I recieved an e-mail today from a rider that I have ridden with in the past regarding a group ride recently. Here is the body of the message;
"Hi All,
We may not have been able to nail the bastard who ran Andrew Walker off the road this summer, but Rabbit and I nailed another bunch of jerks yesterday.

We were riding east on Rt 174 towards Boiling Springs yesterday about 1:30 PM. Single file, minding our own business. I was in the lead. A red jeep pasted us and an empty Disanti water bottle was thrown at me, missing my head by a few inches. I saw the first 3 letters on the license plate, the make and model, the fact it was a rag top, that a red headed boy in a striped jacket was in back and a boy in a black shirt was in the passenger's seat.

When we got to the Getty in Boiling Springs there was the jeep! I stood in back of it to keep them from leaving (it was pulled in front first) and we confronted them. They got smart mouthed (a lot of, you a-holes, f-u stuff). We kept our cool and didn't respond in kind. We remained very polite and business like. I remained in the way of the jeep, but did not restrain them any other way. They were not smart enough to tell me to move and leave the scene.

Rabbit cell phoned the State Police. After about 20 minutes a State Cop arrived and took our statements. He also took the kids statements. I over heard the driver, who was the most subdued of the group, say to the the red head kid, " Dawyne, You a-hole why did have to do that". The cop said they would be charged with littering and fined $300 and possibly other things, if we could testify. I get paid off time when subpoenaed and Rabbit works nights, so we said yes we would testify in any hearings that occur as a result of other charges.

About then a Tour for Life with about 20 bike riders pulled in to the Getty. When they heard what went down we where sent off with chorus of "Thanks for making those jerks responsible".

We completed the rest of the ride without incident."

Turns out some of our (PA) state police are pretty cool. These kids will probably get mommy and daddy to pay the fines, but at least a message was sent!

Lets hope they learned their lesson.

I live nearby in York and have had my share of incidents with idiots like that. I know it's just a drop of water in the ocean but it's nice to hear that at least one of them will think twice before doing something stupid again. I applaud your calm, rational approach to confronting and dealing with the situation.

Thanks for taking your time then and if called to court.

These kids will tell their friends about what happened which might...might...make other kids hesitate. If I was 16 or 17 and was about to be hit with a $300 fine for littering, it would make quite a mental impact. My parents would NEVER pay the fine.

I had a similiar incident about 5 years ago. In brief: teenagers, SUV, me on a bike, coke bottle thrown at me, run off the road, I ride after them, catch them at the bottom of the hill, car window words exchange, punch (weakly) the passenger through the window after he threw a punch at me, got the license plate, went to the police station for a report. Our local chief talked to the boys Mom on the speaker phone and had me recount the incident. It made an impression on Mom that I wasn't a kid, but a late 30's Dad. Mom was beyond furious at her boys. Boys were in car without permission. Case closed 'cause a POed Mom is worse than anything the police could do. All the police know me now and wave. Good bunch of guys.

Thanks for sharing the story! It certainly encourages all cyclists to assert our rights in similar situations just like you did.

You did the right thing and you did it well.

I lived in Harrisburg for a while--some nice rides out in the Boiling Springs area.

I recieved an e-mail today from a rider that I have ridden with in the past regarding a group ride recently. Here is the body of the message;
"Hi All,
We may not have been able to nail the bastard who ran Andrew Walker off the road this summer, but Rabbit and I nailed another bunch of jerks yesterday.

We were riding east on Rt 174 towards Boiling Springs yesterday about 1:30 PM. Single file, minding our own business. I was in the lead. A red jeep pasted us and an empty Disanti water bottle was thrown at me, missing my head by a few inches. I saw the first 3 letters on the license plate, the make and model, the fact it was a rag top, that a red headed boy in a striped jacket was in back and a boy in a black shirt was in the passenger's seat.

When we got to the Getty in Boiling Springs there was the jeep! I stood in back of it to keep them from leaving (it was pulled in front first) and we confronted them. They got smart mouthed (a lot of, you a-holes, f-u stuff). We kept our cool and didn't respond in kind. We remained very polite and business like. I remained in the way of the jeep, but did not restrain them any other way. They were not smart enough to tell me to move and leave the scene.

Rabbit cell phoned the State Police. After about 20 minutes a State Cop arrived and took our statements. He also took the kids statements. I over heard the driver, who was the most subdued of the group, say to the the red head kid, " Dawyne, You a-hole why did have to do that". The cop said they would be charged with littering and fined $300 and possibly other things, if we could testify. I get paid off time when subpoenaed and Rabbit works nights, so we said yes we would testify in any hearings that occur as a result of other charges.

About then a Tour for Life with about 20 bike riders pulled in to the Getty. When they heard what went down we where sent off with chorus of "Thanks for making those jerks responsible".

We completed the rest of the ride without incident."

Turns out some of our (PA) state police are pretty cool. These kids will probably get mommy and daddy to pay the fines, but at least a message was sent!

my experience in London with reporting driver's dangerous and illegal moves to the Police has been very positive

even if nothing comes of it - raisnig the question with the driver and forcing them to take time out is a great reminder

I recieved an e-mail today from a rider that I have ridden with in the past regarding a group ride recently. Here is the body of the message;
"Hi All,
We may not have been able to nail the bastard who ran Andrew Walker off the road this summer, but Rabbit and I nailed another bunch of jerks yesterday.

We were riding east on Rt 174 towards Boiling Springs yesterday about 1:30 PM. Single file, minding our own business. I was in the lead. A red jeep pasted us and an empty Disanti water bottle was thrown at me, missing my head by a few inches. I saw the first 3 letters on the license plate, the make and model, the fact it was a rag top, that a red headed boy in a striped jacket was in back and a boy in a black shirt was in the passenger's seat.

When we got to the Getty in Boiling Springs there was the jeep! I stood in back of it to keep them from leaving (it was pulled in front first) and we confronted them. They got smart mouthed (a lot of, you a-holes, f-u stuff). We kept our cool and didn't respond in kind. We remained very polite and business like. I remained in the way of the jeep, but did not restrain them any other way. They were not smart enough to tell me to move and leave the scene.

Rabbit cell phoned the State Police. After about 20 minutes a State Cop arrived and took our statements. He also took the kids statements. I over heard the driver, who was the most subdued of the group, say to the the red head kid, " Dawyne, You a-hole why did have to do that". The cop said they would be charged with littering and fined $300 and possibly other things, if we could testify. I get paid off time when subpoenaed and Rabbit works nights, so we said yes we would testify in any hearings that occur as a result of other charges.

About then a Tour for Life with about 20 bike riders pulled in to the Getty. When they heard what went down we where sent off with chorus of "Thanks for making those jerks responsible".

We completed the rest of the ride without incident."

Turns out some of our (PA) state police are pretty cool. These kids will probably get mommy and daddy to pay the fines, but at least a message was sent!It wasn't me-it was a couple of friends of mine, Steve "Crash" Wagner and "Rabbit" Abbot. Two good guys.

Mark,

HOLY CARP! I know Steve and have ridden with him on many occasions...That was probably a Tuesday or Thursday club ride, which Steve often leads. He is a little bit of a rebel--good for him for having the nads to take a stand. Freakin' Steve is allright!

Ever try to follow him in a paceline?:eek: