"Oh, you're a sensitive mother, huh?"

It's in between storms here in Wisconsin at the of April, and with the uncommonly good weather (70c) I decided I would go for a ride. I made sure to tell her not to put the kids to bed before I got back. Besides, I had just received a part for my BMW s1000r supernaked motorcycle all the way from England, and I needed to mount the beast for a third and final time today, in between storms.

I hopped on and fired it up, the new exhaust making her her scream unlike I've ever heard before, save for two times today prior. I'll stay off the highways, my mind murmuring to itself. It's getting dark and the Wisco-drunks like to come out early so they can run home as if they were never at the bar that day, their teenage children learning life's most important lessons on their own.

I left with a right-handed turn out of the driveway, leaning into the first turn and still glistening from the new engine note being stroked out of the new tailpipe. This new part was worth the hundred for such a pleasurable audio experience.

First light. The air is moist in between the rains, and the breeze perfectly cools my body to a near-balance above the quickly-rising engine heat below me. It's an amazing balance that would be thrown off at highway speeds. Good choice to stick in town. Green light.

The cars in the oncoming lane make their way through, with one turning right, which I wait for. It passes through the intersection and like a choreographed dance, I'm already letting off the clutch to engage the drive motion. The car makes the turn but just then...



A MASSIVE Ford F-350 Extended Cab/Bed pulls out from the opposite garage, adjacent to the intersection and just now one exceedingly closing lane from my position, still attempting to make the left-handed turn. Damn, he doesn't see me.

Braking hard mid-turn, a classic no-no, but still very much reasonable considering this is only my 8th month of riding ever, nearing 40 years old, it turned out rather well, for me. I don't think mad man was feeling the same about the outcome. Nope, I think to myself, as he floors the truck's pedal and sends the 3 ton torque machine hurtling forward, passing the lady who I just waited on in the beginning of my turn and nearly hitting her.

I passed the car on the right, now in the right lane, following the mad trucker at snails pace. He brakes and then floors it again, now changing lanes and pulling in front of the lady driver who is by now terrified. I've had enough of this.

I accelerate next to him, and throw up my left hand. What the hell are you doing, I scream so the motorist could hear me. Bad move.

The trucker begins to lane check me. He gradually starts moving his truck over into my lane. I look down to asses how close he was because often really large trucks in this area will have bits and things hanging off the sides. Yeah, don't look down when you're riding a motorcycle. My estimate is he was around 8-12" from hitting my bike, with about 1ft of road left before the curb. Mother#er, I yell loudly, my temperature rising and heart rate increasing steadily. I just can't learn my lesson, can I?

This next time, well, I'm just happy to be writing this honestly. Things could've turned out differently. This next lane check did it. He moves over hard and fast this time, squeezing my exit window at a rapid pace. Thank God I bought a fast ass motorcycle. I twist the wrist and gun it. My front tire gently hovering the worn, Detroit-quality road. My rear wheel takes the shift of weight and digs in hard. The bike escapes the danger with nary an inch to spare, my rocket accelerating to near 100mph in the span of less than 100ft. I'm not sticking around for this guy. Happy to escape with my life and a quartermile ahead, I squeeze the front brake hard, coming to a fast stop where I kick down the kickstand, killing the bike. I hit the hazards promptly and get off the bike, reaching for the phone at the same time. I want this guys' plates. He's getting a call.

Happy to have saved my life one moment, now empowered with the idea of getting retribution and justice, served up, I take quick note of his license plates. Wisconsin Plate Number *****. He stops quickly, the four massive brakes bring the large vehicle to a surprisingly quick stop. He rolls down the window. Early 50's, monstrous in size. He might've laid this road +35 years ago. Still, his age showing.

What the hell are you doing? Trying to get someone killed? No, he said, I don't know what the # you're talking about, playing stupid. Bull#, I tell him, you lane checked me two times! Oh, you're a sensitive mother*&^%#, huh, he asked. But now I've got your plates. Great, he exclaims. Make sure you get both of them! I tell him I'm going to call the police and he drives away, extolling obscenities behind him through his rear window.

I follow through with my threat. I dial dispatch with shaky hands and a woman answers, her voice calming me ever so slightly. I explain in a hurried voice the events which just took place. Punctuality on display, a patrol comes by just then, and I tell dispatch I'll handle it. A young, very pretty officer steps out. I begin again to tell my tale, finishing it with an amazing-feeling recital of the mans license plates. She hears me well, and tells me she's going to cite him for reckless driving. She tells me to be careful, and I tell her I'm going home to put the five kids in bed. She hands me a card and I get the bike out of the busy intersection right-turn lane, shutting off the hazards.

