Solo cyclist thwarts the trucker ‘freedom convoy’ on the roads of Washington DC

Graeme Massie
·2 min read
4
The People’s Convoy trucker protest was reduced to a slow crawl in Washington DC by one man on a bike (Twitter/ShutDownDC)
The People’s Convoy trucker protest was reduced to a slow crawl in Washington DC by one man on a bike (Twitter/ShutDownDC)

The People’s Convoy trucker protest was reduced to a slow crawl in Washington DC on Saturday by one man on a bike.

The convoy had made its way to the US capital earlier this month to protest pandemic restrictions (which have largely been lifted).

The truckers have been frustrating residents as they slow down traffic on major roads around the notoriously traffic-jammed city.

A cyclist returned the favor on Saturday by bringing the convoy to a crawl, by riding slowly in front of the line of trucks to a deafening chorus of horns behind him.

A video clip of the moment quickly went viral and as of Sunday morning had been watched more than 4.2million times.

“Big powerful convoy slowed down by… a single bicyclist,” tweeted ShutDownDC, a direct action group in the city, which posted the video to its Twitter account.

Andthey added: “Shoutout to all the activists who have been tracking and f***ing with this silly convoy since they got to the area.”

In another video posted on Twitter, the driver of a truck pulls alongside the cyclist and tells him, “Hey, what are you doing? You got a a bunch of trucks behind you.”

The cyclist tells the driver that he can’t hear what he is saying as “it’s too loud” - and keeps on riding.

The People’s Convoy trucker protest was reduced to a slow crawl in Washington DC by one man on a bike (Twitter/WYSIWYGTV)
The People’s Convoy trucker protest was reduced to a slow crawl in Washington DC by one man on a bike (Twitter/WYSIWYGTV)

The protests got off to a slow start in the nation’s capital, when a 2 March rally near the Washington Monument was only attended by a handful of protesters.

Organisers had expected several thousand people to attend but in the end there were more police and journalists, according to The Daily Beast.

Heavy traffic slowly crawls on I-395 due to the trucker convoy protest on March 18, 2022 in Washington, DC (Getty Images)
Heavy traffic slowly crawls on I-395 due to the trucker convoy protest on March 18, 2022 in Washington, DC (Getty Images)

Ted Cruz also found himself being heckled when he gave a speech alongside the truckers.

Midway through the Texas Republican’s remarks about the Covid Chinese lab leak theory, a member of the crowd shouted, “Ted Cruz sucks!” eliciting chuckles from even the truckers alongside Mr Cruz.

“God bless you,” the senator responded.

Chris Rodriguez, the Director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, says officials have been watching the convoys and “took note” of what happened in Ottawa, Canada in February.