There’s a certain sect of the car world that’s locked in an eternal battle with cyclists. These drivers, for whatever reason, simply can’t accept that they have to share the road with people riding bikes, and hate the fact that cyclists are increasingly being granted bike lanes of their own in major metropolitan areas.
Personally, I can’t understand this attitude. Sure, it might be a tiny bit inconvenient to make room for a cyclist as you drive past them, but when you’re driving through a populated place or down a fun, twisty road, that’s just part of the environment, and there’s nothing you can do about it. What’s wrong with playing nice with one another?
Alas, some people just can’t figure it out. The occupants of a BMW took things a bit too far when they decided to start road-raging against a couple of bikers in California, forcing one off the road and throwing liquid at another, before speeding off. Instead of just ending things there, the driver of the BMW started messaging the biker on Instagram, asking to fistfight. Now, they’ve been arrested.
A Bike Lane Is Called A Bike Lane Because It’s For Bikes
This all started last Saturday when pro biker Luke Fetzer, who goes by the username sendy_mcgee on Instagram, published a video on the social media platform of a BMW M3 driver running up behind him and his friends while they were biking down the marked bike lane on the Pacific Coast Highway in Corona Del Mar, a neighborhood in Newport Beach.
View this post on Instagram
The video shows the BMW driving fully in the bike lane, inching up to the cyclist behind, who eventually has to hop up onto the sidewalk to avoid getting struck. After that, the BMW comes up next to Fetzer before the passenger splashes a drink onto him and chucks the empty cup out the window before speeding off.
The clip immediately went viral, accumulating millions of views in just a couple of days. According to Fetzer, the interaction didn’t begin when the camera started rolling, but a few minutes before that. He published a follow-up video explaining the entire encounter, before and after the camera started rolling:
We’re riding single file, and we move right in towards the bike lane. At this intersection, the driver honked at us, swerves at us, and then the passenger rolls down his window, yells, slurs it at us, and then they get stopped at the following stoplight.
I was angry, adrenaline was pumping. These guys had just tried to kill us by swerving their car into us, and in the heat of the moment, I grabbed my water bottle and I squirted onto his car while he was stopped at the red light. When I did that, I had no idea that they were going to try to run us off the road. I pulled out my phone because I knew that there was gonna be some angry drivers, and I was filming for my own safety.
It’s at that moment you can see what the BMW driver and their passenger do in the video above. While Fetzer isn’t totally, 100-percent innocent in instigating the situation, I’d say the BMW driver took things a bit too far, especially when you hear what happened next.
View this post on Instagram
According to Fetzer, the BMW didn’t just speed off into the distance, never to be seen again. He and his friends actually stopped down the road to blockade the bikers and harass them further.
A few miles down the road, him and four buddies all stop on the side, waiting in line at the Shake Shack, a local burger joint. Cars will usually park and wait in the line at Shake Shack, blocking cyclists, which is fine. We move to the left, and we go around. But this time, these four individuals got out of their cars, ran into traffic, pushed into the two right lanes, blocked us, told us that they were going to kill us, and tried tackling us.
Well, that’s no fun. And Fetzer says it wasn’t just his crew that got stopped, either. Two other bikers who were totally uninvolved until this point were caught up in this:
It didn’t only do it to us. There were two other cyclists that weren’t involved with us at all who were also put in harm’s way by these guys. In shock, I stopped with these two two cyclists who were clearly already on the phone with the police, trying to get an officer to the scene.
Eventually, everyone went their separate ways, but the story doesn’t end there. In fact, it gets even weirder.
The Aftermath
After the video blew up on social media, Fetzer was interviewed by CBS News Los Angeles, where he shared messages he claims were sent from the BMW driver over Instagram DMs. If you don’t feel like or can’t watch the video embedded above, I’ve reprinted the messages here:
haha you’re a [redacted] dork, pro cyclist making 20$ an hour thinks it’s ok to spray gatorade at a $100k car, hope you enjoyed the soaking wet bike ride back home peasant ????
Hey bro let’s both sign waivers and meetup for a consensual Full MMA sparring session, let’s settle this like Men
if you have the [redacted]
Something tells me that the fight might have to wait. Yesterday, the Newport Beach Police Department released a statement saying it served a warrant in the nearby city of Corona and arrested an individual identified as Samir Weiss, charging them with assault with a deadly weapon. The police say they also seized a blue BMW M3 from the residence where the warrant was served, as evidence.
