Fire truck
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Did an organized ride yesterday in a somewhat rural area. It started and ended on a flat road with one lane in each direction, no shoulder and a 50 mph speed limit. This was in Maryland where there is a 3-foot passing law.
As I neared the finish I was in the big chain ring, decided to shift to the small ring (don't remember why) and could tell by the rattling sound of the chain that the shift wasn't complete. I could hear a big truck behind me waiting for a chance to pass. I was worried that the chain would fall off if I tried shifting back up to the big ring to try to fix the problem.
Usually when a vehicle is moving slowly behind me, it means the driver is waiting for a safe opportunity to cross the yellow line to pass, and sometimes I will move closer to edge of the road to make it easier for them. Since I had a chain problem to deal with, I wanted the truck to no longer be behind me. So I moved to the right. And the truck driver sped up and passed me -- without crossing the yellow line, very close to me, with maybe a foot clearance at the most.
I freaked out and started screaming, not that the driver could hear me. Looked up and saw that it was a fire truck. A g*d d*mn fire truck!!!
I'm still completely stunned by this. Aside from the total disregard for the 3-foot law, that driver was one of the people who respond when someone gets run over by a truck. One of the people who sees the damage first hand.
Anyway I had already decided I won't be doing that ride again. Too many high speed roads.
- Gray 2010 carbon WSD road bike, Rivet Independence saddle
- Red hardtail 26" aluminum mountain bike, Bontrager Evoke WSD saddle
- Royal blue 2018 aluminum gravel bike, Rivet Pearl saddle
Gone but not forgotten:
- Silver 2003 aluminum road bike
- Two awesome worn out Juliana saddles