Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Is Driving really that hard?

Last Friday night I left work a bit early so I could get a 30 miler in before me and the wife went to dinner. I didn't want her to have to wait too long for me. Thankfully i did because I sure didn't get out of the house that quick .. had to take the bike off the trainer (which i have to switch skewers), air up, get changed and bottles all set. I'm about to head out when I get hit with a case of DBS. You don't know what DBS is? Hmmm I guess I'll have to add that reference in here. Anyway.. I didn't get out on the road till about 45 mins after getting home. If I wouldn't have scooted out early I wouldn't have gotten too long a ride in.

So I'm finally out there and I don't even make it off my road before I get some snickering at my squeezers .. Bah .. going to be one of "those" days it appears. So I start out on my normal loop .. it's warm but a little windy, not overly but it lets you know it's there. Feeling like a good ride though. I make my normal turns and head round about to the first little climb. It's just a few little hills but it gets you warmed up. Up past the high school and then down heading for the community college. At the bottom there is a bit of a yield mess as people will try to be turning off and on to the road that I'm on. I have the right of way as they are pulling on but that usually means very little. I'm always on high alert at this area as this was almost the scene of my demise a few years back when an old lady not even remotely seeing me almost ran me down. Which is pretty good as we were both going the same way and I was right by the curb, she went to pass someone and if I hadn't decked it on curb I would be a little flatter right now ( actually right now I could stand to be a little flatter but now like that).

So when I come to this area I'm always looking. And as I come down to the yield section of the road a guy in a black pick up turns, sees me and yields out. That's' fine, he had plenty of time and he accelerated away so I never would have come within 200 feet of him. But, the issue wasn't with him but with the old Buick boat that was behind him. I could see the puffy white hair helmet and knew it was an old woman, without doubt. She can't up to the yield and if she looked I didn't see her but maybe she did and she just focused on the Mustang that was up ahead of me. I turn and look behind me as I know what's coming, behind and to the side of me is clear so I know I can roam if need be. And out she comes ... and of course she doesn't merge out with speed. She creeps out into the road doing a whooping 10 mph I'd guess and I suppose having a lovely conversation about how fun it is to drive around town with her fellow white big haired companion. The safest thing to do would have been to apply the brakes and veer out to the left and just let her creep away in her mindless oblivion to terrorize some other poor person down the road. But that's not my way and I want her to know what she did, not that I'm going to doing anything to her but I want her to know I'm there and that she could have just busted me up real nice.

So I veer left but keep my speed, easily catching her burning pace of about 12 mph now. I notice her window is about a quarter of the way down to I announce my presence to her. No I don't scream or cuss her out, I'm the sensible person here remember! I keep my distance from her car but come up even with and actually have to slow down, then saying " Nice Lady, real nice. " She had no clue I was there and I scared the bejebus right out of her. " Maybe you should watch the road you are driving on. " To witch I then sped up and got in front over her. I beat her up the hill and most of the way down the hill but the momentum that boat must have I had no chance. She went by me with her and friend both looking down and then turning on to another road.

I didn't think about it until I got to a light at the bottom of the hill and couldn't do much other then laugh. Imagine driving down the road and hearing a voice come through your window. I'm sure that would scare the crap out of me too, but just goes to show you she had no clue what so ever that I was on that road.

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