Susan Peithman

This is from my friend and OBRA member, Susan Otcenas. She was having
trouble posting to the list.

>From Susan:

Friends,

While riding from Eugene to Portland yesterday, my friend Asta and I were
harrassed by two men in a pickup truck in Hubbard.

Long story short, the driver chased us through town, repeatedly circled
around to find us, verbally harrassed us and and even veered across the
street right towards Asta with the clear intent to knock her off the
road. We ended up taking shelter at the Shell station on 99 & G Street,
where 911 was called. The folks at the Shell were great, with one man
keeping a lookout for us and warning us each time the driver of the vehicle
circled back around again. He also helped us provide a complete
description to the responding officer.

The police responded very quickly and took a complete report. The driver
was a local. The officer was heading off towards this person's home to
speak with him after we left. I have a call in to the officer to find
out what the resolution was.

If you are riding in that area, and have any interaction with the following
individual, PLEASE call 911 and make a report to the Hubbard Police
Department.

Red Dodge Ram pickup Truck
Grey driver side door
Oregon License Plate # 903 FZK
Truck is diesel with a very loud engine when gunned, and an oversized
exhaust pipe that spews large clouds of black smoke. Especially when the
the truck passes and the driver purposely repeatedly guns it and spews
smoke all over you.
White Male - mid 30s to mid 40s - short sandy hair, camo baseball cap

The guy is a nut. Asta & I were on a quiet street (northbound on 3rd St,
along the railroad tracks) with very little traffic. He had no cause to
be upset with as, as we were riding well to the right side of the road and
not impeding (the nonexistent) traffic in any way. He just seemed to have
it out for a few cyclists and we were in the wrong place at the wrong
time. So, don't mess with this guy. If you experience any trouble, please
call 911 immediately.

Having spoken briefly with the police department this morning, it's a
little disappointing to learn that any subsequent reports of this guy's
license plate # do not necessarily trigger any "alerts" in their system.
In other words, if you should have some trouble with the same
driver, nothing will tell the responding officer that this guy has done
this before, unless the responding officer happens to remember it.
(Something about "alerts" of that type would be considered "profiling".)
So, if you experience any trouble with this person, it might not be a bad
idea to let the officer know that you are aware it's not the first time
this man has caused trouble for riders in the area.

It would also be a god idea to snap a photo, if possible. Unfortunately,
in the heat of the moment, I couldn't find my phone (I admit to be rather
rattled!), and Asta's was being used to call 911.

Stay safe out there, everyone!

Susan