“Getting stomp’d” out on the trail can have a variety of different meanings, and I’m about to get into my personal account from this past weekend. First and foremost, this is a personal story that I debated whether or not to even put out there. After some chats with D2 and Dirty about the pros and cons, I’m convinced that posting this will hopefully have more positive results than negative, so here we go.
I headed out to North Table Mountain in Golden, CO on Saturday for a quick ride. It’s the closest trail to my house, and with a 10 month old at home I try to keep my mountain bike rides shorter than they used to be. Not long into the ride as I was climbing up a portion of trail, I came behind a runner who was wearing headphones that wrapped around his neck, and a shirt/jersey that said either “COM” or “COR”. I rang my bell a few times to let him know I was approaching from behind (this had never been an issue when sharing trail with hikers, runners, and other mountain bikers), but I don’t see any acknowledgement that he heard my bell. I slowed down and before I could ask to pass, another mountain biker (who had pulled off to yield as they were descending) said, “there is a bike behind that wants to pass”. The runner pulled off the trail, and as I passed I shook my head (the use of two earbuds or full headphones when on crowded trails drives me nuts as it’s a safety issue for everyone involved). The runner obviously didn’t like me shaking my head and shouted, “shake your head at me again, and I’ll beat your motherfucking ass!” Fun times, but I keep riding.
About 20 minutes later, I’m climbing up a different trail and see a runner coming in the opposite direction. I pull off to the side of the trail to let the runner pass, and I recognize the “COM” or “COR” on the shirt as the guy who yelled at me before. He is nearly past me, when he says, “I remember you”, then suddenly and aggressively moves towards me. Unprovoked, he grabs me by my throat and starts forcing me towards a boulder on the side of the trail. He manages to shove me on top of the boulder, all the while punching my head, jaw, helmet, and anything he can reach. Once he had his fill with his fists, he moves on to stomping my back and ribs. He decides that he’s had enough and heads over to my bike, picks it up and says “Shake your head at me again” before throwing my bike off the trail and down the steep mountainside. Pleased with himself, he heads off down the trail. Still in complete shock, I pick myself up and slowly start to walk after him in hopes of getting a picture. As he’s moving down the trail, he’s obviously keeping tabs on me, and rather than chance some more punches to the head, I walk away. The entire incident couldn’t have taken more than 30-45 seconds, but it has been playing in my mind ever since. Why hadn’t I tried to get a swing in at him? Why didn’t I charge at him when he picked my bike up? Could someone really be that pissed off about me shaking my head?
Bruised up throat
Courtesy of the runner’s shoe
I switched over to damage control, calling the police to get things started on filing a report, calling my wife to let her know what happened, and retrieving my bike. For what it is worth, I ride with an ICEdot crash sensor, and thank fucking Christ for that. My wife knew exactly where I was following the incident and that something wasn’t right–she was able to pinpoint exactly where I was and get to the nearest trailhead to meet me. I get to my bike which is about 30-50 feet off the trail (down the side of the slope), and start giving it the once over, prepared for the worst. Frame, maybe okay. Handlebars, a little off center but probably okay. Chain, good. Wheels… toast. So I am stuck walking back to a neighborhood access point. I get lucky that some other people who pass me on the trail check to see how I am doing and verify that they saw the runner further on down the trail. One fine gentleman named Ty even gives me his phone number and lets me know he’s be happy to give a statement and work to help to identify the runner. Once back at the car I give a formal statement to the Deputy from the Sheriff’s Office. As I finish my statement some chatter comes over the radios that they think they found a guy matching the description, and are trying to track him down. But unfortunately he ducks into a residential neighborhood on the western side of North Table Mountain, and is lost. Despite the assurances from park officials and deputies, it’s pretty obvious that the likelihood of finding this guy is fucking slim at this point. I thank all those who helped out and head back home to try and digest everything that happened.
