wheelspinner
Are We There Yet? Member
Nobody's perfect, I'm a nobody, so ...
Posts: 4,103
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Post by wheelspinner on May 26, 2010 6:42:03 GMT -5
All commuter cyclist know that somewhere out there is a car bonnet with your name on it. Tonight I met mine.
This idiot driver decided to make a left turn without even looking to her left and ploughed straight into me as I was crossing the road (she was facing a Give Way sign).
Fortunately she was traveling ultra-slow and all I copped was a bruise and a healthy dose of righteous indignation.
I got back on the bike and rode home, shaken but OK.
When I got home I realised that my pannier bag, with watch, wallet and clothes was no longer on my bike.
I rang work and had not left it there. So I was faced with the prospect of going out in the car and trying to find it. That, and canceling all my credit cards and kissing goodbye to a new watch and a new wallet.
Then a fellow cyclist called to say that she had my bag, which she'd found at the side of the road. We arranged to meet tomorrow for me to pick it up.
She is getting a big bunch of flowers.
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Post by Georgina on May 26, 2010 9:24:36 GMT -5
Wow. I hope that you're really and truly okay. Sometimes injuries -- especially soft tissue injuries -- don't present themselves until the day after. Can you go get checked out just to be sure?
And how wonderful that someone found your bag.
Sometimes life just comes along and scares the beejeebeez out of you, doesn't it?
I'm glad you're well enough to tell the tale.
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Post by MacBeth on May 26, 2010 10:35:49 GMT -5
I am so glad you are mostly OK.....she was at least ticketed, right?
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wheelspinner
Are We There Yet? Member
Nobody's perfect, I'm a nobody, so ...
Posts: 4,103
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Post by wheelspinner on May 27, 2010 1:10:51 GMT -5
I am so glad you are mostly OK.....she was at least ticketed, right? No, there's never a police around when you need one. I was so shaken I forgot to even get her name and address. My fervent hope is that my bike at least redecorated her car a bit. I met my benefactress this morning to pick up my bag. She loved the flowers. I bought her a coffee and we had a chat about idiot drivers, etc. Turns out she is in the market for a PM, so I might even get some work out of this.
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Post by MacBeth on May 27, 2010 7:42:03 GMT -5
Interesting what happens when you meet new people....glad for some happy ending in all this !
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wheelspinner
Are We There Yet? Member
Nobody's perfect, I'm a nobody, so ...
Posts: 4,103
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Post by wheelspinner on May 28, 2010 5:39:14 GMT -5
Interesting what happens when you meet new people....glad for some happy ending in all this ! She's a very nice lady, but unfortunately a mountain biker, so she is therefore certifiably crazy.
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Post by MacBeth on May 28, 2010 5:55:03 GMT -5
I hear that !!
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Calluna
Super Duper Member
I think there's someone on the other side...
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Post by Calluna on Jun 22, 2010 0:26:40 GMT -5
Interesting what happens when you meet new people....glad for some happy ending in all this ! She's a very nice lady, but unfortunately a mountain biker, so she is therefore certifiably crazy. LOL! While I was visiting my boyfriend last month, I was watching a comedy routine. The comedian was talking about biking in New York City. Somewhat paraphrasing, he was saying that it's always a thrill. You know HOW you're going to die, you just don't know WHEN. Having seen the bike riders in NYC, I had to concur (though, some of them just as likely are bringing it upon themselves to flagrantly ignore traffic rules). Personally, I'd still rather bike in NYC where there are places with designated bike paths than around here where the roads are barely wide enough for two cars to pass without one landing in a ditch. On the other hand, we do have some lovely rail trails (old railway lines that have been converted into pedestrian and bike paths since no trains run on them anymore). So, there are very nice places for recreational biking, even if the concept of biking to work is still a bit foreign here. I think part of the problem is that the students are spoiled by all these apartment complexes that offer bus service to campus and local shopping centers. When I was a student, there were usually only two transportation options. You walked, or you biked. There were buses, but you still had to walk some distance to a bus stop, and buses to shopping centers were the regular city buses, nothing special.
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wheelspinner
Are We There Yet? Member
Nobody's perfect, I'm a nobody, so ...
Posts: 4,103
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Post by wheelspinner on Jun 27, 2010 21:46:45 GMT -5
Personally, I'd still rather bike in NYC where there are places with designated bike paths than around here where the roads are barely wide enough for two cars to pass without one landing in a ditch. Interestingly, I just read a book called Traffic, which posits the exact opposite. Apparently cars drive much closer to cyclists when there is a dedicated bike lane than where there is no bike lane. The research suggests that cyclists are safer without a bike land than with one, unless it is a very wide one.
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Post by Peltigera on Jun 28, 2010 7:00:17 GMT -5
Proper bike lanes have a kerb between bikes and cars - not that many bike lanes are proper bike lanes. What annoys me is the decision by motorcyclists that they are bikes so can use bike lanes. I enjoy annoying them by cycling very slowly in front of them.
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Post by Georgina on Jun 28, 2010 9:15:31 GMT -5
Motorcycles should absolutely not qualify to drive in bicycle lanes.
I've made some recent discoveries about my new neighbourhood. First of all, bicycles are permitted on sidewalks here. Which, yay! The other city area I lived had miles and miles and miles of sidewalks with absolutely no one walking on them with cyclists risking life and limb on the roadways, with cars, and without cycle lanes. (I understand keeping bicycles off of sidewalks in crowded downtown areas, but our cities are sprawling affairs, here, and for every bit of roadway we have there are corresponding sidewalks. Most sidewalks, I daresay, never get walked on.)
So that's a bonus to learn. I've also learned that there's a massive biking/walking/rollerblading trail system throughout the whole community on which you can travel around the entire place without even going near roadways. Bonus once more! Time to get me some wheels again.
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