Today was just one of those weird days.
My first encounter was coming up Boat street from getting some cheapo normal/flat pedals for the cross bike so some family visiting could take it for a spin. I was jamming up (and really probably going too fast ) and was taking a left on Brooklyn to head up to the BGT.
There’s a car that is just pulling up as I’m approaching. I put out my left hand pointing to the left, letting the driver know that I intend on turning. There’s a glitch here in the system though. Without knowing you’ve made eye contact (dark tinted windows) you have to enter your turn with the thought that the driver did/didn’t see you.
You generally want to assume they didn’t.
The other glitch is that to take a corner (and especially when going fast) you need both hands on the bars.
So I did, and about halfway through the turn I’m seeing the car start to move forward (I’m thinking now that the driver did see me but thought I was cruising straight past, and they were then reaffirming no cars were coming and starting their left turn). So they start accelerating (not fully) but enough to get my adrenaline going and you start vocalizing “Hey yo, watch what you’re doing”. It wasn’t a close call, well it could’ve been much closer, but close enough. No screeching of brakes or anything. Something to put you on high-alert.
Then of course on the way home two separate bikers decide it would be best to pass the slower people in front of them at the exact time I was coming from the other direction. This is analagous to passing someone in a car when oncoming traffic is present. You really shoudn’t do it.
The final goodie was up at Log boom where you cross the road there. It’s a yield for bikers/pedestrians so that auto traffic coming down from the hill can just breeze through the intersection. Well I arrived there and stopped and a car stopped to let me go (which again technically they shouldn’t need to do (and really is sort of a peeve of mine since they’re breaking the “flow” rule )). So of course some audi TT driver comes zipping up and lays on the horn.
Sorry dude. That’s 5 seconds you’ll never get back.