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Late yesterday evening, I was riding westbound on E Main St. in Hillsboro, in the area reserved for cyclists. In the distance, behind me, I heard a car with a noisy exhaust revving its engine, followed by a loud POP! I thought that the sound I had heard was that of the engine misfiring.
A short while later, the noisy car caught up to me and slowed down abruptly. I thought that the driver wanted to make a right, so I sped up to get out of the way. Just then, a burning object that looked like a cigarette or cigar came flying out of the passenger’s side window. This object hit the bicycle lane and went POP!! The car then sped away like a bat out of Hell.
If that firecracker had hit a cyclist or pedestrian, that person could have been seriously injured. Even if the firecracker startled a cyclist enough to cause him or her to fall, that might have resulted in a trip to the hospital. How can any stunad out there think that these types of pranks are funny?
Not sure if it’s really “cyclist-hating” per se, maybe more likely a combination of
(a). school’s out.
(b). the kids are bored.
(c). the weather’s nice.
(d). and there’s fireworks abounding.Did you get the license plate or a good description you could give to the police or sheriff?
Yeah, it’s disconcerting and dangerous, but to put it off on just being ‘anti-bicycle’ might be a stretch.
Glad you’re OK.
I could not get the license plate number. They sped away very quickly and (in my recollection), the lights above the license plate weren’t working.
Alfredo, this can go both ways, as I am sure you are aware.
I shared this years ago, but when I lived in Eugene (uh oh), in the late 90’s, and came out of a small shopping lot (west Eugene, perhaps part of the story), and crossed the sidewalk to wait for a right turn. Biker came up on said sidewalk while I was waiting and actually made contact with my car then proceeded to flip me off and said he had the “right of way”. Militant Eugene bikers driving on the sidewalk! Perhaps I am missing some deep Oregon law that allows bicycles on sidewalks, but I will always remember this and to this day is my image of Oregon.
Paul, it is dependent on location…
“Eugene
ยง 5.400 Operating Rules. (1) No person may
ride a bicycle on a sidewalk in that area bounded by the outer
limits of Charnelton Street on the west, 6th Avenue on the
north, Pearl Street on the east, and 11th Avenue on the south.
Violation Not to Exceed $50.00”The cyclist was beyond very rude, but *may* have been operating legally on that particular sidewalk.
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