Beige Hyundai

[Erik.Lazdins]

I just got off my Serotta, having had a great ride up until the stretch of Mingo from 81st to my neighborhood entrance at 85th. Its a slightly downward stretch, North wind (tailwind) lets me spin out of my 53X14 and am in the sweet spot of my smallest 13 cog.

Here's where it slows down for me:

A semi coming the other way...

My 2 lanes merging into one - I glance over my shoulder see a metallic grey Infiniti rapidly approaching from the rear - he passes me as we've still got 1.5 lanes left.

I see a beige Hyundai a ways back so I take the full lane seeing as I'm bound to be within 5mph of the 40mph speed limit - a semi approaching preventing a pass.
the hyundai with a grey haired lady holds the horn and comes within a couple feet of my rear wheel and tukkus - and is crossing the centerline with a semi in the other lane!
I ease to the right about a foot the Hyundai goes by with full throttle still holding the horn

I never got the plate

I'm shaking as I type this

Be safe out there!

Thanks for reading -
E

[capybaras]

that is horrible. Sorry. Some old people really can't handle all the things one needs to deal at the same time with when driving a car. Glad you didn't get hurt.

[mike p]

Don't blame the old lady, she was probably all jacked up on digitalize and running late for an appointment to get her hair dyed blue.

Mike

[Big Dan]

She was probably late for mass....


:cool:

[bigbill]

She was probably late for mass....


:cool:

I got cussed out by a guy in a minivan because I was riding past the entrance to his church and he couldn't turn into the parking lot. What made it even more special was the fact his family was in the van. It's important that kids learn to properly cuss at a young age.

[Fixed]

bro an inch is as good as mile .
.it wasn't your time ..
never trust a car
glad your okay
cheers imho :beer:

[biker222]

I can remember a ride that I did last year were we coming out of the Gatineau Park. Buddy and I were going downhill with speeds between 35 and 45 mph down a twisty road that had a speed limit of 35mph. At one point we were doing about 40mph when a van pulls up beside us and started telling us that what we were doing was dangerous and should slow down, my comment back to her was that we knew what we where doing and that she simply just pass us so we could concentrate on our descent. She passed us in a curve and sped away doing over the speed limit.

[BumbleBeeDave]

I'm very glad you're OK! There was very little out that way 20 years ago when I lived there. Lots of open country between Woodland Hills Mall and Broken Arrow. Now checking the satellite image on Google it looks like it's chockablock! How far south do you have to ride now before you're really "out of town?"

BBD

[soulspinner]

I ride in an area with lots of traffic. The cars are always right and I stay upright. Had a guy try to hit me twice with his car. Changed my desire to contest whether I was right or not...long as I get home intact.

[Erik.Lazdins]

My thanks for the posts - I cannot express the therapeutic effect of the forum here.

Thanks for the replies!

Stop by for a beer!

E :beer:

[cs124]

I ride in an area with lots of traffic. The cars are always right and I stay upright. Had a guy try to hit me twice with his car. Changed my desire to contest whether I was right or not...long as I get home intact.

+1.

I always assume the drivers are both brain dead and malicious and ride accordingly.

[merckx]

It's your new pedals.
Good Karma.
Glad to hear your story had a happy ending.

[Erik.Lazdins]

It's your new pedals.
Good Karma.
Glad to hear your story had a happy ending.

Thanks for the pedals - I'll be on 'em tomorrow about 4:30 AM again!

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . at least you probably won't run into the Hyundai B*TCH again at 4:30 am! :rolleyes:

BBD

[david]

I can remember a ride that I did last year were we coming out of the Gatineau Park.

Gatineau Park? I've ridden that - on Erg Video. :beer:

[rpm]

Erik--

I've visited and ridden in Tulsa a few times, and I don't think drivers there are any worse than those in other places. I have a sort of typology of drivers to watch out for:
"Rambo's'--young guys in jacked-up pickups or hot rods. One of them went threw a mudhole to splash me a few months ago.
"Audi-Doodies"--impatient yuppies yapping on their cell phones and driving too fast. Last year I had to evade a woman in a Saab who did a left turn right into me.
"Blonde and Dangerous" Petite women in giant SUVs who never see you. I had one pass me and make a right turn in front of me, totally oblvious to my existence.
Your encounter must have been with a "Nascar Granny"--bad judgment to match bad reflexes. Florida riders must get a lot of "Senile Seniors" who drive 15 mph and look through the steering wheel to drive.

