Strange Encounter with an Armed? Cyclist

Pistol and holster rig Author was wearing.  Clothes were as described in story

I was out running this morning with my usual rig when I am exercising: a Glock 17 in a Fobus paddle holster.  After experimenting with a number of combinations, this is the one I usually use.  In the last 15 years I have worn out two of the holsters and am working on the third.

I was headed south on the right hand sidewalk alongside a moderately busy four lane boulevard.  I was wearing a mostly white t-shirt with a nondescript design on it, and light tan shorts.  The Glock was over the right rear hip, the Fobus is a dark green (unusual, I know, I got a good deal on several a decade ago) , so it had very good contrast with the shirt and shorts.

A cyclist on a bicycle passed me in the near lane, traveling about 10-12 mph faster than me.

This is not unusual... until I noticed the cyclist had what appeared to be a truncated 1911 type handgun in his left hand, not pointing it anywhere but down, and tucked it into the large, rear cargo pocket of the florescent orange safety vest that he was wearing, as I watched.

The color scheme of the pistol gave me pause to wonder if it was an authentic firearm, a squirt gun, or a toy.  The grips appeared to be an off white, and the frame and slide were roughly the color of oxidized aluminum with a slight bluish tint.   I did not see an orange tip on the pistol.   That is about all I was able to gather in the few seconds the pistol was visible, at distances from 15 to 60 feet from me.

Presuming that the cyclist saw that I was openly carrying a pistol, what was the purpose of having what appeared to be a pistol in his left hand when he passed me?   Was he trying to acknowledge support for open carry?    Was the pistol some kind of facsimile, perhaps a squirt gun filled with something for defense against dogs?  Did he just happen to be repositioning the pistol to a more secure location when he passed me?

The cyclist appeared to be male, a couple of skin shades darker than me, slender, average height, wearing short sleeves, shorts, safety vest and helmet.  He was riding a derailure type bike that appeared to be more than a Walmart special.

©2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
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