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.

 

[alienator]

Good to hear that you are still alive and well.

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

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]

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

Does that happen occasionally in AZ??

 

[Crankyfeet]

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.

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.

 

[Bro Deal]

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.

Yow. That is scary, bro.

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

 

[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.

 

[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...

 

[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."

 

[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]

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!

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.

 

[alienator]

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.

Nah, I wasn't. Afterward, though, I was pretty reflective about life, specifically how there were so many female undergrads that I had yet to take advantage of.

 

[Crankyfeet]

Nah, I wasn't. Afterward, though, I was pretty reflective about life, specifically how there were so many female undergrads that I had yet to take advantage of.

Maybe Lance had a similar close call... which prompted him to ring up Ashley Olsen...

 

[Powerful Pete]

Nah, I wasn't. Afterward, though, I was pretty reflective about life, specifically how there were so many female undergrads that I had yet to take advantage of.

That, my friend, is a thought that has followed me throughout my university career as well as afterwards...

 

[p38lightning]

At least he blew his horn, stupid jerk that he is. Bu the greatest threat here in Tucson in my opinion is the 80 year old "snow bird" (winter visitor) driving a recreational vehicle the size of a bus.

 

[Jonahhobbes]

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.

"The Brain Dead" - thank you my man I've been looking for the right name to describe those "other' road users for ages and this one is just right.

My wife cannot understand why she feels more tired after taking her bike out on the streets and roads compared to the spin class she does in the gym. I tell her its the amount of brain energy you need to keep yourself safe and alive, thats the gruelling bit.

I'm often asked why I get up so early before my morning commute and I tell people that I need to be completely awake and alert to survive the others those Brain Dead. Early morning Brain Dead are the worst.

 

[Falcodore]

"snow bird" (winter visitor) driving a recreational vehicle the size of a bus.

They're called 'Grey Nomads' in Australia, though they are usually towing a caravan and driving way below the speed limit (pissing even one else off).