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424 Posts
This week, I rearranged my training schedule to take advantage of a couple of days of 80 degree weather. Yesterday was a beeeeutiful day for riding...83 degrees, clear blue skies, and 10-12 mph winds. Unfortunately, the motorists were taking advantage of the nice weather also.<br><br>
My first near-death experience came when an SUV decided to take a right turn, directly into my path. As I came up on him, riding in one of the few bike lanes that we have, I noticed that he was drifting to the right, with no turn signal, as we came to the intersection. Thinking that he was going to turn, I eased back and got to the right of his rear tire. Sure enough, no turn signal Johnny made a sharp right turn and would have taken me out if I hadn't eased up and soft pedaled.<br><br>
Not 4 miles later, I almost got creamed by a school bus of all things. I was approaching a T intersection, where I was going to turn left. I heard a large vehicle behind me and proceeded to point to the left to indicate my turn. As I started leaning into the turn, the driver gassed the bus and shot forward. I had to veer back to the right to avoid becoming a hood ornament! Thankfully, the car behind the bus slowed and allowed me to turn. Being that there was a car coming towards me, in the opposite lane, I did not get the bus number. I could just see the headline now: Educator Gets Run Over by Bus.<br><br>
Now, I live in Southeast Georgia, I was clad in spandex, my shirt was bright yellow, I am riding a tri bike, and I am a constant target of ******* truck drivers. No one can tell me that I was not seen on the road. The SUV driver is a common occurence, but the bus driver?<br><br>
On a positive note, I did see 7 other cyclists. Now, in my Mayberry-like town, that is close to a miracle. Unfortunately, two of them were college cycling team dudes wearing no helmets, and one was a lady wearing an Ipod. If I had not been in such a hurry to get off the road, before I became roadkill, I would have offered some advice to the riders.
My first near-death experience came when an SUV decided to take a right turn, directly into my path. As I came up on him, riding in one of the few bike lanes that we have, I noticed that he was drifting to the right, with no turn signal, as we came to the intersection. Thinking that he was going to turn, I eased back and got to the right of his rear tire. Sure enough, no turn signal Johnny made a sharp right turn and would have taken me out if I hadn't eased up and soft pedaled.<br><br>
Not 4 miles later, I almost got creamed by a school bus of all things. I was approaching a T intersection, where I was going to turn left. I heard a large vehicle behind me and proceeded to point to the left to indicate my turn. As I started leaning into the turn, the driver gassed the bus and shot forward. I had to veer back to the right to avoid becoming a hood ornament! Thankfully, the car behind the bus slowed and allowed me to turn. Being that there was a car coming towards me, in the opposite lane, I did not get the bus number. I could just see the headline now: Educator Gets Run Over by Bus.<br><br>
Now, I live in Southeast Georgia, I was clad in spandex, my shirt was bright yellow, I am riding a tri bike, and I am a constant target of ******* truck drivers. No one can tell me that I was not seen on the road. The SUV driver is a common occurence, but the bus driver?<br><br>
On a positive note, I did see 7 other cyclists. Now, in my Mayberry-like town, that is close to a miracle. Unfortunately, two of them were college cycling team dudes wearing no helmets, and one was a lady wearing an Ipod. If I had not been in such a hurry to get off the road, before I became roadkill, I would have offered some advice to the riders.
