Don't ever become passive about your riding.

This morning, while I was making a routine right turn on a very quiet suburban corner that I have crossed hundreds of times over the years, a distracted teen driver came within inches of plowing into me, head-on, as she cut her left turn way too short. The speed she was traveling would have been enough to put me in the hospital, if not in the ground. Instead, I ended up lying in someone's freshly cut grass, my bike on top of me.

Whenever I am on the bike, I devote 110% of my attention to my surroundings. As a motorist for 35 years, I have never had a collision, and I consider myself a much better cyclist because of my driving experience. However, you never know what the OTHER person is going to do next, and it just might be something so unbelievably stupid and dangerous that even the quickest thinking won't get you out of harm's way.

My life could have changed drastically today, but I'm glad I had this near miss to remind me of how critically important it is to keep your eyes and ears open ALL THE TIME on the road.