Tried to shake it off all day but still can’t: this morning on our way to school a man threatened my two kids and I, on our bike, with his large pickup truck. First, he passed us very very closely, at speed. Then he veered rightwards into the bike lane in front of us and abruptly slowed down. I slowed and moved left into the general travel lane, he lurched back left to match and then came to a complete stop. I stopped about 15 feet behind him. Several cars stopped behind me.
He started yelling out his open window, but I couldn’t make out what he was saying. He’d also yelled something as he’d passed.
I didn’t want to wait for him to start reversing: he’d be able to hit us before I could get out of the way. And I was for sure not going to pass or get closer to him. I had an exit into the zoo parking lot (the wrong way) and so crossed the opposing travel lane to take it and put more distance and curbs between us and him.
I was further away now but could now see him thru his window, and he shouted at me not to “play games with him” (???) and that I was “a piece of garbage.” I shouldn’t have engaged at all, but without thinking I hurled back that he was threatening children and was a piece of shit. I kept riding away and he drove off.
We were ultimately going the same way though, and so when I caught up at the next red light I stayed back but got close enough to read his plate. Not that a plate will do me any good, really. A driver who had been behind me and seen the whole thing told me that was fucking nuts. Little solace though.
This morning’s been gnawing at me, and I’m hoping by writing it down it’ll help to get it off my chest, scream into the void.
It’s not the first time I’ve been threatened with a vehicle. Or even the first my kids have been with me when it happened. It won’t be the last, either. It’s been a bit though, and I’d thought that routine changes in our daily routes and times had helped.
I’m so fucking tired of the violence of toxic car culture.
Cars are death machines.
Cars ruin cities.