I originally thought this was going to be a silly,
humorous post, but as I write it, the more it is taking on the form of a public
service announcement or warning.
Many of the people I see every day in my commute get
nicknames. I don’t know them and often
never talk to them, but I still give them some descriptive name. One of the most colorful is F&*#
Man. No matter how much you warn him
that you’re passing on his left, he yells “F&*% Man!” really loud. He doesn’t do it every time, but remarkably
often. I see him 3-4 days per week and
he drops the F-bomb every other week or so.
I never descend to that level with him.
I keep my tone happy and wish him a nice evening as I pass by. This
has gone on for the last 2-3 years. At
one point last year he seemed to mellow for a few weeks and even gave me a few
head nods of recognition as I rode past.
That didn’t last.
He appears to be a normal guy. Obviously he’s an avid runner. He’s a
clean-cut, Asian guy with great taste in workout clothes, very good running
form and an impressive fitness level. The
huge chip on his shoulder may be justified, but he’s got more fury for people
who politely pass him than I’ve ever seen.
Last night he went particularly ballistic on me.
Me: “Passing on your left. Have a good evening!”
F-Man: “Bleep! Bleepity bleep bleep. Who the bleep are
you bleeping talking to?”
The exchange didn’t last long… a few seconds… but it was
delivered with an amazing amount of anger.
His whole body was used in the delivery of these words. I had to stop and talk to the dude. I slowed up and rode next to him for 15
seconds. I don’t remember my exact
words, but they were something to this effect:
“Sorry that my words and actions offended you. They sincerely were not intended to. I was just trying to politely warn you that I
was passing so that I didn’t startle you.
Since I see you almost every day, I was trying to be nice. I am not going to return your words in
kind. It isn’t how I live. I may try different things to politely let
you know I’m passing in the future though.
I hope you have a good night.”
Through this whole thing he’s kinda muttering under his
breath, but he didn’t actually say anything.
He didn’t pull a gun or shoot me.
I’d suggest people be careful around this guy. Though he’s never done anything violent
toward other trail users that I’ve seen, I have to say that the fury with which
he delivers his obscenities gives me pause.
I originally wrote a pretty detailed description of him,
but decided to leave that out. I thought that might provoke something if by
chance he read this. I honestly don’t
want to anger him anymore. Quite the
opposite, I’d love it if he calmed down.
I don’t know what causes his behavior. He may have had some run-ins with rude
cyclists in the past, like many of us have.
Like I said, he may be completely justified in being angry. I just thought I’d let y’all know that he’s
out there and may be a ticking bomb.
Have a good afternoon.
Enjoy the lovely January weather.
Love,
Pete
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