Shitty Sunday Ride ( I should have lunched with you guys!!!! ) 11-16-08

[lhyx]

On my way home from my Sunday short ride (VC). I've got rushed in the hospital after getting beaten by this guy. Before passing on a 2 lane road, I checked what's ahead of me and I know that I can make it because the other side of the road is clear. I believe there are 3 vehicles that I want to pass.So I tried to do the pass. Halfway in doing my attempt, There was this guy (He was driving the middle car) who opened his door halfway and tried to knock me down from my bike. Unfortunately, he does not want to get passed Luckily, I didn't fell down from my bike and was able to make the pass. I saw the passenger gave me a "finger" and of course I returned the favor and gave them a "finger" too. I was the one who almost crashed here!!! I was so pissed and tried to cool down for a bit So, I pulled over to the side. He also pulled over and when he went down from his car he started throwing punches at me, I was down on the ground... he dragged my head to the ground ( good thing I have my helmet on but I could not see anything!) ....I think he wrestled me... Then, I just felt he was on top of my head. I tried to get out but I had a hard time pushing him because he was bigger than me. He is about early 40's or late 30's, over 200 lbs, 5'11" Caucasian.

Long story short.
Cops came but he was gone. Interviewed me, a co-ridera and few other witnesses. Cops asked me " Do you want to press charges?" at that time I don't know what to do, I can't think clearly at that moment. It told them "not yet". I've got his plates and I gave them to the cops. I thought I was completely fine and I've just decided to go home. I thought I could ride home but I felt lightheaded, I went down from my bike and the cops called ambulance. I ended up getting scrapes on my right hand (because I took off my gloves) neck pains, rib contusion and a whole lot of sermon (talk from my family).

I have reported this matter to the police station. Now, I could not ride for a while! Which Sucks! Gas is too expensive when I use my car! I can't move normally. Deep breathing hurts my right chest (this will take 3 weeks or more according to the doctor). My helmet is F***** up! deep scratches because it was dragged on the ground! My bike is completely fine not one scratch. I'm just gald I don't have any broken bones and my bike is in 1 piece!

[Team Gorgonzola]

Next time take the helmet of and use it as a hammer. Sorry to hear you got in trouble that way.

[Justin]

I have no comment.
I have a million comments, actually.
I will wait till my anger subsides.  

Dude, you didn't need to get beaten.
You didn't need to exchange gestures, and you certainly didn't need to pull over where you did.

You irritated people with a reckless act, instigated a fight by flipping them off, and then postured yourself in a confrontational manner by pulling over on front of him.  .  .
.  .  . then proceeded to get your lumped up.
Then you were injured enough, you dropped your bike. . .
Then you went to the E.R.
You chose that when could have had a nice Sunday ride.
          Is it me?          Am I taking crazy pills?        Is this what you posting here?

I won't ride with you, or anyone who behaves like you.
Please tell me you weren't riding with an SSA sticker.

I actually do care about you, though.  That said, I wish you a quick and complete recovery, inexpensive medical co-pays, a new helmet, and for the wisdom to avoid incidents like this in the future.

[jlavallee]

  I can tell you one thing, a lot of stuff might of been done wrong here but if some guy opens his door trying to knock me off because he dosen't want to be passed and then catches up with me it'll be ugly. Why do some people get upset at stuff like someone passing them? Fine on the flipping off bit, I can't say too much because I'd be hot at that point too but stopping was kind of asking for a confrontation.

Chauk it up to learning and press charges now that you gave them the info. Without them having a plate for ID you could of just found out where the guy lived and paid him a visit. Not that I'd condone that sort of thing.

[Justin]

What's worth getting killed over? 

Not too much.
Maybe I like myself too much.

Any wacko who'd open the door as I passed might just shoot me if I give him the chance.

[jlavallee]

What's worth getting killed over? 

Not too much.
Maybe I like myself too much.

Any wacko who'd open the door as I passed might just shoot me if I give him the chance.

Fair enough, and I am not saying to stop and start a confrontation but I wouldn't take a beating either. Yell, scream and curse at me all you want but once it gets physical then it's a different story.

[lhyx]

I have no comment.
I have a million comments, actually.
I will wait till my anger subsides.  

Dude, you didn't need to get beaten.
You didn't need to exchange gestures, and you certainly didn't need to pull over where you did.

You irritated people with a reckless act, instigated a fight by flipping them off, and then postured yourself in a confrontational manner by pulling over on front of him.  .  .
.  .  . then proceeded to get your lumped up.
Then you were injured enough, you dropped your bike. . .
Then you went to the E.R.
You chose that when could have had a nice Sunday ride.
          Is it me?          Am I taking crazy pills?        Is this what you posting here?

I won't ride with you, or anyone who behaves like you.
Please tell me you weren't riding with an SSA sticker.