In the grand scheme of things I seem to be alright, the punches to the head didn’t really seem to cause much damage (thanks helmet), although my jaw is pretty sore and I made the mistake of trying to eat an apple on Sunday. My legs are covered in smaller cuts and scrapes from getting shoved down on the boulder, and I have larger scrapes/bruises on my throat and shoulder from the respective grab and stomp. General body soreness is also present, but nothing that I haven’t dealt with before. My bike seems to be in decent shape, minus the two busted wheels, broken seat, and lost crash sensor. All items that can be replaced, and again reminds me that in the big picture of life, I certainly caught some breaks with this one.
My rear wheel after its toss off the trail
My seat didn’t look that way at the start of the ride.
The shitty part of it all is:
1.) this guy got away and will no doubt be back on the trails in the future, and
2.) what the fuck has it all come to where punches and kicks get thrown on the trail between different users?
Something tells me that this guy was already in a shitty mood, ready for a fight, and I was the unlucky recipient of his rage. Should I have shaken my head when I passed? In retrospect the answer is probably not; but if someone shaking their head at you is all it takes for you to assault someone, you’ve probably got a couple of loose screws to begin with.
In regards to the first question, part of the reason why I decided to put this story out there is that I was hoping the DC community could help to bring this guy to justice, or at least make him think twice about jumping another trail user. Basic description is white male, somewhere in his 30s-40s, 6 feet tall, and somewhere between 180-190 pounds. On that day he was wearing black shorts, wrap around headphones, and a black or dark blue shirt with either “COM” or “COR” on it. Given that he was able to duck into a local neighborhood and wasn’t found, it seems likely that he lives in Golden and will be back out on North Table Mountain. If you encounter someone that fits that description please reach out to either the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office (303) 271-0211, or the Jefferson County Open Space (303) 271-5925. Also, if you have any information you think might be helpful you can email me at 40Hands@drunkcyclist.com. Also, based on the incident, this guy may take exception to how you pass him if out on the trail, so be fucking careful and don’t shake your head.
To the second question, I have no idea how many of these types of incidents take place, or what the proper way to deal with this. This guy doesn’t represent all runners or hikers, the same way that the Stravahole trying to get rowdy on a descent doesn’t represent all mountain bikers. The trails are crowded and sure we can preach the “don’t be a dick” approach, but as this guy proved, some people are just dicks and aren’t going to change. Anyway, I’m at the rambling point where it all seems like hypothetical, deep questions, so I’ll end this pretty soon. Thanks for taking the time to read, writing this has been somewhat therapeutic in dealing with everything that happened, and thanks to those of you out there who will keep an eye out for this guy.
Just a perfect example why I carry bear mace and a three inch spiderco knife clipped to my shorts. I protect myself against animals on four or two legs. This guy needed that type of justice. Be judged by 12 not carried by 6. Learn from it
FUCK ALL OF YOU keyboard tuff guys who claim 40 (and whoever) should expect to operate under a prison mentality. For real. That is unacceptable. We don’t live in prison, we live in a CIVILIZED SOCIETY. Grow up, baby clowns.
Talk shit, get hit…there’s a progression. It’s not jumping straight to violence. There must be some room for diplomacy first.
This forum PROVES leftists are IDIOTS.
JBC’s was the most intelligent comment. Most of the rest were an entertaining waste of my time. Where I’m from fast movers mostly respect slow movers. Many wear headphones, cranked even, but still know how to yield, even dismount and walk if needed. We pour our energies into our activities rather than aggression. Then again perhaps we are lucky to have a local trail culture of respect and dignity, one that for people like folks who don’t like having to turn their bars ever so slightly to get around those who can’t abide having a head shaken at them won’t exist until discussions like the above do not occur in the deplorable way in which many of you have participated.
where did all the a holes come from?
The guy was totally wrong! That said, as difficult as it can be, you were the guy that lit this bomb of a human’s fuse. You don’t know if he lost his job, works in a place that treats him like crap or what; however, rather than treating another rider or runner in a way that you wouldn’t want to be treated by giving him the disgusted head shake, try to be courteous to other people on the trail. A “sorry man, didn’t mean to surprise you” may have diffused the situation. People being courteous to other trail users is the only thing that makes these situations go away.
As good as revenge feels, hitting him with a stick, getting him arrested, or beating the shit out of him when you see him on the trail will likely only make him angrier and may polarize different user groups. Be kind, make someone’s day better and your day will get better.
