cycling clubs have blue and white in their cycling kit in the area? Area being within a 50 mile radius. Which cycling club had a club ride scheduled in the area/route that morning? Is this really that difficult?

[Jaq]

People are refraining from naming names until the club/cyclists in question have a chance to respond.