Close call!
 

Well I had a close call this morning :P I was speeding on the dedicated bike lane which merges with the main boulevard at each red light. I must have been distracted and didn't see that my light just went red :eek:. A car turning in the opposite lane (having the green to turn) almost hit me but it braked in time and so did I (thank GOD I learned to use the FRONT BREAK correctly in this forum!!).

In these times though I tend to get really aggressive and yelled at the driver; but I was wrong. So in the 0.0000000001483% chance this person reads the forum, sorry ;) I need to learn to relax in these situations, but they're extremely rare. I think its only the second time it comes this close in 20+ years of cycling, but I'm not sure.

Anyway at least its a good workout, the heart rate jumped to 175+ afterwards for a few minutes :p And my legs shook a lot.

Anyway there's no reason for this post other then to releive the stress by talking about it :) It's not as bad as a crash but I never really had one with a car (other then when I was a kid :D). Thanks for reading!

Good news! You are still here to tell us about it.

Keep on riding.

Good to see ya made it!!!

I too wasn't paying attention one major time last year - and I turned onto a side street ----- and all of a sudden realized there was a car there - in full skid coming towards me. Deer in the Headlights! And it was an absolutely weird moment because I couldn't hear a thing but my breathing - and it seemed slow motion as I stayed up right and turned an incredible tiny circle in order to avoid her front end (which I should have been sprawled on) - I just stared at the ground as I somehow maneuvered my bike and watched the front end of her car - which ended up missing me by less than 3".

When we both came to a stop - then I realized I could hear everything again - she never said a word and neither did I - but continued on our ways.

I so try to not get caught up in my thoughts like that ... cause that's when things happen :(

Exactly. In The Art of Urban Cycling, the author (Robert Hurst) describes a cyclist who shall remain nameless who was cruising along and urban street and almost got creamed by a delivery truck backing out of an alley without looking. He makes the point that in the eyes of the law, the delivery truck would be at fault due to unsafe backing. But he goes on to relate how the police report would have failed to note that the cyclist had passed this alley many, many times and knew it was dangerous, but in this instance was distracted by an attractive member of the opposite sex on a porch across the street!

Good to hear you made it through another learning experience! :)