On yer left...

alienator

Keep an eye out folks, and don't be afraid to hug that edge of tarmac on yer right. A couple o' days ago, I found out just how important that bit o' advice was, when the blade from an oversized bulldozer scraped my elbow as the semi upon which it was riding sped by be at 50+mph. Lucky for moi, the kind semi driver decided it was better to lay on the horn for the 2-300 yards he had between him and I, as he closed from behind, instead of doing something rash like applying brakes or summat.

I guess that law we have in AZ requiring drivers to give cyclists 3ft doesn't apply to buttheads who are in a hurry and driving semis with oversized loads. I am glad, though, that he didn't take that extra 1/8-1/4" 'cuz I really like my left elbow as it is, thank you.

Powerful Pete

Good to hear that you are still alive and well.

Unfortunately, as you know, this kind of experience is part and parcel of riding.

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alienator

Yup. It's just that if you go so long without almost getting pummeled by an internal combustion machine, you can almost forget just how "invigorating" interacting with them can be.

If there's any justice in the world, that driver arrived home to find his mom locked in 69 with his wife.

Crankyfeet

Does that happen occasionally in AZ??

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Originally posted by Frigo's Luggage...

"[Calling him] 'dickcheese' is the insult of a master. Some people work in oil, some people work in clay. He [thoughtforfood] works in profanity. Open your mind and enjoy its beauty."

Crankyfeet

Sounds like that was real close if you had contact. I've had a boat on a trailer (that was much wider than the towing vehicle) almost hit me. And an 18 wheeler had his wheels on the bike lane line as he passed. But never a touch...that would put your heart in your mouth.

__________________
Originally posted by Frigo's Luggage...

"[Calling him] 'dickcheese' is the insult of a master. Some people work in oil, some people work in clay. He [thoughtforfood] works in profanity. Open your mind and enjoy its beauty."

Bro Deal

Yow. That is scary, bro.

Your hand and now your elbow. Do you have a black cloud that follows you around all the time?

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kdelong

Kinda makes ya wonder if Steelum is a truck driver who hauls wide loads in Arizona. Glad to hear that you are OK, even if you do hate Ohio.

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Yojimbo_

Glad to hear you are ok.

Similar thing happened to me this summer. Some guy in a pickup truck went by really close, only the load he was towing was wider than he was, and it hit me. I was very lucky.

Now I am fearful to ride on the road, whereas before I wasn't.

alienator

All I got out of it was a scrape and a red mark on my elbow and forearm. It is scary to think that I came within a handful of millimeters of destroying a set of LEW VT-1s. Dang. Sure, the settlement money would have been great, but the downside would have been all that time I'd have to have waited for the dosh. Of course, the narcotics would have made the time that much better....

Powerful Pete

ROTFL. Good to hear that you are your usual self...

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Crankyfeet

Seems like Cadel Evans has had similar experiences. This from cyclingnews recently:



Evans notes training fears in Australia

By Susan Westemeyer

Cadel Evans of Team Silence-Lotto is a road racer, but admits that sometimes training on the road can be scary and dangerous. "Honestly, the scariest part of my job is riding on the Great Ocean Road, which I live on, between Christmas and New Year," he told the Sydney Morning Herald.

"I've cycled in every continent in the world, other than Antarctica, and it's incredible. Drivers in America and Australia just have attitudes. I don't necessarily say attitudes towards cyclists, but towards other road users," the 2007 ProTour champion said. "People just don't realise the danger they're causing other people."

What he most fears are trailers that are wider than the cars pulling them. "I've nearly had my leg torn off so many times because of that, and people are just completely unaware of it."

__________________
Originally posted by Frigo's Luggage...

"[Calling him] 'dickcheese' is the insult of a master. Some people work in oil, some people work in clay. He [thoughtforfood] works in profanity. Open your mind and enjoy its beauty."

JTE83

Did u bike on a highway? - That's like suicide to me. Two coworkers of mine at Schlumberger did that though. But the worse idiot I have ever seen was a guy biking against ongoing traffic on a highway - the real bad part was he was directly in the off ramp and someone who suddenly decides to go off ramp while trailing directly behind another car could have just plowed into him!

alienator

Nope. Not a highway. Just a typical Sonoran Desert road. And it's not suicide: it's just an example of the colorful, entertaining interaction we cyclists get to occasionally have with drivers and their hurtling metal cans. I'd much rather be on my bike dodging the brain dead than be stuck in the comparitively aseptic interior of a car, cut off from the environment, isolated in a rolling cage.

ghostpedal

Man, you got out of it lucky. Years ago when I was standing guard at a Navy Base, a truck with a bulldozer on a trailer came through and the blade of the dozer gave a 2'x2' concrete block a clean flat top hair cut. Anyway, I'm glad you're OK. Were you measuring your HR? Mine always goes through the roof after a close call, much less a real hit.

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