I had a strange thing happen to me on this morning's commute.

I just started my ride up Citrus, a six-lane wide city street. An 18 wheeler was parked at the donut shop on the other side. The driver yelled something at me that was entirely incomprensible. Not wanting to stop and chat, I just yelled back, "I don't know, sorry."

As I continued up the street to my first light, I heard a semi approaching far behind me. I thought nothing of it as I waited for the light to change, and made a left turn onto Badillo, a four lane wide street.

As I was making the turn, my imagination got the better of me. "Did that driver think I insulted him, by any chance?" I thought nothing of it until the semil also turned left onto Badillo...he was now two blocks behind me.

I figured I'd let him get about a half block back, then duck into one of the residential streets crossing Badillo...just to be sure. As I did, he quickly slowed and turned onto the same street.

My heart was beating pretty well at this point. I had him beat on low-end acceleration and manoeverability. He had me beat on size and top speed. I was also lit up like a Christmas tree with multiple lights and a reflective vest, so hiding was out of the question. When he was about 50 feet back, I turned into a parking lot, made a quick U-turn and rode in the opposite direction. Before turning back onto Badillo I looked back up the street and he just kept going.

Coincidence? I sure hope so.

But a semi on a residential street?

My imagination is pretty good at 3:45 in the morning. No one would have found my body for hours. Growing up in the city makes you a bit more cautious than the regular rube, I think. Probably nothing, But I was extra careful and I'm typing this now.