Here, I must say that the fact that I am English kicked in. In a contest of principle between a single unprotected cyclist, aged 67, and a 15-ton bus and a group of aggressive irrational passengers, or between a single individual and what looked like becoming a maddened mob led by a person temporarily bereft of his reason, there was no question what I had to do. I had to stand up for myself.
https://hitchensblog.mailonsunday.co.uk/2018/12/how-prejudice-against-cyclists-can-make-normal-people-go-mad-.html