I Thought I bought the farm. [Archive]

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William

03-30-2005, 05:09 PM

On my ride today:
Starting down a short but steep hill with an "S" curve near the top. A revving engine, the screech of rubber on the pavement as a car locks up the brakes immediately behind me. People say your life flashes before your eyes. More like random images at the speed of light. important and meaningful ones, but random none the less. I'm trying to get over as much as I can while trying not to lose control on the loose sand accumulated from the previous snow storms on the edge of the road. No where to bail out, bracing for an impact. Close but I can't risk a glance while trying to maintain control on the edge in the turn. The screeching stops. The impact doesn't come and the road straightens out. I look back over my shoulder and a black sub-compact car full of teens is stopped at an angle on the edge of the road, right in the path I just came through. I had glanced over my shoulder as I started down and there was no car there. I'm still on the hill but slowed down and constantly checking for the car. Finally it pulls out and comes up behind me. I'm still on the edge of the road, rolling and looking back at them waiting for them to come by. The car comes up on my side, and I'm about to rip the kid a new "A" hole, when he starts apologizing profusely and I'm having trouble understanding what he's saying because he seems very shook up. I think he was saying that a car going the opposite direction crossed the center line and he swerved to avoid it. I saw a car coming up the hill but it was by me by then. He still had to have been going pretty fast because I didn't see him at the top when I looked back. Finally I just said be more careful & slow down. With that they were on their way and i continued my ride...with a lot on my mind.

Man, last week the SUV soccer mom running the stop sign. Today, I thought I bought the farm.

Stay safe out there.

William

Skrawny

03-30-2005, 05:22 PM

Yipes!
Thank Goodness you survived your brushes with SUVs and teen drivers.

Maybe I haven't had enough life experiences, but the only image that I had when I came close to "buying it" was that of asphalt; lots of asphalt.
-s

weisan

03-30-2005, 05:30 PM

William-pal, time to take a biking sabbatical. A month or so would be good, if you can handle it...if not, I would advise at least a week off the bike. You can still walk up to the garage and stroke your bike every night or so. That's no problem. :p

Bradford

03-30-2005, 05:40 PM

Remeber a few weeks ago when I said let's get together and ride, well now I'm not so sure. You sure seem to be having some bad luck.

Try to stay safe out there, one dead guy on the Serotta board is enough.

shinomaster

03-30-2005, 06:08 PM

I'm so glad you arn't up there in Hogg Heaven!!
I almost got creamed in Boston 6 years ago..I was going over the B.U. Bridge in the dark with no light, to Cambridge, and while going under the underpass a black jeep cherokee ran through the stop sign there and raced toward me. I saw how fast I was going and how fast he was going and did the math in my head...Bad answer. He slammed on his brakes just before plowing into me. I could feel the Jeep squealing toward my right side. I helplessly waited for the impact and closed my eyes and tightened up my body.
He must have stopped a couple of feet from me. We were both terrified.
I went out and got a light the next day..

Talk about a near death...I owe somebody a favor. :p

Tmogul

03-30-2005, 06:16 PM

Its times like that when you just feel like giving up the sport aeyh? Its just not worth losing your life over you know. But then........... you come to your senses.

My wife and I were riding our tandem late at night with lights and all and couple of yahoo's threw a coke bottle at us which went under my front wheel. Well it was dark and I couldn't see where it came from. I do remember the pickup truck though in hindsight. Well a couple miles down the road the same truck goes roaring past and I see a full gallon of water just miss my front wheel. Can you imagine what would of happened if it hit? I mean a full gallon of water. Well I was furious and my wife was a bit panick stricken. I mean we live in a nice area but we were going by a community college. Figures. A short distance afterwards we came upon a cop car by the side of the road and I told him what happened. He hauled off after them. We thought he'd never find them but a couple miles down the road low and behold he was there with the truck. He asked us if we were absolutely sure it was the same truck.....uh 99.99% sure but no plate numbers so I couldn't say for sure 100%. Plus the truck was dirty brown when i told him blue due to my HID lights and orange lenses. Also it turns out the kid was shipping off to iraq the next day (which I think was a lie) and the kid and his buddies kept denying the whole affair. I told him I wouldn't press charges and the officer said that he'd try and put the fear of God into them so to speak at least. He knew it was the right truck but had a soft side too like myself. I mean at least we didn't get hit though it doesn't excuse the act.

That stuff just makes you scared to ride your bike around town you know what I mean? Who wins between car and bike?

Tmogul

03-30-2005, 06:18 PM

I'm glad you went easy on that SUV. Its not nice to put a big dent in their hood and still ride off you know. ;) :D

seriously thank goodness you didn't get swiped.

hooverone

03-30-2005, 06:49 PM

Drivers who do not respect cyclist make mountain biking attractive, but I still prefer road riding, I have met some drivers who really do not respect cyclist and one of them had on a LAF yellow bracelet I reminded them who created those bracelets they have on their wrist as they almost run me over because they can not move over a few feet. The lady was surprised, especially because of the yellow bracelet she was wearing.

