Armed Roller Skiing

Been roller skiing in some new towns that seems to have more yahoo's in
pickup trucks than other places I've been (nothing against pickups, or
yahoos, per se). Guys like to swerve and yell and generally cause
trouble.

Has anyone gone to the trouble of carrying mace, or something like it,
to deal with situations that seem like they could escalate to more than
just shouted inanities?

MS.

Well, if you have to protect yourself.. But there's one of you
and two of them - driver and truck - many times over. Wouldn't it be
wiser to go find some roads where that's less of a problem?

Gene

"Mike" wrote:

Been roller skiing in some new towns that seems to have more yahoo's
in pickup trucks than other places I've been (nothing against
pickups, or yahoos, per se). Guys like to swerve and yell and
generally cause trouble.

Has anyone gone to the trouble of carrying mace, or something like it,
to deal with situations that seem like they could escalate to more
than just shouted inanities?

MS.

Mike wrote:
Been roller skiing in some new towns that seems to have more yahoo's in
pickup trucks than other places I've been (nothing against pickups, or
yahoos, per se). Guys like to swerve and yell and generally cause
trouble.

Has anyone gone to the trouble of carrying mace, or something like it,
to deal with situations that seem like they could escalate to more than
just shouted inanities?

MS.

Not really an answer to your question, but I recall a cycling buddy
swearing by th etechnique of wearing a jersey with the national flag on
it wherever he was. He claimed this reduced yahoo-isms to nil.

Maybe an Evil Kenivil type suit would help!

Joseph

Well, if it were me, I'd move somewhere where you wouldn't be talking
about rollerskiing in Februrary! 8-). Seriously, I don't rollerski,
but I have shared the roads with motor vehicles on a bike for 40 years.
I wouldn't ever think it's smart to assault someone in a large
vehicle, even if they give you $hit first. You have clumsy things
attached to your feet - they can easily pummel you senseless and you
really don't have a lot of maneuverability (sp?) to either fight back
or flee.

Just an observation - and believe me, I'm a firm believer in human
powered sports and sharing the roads. There's a lot of folks I knwo who
roller ski a lot. But really, some roads are often simply not suitable
for sharing with roller skiers. Such a different speed, lack of
maneuverability and brakes, etc. Skate skiing takes quite a bit of
width in the lane too. Rather than the in your face stuff, I think we
should really work at finding suitable places to do it.

One of my friends told me a story of his biking buddies riding down in lower
Michigan. Apparently a guy in his pickup truck didn't think they should be
so far out in the road and honked his horn at them. Cyclist responded with
his middle finger. Driver of the truck turned around, aimed at the cyclist
and killed him with the impact then drove off. Never did catch the pickup
truck driver.

A pro cyclist friend of mine was within the white line of the shoulder
training down in Tucson. He got hit in the back by a van going 70 mph who
went over the white line. Broke his pelvis (many other injuries) and tore
the mirror right off the van, bolts and all. Driver stopped a block down the
road, then drove off, leaving my friend to die.

Paul Haltvick
Bay Design and Build - LLC
Engineering, Construction and Information Technology Services
FSx - Fischer / Swix Racing

I've found the best defense is a group of about half a dozen people,
but I've always wondered what the effect of strapping on a biathlon
rifle would be. If you test it, let us know.

Jay Wenner

I've found the best defense when confronted is to pull out a cell phone
and call 911. Most of the time the yahoos leave right away, but a few
have been stupid enough to stay 'til the calvary arrived. Mace or Halt
might be good on dogs, but I'd be willing to bet that using it on even
these subhuman idiots is much more likely to get one into hot water.
Run to the nearest house if need be. An intact ego ain't worth a
busted jaw or worse.

Randy