I’m sure there are readers that think this is a wimpy way to deal with the situation, but think about it, do you really want escalation out on the trails where your going to have fun and get a break from the pressures of every day life?
I’m just so deeply saddened that we’ve become such an angry, bitter country. Look at these hateful comments and the lack of emotional ability to compromise and resolve. We can do better than this friends. Violence is never the answer. Kindness and grace are always welcome. Generalizations of groups are never helpful. Everyone please take a few slow deep breathes and open your eyes to the flawed, wounded people around you…your selves especially included. Peace. Please. Why are we so mad? #firstworldproblems #sharethetrail #sharetheworld #protectthetrail #protecttheworld #dontbeashithead
Preach, les gemar! Could not agree more!
Knowing you could kick someone’s ass, but nevertheless choosing to make someone else’s day better, is the sign of a man. I hope this unfortunate encounter has the silver lining of making you a more compassionate person.
I can’t help but think that one of the posters here did the actual beat down.
I also can’t help to think that there may be another side to the story, why you ask? because there always is.
In reality Andrew didn’t get hurt that bad, if the attacker had been a really tough guy Andrew would have been in the hospital for a few days with broken ribs, busted eye socket, busted jaw, etc., and may have even thrown Andrew over the hill, or taken his bike and started beating him with it. So Andrew was lucky that he only got a few scraps and is a bit sore.
The attacker is a huge wuse, because the only thing he could try to hurt really bad was the bike, and he essentially failed at that as well. Then like wuses do, they run away and hide…probably why he runs everyday so he can run away from people better.
Anyway Andrew heal up and get on the bike as fast as possible so fear don’t start to set in. And if you have the time and can afford it start taking classes in either Muay Thai, or Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, or better yet if you can find a class that will do it is combining the two above into one. Taking a martial art class is a long term commitment, because it has to become instinctual, like an automatic reflex action, and that can take a few years. While more expensive than pepper spray you don’t always have time to whip out spray, or a gun, or a knife.
Moral of the story is you reap what you sow. And cyclists have been depositing to the Bank of Pleasekickmyass for years. Cyclists spend more time than any other species sneering, condescending, whining, shaking their fists, complaining, one-star-Yelp-reviewing, eye rolling, swearing, flipping off, lecturing, gesticulating, offense taking, sniveling, scowling, scolding, panty bunching and rudely confronting motorists, runners, pedestrians, other cyclists, equestrians, heterosexuals, seagulls, elderly couples, kittens, people in wheelchairs, parked cars and small children.
Cyclists live by the Inverse Golden Rule – I am entitled to have the entire world treat me as I would want to be treated. And if it doesn’t, I’m entitled to have a goddam meltdown hysterectomy without getting my ass kicked.
And you doubt me? For evidence, just browse http://www.bikeforums.net to gauge the collective winning personality of the cycling community, with their endless internecine snipe-fest Pity Party about a world that doesn’t give Shit One about the concerns of cyclists. A phalanx of moderators has listed 36 pages of Banned Users for acting like … well … asshole cyclists, pardon the redundancy.
Or, notice how cyclists gripe that overtaking motorists should be more patient, pass with plenty of room, be conscientious, respect right-of-way, assure the safety of the more vulnerable party? But reverse the roles and place the cyclist among slower pedestrians and ask them to extend identical considerations for identical reasons – Oh My God, now I have to slow down, I will to berate this person who better not kick my ass in response. Because, earbuds anger me and I’m the safety police. Of course, I don’t mean to generalize – I’m only talking about cyclists.
Or look up Yelp reviews for any bike shop in the country (the main problem with running a bike shop is your target market is infested with cyclists). Filter by lowest rating to read a veritable hate-fest of self-entitled brats whining that their asses were not sufficiently kissed for their $4 tube investment. Any of these reviewers not need their asses kicked? I rest my case.
So why is it that cyclists are insufferable and so in need of ass kickery? I’m thinking it’s both environmental and genetic, stemming from constant saddle pressure on smaller than average brains.
