A while back I was walking near Russel Square. The road has three lanes. Two car lanes and a bicycle. The bicycle lane is as wide as a car lane and two way. Spanning the three lanes is a pedestrian crossing. Luckily I  arrived at the pedestrian crossingas the traffic lights were red and the 'man' green. Because it was likely to change at any minute and hurried not really observing much around me.

 

I crossed the two car lanes and was about a metre into the cycle lane when.... Bang! The right handlebars of a cycle hit me in the left side of my ribcage. The impact startled me and made me jump back. For a moment I was taken aback then realised other than the initial shock I wasn't really hurt.

 

Then I flash backed to the crash... the impact caused the front wheel of the cycle to twist. The rear wheel raise up and the cyclist flew over the handlebars crashing to the ground headfirst followed by his cycle crashing on top of him.

 

I looked over and sure enough saw him sprawled on the floor in pain. After a while he got up and came over to me screaming "You F%$%.... B*&^££ and C&$£*"

 

I was taken aback by this a little too much to respond coherently. However I did manage to make a very pronounced pointing gesture towards the red traffic light he had just ridden through and said very condescendingly "RED LIGHT".

 

He responded by in an equally pronounced fashion pointing to his cycle and saying "BYCYCLE" implying the red light didn't apply to him because he was a cyclist..... He then continued his tiraid calling me "F^&** S£$% " and so on.

 

.......................................................................................So I hit him.

 

I punched him one time only, with a straight right on the nose. It didn't knock him over.

 

He looked at me stunned. For a few seconds his brain whirled over a what happened and how he should respond.

 

After a few seconds, visibly fuming and blowing air out his nostrels to register disaproval, in angry motions, he picked up his cycle and went on his way without uttering another word.

 

Funny. As I hit him I was in total control. Not remotley angry, no red mist. I chose to do it because I thought social convention obliged me to and he looked like a middle class veggie wimp, so i could get away with it. Now in hindsight I feel no remorse, actually the fact he was so middle class, born out by his wimping out makes me feel really good about myself and superior.

 

 

 

There are three ways of doing things:

 

The right way, the wrong and the Paul way, oops, wher's the third?

 

Punching him seems reasonable in a way, there could've been other solutions, but in some instances as Reginmund pointed out you do have to draw some social boundaries. It is inexcusible for him to now watch out, in another situation that could have proved much more severe, and the bastard probably would've just went his way without assisting.

 

 

 

 

As I said in the original post

 

Originally posted by Paul I chose to do it because I thought social convention obliged me to

 

 

 

While on this subject, what is with some of those bikers that think they can take half of the road and not move over when you pass by in your car?

 

You misunderstand what excuse means. An excuse is made by a person who feels they have done something morally wrong.