Mushrooms
Do you believe in guardian angels? One of them came along in an unusual form today, but at just the right time. It was when riding home from work, and yet another f*ckwit who slowed, swerved and deliberately tried to ram me with his car from behind. Rather disappointingly, I failed to anticipate this one -- although that could be the fact that it's been six whole months since the last one. Usually you can feel the very air itself losing IQ points when one of these idiots is in close proximity.
Cue the guy on the other side of the road, driving in the other direction, deciding to lean on the horn. Normally I'd just assume this guy was yet another idiot, but this time he had a message. On reflection it might have also provided a crucial moment of distraction to the idiot behind. I managed to get a swerve of my own in (glad that I ride far enough from the kerb to have space in which to do this) and evade the idiot.
Of course, it's days like this when I think the entire urban area of the Gold Coast would look much better under a mushroom-shaped cloud. Then I have to tell myself to calm down. After all, the explosives required for that job would cost a fortune, and I need to pay for some dental work soon.
Seriously though, I suppose there is something encouraging to take from this. The fact that there is actually someone out there on the road who cares whether I live or die. Evidently the police and the local cycling "advocates" don't (I've exhausted those avenues in the past). I suppose I could also be glad that I didn't react and escalate the situation, if I thought my non-reaction was for any reason other than cynicism.
Either way, I'm glad to have had some help today. Hopefully I can learn something from this and not need it next time.
posted by Chris L @ 8:28 pm
2 Comments:
Chris- scary stuff. Glad you had a motorist watching out for you.
Makes me grateful for the easy commutes I have here. Max number of lights I would encounter in a commute are prob two or three , and the pace of roads here is still generally pretty laid back.
One friend was nearly skittled tho a while ago at the Denman Camp lights. She was cycling straight ahead reasonably quickly and efficiently after the lights changed- a van turning left rather than wait a few seconds behind her passed her on the right and then swung hard left across her path to make his turn. Dorks anonymous.
Regrettably in the pressure of surviving the moment she was unable to note the number plate.
Chris- that dread decade birthday musn't be too far off- or has it gone? Happy birthday for the day anyway. I don't even want to THINK about my next decade birthday!
cheers Dave
It's not always easy to get a number plate in those situations, although it my experience it's rarely worth bothering. The police won't be interested unless someone is actually killed, and I think it's probably too late by then.
I hope your friend was uninjured by the dork. All I can suggest here is riding a little further from the kerb which might dissuade them from passing, or at least give her more space to play with next time around. One thing about these incidents is that they have a habit of repeating themselves, so it's best to learn something from the first one if possible.
The dreaded birthday is now two weeks away.
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