The investigation is ongoing, but Fetzer told The Canyon Carver in a Thursday interview that he’s happy with the outcome so far. “It’s good to know that he’s in Johnny Law’s hands now, and they’re going to throw the book at him, and we’ll just see where it goes from here,” he said.
If there’s any lesson to be gleaned from this, it’s to simply mind your own business and give people space to enjoy themselves, whether they’re on a bike, a motorcycle, a car, or a three-wheeled contraption that falls somewhere in between those. At best, you’re ruining someone’s day, and at worst, you end up in jail. Just share the road, people.
Top graphic images: sendy_mcgee on Instagram
This further confirms my opinion of BMW drivers. Oh sure, they’re not ALL like that. But far too many of them are.
Also if that cyclist and the guy in the BMW did get into a fight, my money would be on the cyclist as I believe the cyclist would have a much higher level of fitness. I predict it would play out something like this:
https://www.reddit.com/r/IdiotsInCars/comments/x9rzr5/impatient_driver_attacks_cyclist_and_gets_knocked/
They feel so big and tough inside their climate controlled vehicle compared to a cyclist. Then they get out and oh sh*t they remember they’re just a soft weak human, and they picked a fight with someone who actually exercises
That’s certainly possible, but I’m guessing the asshole wouldn’t have challenged him to an MMA bout if he didn’t have experience with that. Also, while cyclists have excellent cardio fitness, they tend to be pretty weak in terms of upper body strength. More muscle means more weight and that’s a bad thing for someone who will spend $600 to shave 5 grams off of a seat post Hopefully, Mr. BMW will get the chance to test his MMA skills in prison (although I doubt it).
“but I’m guessing the asshole wouldn’t have challenged him to an MMA bout if he didn’t have experience with that”
Unless the guy is a moron
I would take that bet.
Which side would you put your money on? The ‘moron’ side or the ‘has some MMA experience’ side?
I’m putting my money on the moron side. Unless your offering 5000:1 payout.
There is that.
This is why painted bike lane ‘infrastructure’ doesn’t get much use, only pathways seperated by concrete curbing feel safe enough for people other than hardcore bicycle enthusiasts to utilize.
Concrete separated bike lanes would keep that M3 out.
I hope that hothead goes to jail or at least loses his license. There is no excuse* for swerving a two ton chunk of metal and glass at a person wearing spandex and a plastic helmet. Doing so should disqualify you from ever operating a motor vehicle again.
Edit to add
*Assuming bicyclist didn’t randomly point a gun at someone. Obviously not the case here.
I’m sure there is way more to this story – other sources report the cyclists had an exchange with the driver of a Corvette as well. While the BMW driver is completely out of line and there is no excuse for his actions, some cyclists don’t understand that “share the road” goes both ways. I frequently ride my bicycle on the roads and do my best to not be an obstruction even if I have an equal right to the road.
Still, it is nice to see someone get arrested for road rage. I had an incident recently where a dickhead in an older Mercedes sedan tailgated me for 3 miles, gave me the finger, and threatened me, all because I wouldn’t go more than 38 mph in a 35 mph zone. This dickhead lives in my neighborhood and I regularly see him drive aggressively and road rage at other drivers. I can’t imagine how much of a pathetic individual he must be, and I’m glad I’m not him. Still, I would absolutely love to see him in the back of a police car someday.
“Share the Road” gets misinterpreted – it’s a sign directed at motorists to remind them that bikes have the same rights as them (i.e. can use the full lane). In that sense, it doesn’t “go both ways” – it’s a reminder for drivers of equal footing.
Unfortunately, it gets interpreted by motorists as “bikes should move aside and ‘share’ the exact same piece of road”. Your comment of not wanting to be an obstruction speaks to this. You aren’t an obstruction.
Many jurisdictions have now changed “Share the Road” signs to “Bikes May Use Full Lane” signs, which is what the initial intent was.
I don’t think we disagree much on this issue.
My complaint is with cyclists that take up an entire lane in situations where it is completely unnecessary. I think slower cyclists (like myself – I average 12-14 mph) have a responsibility to allow faster traffic to pass when it is safe, irrespective of what is legal. “Bikes may use full lane” is not the same as “Bikes must use full lane.” Unfortunately, a subset of cyclists use these signs and laws as a justification to obstruct traffic to prove a point. In these situations, these cyclists are being intentionally confrontational. This isn’t helping anyone.
Again, though, there is no justification for what the BMW driver did. I’m glad he got arrested. I wish that happened more often.
This.