And I love it when I hear “violence is not the answer” when they don’t even say what the question is. If the question is, “Would you rather have 4 hours of mind-blowing sex with the entire Switzerland’s Winter Olympics Women’s Ski Team, OR, kick some cyclist twit’s ass?”, then you must agree, it’s violence in a landslide.
So when we find that a cyclist got his ass kicked and bike thrown off the side of a mountain (I LOVE that visual) for sneering at someone else for his own violation of trail etiquette and common courtesy, i.e., behaving like a cyclist, we come to the only reasonable conclusion – there is a God. And then when he photographs his injuries (Sorry Andrew, not impressed, I’ve had rougher first dates), takes it to the victim-celebrating media (the one lifeform lower than cyclists), and whine posts so as to inflame co-offended sister cyclists, it just doesn’t get any better than this. Because I get to write this knowing they’re reading it.
SO CYCLISTS LISTEN UP!! You are a pestilence upon this earth. You are universally despised and for good reason. Every person you insult just files it away and cheers when you get your ass kicked. You want to be treated with courtesy and respect? Then YOU do your part as YOU brought this on yourselves. Is it all your fault? No, but mostly. Which is great news for you as you therefore have the most power to improve the situation (yes, you have personal agency, a novel concept in today’s culture of victimhood).
I’ve seen questionable and reckless riding from fellow cyclists while I’ve been out on the trails. I’ve seen videos posted on Youtube of questionable and reckless riding. I’ve read comments posted on said videos condoning/encouraging questionable and reckless riding from fellow cyclists.
I have no idea if this type of behavior represents the minority or majority in the cycling community. That being said, if you act like an asshat, pick on or disrespect someone, give someone the middle finger, etc you must be prepared for the consequences. The moral of the story is that the OP underestimated the consequences of his action. In this particular instance, he didn’t think that a simple shaking of the head would unleash the Hulk thus resulting in a beat down.
Golden rule much anybody?
Treat people how you want to be treated.
There is a reason for the overflowing vitriol on this page. There are many, many cyclists that treat everyone else like shit, it sticks in the memory harder than a smile + hello. MTB’rs, face it, you DO have an image problem. When it burns in to the cultural zeitgeist, there is something to it, not just “oh they’re jealous of my Lycra & t-rex arms.”
I know how dangerous jumping to conclusions can be but the OP’s story doesn’t add up. I wasn’t there but conveniently, no one else was.
Your stream of consciousness thought process betrays you Andrew. “Why didn’t I charge him?”
“Why didn’t I take a swing at him?” “I was in full defensive mode”
These are all vain statements to masturbate your bruised ego with & prove your machismo is no more refined than the evolutionarily superior guy/hairless ape/human that gave you a brief ass whippin.
As for you you aggro militant supporters of the “victim” calling people keyboard tough guys for suggesting you reap what you sow, reread your posts that happen to be chocked full of suggestions of violence and name calling.
Cognitive dissonance isn’t limited to any one group or type but I can see it abounds in the foothills. Please keep in mind when you’re out pretending that you’re rugged or extreme or tough: treat people/strangers as you want to be treated. You never know who might be stronger, smarter or more evolutionarily fit than you, especially if you’re an avid cyclist.
I live steps away from the west side of North Table Mtn. I ride or I walk it most days of the week for many years. As more people move near to Golden, it’s increasingly crowded, but so far I have not experienced anything more hostile than the west coast snub when saying hi to someone. Remember, hiking and biking on trails is dangerous, and you never know who you might need to help you in an emergency, and that is probably why we Colorado are innately a friendly bunch of people. Let’s lead by example and teach the newcomers proper friendly ettiiquete on the mountain. Key points: yield to uphill traveler, move over if a runner or cyclist wants to pass, and always say hello to those you encounter on the hill.
@Daves Not A Real Man-
I’m guessing your so angry cause you have a small penis and women laugh at you? Only mind blowing sex you’ve had is in men’s locker room at local gym after a steroid injection and a double dose of Viagra
Be careful with that temper tho not healthy, I’m sure your doctor has told you this, blood pressure med’s and the Viagra your taking for your boyfriends at the gym is not a good combo. May I suggest some more cardio your looking fat in that pic btw
This forum PROVES John Oakman is an IDIOT
#MAGA. You people should be ashamed of yourselves. That is right, I am talking about you losers. All of you. You hobby cyclists and weekend trailists. You people never make life better, as you take much and give nothing. All of you cucks and thots should do something worthwhile in life.
