Thorn
07-03-2007, 08:29 AM
On my hill training ride there is this great stretch of road through a business park. It has a little 4% incline and if traffic is just right I can turn onto the road at a nice pace, sprint up the bump and take the bend in the road at a speed that makes this old lady feel like a young, fast racer. It is particularly nice because in the direction I travel there aren't any driveways and, inspite of the bump, 100% visible roadway. I've always thought it was safe. Well, until today....
Traffic was light, I hit the turn perfectly and I had enough oomph to start up the bump still strong. But, being the ever paranoid cyclist, I saw a semi pulling out of a driveway at the top of the bump, but on the opposite side of the street. "Oh, [explicative deleted], his angle is bad and he's going to use his two lanes and the two lanes in my direction to make that turn." A little math said my 160lbs didn't stand a chance--shouting and waving are pretty useless to a truck cab that tall. So, I concede and hit the brakes. Thankfully so did the truck.
I think he was just as shook up as I was because DH, who was about a half mile behind said a semi with the same markings waited and gave him almost too much respect.
Paranoia pays off--I'll continue watching both sides of the road. Trust no one.
Traffic was light, I hit the turn perfectly and I had enough oomph to start up the bump still strong. But, being the ever paranoid cyclist, I saw a semi pulling out of a driveway at the top of the bump, but on the opposite side of the street. "Oh, [explicative deleted], his angle is bad and he's going to use his two lanes and the two lanes in my direction to make that turn." A little math said my 160lbs didn't stand a chance--shouting and waving are pretty useless to a truck cab that tall. So, I concede and hit the brakes. Thankfully so did the truck.
I think he was just as shook up as I was because DH, who was about a half mile behind said a semi with the same markings waited and gave him almost too much respect.
Paranoia pays off--I'll continue watching both sides of the road. Trust no one.