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**rola643** · 03-24-2011, 01:04 AM

I'll try not to be to long winded so you can get to laughing at me in short order!
So...I went for a ride this morning before work, nice 35 miler. I was a little worried about getting caught in a down pour and the wind was blowing pretty good but all in all not to bad.

I was on the last leg of my ride where I have to cross 2 lanes of traffic on fairly busy road to make a left turn onto Main St and on home. If there is traffic turning left at this light I always stay behind and to the right of traffic so I don't get squeezed as they make the left turn.

Anyway today I was behind a Bay Transit bus ( like a Ford F350 chassis, maybe a 20 passenger thing like most airport shuttles) and the left turn arrow turns green. The bus takes off, I start my first downward pedal stroke and then BAM I came to an abrupt stop and my left index fingers is throbbing from where it slammed into the back of the bus stuck between my left brifter and the bus because the Dim witted, ^%#$%$, AS# H%^$ decided to stop for gawd only knows what reason! After a brief moment of confusion of what just happened and checking for blood and a broken brfiter I gave pursuit as fast as I could cussing him like a sailor and he knew it! I could see him look in the rear view mirror twice and keep on going. He knew what happened because I rocked that whole bus and yet he kept going. I would have had to a least stop and check my vehicle for damage....oh well. They say a picture is worth a thousand words so here is a picture of the scene of the crime.

Hope you can get a good laugh from this. Not sure what I could have done any different to prevent this but it really pissed me off!

**Industry_Hack** · 03-24-2011, 03:15 AM

That sucks. My morning ride was unpleasant, but in a much different way. I checked the weather - no rain. Good. So I put on my helmet and leather jacket, and decided to ride my motorcycle to work. Somehow, I missed the giant bank thermometer that I check every morning. It was 27 degrees out. Subtract about 20 for wind chill, and it was a very cold ride. When I got to work, I couldn't unbuckle my helmet, as I had no feeling in my fingers at all. And at those temps, air-cooled American motorcycle engines don't even get warm. Putting my hands nearly on the exhaust didn't do squat. And they hurt like hell when they finally thawed.

**SUX VR40 Rider** · 03-24-2011, 05:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Industry_Hack

That sucks. My morning ride was unpleasant, but in a much different way. I checked the weather - no rain. Good. So I put on my helmet and leather jacket, and decided to ride my motorcycle to work. Somehow, I missed the giant bank thermometer that I check every morning. It was 27 degrees out. Subtract about 20 for wind chill, and it was a very cold ride. When I got to work, I couldn't unbuckle my helmet, as I had no feeling in my fingers at all. And at those temps, air-cooled American motorcycle engines don't even get warm. Putting my hands nearly on the exhaust didn't do squat. And they hurt like hell when they finally thawed.

You would have stayed warmer riding your bicycle.

**Industry_Hack** · 03-24-2011, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SUX VR40 Rider

You would have stayed warmer riding your bicycle.

Except that if I tried to ride in 27 degree weather I would almost certainly stop breathing. And my commute is a non-stop construction site.

Garilia · 03-24-2011, 10:47 PM

rola, maybe if you had fallen on the ground and started limping around he would have stopped, because then he'd be worried. When he saw you in pursuit, you gave him a good laugh!

**photosbymark** · 03-24-2011, 11:35 PM

I doubt he was laughing. Hitting a bike or hitting a car and not stopping, well that is a hit and run. Most states its good for a little jail time, in this case the loss of a job and most likely the loss of a drivers license.

Garilia · 03-24-2011, 11:56 PM

That's the thing, he didn't hit a bike. A bike hit him. He might not have even realized it, and was wondering why this bicyclist was shaking his fist at him. This was Rola's bad for not paying attention that the bus stopped unexpectedly. Who knows why. Maybe there was something in front of the driver Rola couldn't see that caused the driver to stop and avoid hitting.

**rola643** · 03-25-2011, 12:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Garilia

rola, maybe if you had fallen on the ground and started limping around he would have stopped, because then he'd be worried. When he saw you in pursuit, you gave him a good laugh!

Dang! I should have thought of that! And yes it was my bad BUT there was no traffic and NO reason for him to have done that other than spilling his coffee or dropping his smoke or cell phone, etc. Still I let my S.A. down (situational Awareness) and payed

Garilia · 03-25-2011, 01:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rola643

Dang! I should have thought of that! And yes it was my bad BUT there was no traffic and NO reason for him to have done that other than spilling his coffee or dropping his smoke or cell phone, etc. Still I let my S.A. down (situational Awareness) and payed

That's what I meant by your bad. You let your guard down. It sucks. We were once rearended at a stop signal because the woman in the car behind us got scared by a bug in the car. I hope you didn't think I was being judgmental or harsh, just a reminder to "be careful out there."

YouTube - Hill Street Blues - 'Let's be careful out there'

**photosbymark** · 03-25-2011, 02:42 AM

In most districts who hit who doesn't matter. If you leave, you got trouble. Now did he know?? Maybe not but you would think the noise would have attracted some attention and if he was looking in the mirror and saw a cyclist well who knows.

Thankfully no one was hurt worse than they were. Lessons learned may prevent another accident later that could have had a far worse outcome.

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