Attention Trolls (daves.not.here..et al)
GO AWAY. You will not change the mind of a true cyclist. I will not argue against your faulty logic, ridiculous stereotypes or violent and anti-social fantasies.
I don’t contend that ALL car drivers are a-holes because a percentage of them are. They are also a-holes when not in their cars (yes you Dave).
My advice is to get out of your car. Don’t drive to the gym to run on a treadmill.
One more piece of advice, dave, Walk Your Talk! I do, but my talk is not to be a prick and threaten people.
Davesnothereman–great trolling…it was believable until you said fighting would be better than banging the Swiss female ski team…
Read Andrews (OP) tweets (@DC40Hands) and you will truly see what a piece of shit this guy is. I am now convinced he was the cause of this incident. Andrew has an aggressive personality and he is always trying to beat his race times.
Andrew you are done! Time to apologize for your pathetic attempt at fake news.
All will be revealed!
Just another liberal POS entitled millennial. Ruining mountain biking for the rest of us.
KC in da house-how is the OP ruining mountain biking exactly? Also, why are you trying to turn this into a political issue? Do you confront all liberals and call them names in person, or is this behavior reserved for the safety of your keyboard?
‘KC in da house!’ is a fucking piece of shit troll and a lying sack of shit to boot. I have reviewed Andrew’s tweets (@DC40Hands) and I could find nothing that would suggest an aggressive personality and NOTHING about beating race times.
If fuckwits like ‘KC in da house!’ are so convinced that Andrew was the cause of the incident, get the runner to come forward to tell his side of the story. Because the runner ran like a little bitch when the police showed up and returned to his hiding place in his basement, Andrew’s is the only side of the story that we have.
@john oakman, Dave_is_not_here, and KC in da house,
Please, for the love of all that is holy, STOP TROLLING THIS THREAD. Unwanted, unwarranted, and definitely not productive in any way.
Going forward, everyone should stop responding to their nonsense, including myself.
That is all.
Hey PB, you diptard. He did post his side on a “runners” forum. Why would he post it here? The dumb shiteaters on MTBR posted it there for everyone too:
From the Runners account supposedly
RE: Runner wearing earbuds beats up mountain biker outside of Golden, Co 3/30/2017 9:26AM – in reply to hart crane
corunner1
Reply Return to Index Report Post
My friend just alerted me to this thread and I wanted to tell my side. I NEVER even touched they guy. I was wearing earbuds, but the volume was low. If you divide the path into two lanes I was running in the middle of one lane so there was a whole other lane to pass. He came up behind me and rang is little fairy bell over and over. I didn’t move because there was plenty of room for him to pass and nobody was coming in the other direction. When he passed me he stuck out his elbow and clipped me. Then I did yell profanities and threats. A while later he came up behind me again. This time he didn’t ring his bell and I didn’t know he was coming. When he passed me his soaked me with his water bottle. I was pissed then and jumped onto another trail that cuts off the main one he was riding on so I could get ahead of him. I waited until he came and then threw a handful of dirt at him. He then road off the trail and crashed. I’m not proud what I did. His story is crap though.
Oh and by the way, NORMSK. Your detective work is awesome. And to IGNAZJR, why do you have to be so lame dude? KC works for you. Why don’t you tell everyone you get the LULZ everyday?
KC in da house- Are you by any chance a martial arts expert?
Why do you let others get to you? You’re supposed to be the Troll here. Come on boy, you’re losing your cool and making other trolls look bad. What are you, a liberal snowflake?
I would have beat the shit out of that guy and tossed him down the trail. Never mind the assault on me, but damaging my bike? Hell no!
Jeezus… so you shouldn’t shake your head and if you do getting a beating is just especially if you didn’t fight back…
FMD no wonder you have a gun problem, coz that would be the solution, strap on holder in MTB bars whack in the revolver and she’ll be right…
The good ole days are back…
God bless America, you need all the help you can get.
