Yes - that's me done for this year.
I'm lucky - it was very nearly me done for, this ride! Some spectacularly bad driving was inflicted on me today...
- Very early in my ride I was going straight on at the mini-roundabout in the centre of Todmorden when I saw that a car coming from the Halifax Rd on my left was not giving way. It would have sideswiped me at speed had I not done a violent swerve to my right to get out of the way. I am sure that the driver was unaware of me being there. I think I was in a blind spot because he hadn't looked properly. Scary!
- About 2 minutes later, a van overtook me stupidly fast, frighteningly close.
- It was one of those days... Traffic had stopped to allow pedestrians to cross at a crossing ahead. I stopped pedalling and was coasting up behind when in my mirror I saw a car approaching at high speed - MUST...OVERTAKE...SLOW...CYCLIST...AHEAD!!! The car shot past me, cut in, and only then did the driver notice that the vehicles ahead of him were stationary! He braked as hard as he could and only just avoided tail-ending the vehicle in front. I had to brake hard not to run into the back of his car.
- This couldn't go on. But it DID...! I was doing a reasonable pace. Once more, in my mirror I spotted a vehicle coming up at high speed, obviously the driver's intention being to overtake me. Which was great, except for the fact that I was coming up to a pedestrian refuge in the centre of the road, and there was a stream of oncoming traffic approaching the refuge... The van drew alongside me and then the driver realised that there was no room to get by when obeying the Keep Left signs. So he didn't! He swerved round the righthand side of the refuge, headed straight at the lead car ahead, then swerved back to my side of the road, almost taking me out there. What fun!
- There were a few more examples of iffy driving, but things seemed to be settling down. I had another hour or so without feeling like some idiot driver would kill me!
- But then... A car with taxi stickers on overtook me way too fast, way too close, got past me, and only then swerved violently to the right. The only way that makes sense is that the driver had been distracted... USING A PHONE PERHAPS???
, was doing the dangerous overtake, and saw me so late that his reaction came after the car had already passed me?
No more stupid drivers after that...
There was a kamikaze pedestrian back in Todmorden though! A young man walking on the pavement to my left in the same direction as I was riding had headphones on and seemed to be in a world of his own. I had a feeling that he would step straight out into the side road ahead without looking. I was turning down that road... I was right - out across the junction he marched. I should have slowed down, allowed him to do it, then turned left
behind him and maybe warned him from there. Instead, I chose to make a point by turning in
front of him and startling him. I did give him plenty of space, but I accept that it wasn't the right thing to do!
An eventful ride!
I was pleased to get back home into the warm. Drivers may agree that NW gusts to well over 25 km/hr are '
breezy conditions' but I call them a cold, blustery wind!
