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#1
03-20-2023, 09:31 PM
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An uncomfortable feeling while riding solo
Headed to Central California for some sun (so of course another atmospheric river to hit tomorrow).
Anyway, out for a ride this afternoon, headed north from Santa Ynez through Los Olivos and up Foxen Canyon. Very light traffic, no other cyclists in sight, a thrashed Honda Civic - bad paint, cracked window, couple young males, cruises by. Didn't think much about it but noted the car. About 5 minutes later it passes again, heading in the other direction. A little later, I'm climbing up the first climb, getting close to the top, my Garmin Varia picks up a car approaching; it's close but not closing - I'm thinking ok, there's a blind curve right here, the car is being thoughtful. My sightline improves and I wave the car by. It passes slowly, same car, now a third person in back - didn't see him before. I slow down, the car slows down. I slow some more, waiting to see what the car does and thinking "ok that's the third pass, there's no one else out here on the road...." As the car slowly rolls down the other side of the crest of the hill and out of sight, I pull a 180 and do my best VDP imitation of his descent down the Poggio and beat it back towards Los Olivos - 3 miles to people. Never saw the car again, but it was definitely an unexpected motivation for an interval and cut short my exploration of the area as I chose to extend the ride in the more populated Los Olivos-Santa Ynez-Solvang triangle. Maybe it was nothing, maybe it was a something avoided. Gave me pause though. Maybe time to upgrade to the Varia with camera for documentation. Anyway, ever sense nefarious mischief intended your direction while riding alone? Alternative ways to handle? 
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#2
03-20-2023, 09:45 PM
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Yikes, that would definitely creep me out.
The other day I was waiting to cross a busy street and a very sketchy person was crossing in the cross walk in front of me. He got just in front of me, pulls out a knife, looks directly at me and says "Don't go or I'll kill you". I didn't know how to react so I didn't move and he continued on his way. Has me thinking of mounting some mace or something for easy access. *** is wrong with folks these days. Last edited by fellowpicker; 03-20-2023 at 09:48 PM. Reason: punctuation
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#6
03-20-2023, 10:11 PM
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My only similar experience was about 10 years ago on a township road about 3 miles from home at night. A couple of guys in a truck came up from behind, then did the speed up slow down routine while alongside, but wouldn't pass and go on down the road. I had a blinking tail light and I have always thought that they saw it from a connecting road and would never have been on the road that I was on except for the blinky light.
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#7
03-20-2023, 10:36 PM
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There are times when I feel instinctively more comfortable riding my well-tuned, old Costco Hybrid-turned-29er while having dressed in well-worn clothes when heading out exploring rail-trails of the off-the-beaten-path sort, or even crossing behind a shopping center to avoid the parking lot traffic at the strip mall.
I've had people ask me if they could "use my phone", and I feel like I seemed credible saying that I don't have a phone. So I don't throw away old clothes that are comfortable for riding, the old trousers are worn thin enough to breath yet can fend off poison oak and abrasions from riding amidst over-growth on out-of-the-way trails. A well-heeled-cyclist looking rider could become a cherry-pick of a target in some places, so unless you ride armed... It might also be helpful to practice throwing rocks and to maintain running fitness for emergencies.
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#8
03-20-2023, 11:02 PM
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Sounds to me like you had good situational awareness to realize that something was up with that car, and you made the right move to get out of there fast.
So, I don’t see much room for improvement in your response! Half the battle is to realize that you might be in trouble while you still have time to react, and you sure had that covered.
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#9
03-21-2023, 02:12 AM
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In London, the MO is two people on a scooter following you. They usually have machetes. (Machetes are a thing over here)
They push you off the road, grab the bike and drive away. The pink car riders were probably doing some calculation but decided the bike wasn't worth it. If you had a camera on the varia and could quickly forward a picture of the car and plate to someone, that's could as a just in case. You might want to airtag the bike and/or yourself. Last edited by verticaldoug; 03-21-2023 at 02:15 AM.
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#10
03-21-2023, 03:33 AM
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I have a had a few sketchy experiences while riding some of my more rural roads and some of the forest roads in my area.
If I know that I will be riding these, especially way out forest roads I/we will carry a small 32 cal. Not something that we like to do but the peace of mind is there if needed. Too many unstable ppl out and about these days. Another option is a 22" steel retractable baton that I like to carry most of the time off the bike. A formidable piece of equipment if you know how/when to use it.
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#11
03-21-2023, 03:41 AM
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I'm glad you are around to share this story with us. You never know someone's motive until you do. Could have been some gangbangers out for an initiation, as in take the life of someone. You made a great decision, at the perfect time. You deserve an at-a-boy for that!!
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#12
03-21-2023, 05:14 AM
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Quote:
Quote:
YMMV and IMHO and all that. Scary times, these. A lot of angry people 'out there'.
__________________
Chisholm's Custom Wheels Qui Si Parla Campagnolo Last edited by oldpotatoe; 03-21-2023 at 06:58 AM.
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#13
03-21-2023, 05:55 AM
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We go to Cape Cod to my sister's place for Thanksgiving every year and I bring a bike and usually get a 1-1/2 - 2 hours ride in. A few years ago, I noticed a blue pickup following me from time to time as i was headed back. It followed me down into the development of small private roads which are all dead end, you're not in there unless you're going to your house or someone you know. I decided I didn't want to ride back to the house and lead him there. I was on the Firefly with 25mm tires so I didn't think to cut into a yard and just ride away where he couldn't follow. So I did something dumb - I stopped, he stopped, and I just rode right towards him. He rolled down the window and yelled at me to "get off his roads!" Then he pealed out.
I went back to the house and then went down to the Sandwich Police Station. They actually knew who he was, and couldn't be bothered - "he's harmless." Protect and serve.
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#15
03-21-2023, 06:30 AM
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Aside from incidents that devolve into a stalking situation, I always have a concern about the fraction of the public that is severely agitated or infuriated by the mere presence of a person on a bike. I think about that level of psychopathy and recognize that you can’t count on that individual acting in a rational manner or possibly having their agitation escalate to the point of their taking some action. You have to be mindful and act in a way that doesn’t escalate the situation, but you also can’t amplify your vulnerability to the individual as your being exposed and their being enshrouded in a car seems to be a large part of the pathology.
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