Closest of close calls

[LadyinWhite]

Good morning ladies - I just got into my office and my nerves are still on edge. I decided that since I was working a hellish schedule this semester and my ride time was going to be drastically affected I would join the ranks of the biking commuters.

All prepared, remembered to bring a lock and change of shoes. I even wore a cycling skirt w/ a matching jersey (sorta) so that I wouldn't look like a total bike nerd on campus.

So here I am, lovely morning, riding along.. la la la - what a good idea I had to commute the 10 miles to work.

Gee, that Jeep pulling towards the intersection ahead of me on the right sure is going fast.

Hmm.. in fact, he's not slowing down at all...I better swing wide left just to be safe.

Sh$&! I better swing WIDER!! How can he not see me, I'm practically in front of him!

&*($!!!! He's not even LOOKING up (dialing a phone???)

I swing as wide as I can (thank god no cars to my left) he comes barreling into the road - I open my mouth to say.. something?? All that comes out is a scream of pure fear as he clips my rear tire.

I do not crash, I keep my cadence and manage to keep balanced (go me) thinking OMG he hit me! Quick internal check for damage to self and bike, heart threatening to explode through my chest. I can't even talk, he pulls up along side -

My bad! Totally my fault. I wasn't looking, I'm very sorry.

Speeds away. I say nothing - I'm still processing that he effin hit me. The entire thing happened in seconds.

I take the next intersection, feel tears threatening just from the emotion of the moment. Spend the next mile pulling myself together, going over it, making sure I did everything right.

Sheesh.

Arrived to my office safely but have to admit I'm rethinking this commuter thing. Be safe out there girls... err.. ladies.. women? (can't remember what was decided on that )
T.

[SouthernBelle]

Keep an eye out for the jerk so you can give him a good piece of your mind.

[slmdunc]

HOLY S@#$! Thank goodness you are okay.

It sounds like you did everything right and did all you could do in the moment. Hopefully that a-hole will pay more attention after that.

[IFjane]

And go ahead and have a good cry - hide in the bathroom if you have to - you need to release all that stress. {{{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}}}

[KnottedYet]

(((((((LadyInWhite)))))))

[Torrilin]

*hugs* That sounds awful. There isn't much you can do to be proactive against someone who is that out of touch with reality.

[Bad JuJu]

Oh man, that sucks--he fouled up your whole morning, which had started out so nicely. Here's hoping you'll have some better commuting experiences in the future.

I'm sure I wouldn't have thought of this at the time it happened if it were I it happened to, but it sounds like the jerk left the scene of an accident. I mean, he did hit you, though only marginally. Think about what would have happened if he clipped another car and then drove off. Not that there's anything you can do about it, maybe just something to consider in the future--though hoping it doesn't happen again.

I hope your day gets better from here.

[Deborajen]

How scary! Glad you didn't crash and get seriously hurt!

Did the guy even ask if you were ok? He obviously noticed he hit a bike with his car, you'd think he'd want to make darn sure you were ok before he took off.

Well, take care of yourself. Sounds like you did an amazing job of keeping it together.

Deb

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I don't know all the details of the actual incident, but my own policy is...
It's safer to always assume cars do not see you. Try to approach intersections at a speed where you will be able to stop in time if a car crossing in front of you does not stop for their red light. Expect cars to do the wrong thing and to not see you. As you approach an intersection, check all around and behind you so you will know your escape route options when a car does the wrong thing in the intersection. Rest assured they will do the wrong thing- with regularity!
Glad you were not hurt!!

[Starfish]

I mean, he did hit you, though only marginally. Think about what would have happened if he clipped another car and then drove off.

This made a lot of sense to me. I don't know if I would have had the presence of mind under the circumstances, but it would have been great to ask to see his license, record that info, get his license plate, and insurance info.

1) Who knows what might crop up for you when you get home & look at any damage to your bike, etc.

2) Maybe just having you take all that information might let him know the seriousness of his having just HIT a bicyclist.

Really glad you're OK!! So sorry for this experience for you!

[Tuckervill]

You know, you had a huge adrenaline rush, and your body needs to do something with it. It's a natural reaction to cry.

My son got his foot caught in an escalator once (he was ultimately okay), and I was all cool, calm and collected until we got in the car, and then I just BURST into tears and couldn't see to drive for about half an hour.

So whatever your body does to process all that, let it. I'm glad you weren't hurt.

Karen

[Ladyrunner]

OMGosh!! I'm glad you're okay after all that.

[lph]

Oh, you poor thing, that really sucks

On the other hand, you could look at it this way - the almost crashes are the ones that help us avoid the next bad spots. Commuting safely feels like trying to develop a sixth sense sometimes.

Well done on not crashing, that shows some good bike handling skills!

[LadyinWhite]

hey everyone - thanks for the feedback. I was just really happy to have this forum here to vent it a bit right after it happened.

Actually - he didn't enter an intersection perse.. it was a straight road that I was just riding on, he approached from the entrance to his development on my right. Basically he should have come to the T of his drive and the road, stopped and looked for oncoming cars (or cyclists!)

I admit, I did think of getting his information AFTER he'd driven off. I was so rattled I didn't even respond to his apology. All in all - it was the potential of what MIGHT have happened if I had been less attentive and not noticed his approach as unusually fast.

Interestingly, on the ride home I was definately a little skittish for the first couple of miles but for better or worse, NJ roads don't allow much time for brooding or being nervous. You gotta just do it. Be aware and alert at all times.

As I've said on other threads - I couldn't imagine being bored while riding - I'm too busy making sure I stay alive! LOL Today more so than usual, that's all -

I'll be back out there tomorrow

T.

[Dianyla]

Ditto everything that Lisa said. Expect all cars to not see you, and then you won't be caught by surprise when it happens.