I used to bike much more in the past then now for exercise and fun. As both a driver and a rider I have observed and encountered thoughtless self involved behavior of drives and riders. Drivers who do not move over more than a foot, if that, when passing bicyclists and there is plenty of room to move over, or just wait until there is room to pass. But, then there are the bicyclists who insist on riding the white line where they have a clear foot or so to move over to assist the passing vehicle. Even worse when they insist on being side by side to talk. And lets no forget into anyone riding or walking with earbuds. But such occurrences were relatively rare.
The reasons I bike much less, and only on back roads, are cell phones and touch screens. Watching so many vehicles weave back and forth, while slowing down and speeding up, for miles, in front of and behind me, or in the on coming lane, creates enough anxiety while I’m sitting in a car surrounded by airbags. I am surprised that the number of accidents are not greater.
I cycle quite a bit. With my kids too. I really dislike it when bicyclists disregard the rules of the road – i.e., rolling stop signs, ignoring traffic lights, etc.
To the “obstruction” issue. I get way out there so you can only pass if it is safe to do so, i.e., no oncoming traffic. Motorists always try to squeeze by if it is slightly plausible. It is not safe for anyone. Yes, I pull my bike over to let faster cars pass (just like I do all the time when I’m driving a car) when I can safely pull over. But you are not doing anyone any favors by riding in the gravel and glass and crap at the edge of the road so someone can squeeze by!
“This dickhead lives in my neighborhood and I regularly see him drive aggressively and road rage at other drivers. I can’t imagine how much of a pathetic individual he must be”
Hmm…
“pathetic /pə-thĕt′ĭk/
adjective
1) Arousing or deserving of sympathetic sadness and compassion.
2) Arousing or deserving of scornful pity.
3) Expressing or showing anger; passionate.”
I’m assuming you are going with #2 but even that seems too generous. I suggest “vile”:
vile /vīl/
adjective
1) Morally depraved; ignoble or wicked. “a vile traitor; vile accusations.”
2) Disgusting; repulsive. “vile effluent running down the city streets.”
3) Unpleasant or objectionable: synonym: offensive. “vile weather.”
This #2 seems particularly applicable.
I was mostly mostly going for definition 2, although “vile” accurately describes his behavior (I have also seen him honk at pedestrians in crosswalks and pass a stopped school bus where students were actively unloading in front of a school).
I think there is a component of definition 1 of “pathetic”, though. I don’t know what must be going on in this guy’s life to cause him to become enraged at trivial inconveniences. I can’t imagine that behavior comes from being happy or well-adjusted. Part of me wants to punch the guy in the face and part of me wants to find him a therapist.
It is probably bad when a guy whose username only semi-ironically includes the adjective “misanthropic” thinks someone else is poorly adjusted…
I would guess it’s a magic combination of undiagnosed mental illness, a cry for attention, unrecognized privilege and poor parenting. And perhaps excessive self medication.
“It is probably bad when a guy whose username unironically includes the adjective “misanthropic” describes someone as poorly adjusted…”
Well my username unironically includes the adjective “bastard” so…
Yeah, there are times where you kind of have to take a lane for safety, like I do so on a particular bridge with steel grating because, not only is it very narrow for passing cars, but the squiggly nature of tires on it makes it even more dangerous, so I take the whole lane for that 100′ or so, then I raise my hand in thanks and pull off to the side where the pavement returns. Technically, it’s a 15 or 20 mph zone, anyway, so by that standard, I’m not holding anyone up (of course, everyone actually drives faster than that).
How many stereotypes can this guy conform to?
-BMW
—BMW M
—-pignose BMW M
——MMA fan
Well, he’s in Orange County too – So add MAGA to that list.
Guessing he was listening to a manosphere podcast too
Remember BMW starts with a BM. I’LL let you figure out the meaning of this
No front license plate either (technically illegal in CA)
It’s just California man being California man. At least Florida man is amusing.
Inland Empire California man, specifically. They were visiting a richy rich area of Orange County from Corona, CA, a generally not nice area.
LOL. Had to read the article again. Thr incident took place in Corona del Mar (Newport Beach) but this douche is from Corona. “Del Mar” makes a world of difference.
I get riverside and san Bernardino counties are extremely not nice basically like a Youngstown situation probably with more meth. And most of orange is full of the clone plastic ladies paying $30 for salads. But it’s like saying boward county man was in dade county. It’s just Florida man. It’s just California man.
Nope, but your algorithm might be showing
Good. Justice is served.
