Road Cycling - Crazy stories with bikes and cars!!

What's your craziest story with your encounters with cars? Everything is fair ground. To just weird things that people yell at you from their car as they drive by.... to actual crashes.

I've had a close encounter with a Mack truck.... I was heading down the street on the opposite side in the opposite direction..... I know, I know I shouldn't be doing that. But it is so much easier to take that route. This road is also 3 lanes wide!! But no.... every car and truck has to be in the right lane, inching closer and closer to me. The real trick is to avoid the parked cars on the side and pray that no one opens the driver's side door...... and this Mack truck came REAL close as I was doing that, real scary. I slowed down as much as I could as he went speeding by. It came about 6" from my handlebar. I could have wiped out and nearly killed myself.

But this has made me stronger. I know ride more carefully (but not too timid). I live in Boston, MA and am a driver there also. So I know how bad the drivers can get. But I know some tricks that they don't. One of them is the infamous rule of pedestrians have the right-of-way. HEHE!

-Dan the Man-

My weirdest and scariest was when I was sitting at a red light in the left hand lane waiting to through, the right hand lane was right turn only. There were cars behind me in front of me and next to me. All of the sudden the car next me decides she doesn't want to turn right and starts to pull into the lane where I was standing at the moment. Thinking she must not be really paying attention not to see me I am very visible at 6'3" and usually a bright jersey on. So I knocked on her window so she would see that I was already in the lane, well she rolled the window down and started screaming at me. She was screaming so intensely and at such a high pitched shirl, I never understood what she was saying and she kept moving over. Fortunately the light changed and I hopped on the sidewalk when I got through the intersection because who knew what this maniac was going to do. I never even said a word to her never got a chance she went bombing by me still screaming. That was the last day that I commuted to down town Seattle to get a bus north. I am, not in any way, timid whatsoever when I am riding in traffic, but this was the last straw and I decided that I want to ride my MTB or do a century this weekend and not be in the hospital or morgue. I concede downtown Seattle during rush hour to those maniacs. First I do not deserve their wrath and second it is much better if they kill and maim each other, they deserve it. Besides the good became of it because it has made me a stronger rider (I have an uphill commute going to work and coming back, really :) ) and I always have a seat on the bus and being pretty much the only bike rider on that run during rush hour there is always room for my bike...............Ride defensivly........ and sometimes it is better just to be polite, instead of right!

Not sure this qualifies, but here in certain rural KY communities, we do have Horse driven Buggies on roads. Overtaking & passing one, I spooked the horse and ALMOST got side swipped/run over. I shouted to the driver befroehand 'passing on the left' - he heard me but I don't think the horse did. I've learned to give them a wide bearth.

My wierdest one (other than getting hit by a JCB earlier this week) is that about 15 years ago, struggling up a hill, I was passed by a car so close that I nearly got hit by his door mirror.

I didn't even get a chance to shout, because the caravan he was towing clipped my right elbow and tipped me into the verge!

Thankfully as I was climbing neither me nor the car was travelling too quickly. He didn't stop (don't think he even knew what happened), and all I had was a small bruise on my elbow to show for it.

Bruises are great for stories. Blood is a little different..... But keep the stories rollin, good so far.

-Dan the Man-

Had an older, mid-life-crisis guy blow past me in a Dodge Viper w/ only about a foot to spare. When he got stuck at a stoplight about 100 yards up the road, I pushed it to the light, stopped, turned to him and said "It'd be a shame for you to lose that Viper because I sued your ass off for hitting me on my bike..." The light turned green and I just pedaled off. Of course, he zipped by me and honked his horn, but the look on his face was worth it!!! :D

PS Ockey, *I'm not sure*, but I don't think you're considered a pedestrian. If I remember correctly, you're a "vehicle" and are subject to all the rules of a road. If you ran a red light and got hit, I think you could be sued for any damage to the car that hit you...

PPS Remember Lance's mom took that truck driver to court and won! I always try to quickly memorize the license plate of a close driver. On the off chance that I got hit *and remembered the number* :P, there'd a court settlement!

Originally posted by ockey53
But I know some tricks that they don't. One of them is the infamous rule of pedestrians have the right-of-way. HEHE!

-Dan the Man-

Pedestrians also only have the right of way at intersections and when crossing with the light not when they are walking in the street going the wrong way I somehow missed the part you were riding on the wrong side of the street so in this case one, your lucky you didn't get killed' two, you were the one doing the weird insane stunt. And three, it is riders like you that give us a bad name, a lot of us spend much time trying to prove to people that cyclists are really responsible people and then I read someone like you doing it and justifying it because it makes your ride easier. And Yes when you are in the street on a bicycle you are not a pedestrian, I think that before you jump on a bike and go play in the street you need to sit down and read the bicycle laws, but also you may want to think about taking an effective ridding course. It is no wonder drivers were yelling things at you, I would be too! What an idiotic stunt, I hope that what you mean by a stronger and more careful rider means you are following the rules of the road now! But of course that is my $.02 worth

I got knocked off by a dumper truck once (UK version, non articulated, relatively small-but huge compared to a cyclist!!!), very scary.

I was going uphill and around a 'tightish' bend, the lorry driver decided to overtake me, very close, to save a few seconds. Whilst still on the bend, a car came the other way so he pulled in. I was right next to the first set of rear wheels. Sort of remember feeling something touching my rear wheel and next thing I was on the ground, having fallen hard.

Luckily, I fell on to the pavement rather than under the truck. I think I was out for a few seconds and was pretty shaken up for some time.

Guy stopped, which was kinda heartening, at least he was worried and accepted he did wrong-didn't do more than that, no police etc. He was stopped for about ten minutes with me, wasn't really worth it for him to overtake was it? Caused a rather long tailback too.

Anyway, when I felt better I continued with my ride and for some time afterwards thought it was my fault and was therefore glad not to have the police involved!

Realised that I wasn't at all to blame, I decided to never ride in the gutter in order to aid cars and lorries get past. In fact, I tend to ride further out in traffic (ready to move in if a nutter appears behind me though).

It forces drivers to overtake properly and not force their way past. I don't worry if they're stuck behind me for a few seconds, they're having a nice comfy time in their cars remember and they can pass when it's safe for me for them to do so (read that again, it does make sense honest). I've found that most drivers tend to hold back, only a small few will force though.

In our highway code it states that cyclists should be given as much room as a car whilst overtaking, with respect to the perceived fact that we tend to wobble, we do negotiate around the obsacles that are sometimes on the road, manholes, potholes etc don't we?

This is not a suggetion but rather an instruction in the code, which, as far as I know, means that the law requires cyclists to be given a whole road width.

What are your views on my little method? How does the law compare between US and UK?

All the best and take care.

Gerallt.

The rules are pretty much the same here and one of the brochures the State of Washington puts out on safe cycling even states that if the cars are not passing you legally then move to the middle of the lane making them pass you in a safe manner. This would be nice if the drivers read this but at least the state is making an effort.