I actually do care about you, though.  That said, I wish you a quick and complete recovery, inexpensive medical co-pays, a new helmet, and for the wisdom to avoid incidents like this in the future.

I respect your opinion and I thank you for that Justino.
"Please tell me you weren't riding with an SSA sticker." No, I'm not

Here's what's going on right now. I pressed charges the next day because I could hardly move. I want to report this guy so that this will not happen again. I called the police station last monday;The case is still open. I'm waiting for the police report and I'm also trying to look for the cop that took all the info of the witnesses but I still have no luck in finding him. At the same time I'm trying to search for a good lawyer because I really believe that I have a case here. I want to be protected with my medical bills just in case...

I have a rib contusion and pain from my neck down to my lower back... I was not able to work for a couple of days.

My neck and mid back still hurt. I set an appointment with the Chiropractor. I hope this pain is not gonna be a long term issue for me.

[A DRAGON]

Ihyx. I understand your feelings. The guy in the car had no reason to put his hands on you. That's a fact. Pulling over to the side of the road in front of him was not the safe thing to do. I don't see anything positive coming from that move at all.

I remember things like that happening when we just started riding as a club. We've decided to let things like that go. When that sort of things happen your lucky that idiot didn't just run you down with his car. You never know who your dealing with on the road. They have a term for things like it's called ROAD RAGE. It has different levels. I think you reached one of the higher ones.

You can make it easier if you pass without down shifting and passing really slow. Some people just don't like motorcycles for what ever reason. Some one could have passed him earlier and was even a bigger jerk than he is and never stopped. So you got the brunt of all his anger. Unless your ready to fight to the death never pull over!!!!   The next motorcycle, passing a car. Is always the one that pays for the first actions of the first.

On our Sunday rides I always make it a point to say to everyone "Don't flip anyone off or kick any doors. Because that's a battle you are going to lose." I do understand your frustration, but you really have to let it go in the future. It's not worth it. You will remember this incident for the next month and it will piss you off every time you think of it. If you just laugh at the fool and keep going, by the end of the day you would have forgotten it. I've learned to let a lot of things go because of my temper. If you would have started throwing punches first, by the time you paid all your legal fees and court cost and medical bills. You would have wished you never even stopped in the first place. People have their own opinions and even if you whip that ass. It doesn't change the way they think. You will encounter all kinds of people on your little trips riding you bike. Try and make them all happy memories. Just think of what your life would be like if you had never stopped?

If you have to pay some medical costs. Make this ass pay for them. If he's doing this to you. Who else has he done it to. He just keeps getting away with it. Maybe next time he'll run some one down with his car.

Good luck with this and I hope you think about this in more detail. How you could have handled it in a better way. It's hard to not react right away when something happens to you. When you make choices out of anger they usually aren't looking out for your best interests.

[Mike Cullen]

Well...did this just happen? where did it happen? Storey County or Washoe? feel free to post the license plate number of the vehicle as that is public information and if I was investigating this I would be starting with an attempted murder charge, this is a serious case... you probably don't need an attorney the county prosecutor should follow thru with the case for you but I'm sure it will be up to you to make some noise about it.
Yea you probably were speeding or even passing over the double yellow line but that is not justification for attempting to kill you...I'd make sure the local prosecutor and cops did there jobs.

[XIII]

I have no comment.
I have a million comments, actually.
I will wait till my anger subsides. 

Dude, you didn't need to get beaten.
You didn't need to exchange gestures, and you certainly didn't need to pull over where you did.

You irritated people with a reckless act, instigated a fight by flipping them off, and then postured yourself in a confrontational manner by pulling over on front of him.  .  .
.  .  . then proceeded to get your lumped up.
Then you were injured enough, you dropped your bike. . .
Then you went to the E.R.
You chose that when could have had a nice Sunday ride.
          Is it me?          Am I taking crazy pills?        Is this what you posting here?

I won't ride with you, or anyone who behaves like you.
Please tell me you weren't riding with an SSA sticker.

I actually do care about you, though.  That said, I wish you a quick and complete recovery, inexpensive medical co-pays, a new helmet, and for the wisdom to avoid incidents like this in the future.

There is no need to kick him while he's down. He got his ass beat for doing what most of us have probably gone through ourselves at one point in our riding years. The young and wise riders are well informed but most are just young. These riders tend to act first and think it through as the situation either escalates or is somehow diffused. Unfortunately for Lhyx, he was on the receiving end of a very angry man. You have imparted valuable knowledge for Lhyx's sake but excluding him from our club from just this act contradicts your stance as a wise and experienced rider.

Lhyx, I'm sure you learned your lesson and will grow from this experience. Be safe out there when you get back on the rubber buns.

[D1NO]

See what happens when you're not riding with "Da Boyz".. j/k Glad to hear you're ok!!! As with everything, it is a learning experience..

