Too often, when you see citizen-on-citizen confrontations like this one, someone is so in the wrong that you can't help but be frustrated to the point of anger. This guy tries to take the high road, somewhat literally, by leaving, but this batty lady body-blocks him like she's stopping a serious crime.
He says he has a medical condition which forces him to zip around on the bike path, and that it's legal per state law, but she "knows what her rights are" and that makes her Batman in this scenario, in her mind. It's a pretty wild scene, which you can see unfold in the video below.
On top of providing the footage of the incident, the electric bike rider also gave this lengthy YouTube description breaking down everything that happened.
I was riding my legal ebike in a busy area during rush hour when I saw a bike path I hadn't tried before. Thinking it would be fun, relaxing, and safe, I proceeded politely and at normal bike speeds down the empty path.
At the end of the path I saw a woman and a dog. She had her arms stretched across the path like the landing pose of a jumping jack.
I stopped well short of her, and she approached me to tell me I was damaging the path she paid a lot of money for. Even after I told her I was legal, she continued to be aggressive. So, I started the camera and explained the law, expecting to de-escalate the situation. She still physically assaulted me by walking into me and pushing me when I would try to leave or go around.
Then, when I tried to back up and go the other way, she swings around and holds on to me. I felt trapped and I wanted to get away. I didn't want to hurt her, so I gave her a big shove and rode away as fast as I could. A motorcycle rider saw the whole thing and gave me that 'knowing look' as I rode past.
I have minor injuries but no damage to the bike. Both my legs are scraped and bruised. I pulled something in my shoulder pushing her away.
I had both a knife and a gun. This lady did the most stupid thing you could do, and she was lucky I'm a sane person and know the meaning of 'reasonable force.'
If you think someone is doing something illegal, call the police, don't confront them.
I'm buying a can of bear mace.
Wow. Well, at least he managed to get away before this lady really snapped. I wouldn't want to see her when she's angry.
This post was originally published on August 5, 2016.