Peek the Geek

Almost had an accident on the bike today. I was on a solo ride on the bike path outside of town when I saw a group ride coming toward me. As is normal, I moved to the right and most of the group moved to the left. No big deal. The last two riders, though, were riding side-by-side and taking up pretty much all of the path.

I had my eye on the two riders, getting ready to wave hello, and realized the rider on my right wasn't merging over. "Well, he obviously sees me," I thought. "He'll move over in a second."

So I kept pedaling, moving further right until I was almost on the edge of the paved path. Still the rider wasn't moving over, and I could see he was talking to the rider next to him. I kept assuming he would look in front of him, see me and move over. Or maybe the person next to him would tell him to watch out. I kept pedaling, but fingered the brakes.

I got closer and closer and then realized the two riders were looking at each other and chatting away, oblivious to the fact that I was right in front of one of them. At the last second I had to slam on my brakes and veer off into the grass, yelling "HEY!" right in the guy's ear as he passed.

It was only then, when they heard me yell and my brakes lock up, that they realized I was even there. They both let out scared little screams, and I got back on the path and kept pedaling. I knew if I stopped my adrenaline would get me saying things I shouldn't. It did add a little boost to my workout, though, which is nice.