Taking the short drive home, I quickly start to drain. It was an emotional experience and during my fear and hate, I forgot how scared I was. It hits me. Thank God for the cool breeze which quickly dries my eyes and the single drop which started to form. Rage returns. Pulling in I call the wife down via cell from the upper floor and explain the moment. We put the kids to bed and I decided after a smoke to write this blog.

I get about halfway through the first three paragraphs and the phone rings. It's the officer. She found him and had a talk with the gentleman, re-affirming me of my short-term faculties when I recounted the numbers to the officer just under an hour ago. But wait, somethings wrong. She's crying. She's crying? She proceeds to explain to me that the man was an asshole, and she wrote him a ticket for reckless driving. But then her chief called ten minutes later, 10, and had the ticket pulled.

I tell her this obviously sounds like someone I don't want to mess with. I explain I'm going to attach a camera to my helmet and directly file suit should something like this happen again.

Am I wimping out? Should I let the power structure be? Local boys can ruin you.

Your thoughts, ATS?

70 degrees C in Wisconsin in April? Wow, never even got the sauna that hot.

I guess the driver had some connections. Seems like those kind of things happen once in a while.

You have only been riding for 8 months not consecutive months I take it????? and you decide to get brave and try to take on an auto????????????

Take a defensive riding class and after that take an advanced motorcycle riding class.

Think about your wife and kids.

15 years riding experience before some idiot changed that, it only takes a split second for your life to change.



Ride safe my friend.

a reply to: Tempter

I think you handled a messy and dangerous situation as well as it could have been handled. I'm glad you are okay and can continue your life with your family. I understand the emotional stress. I too have been in situations where i first felt an emotion which was later on replaced by a different emotion caused by the same spark. Like you with anger and hate -> scared.

Get your CCW up to date and get the similar body cams LE uses. They run anywhere between $250 and $300 and are well the cost.

Maybe develop a rapport with the officer you spoke with and ask if she thinks there might be some retaliation against you for being a good citizen.

You have his plate number so you can easily do some background research yourself on the trucker and find out all you need for $19.99 online. Having all the information you can access will help you determine the best protective actions you may need to take. Just to be on the safe side.

a reply to: rickymouse
It is possible the culprit has zero connections to the authorities. I say this because what technically happened is an officer wrote a citation with zero evidence and without having actually witnessed the violation. This does not mean I am dismissing the op's recollection of events at all. I am just thinking, legally speaking, the moment he contests this it would get tossed out in traffic court. He probably called the non emergency line to issue a complaint after getting the name of the issuing officers supervisor. The fact that she was crying over a dismissed citation and a mean offender means she was also likely brand new.

She probably just got chewed out about not simply taking someone's word for

originally posted by: worldstarcountry
I just give people the bird, and get on with my day. You should find out his address and shoot up his truck in the night. Or perhaps a Molotov. Am I allowed to recommend these things if I end it with j/k???
If you cross paths again, maybe slow down in front of him intentionally. Or, theres nothing wrong with an old fashioned road rage scuffle. Let off some steam pounding flesh with your fist, its always a great stress release in my experience.

Nah, I can fantasize more deeply about the pain I'd inflict him than I'd ever have to courage to. I know I'd go away for some time and prison scares me more than fighting.

originally posted by: thesaneone
You have only been riding for 8 months not consecutive months I take it????? and you decide to get brave and try to take on an auto????????????

Take a defensive riding class and after that take an advanced motorcycle riding class.

Think about your wife and kids.

15 years riding experience before some idiot changed that, it only takes a split second for your life to change.



Ride safe my friend.

Took the MSF last March, during freezing rain all three days. It was my first time ever riding a motorcycle.

I'm on my fourth bike since and have put on about 30k total. It's a passion for me now. I bought a truck and traded in a modded mustang gt so I can tow the bike to the track this summer.

a reply to: worldstarcountry

Yeah, you are probably right. The officer should have filed the complaint and put an official watch out for the driver.

a reply to: Tempter
Dude, a mere street fight leads to nothing more than probation or my preference, thirty days in jail or so. I know it sounds crazy, but id rather do thirty behind bars than six to eighteen months of probation. But then again, we get the option to do our time on weekends in this county as strange as that may sound. I was able to continue working and do my normal weekly stuff. Go in Friday by five pm, be out Sunday before four pm, and still get three days credit. Is Florida weird or what?


But as I said in my follow up to Rick, I doubt he has any connections. It was just an easy dismissal due to a rookie officer who technically IMO had no grounds to actually write a ticket that would have been tossed out of traffic court in less than two minutes, and the supervisor saw it the same way.


You ever go to traffic court??? Its very very crowded every single day. Easy dismissals just take up valuable time and resources. It is likely the only reason the citation had to be revoked.

originally posted by: worldstarcountry
a reply to: Tempter
Dude, a mere street fight leads to nothing more than probation or my preference, thirty days in jail or so. I know it sounds crazy, but id rather do thirty behind bars than six to eighteen months of probation. But then again, we get the option to do our time on weekends in this county as strange as that may sound. I was able to continue working and do my normal weekly stuff. Go in Friday by five pm, be out Sunday before four pm, and still get three days credit. Is Florida weird or what?


