A teenager on his way around the world on two wheels has experienced a most Kiwi cycling rite of passage - being sworn at by an angry motorist and knocked to the ground.
Canadian 18-year-old B'yauling Toni had made it through Canada, Europe, Russia, Mongolia and China without experiencing significant road rage, before arriving in Invercargill to ride the length of New Zealand in December, according to the website of cycle manufacturer Kona.
But after safely navigating the West Coast of the South Island, he soon found himself at the mercy of an irate Wellington motorist.
According to Kona, the driver pulled up alongside Mr Toni and began yelling obscenities at him.
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Mr Toni didn't know what he'd done wrong, so tried to ignore the driver. At the next intersection he pulled into the cycle bay in front of the waiting traffic.
"He pedalled off as it went green, trying to get a gap on the angry driver only to hear the engine rev behind him," reported Kona. "He looked over his shoulder to check on the driver and the car plowed right into him, knocking him clean off his bike and sending his gear yard sailing through the intersection."
The driver reportedly kept yelling obscenities, before driving off.
A witness to the accident took him in, and after a long sleep Mr Toni realised that in the aftermath of the hit-and-run, his money belt was missing - along with $400.
"I had $26 to get from Wellington, New Zealand to Auckland," he told CTV News. "I only spent $6, because I just bought bags of oatmeal. You could get large bags of oatmeal for like one or two dollars in New Zealand, so that's what got me through the six days."
He told Kona it was the first time he'd been knocked off his bike, and the worst road rage he'd ever experienced.
"Hit by a car, lost my money, and Christmas day was riding 11 hours in the rain eating cold oatmeal and peanut butter," he posted on Instagram on December 26. "But hey, I am still kicking."
The accident appears to have happened sometime between December 17, when according to a post on Instagram he was still in Australia, and Christmas Eve.
Mr Toni eventually made it to Auckland, flew back to Canada and completed his round-the-world journey in 205 days, making him the youngest person to ever do it by bicycle.
He raised US$12,610 for an outdoor education programme in the process, reports Canadian Cycling Magazine.
"I don't think breaking the world record was nearly as important as experiencing the world," he told the magazine.
Police were unable to confirm Mr Toni's claims.
Newshub.
