Weird Men!!!

[grey]

I live in a small town. I'm not native here, I moved here four years ago. This area is one of the best-kept secrets for cycling, I think. But people here are not used to seeing bikes, so you have to be super careful on the road, seeing as they hardly know the regular road rules let alone how to deal with a cyclist. Further, it being a small town, I have a hard time trying to decide if someone is being small-town friendly or is a creep. I just have to trust my gut.

I have a bike with panniers I call my grocery getter. After getting this week's supply of fresh produce from the market this afternoon, I was riding back home and noticed one of the bags was rubbing the spokes a little, so I stopped at a corner and was making a few adjustments when this guy in a big white pickup stops, and at first all I heard sounded like "need a ride?" I said no, thank you - but I am getting the creepy vibe, you know?

What follows was a nearly one-sided conversation as I try to CLEARLY send the "get lost" message as I shift things around, and he tells me he rides a mountain bike, do I ride mountain? No? So do I ride from work and back? No? Road? Do you race? Oh. I ride mountain bikes...

All the while I'm thinking "Dude, if you were a loose dog, I would have pepper sprayed you by now."

I swing back into the saddle and say "well, have a nice day," and take off in the opposite direction, and watch my back the whole way home.

This is the second time in a few months I've had some weirdo try to talk to me. Last time I clearly had my cell phone in my hand when I saw the guy a block later - he had gone around, I can only guess to figure out where I was going.

I don't dress provocatively. I was in capris and a t-shirt today. So what the heck?