Nightmare!

[Mr Farley]

Just starting a thread as I'm so angry and not got any other way of taking my anger out . Only working half a day today, so I thought I would do a nice ride through Caterham and then around to Chipstead and back to Purley.

Anyway, I was having a great ride (apart from chain coming off twice due to my bad adjustments) and was well into the homeward leg......which is mostly down hill when I had a bit of a nightmare!

I was coming down Portnalls road, which runs between Chipstead and Coulsdon and is a long steady descent. Probably travelling around 25mph, and approaching an 'S' bend. As I go round the corner I see a (dark red van) Citroen mini-cab coming up the hill.......approaching 'S' bend from other direction. All of a sudden he pulls onto my side of the road , I assume he's going to stop outside a house as he's a cab (this was a bad enough manouver as he was only a 100 yards or so in front of me....with me travelling quickly downhill). However he just carried on driving along, not slowing down, driving straight at me??!!

I took what action I could and slammed on my brakes.....the back wheel was snaking all over the place. Then just in the nick of time he veered back onto his side of the road (if he hadn't I would have hit him head on, as I was still travelling fast, and he was doing 20-30mph).

I'm assuming he pulled onto my side of the road to take the 'racing line' and just did not see me at all? I was wearing a bright yellow vest (from the London Skyride) and in the middle of my lane, so he can't have been concentrating.

I'm just so angry.....what an idiot? I turned my head to just see him carry on speeding up the hill, round the bend and out of sight. I never saw the driver at all, it happened so quickly .

If that had been me driving I think I would have stopped and apologised (not that I drive on the wrong side of the road). He's probably lucky he didn't stop....I was so angry I would have been tempted to hit him (if it was a him), or at least give him a barrage of abuse....and kick his cab for good measure.

I guess it's just one of those things, the main thing is I survived.....just a little shaken and very angry .

 

[Arch]

Racing line? Maybe. Or too engrossed by his phone/texting? Satnav? Just 'playing chicken' with you?

Tosser, at any rate.

Since you have no details, all you can do is take a deep breath and utter a suitable curse on him. Try "May the lice of a thousand camels infest his genitals" or similar. That and a series of unexplained flat tyres, two at a time.

Main thing is, you're ok. Try and forget it. Unless you see the car again, in which case I understand grit in the valve caps is the way to go*....

*I don't advocate this at all. No. Absolutely not.

 

[arallsopp]

Bugg3rs. I hate that. Had one swerve at me once leaving me to bounce up a kerb or under his bumper. Not a great moment. On the plus side, you had to deal with him for an instant. He has be him for the rest of his life.

 

[Landslide]

Unless you see the car again, in which case I understand grit in the valve caps is the way to go*....

Just the one valve cap mind, thus it can be explained away as an unlucky puncture, leading to the motorist:

• Swearing
• Changing the tyre
• Taking the "punctured" tyre to be fixed

More than one flat tyre suggests sabotage.

*I don't advocate this at all. No. Absolutely not.

Me neither, no sir-ee...

 

[Mr Farley]

Just 'playing chicken' with you?

That was the first thing that crossed my mind, but didn't see his face so couldn't tell.

"May the lice of a thousand camels infest his genitals"

That would be good .

Feeling much better now......I must say, the people of this forum are very understanding. Thanks, again .

 

[gbb]

It happens to us all once in a while Mr Farley....
Just take comfort that it (hopefully) only happens once in a blue moon. You'll have weeks, months, years maybe when you commute / ride with no incident....all that enjoyment.

 

[buddha]

Hmm. There's a dark-reddish mini cab that delivers parcels around the Croydon, Warlingham area (they deliver parcels to my sister from the likes of PVC QVC). The driver's almost gone into me a few times, probably texting or something

 

[2Loose]

Kudos to you for recognising the potential situation before it happend

 

[Arch]

Just the one valve cap mind, thus it can be explained away as an unlucky puncture, leading to the motorist:

• Swearing
• Changing the tyre
• Taking the "punctured" tyre to be fixed

More than one flat tyre suggests sabotage.

Yes, but two flats means having to call someone out, unless you happen to keep two spares....

But anyway, as I sad, that would be wicked. (And of course completely wrong unless you are absolutely certain it's the right car...)

The only trouble with curse and the like, is that they'll never learn to connect the ill-fortune with the action.