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I was really taking my life in my own hands yesterday as I was out riding on the anniversary of getting run down by a car last year. And strangely enough, some FC must have known about this and tried to make a repeat of last year’s event.

It was June 14, 2008 when I got sideswiped by a car while out on a ride with said driver then disappearing into the distance without stopping. While there has been no permanent damage and I still ride every chance I get, I am hesitant about riding on the street, at least by myself. Perhaps I was feeling overly confident yesterday or perhaps it was the light traffic, but I decided to go out on the main road in front of my neighborhood. Since it was Sunday, traffic was quite light and it’s very common to see cyclist using the right lane to ride in. Most people are fine with this and simply move over or stay in the left lane and give plenty of room.

But not this little sweetheart. I went zipping past her as she sat waiting to come out of one of the feeder neighborhoods. I was moving along at about 20-25 mph with all the cars giving me plenty of room. And then FC comes by. Instead of getting all the way over into the left hand lane like everyone else had done, she feels that is far too inconvenient and straddles the line between lanes, which makes her about 2 feet away from me, or just slightly past arms length. Then as soon as she’s passed she comes back over in front of me, perhaps two car lengths. At the speed we were going it made me a little uneasy. If I were to fall, the damage would be severe. And I could scratch my bike.

I was already making rude hand gestures and slinging vulgarities when she decides that the right hand lane really isn’t where she wants to be and whips over to the left so she can make a left hand turn at the light, just a few hundred yards ahead.

So I have to ask? What the hell was she thinking? Was it really that inconvenient to actually move completely over and not get that close to me in that stupid Honda SUV? Is it really that hard to see a guy on a pink bike and bright yellow shirt and think to yourself, “Aha! A cyclist, I won’t run him down and get him stuck in my wheel well.”? Is it really necessary to pull back over right in front of me only to realize that you have no idea how to drive and then swerve over two lanes in order to make a left?

Just another cycling adventure I suppose…

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