[fyrepunk]

Dude sorry to hear about that. Hope you recover soon.  As far as my take on how to deal with that jackass.  You know i can see letting go when someone flips you the bird, or swerves at you a little,  but opening his door on you!  Thats too far for me guys.  I'm getting that guys license plate #, speeding up dropping 2 sparkplugs and turning his ass in when i get home!  Either that or maybe im too old school but if we do end up fighting and I get my ass kicked.  Well sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.  I'd probably just take my ass kicking and learn a valuable lesson.  Dude, get better soon.

[Justin]

There is no need to kick him while he's down. He got his ass beat for doing what most of us have probably gone through ourselves at one point in our riding years. The young and wise riders are well informed but most are just young. These riders tend to act first and think it through as the situation either escalates or is somehow diffused. Unfortunately for Lhyx, he was on the receiving end of a very angry man. You have imparted valuable knowledge for Lhyx's sake but excluding him from our club from just this act contradicts your stance as a wise and experienced rider.

Lhyx, I'm sure you learned your lesson and will grow from this experience. Be safe out there when you get back on the rubber buns.

I don't want to kick anyone while they are down, and I knew this was a harsh response.
  I thought long  and hard about it and modified it a hundred times.

1- From 3000 miles away, I think it had to be harsh to get the point across. 
Jerome once said in a similar post "What would I advise my kid to do if the same thing happened to him" 

If we run it through that filter, it takes on a new dimension.  I can not stand the idea of my son pulling over in front a hostile motorist in a 3000lb car.  I am yelling at my son who could have been killed. Bullets really hurt, and so do bumpers, fenders and the hood.   The door opening was my hint that we're dealing with someone who  is seriously deranged.  My son has a helmet and some clothes to protect him, the others have a metal cage.  I am ok with all of it, except for pulling over.  My objection was pulling over where he did, so soon after the exchange.  If he pulled over in the parking lot of a police station, it'd be a different story.

2  How many legally and illegally owned firearms do you think exist in Nevada?

3  Although I definitely don't condone behavior that can get any one of us killed, I do condone sharing my perspective so someone can live to ride another day.

4 I would take my son's keys, and I would tell him I am not going to ride with 'him or his type' anymore.
(then i would return his keys and invite him for a ride when he felt better, and I knew he understood that i only cared about his life and the bottom line was that I was scared for him and loved him a lot and wanted him safe.)

5 Mike C. lost a very dear friend to a motorcycle accident recently. That was more sorrow, loss, and pain than our board was ready to handle.
   I don't ever want to see a "R.I.P" forum.  Could you imagine how terribly sad that would be?


lhyx, I am not excluding you,
Your response was evidence that you are good guy and respectful (even to a stranger with a harsh $.02) 

I want you to understand that I only care about your life, I was scared for you, I love you a lot and want to keep you safe.

Justin

[cobra23]

I feel for you. Had a simular incident once, but it had nothing to do with me passing, the driver was drunk and attempted to run me off the interstate for some unknown reason.

I hauled ass, you can do that easily on a bike, this was 1985. I think I held it at 110 for about four minutes to give plenty of space between me and the idiot. Then the State trooper pulled me over. Dam. i was nervous, remember the 55 mph speed limit?

Well he just tells me to wait, and flags the idiot down, the idiot tries to run over the trooper and trooper tells me to follow, the chase is on, by the time I get to where the idiot has pulled over, the trooper has him all balled up and dragging on the ground. Thought I was next.

The trooper regains his composure, and tells me he watched the whole thing, he says he would have done a hundred to get away too. He was a first rate Officer, I'll never forget that.

Here is the moral of the story...First Cops are good people, let them deal with this guy.
Second, it is now your duty to press charges, if this guy gets away with this once he will look for a chance to do it again. He was obviously just looking for a fight.

I had to testify, then the dirtballs lawyer calls prior to the trail, and asks me for a statement. The dirtball was actually trying to press brutality charges, after my statement, those brutality charges were dropped and dirtball went to jail.

Do the right thing, press charges. Next time just scoot the hell outta there. I am very sorry for your injuries. You do need to remember, there is no IQ test to get a drivers license. Lotsa nuts out there, try not to provoke them.

A gun is not such a good idea, killing people sucks, it stays with you forever, no matter what the circumstances are. 11 Bravo ..Hoo-ah.

Relax, and learn.

[Team Gorgonzola]

Ok let me add to my previous suggestion: next time don't stop right after you pass somebody that try to kill you...and if you really must do so than take your helmet off right away and make sure you get the first punch (using your helmet) and once is down keep him that way. Than call the cops. Somebody, few years back (as I was passing him over the double yellow, after going by 3 slow vehicle passing lanes) tried to ram me, by veering left, on the way up to VC. He even had a sticker from a county agency...so they are out there. Just be prepared.........