39-year-old Ian Hespelt, aka the alleged Critical Mass Road Rage Cyclist might be one of San Francisco's most recognizable figures: Between the much-viewed video of his alleged attack on a ZipCar during August's Critical Mass ride and his amazingly resilient waxed mustache he's become pretty easy to pick out of a crowd. That newfound notoriety (SF Weekly, for example, called him SF's "poster boy for assholes") might be why he looks so anxious when caught on video yet again Monday, this time in less-fraught circumstances.
According to notorious local blogger, activist, and general shit-disturber Michael Petrelis, "Yesterday, Monday, September 28, I saw Hespelt in front of me on line at the Fox Plaza post office," which is on Market Street between 9th and 10th Streets.
Which isn't surprising! Before the Critical Mass incident, Hespeldt was most-Googlable for his support of the United States Postal Service against Staples' "pilot program that established knock-off post offices in 82 Staples stores," The American Postal Worker magazine reports.
As of May 2015, Hespeldt had "attended 10 protests at Staples stores," telling the APW mag that “The Postal Service is important to me."
“The impact that privatization would have on pretty much all of us who aren’t millionaires or billionaires is huge...It’s crazy to think that they would even attempt to chip away at the Postal Service, or do anything except expand it. It’s class warfare, I think.”
Petrelis shot a short video of his encounter with Hespelt while both were in line at the USPS office (a far more legally acceptable place to accost someone while wielding a camera than a City Hall bathroom is, Petrelis learned the hard way back in 2012). During the encounter, Hespelt appears to wear a bluetooth headset and spend his in-line time texting. He does not respond to Petrelis' barbs, which makes sense, as Hespelt's mother says he's “pretty mild-mannered, and he’s a very, very private person.”
"As a slow bicyclist very concerned with safety issues for myself, other riders, folks in vehicles and pedestrians, I was upset with the hipster dude sporting a handlebar mustache who ruined August's Critical Mass bike ride," Petrelis writes of the encounter.
"Let's hope Hespelt's bad biker behavior leads to better and safer biking and safer streets for all persons."
Following the August 28th Critical Mass incident, Hespelt was arrested on September 5. He's pled not guilty to charges of assault with a deadly weapon, false imprisonment, throwing a substance at a vehicle and vandalism,. He's expected to return to court on October 28.
Previously: Suspected Road Rage Cyclist's Mustache Wax Holds Up Perfectly For Mugshot
39-Year-Old Cyclist Arrested In Critical Mass Rage Incident
When A Zipcar Hits His Bike, One Critical Mass Cyclist Attacks With A U-Lock