A man on a black mountain bike came up behind me and tapped my shoulder. It was my ex husband.

My ex husband and I divorced 5 years ago after a tumultuous 8 year marriage. We had 2 children together but he never bonded with them. He wasn’t abusive, he was emotionally unavailable. He never paid attention to them or put forth an effort to connect with them.<br><br>He was cheating on me at the time of our divorce and I caught him. I was livid. He had embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars from his work and squandered all of our savings on his mistresses. He never apologized for anything.<br><br>After the divorce I moved across the country and block him everywhere. My son has since gotten a court order against him for all contact. I’ve never heard from him except through our children. He has never tried to contact me directly.<br><br>Fast forward to today. I am on a 6 mile bike ride on a path along a river. I am 15 miles from home. It’s 4pm. A man on a black mountain bike comes up behind me and taps my shoulder. I say hello. He doesn’t say anything. He passes me and I continue on my ride. 10 minutes later he passes me again. This happens two more times in the next 20 minutes. I start to feel weird and worried. I pick up my pace but he does too. I’m freaking out now. It’s so strange. I start thinking about all the true crime shows I’ve watched about women being attacked while running or biking. I am scared. But then I start thinking about all the things I’ve done to stay safe while I exercise and reassure myself. I think about all the strength exercise I’ve done and how I know I can defend myself. I feel better.<br><br>I continue riding but I’m on high alert now. I decide to head back to the car. It’s only 10 minutes back the way I came. As I’m pedaling I hear him behind me. I turn around and it’s him. But he’s no longer on a black mountain bike. He’s now on a road bike. He is maybe 10 feet behind me and I can see the outline of his whole body. He is taller and thinner than me. He has short dark brown hair. He is wearing a black shirt and black bike pants. He has on a white helmet and white knee pads. I don’t recognize him but I know it’s him. I know that only 10 people ride bikes in this area and I know all of them. My heart is racing as I pedal as fast as I can. I look back again. He is still behind me. I’m freaking out now. I’m scared for my safety but I don’t want to look back again. I don’t want to give him the satisfaction of seeing me afraid.<br><br>I pedal as fast as I can. I am almost at the car. I can see the trees up ahead where I parked. As I ride towards the trees, the man on the road bike disappears from view. I’m almost home. I feel a wave of relief wash over me.<br><br>I get to my car and lock myself inside. I text my son and tell him what just happened. I cry. He sends me a few messages reassuring me that his dad wouldn’t hurt me. But he’s right. My ex husband is a predator. He cheated on me and stole from everyone around him. He is a master manipulator. He knows how to get to me through my children. I should have protected myself and blocked him on Facebook. He is in my friends list. I can see when he’s active.<br><br>As soon as I get home, I am going to block him on Facebook and I am going to the police station. This is so not over.