Y’all are the biggest bunch of whiney entitled pussies I’ve ever seen.
Lol the only thing I’ve seen a mountain biker beat up is a can of craft beer in a trailhead parking lot.
Looking at this comment trail, it’s so weak, I’m appalled at what this site has become.
I miss the days of Big Johnny, Gnome, BGW, TripleT, Joe the electrician, Tony, Judy & even LittleJar.
40 Hands has been a long time contributor to this site so I have no reason to doubt his integrity in this post
Damn kids, get off my lawn.
& Yeah, it’s 1st of April down here, catch up will ya.
Right of way-
Equestrian>Pedestrian>Cyclist>Motorized Cyclist>4 Wheeled Motorized Vehicle
There’s no give with you sprocketheads & knuckledraggers. You can’t have it both ways: you bitch about cars passing you aggressively, you bitch about runners and hikers being in the way with earbuds and you PASS AGGRESSIVELY.
KC in the house – thanks for posting the other account. Hard to know if it’s genuine, but it does seem to be a more plausible and complete story. Although, he doesn’t talk about what happened after the cyclist crashed.
Hey all, it just bikes. They are fun, not everyone sees it that way. This is a truly isolated incident. Sure it sucks but so what. A good ass kicking is cleansing. Take your lumps, don’t get wierd about hikers and suck it up. in this case maybe your mom cared. Ride your bike, heal and shut up. Watch some John Wayne movies and learn how to take a beating if you are going to be a pussy about it.
BTW- How did this site get so pussy?
As an avid road cyclist and with several encounters with motorists under my belt, I’ve learned you have to defend yourself. Most times, when confronted, the blowhards backdown. Big in their cars, small when face to face.
Golden is an outdoor community. Horse riding, running, climbing, biking, hiking, kayaking, fishing, walking – it’s all here. Yeti, one of the greatest mountain bike companies moved from California to here, in part because of the amazing MTB community in Golden and Colorado. Trail running has been around for centuries, but only in the past few years has its popularity increased on the front range. Just like the horse riders and hikers learned to accommodate mountain bikers decades past, the the mountain bikers are now learning to accommodate the runners. Whenever I travel to Seattle, I realize that it seems nobody has the mental filter asking, “am I being an asshole?” Call it the golden rule if you want. Please, let’s just keep having fun – it’s the reason we live here, and why so many people are moving here.
http://blog.rei.com/hike/trail-etiquette-who-has-the-right-of-way/
The amount of dipshits still trolling this post is amazing.
https://ihatebicyclists.com
People are beginning to speak their minds about cyclists. In the past it’s been politically incorrect to speak ill of cyclists. It’s hard to stay quiet about people so obnoxious.
This is a cultural phenomenon. Most of us are smart enough to realize we aren’t simply judging the actions of one very narrow group but that of an individual that belongs to a very hive-minded group with weak individual indentity. If you don’t buy that you’re dumb or deluded. You conspicuously consume same clothing (Patagucci, Mtn Hardware etc), drive the same vehicles (Toyota Tacoma, 4-Runner, Tundra etc),
shop at the same shitty expensive Whole Foods in SoDo SoPa or ShiTi Pa Town, rock the same beard because everyone needs to know how “mountain-y” you are. Face it, you’re practically a bunch of clones and if not clones, certainly idealogues.
Is it that much of a stretch the suggest that you also behave (misbehave) the same as YouTube videos, blogs and forums would suggest?!
WOE IS WE
Yeah, life is so unfair for we cyclist-victims. When trolls aren’t posting in our forums, runners are clogging up our trails. Cars and trucks are driving on our roads. Bike stores are charging for our parts and service. Ears are not conforming with our sans-earbuds expectations. Pedestrians we run over are bending our rims. The world is withholding our entitlements.
When outside on a beautiful day in God’s country, clueless idiots are smiling and happy, in spite of our scolding. Surprisingly, some of them are not swallowing our abuse any more. When we publicize confrontations that we have provoked in order to garner public sympathy, some aren’t buying our unbelievable, one-sided narratives. Worse than that, some say so and won’t follow our orders to shut up.