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
This is why I rarely ride my road bike and most frequently take out my ACME rocket bike—nobody takes issue with it. I found that, not only do I not get microphallus behavior like from this stereotypical M car owner, but I don’t even get the once frequent “accidental” close calls I only suspected weren’t accidental until the total absence of them with the rocket bike proved their intent. While pathetic behavior like this BMW guy’s is unacceptable, part of the problem with road rage is that far too many road bikers are also entitled douches. Guilty by association, I blame them for the BS I’d get from drivers on my road bike even though I never ride in spandex or in groups and ride the same way I do on every other bike (that is, not like a typical roadie. I don’t block roads and I follow traffic rules, including actually stopping at lights and signs—I guess 5-figure plastic bikes don’t mean they can track stand). Honestly, I hate them more as a cyclist than a driver. Anyway, this guy should have his license revoked so that he has to ride a bike.
“I never ride in spandex”
No? Personally I hate riding in anything other than cycling clothes, either wool or spandex. I find street clothes uncomfortable, especially on hot days and lack proper support in critical areas. If my fashion makes others rage with jealousy at how amazing and fabulous I look then it sucks to be them.
I don’t like specialized clothing, the feel of anything clinging, or its association with roadies, and I suppose the look doesn’t go with any of the bikes I still ride. Even clipless pedals, I tried them briefly and liked them, but ended up removing them because of the tap dancing shoes. (I might have had a thing for dancers, but I never wanted to be one.) On really hot days, I kayak or do something else, usually in brief spurts as I’m not built for heat, which is why I haven’t moved to Central America to study and help sloths. Insects, too—I hate harassing insects—but it’s the heat and humidity that I find the most brutal. It’s not just that I’m prone to overheating, I actually find it rage inducing.
“I don’t like specialized clothing”
You know brands OTHER than Specialized make cycling clothing too. 😉
“its association with roadies, and I suppose the look doesn’t go with any of the bikes I still ride. ”
I ride unrestored, fully lugged (including the fork) cromoly 1980s vintage all terrain bikes with riser bars, bear trap pedals and no clip cages whatsoever. And yet I still look amazeballs in spandex.
To each their own though. If street clothes work for you, great. All I ask is that cycling clothing be given a fair shake on merit rather than on concern of what others might think and it sounds like you did.
When did they stop making bike jerseys out of wool?
I had a bunch of wool jerseys, they eventually wore out and I couldn’t find replacements. They were great.
I used to take pride in passing the roadie guys in prospect park on a bile with fenders and a basket.
The whole bike gear thing leaves me cold. It’s all about the feel for me, usually I can hold a bike in one hand and hit it with the other, and tell if I’ll like it.
Rivendell seems to have a lot of wool stuff but not actual jerseys. Personally I ride in baggy MTB shorts most of the time, because I’m comfortable and on my drop bar bike I’m subtly cocking a snook at the spandex and carbon fiber snobs.
I dunno. My wool jersey was bought used a few years ago on Ebay and by it’s technodiscotastic style I think it’s is from the late 70’s/early ’80’s. I bought it for L’Eroica.
(I do however know it’s real wool from the moth holes.)
Pinebury out of Maine makes great merino ones now. Young brand from the Rancourt shoe family. Highly recommend
The money I’d have to spend to wear it could pay for sloth speedways, medical care, and feeding.
I don’t know if it’s a neurodivergent thing or just how I am, but I’ve consistently found it difficult to explain that it’s not what others think about how I look, it’s about how I think I look. If it happens to coincide with outside opinion, so be it, but if it doesn’t, I don’t care. I also don’t compare myself to peers; care about competing; doing well on someone else’s scoring unless it’s a necessary evil to achieve a personal goal; or suffer from FOMO, YOLO, or Bolo ties. I don’t take pictures when I go places unless I see something really weird because I have a memory and don’t need to prove it to anyone (unless it’s something that might be useful in court or something so bizarre that nobody would otherwise believe the crazy story I had to tell). Regardless, there is nothing that’s going to make me like the feel of clinging clothing (maybe the ADHD, maybe just a preference). Similarly, I once wrote on a jury duty call form under “reasons you might not make a good juror” that I live by my own code. If it coincides with the law, so be it, but my default is to myself and that’s how I will rule as a juror. It’s been over 20 years and they haven’t asked me since. I’m sure it put me on some watch lists, but I was going to be on them anyway.
The association with entitled jerks terrorizing other people on bike paths and drawing the ire of drivers for everyone on bikes is also a huge negative. I don’t care if I lived in a Klan town, I wouldn’t go around wearing a cashmere sweater with a swastika on it no matter how comfortable it is—it’s tacit approval of and identifying myself as a member of a group I loathe.