I will say one thing about riding in Tulsa, though. You have an awful lot of streets with four narrow lanes that encourage people to drive at least 10 mph over the nominal speed limit. It struck me that Tulsa should take a couple of those in each direction and convert them to 2-lane streets with left turn and bike lanes. Bike lanes have their own issues, but narrow 4 laners are the nastiest for riding. Here in St. Paul, the city has converted a couple of streets like that and they're much friendlier for bikes.

[hansolo758]

Erik: Glad you're OK and not a statistic.

[Blue Jays]

Erik, glad to hear you're fine after the traffic altercation. Could you imagine having to be her and living with all that boiling anger 24 x 7 x 365?

[t. swartz]

erik-laid up with a 103 deg fever and a pinched nerve in my neck, the good part? i don't have to deal with non-driving mashuginas out on the road...good to hear you're alright.

[Erik.Lazdins]

I'm very glad you're OK! There was very little out that way 20 years ago when I lived there. Lots of open country between Woodland Hills Mall and Broken Arrow. Now checking the satellite image on Google it looks like it's chockablock! How far south do you have to ride now before you're really "out of town?"

BBD

I would consider 111th the line nowadays. 101st to 121st Sheridan to Yale is pretty decent riding most of the time - farther south with some exceptions your good. My favorite route it out towards Mounds typically into the prevailing south wind over some bad pavement - the nice bit is about 201st and Harvard - smooth pavement wind at the back and any dogs there don't have a chance of chasing you! Good routes are also Avery Drive to Hwy 51 out to Keystone Dam and back on Wekiwa road. You can take the wed night ride routes there and get onto Old North Road and others. Unfortunately these once great routes aren't that good on Wed nights anymore as NW Tulsa has grown dramatically since 2001.

Fortunately - there are bike trails around that are good on off-hours. Weekends 9AM to 3PM I stay off them as they get pretty congested with people who don't typically use them. Weekday mornings if I'm out past 6AM I move to the trails as the morning rush has started.

This morning I rode the same stretch with no Beige Hyundais to look out for!

Thanks for the replies - E :beer: :beer:

[Fixed]

erik-laid up with a 103 deg fever and a pinched nerve in my neck, the good part? i don't have to deal with non-driving mashuginas out on the road...good to hear you're alright.
bro a lot of that goin around take care cheers imho

[stevep]

good work making it through.

a lot of idiots on the road, no doubt.

[paczki]

Watch out for kooks as the surfers say!

[Erik.Lazdins]

erik-laid up with a 103 deg fever and a pinched nerve in my neck, the good part? i don't have to deal with non-driving mashuginas out on the road...good to hear you're alright.


Get to feeling better - 103 is a serious fever! Take care - E

[Bud_E]

That sort of thing happens around here - especially in the canyons - all too often. I'm amazed by the life-endangering things drivers ( not restricted to any particular sex/religion/ethnic group/age/make/model as far as I can tell ) will do to pass when they could have waited a few seconds and passed safely. If my wife saw some of the squirrelly things drivers do, she'd sell my bike on Ebay and never let me out of the house. Glad that you're around to report on it. :beer:

[BumbleBeeDave]

That sort of thing happens around here - especially in the canyons - all too often. I'm amazed by the life-endangering things drivers ( not restricted to any particular sex/religion/ethnic group/age/make/model as far as I can tell ) will do to pass when they could have waited a few seconds and passed safely. If my wife saw some of the squirrelly things drivers do, she'd sell my bike on Ebay and never let me out of the house. Glad that you're around to report on it. :beer:

I'm consistently left shaking my head out on rides when I see some of the things drivers do to avoid--GOD FORBID!!--actually slowing down for a few seconds to wait until after we get around the blind curve or over the crest of the hill to pass on a double yellow line. I seldom have people honk at me--they just pull these two popular stunts. It's so unusual--and so appreciated--whenever someone does wait that I always make sure to wave, nod, and thank them when they finally do pass. It's scary, too, because I know d@mn well that if a speeding corvette comes around that curve or a semi pops over that hill, these impatient morons are going to swerve irght into me without even thinking . . . :eek:

BBD