I had one driver who buzzed us and then later (he turned around at the end of the road) said there would not be so many cyclist getting hit by cars if we got off the road, well the police visited him later that night.

Jim

Louis

03-30-2005, 08:14 PM

What's going on behind me is always the scariest. You never know how close they are going to come.

And yet NO ONE WHO CONSIDERS HIMSELF THE LEAST BIT COOL WEARS A MIRROR.

eddief

03-30-2005, 09:26 PM

RABikes2

03-30-2005, 10:22 PM

William...so glad you are alright Cuz. Stay safe!

RA

OldDog

03-30-2005, 10:37 PM

cool or not cool, I feel naked and even more vulnerable on my bike without a mirror. In fact, I am so conditioned to biking with a rear view mirror I even miss having one when I'm walking down the street.

Do all/most of you ride with a rear view mirror?

I use my mirror walking down the street, along with the tin foil under my hat, to help ward off the alians...... :D

William - glad you came out of this one unscathed. Been there, it rattles you bad.

Louis

03-31-2005, 12:32 AM

Do all/most of you ride with a rear view mirror?

I'm guessing that fewer than 5% of cyclists use mirrors. Rarely do I meet someone who does. I don't either. I know it's stupid not to.

I bet if Lance and everyone else on the tour used them nearly all other cyclists would.

Louis

slowgoing

03-31-2005, 02:50 AM

Glad you're ok. Sounds like the whole experience may have actually been good for the kid.

And I wear a mirror when I'm doing hill repeats (I could really care less what others think it looks like). Mainly for the uphills, though, when I can barely hear the cars coming from behind over my own gasping lungs. I use it to slow down when it looks like I won't be able to clear the parked car in front of me by the time the car behind passes. I think of it as conservation of mass -- my own.

Sandy

03-31-2005, 05:04 AM

Tom

03-31-2005, 06:11 AM

Like I said in the other post - my brother did for a while after being knocked off the road by a dump truck. Fortunately for him and us it was just the air blast from it being a bit too close and a bit too fast. He quit because it was making him crazy actually seeing what was coming up behind.

Cool factor? My brother's the type that wears shorts over his bike shorts most days - even when the whole family rode home from school with his son the junior in high school. From Colorado to Vermont. Or when he rides to work most days. In Vermont. Actually, my brother's the type I drop on downhills because he won't go over 30 miles an hour. He drops me effortlessly going back up the hills because he keeps going thirty miles an hour, the bastard.

On the 'little things that bug you' theme, you should hear the wonderful things he says about the district manager from the Vt. Department of Highways. They fixed a slumping shoulder on one uphill stretch of Route 5 into Hartland by moving the guard rail directly over the white line. As my brother has pointed out in some blunt terms, the law states exactly how wide the shoulder needs be and that for repairs such as that allowance for the safe passage of pedestrians is written into the law. Oh your piddling regulations, they say to him.

Ray

03-31-2005, 07:43 AM

I ride regularly with a cyclist who uses a mirror, and have ridden with others in the past. It is remarkable how much more they are aware of than those of us who do not. I tried one on and was not comfortable at all with it. I guess I should have bought one and really tried it for a while.
It doesn't take that long to get used to a mirror and not even notice it after a while. I use one of those little mirrors that sticks to the inside of your glasses, like these:

http://www.cambriabike.com/shopexd.asp?id=8573

Despite the advert, these mirrors don't work very well with wraparound glasses - it's tough to find a viewing angle that works. I use relatively flat aviator shades, though, and it works great with those. They're relatively stealth for those who worry about their image :rolleyes: I don't notice the mirror when I'm looking ahead, but a quick glance to the left with my left eye and I easily see if anything is gaining on me. Mine are inside prescription lenses and I guess wouldn't work if my eyesight was bad enough (since you're not looking through the lens), but my eyes are good enough to see the basics of what's going on back there. Riding without a mirror feels as naked to me as as driving a car without a seatbelt.

-Ray

Too Tall

03-31-2005, 07:57 AM

I shoot back.

Keith A

03-31-2005, 09:22 AM

William,

I'm glad to hear that you are okay. I have had plenty of close calls and have been hit by a car on three occasions. The last time I was hit from behind and didn't even hear them coming. It really rattled me for a long time and I would tense up everytime a car approached me from behind -- all I could think was if this car was going to hit me.

Be safe out there!

flydhest

03-31-2005, 09:44 AM

Sandy

03-31-2005, 09:54 AM

You make an excellent point. Awareness by simply beinng alert and more focused on safety is critical. I am finding out that I am much more aware of what is behind me, and around me. But when ridig with cyclist who have mirrors, I find that they can see cars behind us, well before I am aware of them. I also don't really very good hearing. My daughter's hearing is almost bionic.

Sandy

flydhest

03-31-2005, 10:01 AM

But when ridig with cyclist who have mirrors, I find that they can see cars behind us, well before I am aware of them. I also don't really very good hearing. My daughter's hearing is almost bionic.