I mainly ride a hot pink/yellow/turquoise ACME rocket bike based on a step through frame old hybrid, a USAAF tribute based on an even older hybrid, a complete custom cruiser based on a ’64 Spaceliner middleweight, and a ~1912 Iver Johnson truss frame Special Racer complete with wood wheels. All those except the IJ are upright bikes and I generally get bored riding much more than 20 miles.
“I don’t care if I lived in a Klan town, I wouldn’t go around wearing a cashmere sweater with a swastika on it no matter how comfortable it is—it’s tacit approval of and identifying myself as a member of a group I loathe”
You might if you visit India or much of Asia. There it’s still considered an ancient symbol of good luck and prosperity which is exactly why Hitler, with his artistic eye co-opted it in the first place. In those parts of the world the association of the swastika with Nazis is at most a footnote.
Wearing that sweater in Warsaw or Prauge I imagine will trigger a very different response.
“I mainly ride a hot pink/yellow/turquoise ACME rocket bike based on a step through frame old hybrid, a USAAF tribute based on an even older hybrid, a complete custom cruiser based on a ’64 Spaceliner middleweight, and a ~1912 Iver Johnson truss frame Special Racer complete with wood wheels. All those except the IJ are upright bikes and I generally get bored riding much more than 20 miles.”
Strictly from a point of fashion I agree street clothes do sound to be the best fit for those, especially since that is what they were designed for. Full enclosure chain guards are a feature I wish would make a comeback but are apparently a big ask for deraileurs.
I’m aware of the history of the swastika and even why it was appropriated, but that specificity of the symbol wasn’t the point.
Only one bike I have has so much as a chain guard and I don’t ride it because it’s way too small (’61 step-through Columbia Firebolt) and was designed for young women little more than half my weight and a foot shorter than me. I built it as a quick contest entry and to see if I could convert an old single speed cruiser to multispeed rear using (mostly) spare parts. So now it’s got an old 6-speed freewheel (and it shifts like absolute butter), but it only has a single rear brake, one of those add-a-disc-brake kits and, though it seems very solid and works better than the old coaster, there’s no easy way to add a front brake and I’m not spending any more money on it, so it sits around waiting for the perfect weirdo to donate it to who would want such a thing and would keep an eye on the mechanics and know what to do with it as I doubt any local shops would want to touch it (in this particular case, I wouldn’t blame them).
I can’t think of the name of it, but I use a wax for my chains and I love it. It does need to be reapplied more often than oil, but the chains stay so much cleaner that it’s almost incomparable. I can swipe my pants on the chain and it either leaves nothing behind or the light soiling actually comes out in the wash. With oil, I can barely get that stuff off of my skin with all the grit they pick up around here. That said, I imagine modern IGH or IGBB are much better than the old school IGHs that feel draggy and a fully enclosed chain guard would be a great idea for a commuter type bike so equipped. Probably make it less interesting to thieves, too.
Being a neurodivergent in this so-called “society” is a massive setback to ones’ life goals. The reigning institutions, laws, and systems in place to govern this so-called “society” are actively hostile to the existence of the neurodivergent population. This is a world built for the most sociopathic/psychopathic normies to succeed in, provided that they were born into privilege. If you’re outside of that subset, the deck is already stacked against you. There is next to no correlation between ones’ intelligence and/or virtues and whether they will thrive. Much of it purely depends on chance, regardless of whether you make “good” decisions, or “bad” decisions.
Throught my life, the “bad” choices I made generally never hurt me, yet the “good” choices were the ones I tended to regret the most. A majority of the negative consequences of decisions I made in life were imposed by other people, and not inherent to the decision itself. The times I’ve been messed with the most egregiously were when I was minding my own damned business not intending to bother anyone.
Such an experience is not conducive to fostering much trust in existing laws or social norms. And my experience probably isn’t all that rare or unique.
I agree. If anything, the divergence between capability and success, reality and billionaire fantasy, seems to be increasing at a greater rate.
