What would you have done--creepy follower (long)

[AnnieBikes]

Skinimini, I think you reacted perfectly. There is a book called The Gift of Fear

http://www.amazon.com/Gift-Fear-Surv...5080914&sr=8-1

which DH made me read and although it is scary in some parts, it is right on for this kind of incident. You felt threatened and scared and you reacted VERY WELL and very normally. I think under the circumstances that you did exactly what you should.

I am wondering if just using the cell so that the person knows you are calling someone would be enough to get them off your route. Also, if possible (and safely) take a photo of the car and perhaps that would scare them away. Even if you can't get to the camera part of the phone easily, you could LOOK like you were taking one.

This is a great thread and as one who also rides alone on a regular basis(but hopefully less now that DH is retired), I now have some very good ideas of what to do. Thanks to all for the good suggestions.

Act confident, ladies, and read the book!

[skinimini]

This is such great advice for all of us, and advice I've already taken to heart. I've programmed the local PD number in my phone. Fortunately, the 911 operators stayed on the phone with me until my husband arrived. We only live about 5 minutes away by car, so my husband arrived quickly. In fact, the local PD called last evening just to check in. After I made the call, they surveilled the area, but of course, no one was to be seen. The interstate is only a couple of minutes away.

I've talked to my friend and asked her to pass on the information to her neighbors. I never thought to take his picture, but it would have been very easy and my phone is very accessible, right on the handlebars. The confrontation scenario sounds like a good idea, and probably just enough to make him turn tail and run.

I won't let this one incident interfere with my future rides, but I will certainly be more vigilant. I don't have a set schedule or route, so I'm not so worried about people picking up on a pattern. Of course, I can't really know his motivation or intentions, but he probably wasn't targeting me specifically. More likely, he thought he would have some sick fun scaring the pants off of a middle aged woman.

On an entirely different note: one good thing to come out of this is I learned very quickly how to get my front tire off and back on securely (no bike rack on DH's car) As many times as I've seen it done, never had to do it. There's a first time for everything!

[redrhodie]

We are all vulnerable to attack once in a while. During my vacation to Spain last week, I had a situation which luckily ended well. A man approached me, asked if I spoke English, and asked me to help him find a street on his map. My guard was already slightly up, but I apprehensively began to look at his map. We were suddenly approached by another man, who held out a badge and said "police" and asked to see our passports. I immediately got a rush of adrenaline and fear. Somehow, I got control of that, and asked to see the "policeman's" badge again (he had put it away really quickly). He took it out, and it was not a metal badge, but a patch. He was not in uniform. It just felt wrong, so I said "no!" really firmly, and quickly walked away.

I did not look back at first, but I was ready to run and/or yell my head off if I heard them coming towards me. I got out of there safely. When I did look back, they were gone. I have since read about similar scams, where they impersonate police to rob tourists, on the State Dept website.

You did great. Going to your friend's house shows you were thinking, considering your options, and you chose the one that made the most sense. The rush of adrenaline can be either incredibly powerful or immobilizing for me. I have been "frozen with fear" once in my life when I was a teenager, and I've held my head on several other occasions since then.

Always, always, always trust your instinct. When you feel like you're being followed, don't talk yourself out of it, and convince yourself it's your imagination. That's really easy to do. You're better off being embarrassed for being wrong than finding out you were right.

[papaver]

redrhodie, police badges in Europe are never in metal. But your instinct was right, a lot of crooks present themselves to foreigners as policemen.

[redrhodie]

redrhodie, police badges in Europe are never in metal. But your instinct was right, a lot of crooks present themselves to foreigners as policemen.

I did not know that. As I was walking away, I though if this guy is an actual cop, he might arrest me, but then at least I'll know he's legit.

[papaver]

I did not know that. As I was walking away, I though if this guy is an actual cop, he might arrest me, but then at least I'll know he's legit.

You don't get that easily arrested in Europe. But I'm pretty sure your insticts were right, so you did a good thing.

[papaver]

Another story (not cycling related), one of my best friends got assaulted one day when she wanted to retreive some money out of the machine. But she had a rubbish day all day long, and a guy had the genious idea to try to rob her with an iron stick. Before he even got the chance to take a swing she just grabbed this iron bar and hit him with it. He ran as fast as he could, and now that bar is hanging on her wall like it was a trophy.

And you have to know, she is a petite skinny little thing.

[Duck on Wheels]

A colleague once poked Trek in the back pretending to try to rob her while Trek was at an ATM. Trek has a 2nd degree black belt in Aikido, so in a fraction of a second that jokester gal was on her face on the sidewalk with her arm bent behind her back getting an earfull about what does NOT make for a good joke.

[Trek420]

I didn't quite throw her. My office used to be in Berkeley next to BART the bank and really good food. I was at the ATM getting a $20 to meet our mutual niece for lunch. When I felt something hard, round like a pipe or gun pointed in the small of my back and a woman said. "Give me your money this is a stick up"

For a nano second the following went through my head.
She's got to be kidding, this is downtown Berkeley
What if she's not?
This is a busy intersection, nobody would do this here!
What if she's nuts?
That's a woman, women don't do this kinda thing
Well, right now one is.
WTF is that cold hard thing at my back?

Then I think I gotta do something. I mean if it's a gun I can't die just standing here if I do I'll never get to meet Knott

With a weapon your response must be get the he]] off the line in other words MOVE What I do next depends on what's behind. Options include (inside joke to Duck "amoung our weaponry are such diverse options as fear, surprise and a fanatical devotion to the Pope. Nooooobody expects the Spanish Inquisition" ) a strike to the face as I do kotogaishi (in which she gets flung azz over teakettle backwards as arm, wrist, elbow break) if it's her left hand maybe iriminage (face planted into the ATM, devastating throw).

Aikido is such a peaceful non violent dance-like martial art

With a yell I whirled instantly, my right hand was in her face as the left had her in a pin, off balance and starting kotogaishi as I realised .... this is my coworker

I held her up but she was off balance knew she could go down hard.

But she never hit the ground.

Her mother there too and was behind her, her laughter at the prank turned to shock as she repeated over and over and over again:
OMG, you just moved
OMG, you just spun around
OMG, you just moved ....
we're sorry, we're sorry ....

Yep, you don't know how sorry you almost were

The next day I brought in pictures of my dan test, me throwing one of our udansha (higher rank black belt) and explaining "see this 6'5 guy I'm throwing? That would have been next for you, not on a fluffy matt, on cement. Don't do things like this to people, you don't know if they are armed, trained, if someone nearby who is will come to their aid or if they will simply collapse in a fetal position on the street and have a breakdown. It's not funny "

So .... the take home lesson and you don't need to be a nidan for this is:

trust your gut, if it feels odd it sometimes is. Better the embarassment of throwing a coworker or reversing a ride than consequences of not trusting your gut.

What do you do? Move! MAKE NOISE!!! Do something. Always options to do and no matter what there is always stuff you can move.

BTW I was very shaken by this, the adrenaline was such that I went to lunch still shaking with fear and rage. In the moment and doing the moves no, calm, centered, swift, certain.

But afterward shaken to the core.

Duck and my niece is a lawyer and I asked her about this. She said had I thrown the gal there would be no consequences to me, no judge or jury could have faulted me for thinking I was facing mortal danger.

But I made the right decision in pulling the throw.

I love what I do as an art and as always I hope never to need this training again.