We are increasingly getting treated like we treat other people – WHAT’S UP WITH THAT ?!? — Historically, our currency has been victimhood, but the exchange rate is sucking these days.
Nobody wins in the comment section.
Read,
think,
move on.
lol you’re a pussy bitch and deserved that beating
Hey Dirty, the amount of penis I suck is amazing. If I ride dick for two hours and spend one minute in my ass, you lost less than 1 percent of your penis, To get blasted, jerk another then get blased again, AND spit it out for fun time mother fuckers is pretty balls. Big dicks should have opened my butt, and offered up like a slut. Instead works his balls like a whore and gets sent for it. Ride your dick, enjoy other dicks and drink shit. Fuck me for crying in the mud.
You shouldn’t touch anyone, even if provoked…it’s assault. If you feel that your life is in danger and it’s self-defense, that a different story.
I’m guilty of doing both, but I grew up. As I matured, I learned impulse control. And it’s not worth going to jail or getting sued for assaulting someone, nor is it worth getting pummeled for being passive aggressive and provoking someone.
Even a disapproving headshake can provoke someone, especially with a heightened adrenaline response from exertion. One can pretend it is just an innocent head shake, but it was meant to solicit something. It is tantamount to sticking your tongue out at someone when you were a kid, and getting mad when the other person retaliates.
If you need to get aggressive, take up martial arts perhaps. You will get equal time on both.
Happy trails! Everyone deserves it.
Glad you weren’t more seriously hurt. Nothing you did warranted this type of response. With that said, however, it’s worth considering that there are all manner of violent, short fused people among us that need but a simple head shake to set them off. And it seems like there are more and more of these types of people every day. It’s worth considering if that honk of the horn, shaking of the fist, extending a middle finger, etc., is worth the trouble that it may bring into your life. From a Buddhist perspective, nothing…and especially something so trivial as an idiot wearing headphones…is worth sacrificing your inner peace for.
From a non Buddhist perspective, It’s worth considering if you should be carrying some means of defense. Pepper Spray is non lethal and easily carried on the bike somewhere or in a jersey pocket. A small handgun is also imminently doable on a bike if one is so inclined (legally permitted of course). Consider the remoteness of where you ride, how far you are from help, and all manner of people that you may encounter out there…like this idiot. Not to mention various wild animals that tend to engage fast moving objects when their prey drive kicks in.
Sorry that happened to you, Guy…I am 70 years old and have been mountain biking for 20+ years now…and found that us mountain bikers are a pretty calm and mellow bunch…So when this happens it is very upsetting…Am also finding that there are more and more jerks on the trails…So happy that you wrote this article so that others will be aware of these kind of people out there…I ride North Table a lot so will keep an eye out for this ass hole ..
Richard,
You are mistaken. Mountain Bikers (of which I am one) are not calm. We are the same as everyone else. Be honest, how many times have you paced a douchebag runner or rider and said something under you breath. I am sure it is a lot because there are a lot of douchebags. All of us have broken trail etiquette at one time. What gets me is the people who claim innocence all the time.
The OP was WRONG for shaking his head and I now know for sure that he did quite a bit more to provoke the “runner” than he mentioned.
To the OP. You are not anonymous. You have friends and those friends have friends. Word gets around dude. Do yourself a favor and take down this post and try and forget it. Maybe in time, others will too.
To the ASSclowns over on MTBR. You guys are the shnining example of snowflake mentality. SLbiker, you are the worst! Again, UncleTrail seems to be the only one with a sense of reality. The rest of you are just pussies with big anonymous mouths. Seems some of ytour crew are missing as well. Where’s Michelle and Dave? Like how they have been quiet since their hookup.
KC is da house, this isn’t MTBR we have higher Standards.
Unless you were there I don’t think you know shit. However if you have spoken to the Runner in question then you should identify that person so he can come forward and refute the facts provided here on website and in police report. Otherwise fuck off you aren’t bullying anybody here…
Shaking of a head, hand, finger is not an excuse for physical harm under any circumstance….