When I was a kid, there was no ADHD, just me not applying myself. As an adult, I was told I have it, but I just thought, yeah, my mind wanders, and shrugged it off. I’ve only recently been finding out what it really entails and that I’m not nearly as unique as I thought with much of my peculiarities being related to it. The only big things about ND that most people with it seem to have experienced that I don’t identify with is that people never messed with me much and, thanks to a sociopathic father, I never trusted authority, so I didn’t have the self doubt most have, I just accepted that the world was created and controlled by shitbags and, though I’m aware of and consider cognitive biases, I can readily claim I’ve seen little evidence to the contrary. I also had PTSD and I think the way it manifested in instant bouts of rage against (sometimes only largely perceived) threats to others while being excited by any kind of threat to myself combined with lack of interest in most of the normal social things or in taking part in any kind of vice at all scared the shit out of people, including my father (when I got older). Being a guy driven largely by id, he couldn’t figure me out or understand me so that he could manipulate me, which scared him, and I made no attempt to help him with that, in fact, I played it up.
I think we would get along fine.
When I was on jury duty, one of the attorneys asked me what was a typical day on my job and I said that I had spent the last week and a half managing a group that included a phd from MIT, a lawyer, and a choreographer( who was also a programmer but her experience in dance was really useful), to design a worldwide system of forwarding email and determining who wrote or read what at what time. And then mentioned that the figuring out what time it was part had taken the last week and a half. Then I rattled off a bunch of edge case scenarios, of which there are hundreds.
They had me out of there so fast.
“a worldwide system of forwarding email and determining who wrote or read what at what time.”
Welcome to next level of spam.
Oh man I’ve gotten into the wools latterly and boy is that nice! Pinebury even has a merino bib which I’m extremely intrigued by
They’re very nice looking. At $250 though they’re a bit much for my budget. Cheap bastard ain’t just a handle here ;). But if you’re cool with the price go for it!
I got lucky and found a newish pair of Ibex Merino wool cycling pants on Ebay for IIRC $60. They keep me warm enough on even the coldest mornings (around here that’s a bit under 40F) without a liner and they’re good up to about 75-80F. I’d love a set of wool shorts but it’s a want, not a need so instead for warm I use my $8 spandex bib shorts.
BTW I keep all my wool gear folded up in a 2 gallon plastic ziplock bag when not in use for more than a couple of days. I get as much air out of it as I can, usually by sitting on it before sealing. That keeps the moths out.
I also treat every bit of wool containing clothing I own with a dusting of a 50/50 mix of borax and food grade diatomaceous earth lightly rubbed into the fibers after every wash. They are both powerful killers of all kinds of insects, yet are completely harmless to non insects. The look and feel of the clothing is unaffected. IMO they are much better than mothballs or cedar with no smell and an infinite shelf life. But of course those can add extra lines of defense if desired.
Between the two my wool stuff has stayed problem free for many years (aside from normal wear), despite months of uninterrupted warm weather storage.
True to your namesake.
I’m also cheap, but not 100% of the time. If there’s something I really want, and it happens to be expensive, if I have the cash to pay for it in full and it won’t take my budget off course, I’ll buy it. I spent $8,000 on that Milan SL velomobile, for instance. Aside from my college education, it is the single most expensive thing I’ve ever purchased, and very much a novelty.
It comes down to value for the money. You probably determined that the $250 spent did not give you adequate value for the hours of labor expended to obtain that $250.
Oh I’d spend that $250 but only:
1) as you say the value works out
2) there is no cheaper option
So I’d scour eBay and other used clothing sites during the off season first hoping to get lucky.
1) If you don’t want to be lumped in with the BMW driver stereotype, don’t contribute to the BMW driver stereotype.
1a) That’s a joke. Calm yourself, BMW drivers. If it doesn’t apply to you, cool. If it does, well. That’s on you.
2) That lane is for bikes. It doesn’t matter if the cyclist dumped spaghetti into your car, you don’t drive there.
3) Don’t challenge a cyclist to a fight. Those people get places by muscle power; they may not look like much but they have the fat content of a chicken wing and a power-to-weight ratio that will far exceed anything you expected. Engage at your peril. If you get a pair of handlebars to the face, you were warned.
4) You have no right to the road. Not any part of it. You are accorded the privilege to use the road when you sign your name on the license; this comes with the expectation of adhering to the rules. ALL the rules, that includes things like not driving in the bike lane (see above) and not swerving into other motorists as an act of intimidation or aggression. This is why, when you act like a dick on the road, the state retracts the permission to use the road because you have demonstrated an unwillingness or inability to share it as you promised you would – the promise you made when you signed the license.
This kind of shit makes me furious. I’m a wheeled enthusiast. Four cars and a half dozen bicycles. Why do people safe inside a car (or more often a truck) think it’s ok to intimidate, harass, and threaten other human beings that are on a bicycle? How is a bike rider ruining their day so badly? It makes no sense. Laws protecting bicyclists need to be far more severe than they are today.
