Monday I was biking home after work, to record with Matt and Dave for Cheese On Bread. Excited to head over there, I left work and got on my bike to fetch my guitar. Around 6 o’clock I was making good speed up the Williamsburg Bridge (I try to push myself when crossing the bridge to get better at it) when all of a sudden, I saw a figure in front of me. A figure who is striking me in the neck.
I flipped backwards off my bike, landed on my head and back. Still unaware of what was going on, I saw the guy leaning over. “To help me up,” I thought. “To take my bike,” I corrected myself. Then I grabbed at either his leg or my bike (I can’t remember which now) and then let go, because I began to realize what was happening. Since I was being robbed, I figured he wanted my wallet, so I reached for my wallet, then noticed he was riding off into Manhattan.
The deed being done, I figured it’s safe to stand up. And then I further realized that I was very out of breath from being hit in the neck and landing on my back. I lay down and catch my breath. Considering I was just clotheslined off my bicycle, I felt pretty good.
Apparently some other people thought I looked pretty good. A guy on a bicycle slowed down, looked down at me, said “Are you alright?” and kept riding on. Some other people thought I probably did not look so good, and they stopped their commute to call the police and talk to me. The man who attacked me was apparently 6’ 2”, though the people who described it to me could have been exaggerating.
After a couple minutes, some police officers arrived. Once it was clear that there were no serious injuries, the police officer said, “That’s it? That’s a welcome to Brooklyn.”