But as I said in my follow up to Rick, I doubt he has any connections. It was just an easy dismissal due to a rookie officer who technically IMO had no grounds to actually write a ticket that would have been tossed out of traffic court in less than two minutes, and the supervisor saw it the same way.


You ever go to traffic court??? Its very very crowded every single day. Easy dismissals just take up valuable time and resources. It is likely the only reason the citation had to be revoked.

Sounds plausible. I guess nothing will come of it. But yeah, I don't even wear tattoos. I'm very prissy. Jail? Ewww. Besides, the last time I punched someone I broke his face and NOTHING came of it. My luck would come back to bite me.

originally posted by: Outlier13
Get your CCW up to date and get the similar body cams LE uses. They run anywhere between $250 and $300 and are well the cost.

Maybe develop a rapport with the officer you spoke with and ask if she thinks there might be some retaliation against you for being a good citizen.

You have his plate number so you can easily do some background research yourself on the trucker and find out all you need for $19.99 online. Having all the information you can access will help you determine the best protective actions you may need to take. Just to be on the safe side.

I'm definitely going to look for a mount on the bike after next paycheck. I hate bulky things hanging off when I ride. I hate backpacks even when I'm trying to concentrate on pulling a great turn.

Every day, all day long, dealing with aggressive drivers driving my car.

I ave several times called 911 when a deranged aggressive and scary driver has driven me off the road-also had motorcyclists weaving in and out in crazy traffic.

You can complain all day long by cell phone with plate tag numbers-nothing gets done, ever.

It makes me mad, furious, scared-but where I live they have guns hanging inside those trucks and they arn't afraid to use them so I would never let my temper approach these crazies.

Our reality can sometimes be a Mad Max movie-just try to be safe and get away-don't run to-danger. You were lucky.

I've been riding about 4 years now after a very long hiatus. Also a BMW guy. I would have an s1000xr but I won't really get to ride it like deserves. As such, I will be trading in my BMW C600 for a Triumph Bobber in a few weeks.

Riding has made me a better driver. It has also made me more aware of how bad people drive. I also know that no matter how in the right I may be or whatever the laws of the road say, when you are on a motorcycle, the laws of physics are not on your side. You will never when an argument with a cager while you are on a bike. All you can do is curse under your breath and keep enjoying the ride.

Ironically for me, the reason I enjoy riding so much I think is because of the inherent danger of riding in a big city like Chicago. It requires some serious focus and because of it I find it to be relaxing as it clears my mind. I get so focused on riding and avoiding azzhats driving that I don't have any capacity left to think about work and life's other problems. It is just me and the road. No phone. No radio. No email. Just the wind and the sensation of low level flying.

a reply to: Tempter

Those damn liberals are ruining this country.

One minute of anger isn't worth an eternal moment of silence.

I have a short story. I would make a thread but it's only short.

My neighbor and I were on the road. A guy in a truck pulls behind us. This guy was tailgating us. There was about 2, maybe 3 cars in front. He eventually passes us, then passes the car that in front of us.

Here is the funny part. My neighbor veered off to check if he could pass, but a car was coming so he veered back. The guy who passed us, saw us taunting him (we weren't try to) and he decided to pass the car in front of him. Without checking the opposite lane for the car, he nearly crashes head on. The car on the opposite lane literally moved off the road as to not crash.

After that, I assume the guy in the truck was scared also and didn't pass the cars in front of him for a while.


Topic: it's not worth your life for a small road rage.

a reply to: Tempter

Find out where he lives and paralyze him while he sleeps
Revenge is sweet

a reply to: Tempter

I couldn't decide if you were writing a drama story or one about a bad driver. A biker should NEVER attempt any sort of maneuver against a multi-ton vehicle just to show your disdain or who you really think is boss. You will lose every time. Only 8 months behind the forks? Evidently, not long enough yet.

In most places in the US, you can't "phone in" a complaint to get a ticket issued to another driver on your word of the affair. No wonder the ticket was pulled.

originally posted by: Aliensun
a reply to: Tempter

I couldn't decide if you were writing a drama story or one about a bad driver. A biker should NEVER attempt any sort of maneuver against a multi-ton vehicle just to show your disdain or who you really think is boss. You will lose every time. Only 8 months behind the forks? Evidently, not long enough yet.

In most places in the US, you can't "phone in" a complaint to get a ticket issued to another driver on your word of the affair. No wonder the ticket was pulled.

But the phone in was irrelevant, as a cop almost immediately showed up on scene, which that trucker fled.