On February 18th of this year, I was riding down a winding canyon road at 40 mph with a group of 10 other cyclists. There was no usable shoulder, and at that speed I was close to the speed limit, so I was "taking the lane".
Unfortunately, a moron in a pickup towing a trailer decided he could pass me, despite a double yellow line and an upcoming blind left hand curve. He miscalculated how fast I was going, and how long/wide his trailer was, and I suppose he panicked a bit as we approached the blind left curve with him in the oncoming lane.
As he swung back into my lane, the wider wheel well section of his trailer hit me, and put me on the ground at 40 mph. Thankfully, nothing was broken...except for the bike, and every article of clothing I was wearing. Between the ambulance ride, emergency room visit, follow-up care, and equipment losses, the guy made a $25,000 mistake. He also lied to the cops about his insurance coverage, so by now they've likely suspended his license and vehicle registration.
So, despite HH's assertions that taking the lane confers some sort of "Cloak of Invincibility", I remain personally unconvinced. Not that I'll change my actions...just be more vigilant (I'd forgotten my Take a Look mirror that day...one of the few times in the last few years I've ridden without it).
I've never claimed that taking the lane confers "some sort of 'Cloak of Invincibility'" or anything of the sort, and I really don't appreciate such blatant misrepresentation of what I've said. I've only said that I firmly believe that in many cases a cyclist's odds of avoiding collision are better further left than where most cyclists ride, further right. That doesn't mean that morons won't do what they did to you in this case.
You've alluded to this before, but this is the first detailed account I've encountered. I'm really glad it didn't turn out worse for you.
The only way I can think of to avoid something like this is what you already mentioned: maintaining good rearward situational awareness, for which a mirror is indispensable. It's very likely that with a mirror you could have seen the moron approaching from behind, known how long he was there, and detected his apparent frustration and lack of clarity about what to do. Many motorists are literally dumbfounded when they encounter a cyclist up ahead in the road, and the cyclist giving them a few pointers in real time can be very helpful. One of the most important advantages of maintaining good rearward situational awareness is it gives you the opportunity to convey that you have it (the good rearward situational awareness) to the driver behind you. That is, you can convey: "I know you're there, but I know what I'm doing, and I'm riding HERE anyway, please be patient". It's surprising how easy it is to convey all that with some combination of lane positioning adjustment, and perhaps a look back and/or a hand motion. And in the unlikely event that he ignores all that and tries a bonehead move anyway, at least with a mirror you have some advance notice and have a better chance of taking safe evasive action.
Treat your mirror like an Amex card.
Anyway, again, I'm glad you're okay.