Yesterday on my commute home, I came the closest I ever have to being plowed into by a car. I'm not counting the time my front wheel was run over by the asswipe who overtook me in the middle of a right hand turn. That was intentional. I'm not counting all the times I've been cut off or any of the other malicious acts that have occured by people who would rather run me over then add 2 seconds to the time it takes to get to the Most Important Event In The World. This was an act of inattentiveness, and it was freaking scary.
I had just gotten off a bike path and was on a main residential street heading east. As I crossed an intersection with a side road, a westbound car suddenly made a left turn on the side road, not cutting me off, but heading straight for me. Thankfully I'm pretty good at getting into the mode of thoughts turning into action in mere nanoseconds. I veered right, gunned it for the curb, and yelled simultaneously. I think the yell woke the driver up because she slammed on her brakes, stopping less than 1 foot from me. I don't think I would have made it out of her way had she kept coming.
Having just come off the bike path on the mellow first half of my commute, I admit that I wasn't into the ultra-defensive mode I'm usually in on the mean streets in the afternoon. That incident woke me up and really put me on edge. I was cussing out (under my breath) the boneheads who zoomed in front of me just to slam to a stop 100 yards ahead. I was my usual cynical self and I was pissed off.
Then something else happened. I was trackstanding, waiting to cross a 2-lane road that was gridlocked both ways. The nearest lane cleared and a car waiting to make a left turn in the farthest lane went, opening the road. I looked left and the farthest lane was clear for maybe 300 yards before it hit gridlock again. I couldn't make it and clipped out. Then the driver across from me saw me and motioned me across the road. Wow. Somebody not bent on hurrying up and waiting.
Maybe there's hope for mankind after all.
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It's all about the ride...
About Me
- Harvey
- Tampa, FL, United States
- My name is Harvey, and I am an addict.
2008 Race Schedule
2007 Race Reports
- 1/28: 6 Hours of El Lagarto - 2nd red trail solo
- 2/17: 12 Hours of Razorback - 3rd 12-hour solo
- 3/3: Hospice 100K - 3rd solo
- 3/11: SERC #1 AMBC - 2nd 30+ expert
- 3/18: GSC #1 - 2nd 30+ expert
- 4/1: SERC #3 AMBC (Knobscorcher) - 3rd 35-39 expert
- 4/21: Cohutta 100 - 19th
- 5/19: 12 Hours of Tsali - 2nd 12-hour solo
- 6/2: Mohican 100 - 12th
- 7/8: GSC #7 - 4th pro/senior expert
- 7/22: Off-Road Assault on Mt. Mitchell - 7th overall, 1st 40+
- 8/4: Wilderness 101 - 26th
- 8/18: Fool's Gold 100 - 2nd
- 9/2: Shenandoah Mountain 100: 13th
- 9/22: 12 Hours of Dauset - 2nd 12-hour solo
3 comments:
glad you are ok !
people are always in such a rush u have to be on the lookout.
wouldn't call it being cynical at all. Its bloody well sure laziness out there. Take the heart beat of all those drivers out there. I betcha their heart beats so slow that very little new fresh blood reaches their brain cells.
One of the reasons why I love being aggressive out there. I stand my ground. Anyone pisses me off and I catch them at the next light. Open up my mind. let their heart and head get some fresh oxygen as I scare the fn crap out of them.
Next time I get hit out there, I'm really unsure if the person will survive... (insurance companies are a scam).
Its amazing to me how the herd gets in their 2,000 lb motorized coach and become completely lackadaisical about their surroundings. Stay sharp and on guard.
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