Almost taken out by one of our own....
#1
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 5,559
Likes: 53
From: The 'Wack, BC, Canada
Bikes: Norco (2), Miyata, Canondale, Soma, Redline
Almost taken out by one of our own....
On the way into work today I approach a chicane in the MUP and see through the bushes that make the turns truly blind that there's 3 bikes entering from the other side. So I slow down since I've had many a near miss at this chicane before. So I see the two upright commuters staying to the right and all is well. So where's the.. WHAAAAOOOOO! He's in the drops leaning hard on the pedals doing warp speed and passing the other two in a blind bend on the trail headed right for me and only 15 feet away! Fortunetly my motorcycle riding senses had told me to expect the worst but this was right off the scale. He's got no where to go but over me if I don't move. I ride off the path and stick my front wheel into the bushes and he's past in a blink. If I had not been expecting something and ready to dodge I bet we'd both be in the hospital right now.
A truly silly place to be going that fast while passing on the wrong side of the trail.... I wonder if he thought the same thing in the moments after his bone headed move.
A truly silly place to be going that fast while passing on the wrong side of the trail.... I wonder if he thought the same thing in the moments after his bone headed move.
#4
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 5,559
Likes: 53
From: The 'Wack, BC, Canada
Bikes: Norco (2), Miyata, Canondale, Soma, Redline
Just to help set the conditions. If I had been a pedestrian it is VERY likey I would have been hit unless the first cup of java had cut in and I was paying attention to my surroundings.
#5
#6
Have you seen him before? Would you recognize him again?
How about getting to that point early tomorrow, with fluorescent (official looking ) jacket, clip board etc. and reaming him a new one? Oh! take a long stick in case he doesn't want to stop!
How about getting to that point early tomorrow, with fluorescent (official looking ) jacket, clip board etc. and reaming him a new one? Oh! take a long stick in case he doesn't want to stop!
#7
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 5,559
Likes: 53
From: The 'Wack, BC, Canada
Bikes: Norco (2), Miyata, Canondale, Soma, Redline
After about 15 years of commuting that path I think I know the regulars and he's not one of "us". But I'll be watching for him from now on.
#9
Senior Member
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 3,878
Likes: 1
From: Boston (sort of)
Bikes: 1 road, 1 Urban Assault Vehicle
#10
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 11,373
Likes: 8
From: Columbus, OH
Bikes: '08 Surly Cross-Check, 2011 Redline Conquest Pro, 2012 Spesh FSR Comp EVO, 2015 Trek Domane 6.2 disc
It would be great if that was the case, but when I go on easy MUP cruises with my friends, we see the same team-clad matching-kit crew out there every time; weaving their paceline at warp speed through crowds of very unappreciative pedestrians and slower cyclists.
#11
'whoooa... which way you going... wooops... whooaaa.. sorry.. didn't mean to keep getting in your way like that. Wasn't sure where you were going and I got mesmerized by your matching outfits. Did you guys call ahead and coordinate or was is it purely coinkidink?"
#13
GATC

Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 8,862
Likes: 214
From: south Puget Sound
I had a bike traffic jam yesterday. 2 guys moving to the outside or inside of the lane, in traffic downtown, and running lights when they could. I was just staying centered behind the cars. Somehow we all got to the same place at the same time. Then one of them turned. The other one I kept pace with the rest of the way too, haphazard techniques and shortcuts be damned, until he finally faked me out at the last light before my house and just full on took the lane of oncoming traffic which made a gridlock on the go-straight lane I was using.
#15
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 5,559
Likes: 53
From: The 'Wack, BC, Canada
Bikes: Norco (2), Miyata, Canondale, Soma, Redline
I use the MUP becuase I don't feel like sucking in all the exhaust or dealing with our brain dead drivers. Having had someone tap my upper arm with their side mirror once while on the road was enough to suggest to my Sense Of Self Preservation that true happiness is to be found on back streets and MUP's.
Don't get me wrong. I like to sprint it up as much as my aging body let's me but I pick and choose the times so as not to endanger myself or others around me.
Ah well... at least my Ninja Senses led me to the right course of action to avoid what could have been very messy.
Don't get me wrong. I like to sprint it up as much as my aging body let's me but I pick and choose the times so as not to endanger myself or others around me.
Ah well... at least my Ninja Senses led me to the right course of action to avoid what could have been very messy.
#16
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 612
Likes: 0
From: NOWHERE
Bikes: noyb
Yeah, there's a guy who rides the MUP along Alaskan Way going northbound around 4:30 pm. I think he's on a convered MTB and he slows down for No One. He almost forced me into a fence when he decided to zip around some peds instead of letting me have my ROW (I had no peds to get around) and then pass when it was safe. He's a big dude too. And the best thing is he rides wearing a black MESH (ick!) tank top.
#17
Barbieri Telefonico
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,522
Likes: 2
From: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Bikes: Crappy but operational secondhand Motobecane Messenger
#18
Yeah, there's a guy who rides the MUP along Alaskan Way going northbound around 4:30 pm. I think he's on a convered MTB and he slows down for No One. He almost forced me into a fence when he decided to zip around some peds instead of letting me have my ROW (I had no peds to get around) and then pass when it was safe. He's a big dude too. And the best thing is he rides wearing a black MESH (ick!) tank top. 

He likes it airy.
#20
On the way into work today I approach a chicane in the MUP and see through the bushes that make the turns truly blind that there's 3 bikes entering from the other side. So I slow down since I've had many a near miss at this chicane before. So I see the two upright commuters staying to the right and all is well. So where's the.. WHAAAAOOOOO! He's in the drops leaning hard on the pedals doing warp speed and passing the other two in a blind bend on the trail headed right for me and only 15 feet away! Fortunetly my motorcycle riding senses had told me to expect the worst but this was right off the scale. He's got no where to go but over me if I don't move. I ride off the path and stick my front wheel into the bushes and he's past in a blink. If I had not been expecting something and ready to dodge I bet we'd both be in the hospital right now.
A truly silly place to be going that fast while passing on the wrong side of the trail.... I wonder if he thought the same thing in the moments after his bone headed move.
A truly silly place to be going that fast while passing on the wrong side of the trail.... I wonder if he thought the same thing in the moments after his bone headed move.
__________________
"Surely one can love his own country without becoming hopelessly lost in an all-consuming flame of narrow-minded nationalism" - Fred Birchmore
"Surely one can love his own country without becoming hopelessly lost in an all-consuming flame of narrow-minded nationalism" - Fred Birchmore
#22
Wet behind the ears
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 33
Likes: 0
From: Vancouver
Bikes: '08 Tomasso Velocita, 06 Kona Dr. Dew
#24
Full Member

Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 435
Likes: 0
From: Seattle, WA
Bikes: Giant OCR1
There are people like that on the Burke-Gilman Trail in Seattle all the time. It pisses me off every time, even after dealing with it for 2 years. Sometimes it'll be a roadie blasting along, sometimes (like yesterday) a POB on a mountain bike.
It makes me want to get one of these:
and just let them hit me.
It makes me want to get one of these:
and just let them hit me.







