Originally Posted by JoeyBike

Just goes to show what i have been preaching around here for years. Cycling in most city environments is a lot like going to war. If you don't pay strict attention to 360* of your surroundings some "roadside bomb" is going to blow your @$$ up. As a cyclist I don't care that the MCist is a jerk, all I care about is getting to work and back home without a motor vehicle in my back pocket.

Stow the phone, lose the ear buds, use a rear-view mirror, and keep your eyes peeled - or end up wishing you had done so. We chose to swim with sharks and cry when we doze off and get bitten. I would have seen that MC coming up on me and just moved over a few inches to let him go by. It's easy when you are wide awake. Five minutes later I would not even have a memory of him going past me.