Inprogress
Race Dog
- Joined
- Jun 17, 2008
- Messages
- 1,297
- Reaction score
- 0
- Location
- Port Elizabeth - The friendly city
- Bike
- NER-A-CAR
I travel in traffic a lot, rush hour traffic, with my little trusty city pony, a Honda E-Strom (I leave the tourer at home most of the time). And traveling in traffic, you get to have a feel for it, a feel for how people "drive" in your city.
In PE, well, people tend to drift off in the direction they want to turn, and moments before the turn, they indicate as such. You get use to it. You learn their ways, and ride accordingly. It works great, but this morning I learned that not all of them drift that way.
I was traveling along Paterson Road this morning. I stopped at the robot behind this security company Ford Bantam. He pointed his nose into Patterson, no indicator.
I travel behind him, and he start slowing down via the brakes, and he drifts to the right, no indicator. I see the movement and in a split-second, make the decision to pass him (on the left cause he is turning right by his actions).
As I pass his canopy, he turns left, my leg and my pony rubbing sides. A fierce argument of metal, steel, and cartilage ensues. Its violent. It shattering. Its shaky.
Moments before this little scuffle, as my months and years of city biking taught me, I did apply front and rear brakes. Not to showboat, but I am quite good at it, always realizing how much pressure I did apply after such breaking event.
I use those smoked safety glasses to lessen the harshness of the sun on my eyes. I see them move up and away from my face. I see my the inside bottom of my helmet. My leg is pinched. I feel the pull of mother earth on me. Not from my butt, but from the side of my body. I heard breaking noises. Rubber screeching.
Falling is an eerie thing. Its not really something you train for, or really get use to in our lives, unless you practice Systema, which I wish an could. No, falling is like being surprised by a room full of people, wide eyed and bushy haired, mouths agape yelling: SURPRIZE!!!!
I feel my but tingle. The left cheek. My left elbow. I hear scratching noises. My jacket. I’m falling. This is a bike accident. This is me, falling. I am having an accident. I am having a bike accident. Where is my bike? Oh, here we go, legs in the air. Helmet on the tar. I flaying about I’m sure. I wonder how this looks from the sidewalk? Where is that car? What have I done. Blue sky……..
I am lying still, quick systems check, no piercing pain. I glance up, the car is not going to run me over as well. No, people stopping. People gasping. I hear a woman in a yelling tone of voice: Are you ok? Hey, are you ok?
And so ends the argument this morning me, along with my little pony had with a Ford Bantam, late model 2007, had this morning. It was over as quickly as it started. It was interesting. It wasn’t, come to think of it, so bad either. I finally fell during an accident with my bike.
The damage? Well, my ankle is a bit sore, and has a scuff mark. My left cheek is sore from a scrapping bruise. My right upper thigh close to my hip is bruised and a bit sore. I’m ok. I’m laughing about it, after I insulted the driver, upon which a minute later I apologized.
So, synopsis. Whether I was right or wrong, or whether we both where, point is, I’m paying for the damages. Yes me, I don’t believe in insurance, my cheap city run-a-bout is my insurance.
What did I, and hopefully you learn from this? Well a few things, but lets list them since I probably will learn more as the day progress:
1. We bikers, we think a lot faster than cagers.
2. We bikers, we take chances based on experience
3. We, like pilots, hope that one day, our bag of experience will be full, before our bag or luck is empty
4. Like pilots, we know that to fill that bag of experience, we need bad luck
5. No matter how well we get to know our city traffic, there is always one.
6. Always, wear a helmet, I nearly hit a dove with my face on Monday. Helmets keep your face save.
7. For those that do believe (no offense to those that don’t), a small prayer before you ride is on order
8. When you come to a standstill, just run through your nervous system check list: Is there any type of agonizing stinging pain in my body, particularly, my neck and back
9. If you can, after the check in point 8, just glance up to see that you are safe and no cars is gonna run you over
10. Get up immediately if you want to, but DON’T go and moer the driver, accidents happen, we should learn from them from the comfort of our hospital bed or home, not whilst being turned into a wind chime in prison because your donnered the driver.
