Caught!

How awful for you and how great that you called 911 and didn't allow yourself to be victimized. This one had a positive ending. Good job.

I would have been scared to death, but you should be proud that you helped catch these morons.
DH was just saying that it has been years since he has had anything thrown at him. This used to happen routinely about 10-12 years ago, especially when he was riding with DS. It was always a guy in a pickup, throwing a beer bottle, calling them homophobic slurs.

I also am so impressed by the police, especially since in hindsight, they must have turned. If they had continued straight, I would have seen them get stopped. So, quick thinking by the cops, for knowing they were getting on a different road. There is a great police presence on that road. I pass one most evenings. Yes, Roxy, this is my regular route. I park my car at a park and ride lot, since the bridges are non-cycling, I have to drive part way to work.

I rode yesterday, and felt really good. No residual anxiety or fear. This was actually really empowering for me. It confirmed calling 911 is valid for this kind of offense. We all know it is, but I suspect a lot of police may think it's not, so I wouldn't be surprised by police not taking quick action. I just happened to be in the right town. They took it very seriously.

Crankin, they were from your state. Most of the incidents I've had have been with out of state cars. I think it's partly because we're an easy drive to nice beaches, so we get a lot of young groups in cars, and it's that group dynamic at work, as well as alcohol.

You are so brave!!!
What a woman!

It really sucks that this happened, but you totally did the right thing...

And you made my day by posting it for us to read. Thanks!

Sorry to hear the azzholes, were, well, Mazzholes.

I just followed up with the police. They were held overnight and booked. One kid was charged with throwing stuff at me, and using a stolen credit card, which are misdemeanors (I'm kind of surprised using a stolen credit card is a misdemeanor). Another kid was charged with possession of stolen property, which is a felony. I may be called to testify. I'll do my best! Probably, this will never go to trial, as in cases like this, they usually just take a plea deal, but I'll be there if they need me.

Good for you!! And I would do the same if it had happened to me. It's bad enough to be harassed while riding, screamed at, had my butt slapped, cat calls. They need to spend some time in the pokey!!

We all know about way too many cyclists getting killed with no charges filed, so it's kind of ironic, isn't it? So, yeah, I'm going to see this through! Even though it's "just" a misdemeanor, it has significant meaning to me.

I wonder how that night in jail went? I imagine the kid who got the felony, the one who didn't throw the stuff, was not happy with the one who did.

Red, you rock! Glad you stayed safe and are ok.

The easiest thing to do would have been to let it go and hope they didn't come back. Your actions not only stopped them from doing something else to you, but also brought justice and safety to others. SuperRed!!

Now, when I next have my encounter I'm going to have to think, how would RedRhodie handle this? I will get an image of a determined woman (face nicely framed by 2 braids) leaning forward on her bike, pedaling hard, her superbicyclist cape flowing behind her (of course it convinently does not get tangled in her wheel or anything)... and take action. Smartly of course. That is part of the standard you set. Brave and smart, only on TE ;)

Heard from the police today. The adjudication for the guy who threw the stuff was yesterday. He pled "nolo" to the charges, and got 20 hours community service, and has to pay restitution for the credit card use. He also has some other thing that's like a step below probation, I forget what it's called, but basically it means if he commits any other crimes in the next year, this comes up on his record and makes the charges worse.

His buddy hasn't gone to court yet.

I hope his community service is sweeping the bike lane. That would be perfect.

ETA: I'm really satisfied with this sentence. I think it's appropriate for what he did, considering I didn't get hurt. That he spent a night in prison, gravy!

pre-trial diversion

Good, thanks for the update

How about mandatory vasectomies for all involved so they won't spread their cr@ppy attitudes around. (I am being very sarcastic here and don't mean to offend).