“and a half dozen bicycles.”
Only half a dozen? Good on you. I had to stop myself at fourteen.
It’s been 50 years but I can attest that no one should fuck around with the Newport Beach cops…
They have seen some shit, and most are not what you would call patient, or forgiving.
I really was hoping to read that the bike guys had really beat the shit out of Mr. Samir.
OTOH I fully expect this saga is far from over…YMMV
They are constantly recruiting from other states now. Will come in to other states with a job fair style recruiting event. Absolutely wild. Cost of living and dealing with extremely entitled narcissistic idiots doesn’t pay enough. Probably can recruit some psychopaths other departments would like to see the back of. Should be some spectacular incidents coming.
When this clown sees a yellow sign with a silhouette of a bicycle or a farm tractor with the words “SHARE THE ROAD”, he automatically assumes it is directed at the bicyclists and farmers, not his self-absorbed ass.
So happy they took his car as evidence! Hopefully they suspend his license too. probably the only way he will learn this lesson. a night in jail probably would not have been enough
Suspended license isn’t nearly enough. He should never drive ever again for the rest of his worthless life. He has proven that he is entirely willing to murder someone with a car. His license should be permanently revoked and every car he owns should be seized with no compensation.
This asshole threatened to kill someone and took multiple practical steps towards doing so. He should never have access to anything more dangerous than plastic kindergarteners scissors.
I see incidents similar to this too frequently (albeit without the weird Instagram flexing. That BMW driver needs help and/or a swift kick to the groin). This drivers vs. bicyclist bullshit will never end in this country.
Drivers get pissed that bicyclists get their own lane that “they don’t pay for” and don’t follow the rules of the road.
Bicyclists get pissed because drivers are aggressive and don’t pay attention to their surroundings.
Chicago has bike lanes everywhere and they’re constantly adding more. I drive my car and ride my bike regularly. If more people would use both modes of transportation, these incidents would decrease significantly. When I drive my car, I drive knowing what I would want to see as a bicyclist. When I ride my bike, I try to be predictable and clear because that’s what I would want to see as a driver.
Drivers need to watch for cyclists and should be grateful that a bicycle is one less car on the road. Bicyclists need to stop blatantly disregarding traffic laws and making drivers angry. Above all, everyone needs to be aware that in an accident, the bicyclist always loses and that’s why I wear a GoPro on my helmet.
+1 for the kick to the nutsack idea…
Yes.
Same with:
Motorcycles
Big Rigs
Trailers
Tiny cars
Campers
A tiny bit of time behind the wheel of these various vehicles and I find myself working ever so much harder to always be super predictable, leave lots of space, etc., knowing what other drivers are experiencing in these other vehicles.
JFC, things like this show why we can’t get along.
My money is on the cyclist and not the driver if they do an MMA fight. We know for certain that the biker dude works out constantly.
Bingo!
Slow news day?
actually I was super happy to see this. I saw the video last night on insta and was left wondering/hoping the dude would be arrested.
Just go over to Old Site…
I can’t, I could cook a ramen with how hot my phone gets after one article.
I did, and holy crap it’s comparatively much less traffic/comments than here.
Torch and David made a very intelligent(also necessary) decision, IMO. I hope they can build an empire from it, as they deserve nothing less, but the way the economy is going, they’ll be very fortunate just to stay afloat, even if their business ends up being the biggest name in auto journalism(assuming they aren’t already).
How the old titans have fallen… I once eagerly awaited each new edition of C/D and R&T. The Old Site is an AI generated ghost.
Enshittification is what destroyed them. The Autopian thrives because it avoids that pitfall. Value for the money is high. It’s why I pay them.
It’s unfortunate that most industries have a lot more cost overhead and regulations, otherwise high-quality competition would be able to enter the market and compete.
The auto industry itself is rife with enshittification, ESPECIALLY modern EVs. EVs are simple things that if built correctly have few failure points and very low operating cost, yet the industry managed to turn them into expensive mistakes designed to drain the wallets of the buyers and fill up a landfill when it gets too expensive to fix. And because the auto industry has a captive market where the buyer has almost no choices outside of the paradigm the industry has created, they can rake in the profits while times are good, then seek taxpayer funded bailouts when it blows up in their faces. 96 month payment plans are now “normal”. What a racket.