Sandy

Herein lies my point. That they are aware of them before you are doesn't seem like the test to show that mirrors are great. When I ride, I'm constantly listening for cars behind me and checking back with quite a lot of regularity.

On a different topic, if it's not raining this weekend, we should ride.

BURCH

03-31-2005, 10:24 AM

As someone else mentioned....experiences like these are when having a mtb work out nicely. After getting hit for the 3rd time in as many years and becoming gun shy, I started doing 90% of my riding on the trails. It has been three years since my last car vs bike experience and I am finally ready to get back to serious rode riding with my new CDA when it arrives.

zap

03-31-2005, 12:36 PM

My ears are pretty good at alerting me whats going on back there.

Yesterday I knew it was going to be close. Sure enough, the left half of my body is hairless thanks to granny using the right line as her guide.

weisan

03-31-2005, 01:26 PM

Yesterday I knew it was going to be close. Sure enough, the left half of my body is hairless thanks to granny using the right line as her guide.

That brings a chuckle or two. Zap, you are lucky that granny did not fixate her eyes on those very well-sculptured muscles flexing beneath the spandex.

William

03-31-2005, 01:51 PM

Thanks for the well wishes folks. I 've had some close ones before but no big deal. I think this one rattled me a little just because it came up so fast. As I said, I looked before I dropped off the crest of the hill. Probably a good 70 yards before the road drops again (rolling area). As I dropped down, the must have come over the crest of the previous rise. Since I then had the hill between them and me, plus the noise of a car coming up the hill, I couldn't hear them coming. Really, the part of the road I was on, the speed, and the loose sand with no bail out area, I don't think a mirror would have helped much...meaning it wouldn't have given me an opportunity to react any differently other then brace for impact. It could have actually distracted my attention from the conditions ahead which needed my full attention. Had I spilled from the distraction it could have been quite a different out come. Rolling forward, I'm still making distance away from the car. Had I gone down it could have been crunch time.
I know, it's a lot of woulda-coulda's, and I'm not discounting the use of mirrors. Just saying that in this case, it wouldn't have changed anything.

William-pal, time to take a biking sabbatical. A month or so would be good, if you can handle it...if not, I would advise at least a week off the bike. You can still walk up to the garage and stroke your bike every night or so.
Weisan, I already do that now. Things could get really weird if I stopped riding for a while. :eek:
Remeber a few weeks ago when I said let's get together and ride, well now I'm not so sure. You sure seem to be having some bad luck.
Bradford, (knocking on wood) One could argue that I'm actually having good luck since I came out ok. ;)
I'm so glad you arn't up there in Hogg Heaven!!
I almost got creamed in Boston 6 years ago..I was going over the B.U. Bridge in the dark with no light, to Cambridge, and while going under the underpass a black jeep cherokee ran through the stop sign there and raced toward me. I saw how fast I was going and how fast he was going and did the math in my head...Bad answer. He slammed on his brakes just before plowing into me. I could feel the Jeep squealing toward my right side. I helplessly waited for the impact and closed my eyes and tightened up my body.
He must have stopped a couple of feet from me. We were both terrified.
I went out and got a light the next day..
Talk about a near death...I owe somebody a favor.
Shino, I'm glad you came through alright. That's the worst feeling, to hear the tires screeching and just bracing for the possible impact.
William...so glad you are alright Cuz. Stay safe!
Thanks cuz! I have unfinished business, and sorry for not getting back to you sooner. I hope you had a successful ride. :banana:
William - glad you came out of this one unscathed. Been there, it rattles you bad.
You know it OldDog. WOOF! ;)
William- Certainly not the time for you to go- You have a purpose in life. You must take care of that birthday cake eating Bassett Hound.
With a hound dog bark,
Thanks Big Sandy man! You know, I have to make that Basset a cake every single day. She has to practice don't you know. I'm beginning to suspect an ulterior motive. :confused:
William,
I'm glad to hear that you are okay. I have had plenty of close calls and have been hit by a car on three occasions. The last time I was hit from behind and didn't even hear them coming. It really rattled me for a long time and I would tense up every-time a car approached me from behind -- all I could think was if this car was going to hit me.

Thanks Keith A.
I know what you mean. By the end of my ride, cars coming up weren't bothering me too much. I think it was more that I kept thinking about my kids and my wife, and what if...

William :)

Bradford

03-31-2005, 03:00 PM

Bradford, (knocking on wood) One could argue that I'm actually having good luck since I came out ok. ;)

William :)

OK, you have me convinced, you are good luck. :banana: If the weather is nice next week, lets go out for an afternoon ride early in the week. Whatever time you leave the office is good for me.

We can meet half way at the unfinished furniture place, or if you are driving, just come up Mendon road to my place and we can leave from here. If we leave from here, I'll take you a nice loop up through Attleboro and Plainville.

William

04-01-2005, 06:51 AM

OK, you have me convinced, you are good luck. If the weather is nice next week, lets go out for an afternoon ride early in the week. Whatever time you leave the office is good for me.

Sounds good. During the week, I need to get back to EG by 3:30. But I can usually be flexible as to how early I can get out. I'll call you.

William