A story minus girls

Today i was looking through old journals and notebooks while i was trying to assemble some stuff for my newest book. In it i founded and undated entry that i almost completely forgot about. I could find the date if i cared because it was this Amber girls birthday.

Anyhow.

--after work (i stopped at a park regularly to write after work a lot)
Left work went riding. not bad. work was boring. stupid questions about stupid bikes. i hate how often i have to tell people "no that hybrid, unfortunately, will not be the best for you to ride 20 miles a day. " no one wants to here it. I'm going to go to John's (Tex-Mex) and get a burrito i think. Maybe call Aileen.

…

I left John's and rode around for a few hours. It's a gorgeous night. People are out and about. The roads are full. It's a great night for cutting in and out of traffic. It just feels so good to actually be out and ride. I went down monroe (ave) and passed the Bug Jar. a bunch of people where there and stopped me, Traycee, Jared, and i basically rn into everyone i fucking know. Traycee wants to go hang out afterwards, so i leave and go ride. she tells me to meet her at the corner of east and alexander.
As i'm heading down Alexander, i'm getting the normal yells and honks, but it's a good night to ride. All of a sudden a traffic cone is flying across the road in front of my face. I stop and throw my bike over the sidewalk in the bushes and i just yell "what the fuck are you doing" i see a few people walk qickly down the street. i have my usualy "tools" on hand (i'm assuming i meant a u-lock, 15 mm wrench, a pedal wrench, brass knuckles, box cutter or a kryptonite chain. i can't recall what i actually had with me) as i'm apporached by a group of 7 sketchy looking dudes.
"whats your problem?"
"who threw that fucking cone at me?"
across the street some kids yell "yo, we got yer back. we ride Critical Mass man. We got your back."
some stuttering by them allas two dudes slowly/quickly in that trying to look nonchalant haste.
"no one fucking threw..."
"i fucking saw someone throw it. it's still in the fucking road" my hand is in my back pocket, fingers wrapped around metal, just waiting...
"i ride bikes, why would i throw it?"
"not saying it was you, but some cunt over here threw it." i'm shaking that nerveous going to fight, ready for a busted lip, i wonder if they can see it shake. that ready to explode or ready to run, or ready to bleed shake.
just then those three kids make their was behind me.
"it wasn't us"
"maybe it was those kids that ran off. but if it wasn't you, then walk away man. why did you even stop?"
it goes on like this and i realize these dudes just want to scrap. they start going off abou how much money he hs on him and pulls out a wad of cash. they keep running their mouths and the kids that "got my back" are running theres. then i see the one kid has a butterfly knife in hand. This is about to get serious. finally it comes to them saying to the three
"just walk away. the other way. i don't care where you're going"
"fuck you"
then the smallest kid comes over, lifts his shirt and says "ain't no thang but a pistol thang" and i see the but of what appears to be a .22 hand gun.
"you three cross the fucking street. you (referring to me) are fine. go where you want. we got nothing. but you three. fucking go."
two walk away but the one with the knife just stays there, knife folded in his hand.
i wonder if he's fast with it. i wonder if they know he has it. they didn't see mine. did they see his. or did they see mine and thats why they're letting me go. i've stopped shaking. it wasn't that i was relieved. it was that i was ready to fight. no more questioning. it was 5 looking at us two. two of them said "lets just go" and started to walk away. three looking at two. and they had a pistol. what the fuck.
over getting a road cone thrown at me. i grab the kid and tell him to go. finally he does, but he tries to walk through the group. something to prove.
"NO!. i fucking said the other way. cross the fucking street."
then i wondered. there are tons of cops in this area. tons. and there isnt one here. people are stopped all around watching. and not one cop. i fucking hate cops.
fianlly the kid croses the street.
the big guy looks in my face and says "yo, sorry about the shit. none of my friends threw that at you. we cool?"
"yeah. we're cool". i got my bike out of the bushes and rode off.