With today’s technology, sub-$25,000 long-range EVs and 80+ mpg cars, both of which are designed to the mechanical and longevity standards of at least a Mercedes 240D and which are easily repaired, should be the norm. But that doesn’t exist in the USA.
But how will it make any money? Line must always go up to the right. As a 25+ yr industrial maintenance/mechanical engineer I have no answer. The needs of Wall Street and the actual consumer are opposed.
The “needs” of Wall Street? More like the wants of people so wealthy they don’t have to work while affording multiple mansions, private jets, yachts, and garages full of supercars each so expensive that an average person could spend a lifetime working and never earn enough money to purchase a single one.
Throw their asses under the bus, and good riddance. We don’t have a backup planet Earth. Once the resources are gone, they’re gone. I’d rather that future generations have transportation and other advancements that most currently take for granted, than for the current wealthy elite to rape and squander the entire planet while shifting the blame to the consumers.
Some men just want to watch the world burn. I fear we are well past due for a rude awakening.
There are reasons why my newest car is a 12 yr old Toyota hybrid. These were among the last cars actually built to last forever. Mine has enough miles to get to the Moon and begin the return trip.
Sadly we live in a disposable society.
I’d like to apologize on behalf of the residents of Corona, California. We’re not all like that toolbag.
We know. Any bets on how this guy voted?
I bet he didn’t
This country would be so much better off if all the folks like him stayed home on Election Day
Samir is too cool in his BMW to vote, that’s peasant stuff.
Oh no, water got on your car. Whatever shall we do?
I’m melting, I’m melting!!!
Not defending the bike rider, but a justifiable gut reaction.
If he’s worried about getting water on his precious car, then he’s gonna love the impound yard.
Pittsburgh has been adding a LOT of bike lanes, both downtown and in other neighborhoods in recent years. There has been some loss of street parking (an issue in ANY city), but it is arguably making driving BETTER. Some old traffic patterns are being rerouted, and I actually think flow is better. TBH, maybe more limited flow one-way streets with nose-in parking and a bike lane is actually BETTER for communities.
Here in Idaho, Ada County was doing a lot to improve the biking and driving experiences, then the state decided that it wasn’t okay for highway districts to spend on bike lanes or pedestrian paths, so all progress on that front had to stop. So we have this weird situation where there are bike lanes for certain stretches, but they end in inconvenient places and bicyclists have to decide whether to ride on sidewalks or in traffic.
And, unsurprisingly, a large portion of the people who get mad about bike lanes also get mad when they have to share car lanes with bicyclists.
Jesus. Do I go into the turn signal bit or the “difference between BMWs and porcupines” bit or the tire pressure bit or one of the other million jokes about stereotypical BMW M-car driver behaviors? The fact that this jag jumped straight to “I’ll MMA fight ya, bruh” is enough of a joke for today, I think.
This is one of the reasons why I often carry weapons in my velomobiles or when on my bike. If anyone decides to treat me in a similar manner, they have an opportunity to FAFO. I’ve learned early in life that you don’t have to go looking for trouble, since it will seek you out instead. Best be ready to address it when it finds you.
That said, the motorcycle disguised as a mountain bike attracts greatly more hostility than the velomobiles. The velos look like something that will damage their car if they hit them. The mountainbike greatly more often gets run off the road.
I bet if we could get to 5% open carry cyclists the road manners dynamic would balance out very quickly. The saner, more effective and much less likely “all drivers must also cycle and motorcycle to get some effing perspective is clearly impossible.
I have Mr. Spikeball, Stabby McStabster(a knife that quickly opens with a lever force applied), Emotional Support Flamethrower, and Master Blaster(.45 Glock), all at the ready for any given situation that may arise, intended to be used as circumstances dictate.
Here’s Mr. Spikeball:
https://i.imgur.com/ApK0wS0.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/2V8ayMa.jpg
None of them come out unless I’m intent on using them, and if it gets to that point, it’s too late for the would-be assailant.
I follow the non-aggression principle. But if I have to defend myself, I’m not going to hesitate to do so with whatever implement available which is most effective for the immediate circumstances at hand. I live in the hood and when seconds count, the police are always minutes(hours) away(and IMO, can’t be trusted anyhow given that they are generally worse predators than the local gang-bangers).
Moral of the story: be careful who you fuck around with, or you might find out(the hard way).
I’m fortunate to live in a Constitutional Carry State. Really, that SHOULD be ALL of the USA, but the biased power-hungry court system doesn’t see things that way.
Kind of garbage content. Haven’t heard about the WWII Jeep lately
boo. this is good content.
Also boo.