11. Riding is easy, falling is a given, getting up, isn’t as hard as you think.
12. This is like life, just get up, and move on.
Happy trails
In PE, well, people tend to drift off in the direction they want to turn, and moments before the turn, they indicate as such. You get use to it. You learn their ways, and ride accordingly. It works great, but this morning I learned that not all of them drift that way.
I was traveling along Paterson Road this morning. I stopped at the robot behind this security company Ford Bantam. He pointed his nose into Patterson, no indicator.
I travel behind him, and he start slowing down via the brakes, and he drifts to the right, no indicator. I see the movement and in a split-second, make the decision to pass him (on the left cause he is turning right by his actions).
As I pass his canopy, he turns left, my leg and my pony rubbing sides. A fierce argument of metal, steel, and cartilage ensues. Its violent. It shattering. Its shaky.
Moments before this little scuffle, as my months and years of city biking taught me, I did apply front and rear brakes. Not to showboat, but I am quite good at it, always realizing how much pressure I did apply after such breaking event.
I use those smoked safety glasses to lessen the harshness of the sun on my eyes. I see them move up and away from my face. I see my the inside bottom of my helmet. My leg is pinched. I feel the pull of mother earth on me. Not from my butt, but from the side of my body. I heard breaking noises. Rubber screeching.
Falling is an eerie thing. Its not really something you train for, or really get use to in our lives, unless you practice Systema, which I wish an could. No, falling is like being surprised by a room full of people, wide eyed and bushy haired, mouths agape yelling: SURPRIZE!!!!
I feel my but tingle. The left cheek. My left elbow. I hear scratching noises. My jacket. I’m falling. This is a bike accident. This is me, falling. I am having an accident. I am having a bike accident. Where is my bike? Oh, here we go, legs in the air. Helmet on the tar. I flaying about I’m sure. I wonder how this looks from the sidewalk? Where is that car? What have I done. Blue sky……..
I am lying still, quick systems check, no piercing pain. I glance up, the car is not going to run me over as well. No, people stopping. People gasping. I hear a woman in a yelling tone of voice: Are you ok? Hey, are you ok?
And so ends the argument this morning me, along with my little pony had with a Ford Bantam, late model 2007, had this morning. It was over as quickly as it started. It was interesting. It wasn’t, come to think of it, so bad either. I finally fell during an accident with my bike.
The damage? Well, my ankle is a bit sore, and has a scuff mark. My left cheek is sore from a scrapping bruise. My right upper thigh close to my hip is bruised and a bit sore. I’m ok. I’m laughing about it, after I insulted the driver, upon which a minute later I apologized.
So, synopsis. Whether I was right or wrong, or whether we both where, point is, I’m paying for the damages. Yes me, I don’t believe in insurance, my cheap city run-a-bout is my insurance.
What did I, and hopefully you learn from this? Well a few things, but lets list them since I probably will learn more as the day progress:
1. We bikers, we think a lot faster than cagers.
2. We bikers, we take chances based on experience
3. We, like pilots, hope that one day, our bag of experience will be full, before our bag or luck is empty
4. Like pilots, we know that to fill that bag of experience, we need bad luck
5. No matter how well we get to know our city traffic, there is always one.
6. Always, wear a helmet, I nearly hit a dove with my face on Monday. Helmets keep your face save.
7. For those that do believe (no offense to those that don’t), a small prayer before you ride is on order
8. When you come to a standstill, just run through your nervous system check list: Is there any type of agonizing stinging pain in my body, particularly, my neck and back
9. If you can, after the check in point 8, just glance up to see that you are safe and no cars is gonna run you over
10. Get up immediately if you want to, but DON’T go and moer the driver, accidents happen, we should learn from them from the comfort of our hospital bed or home, not whilst being turned into a wind chime in prison because your donnered the driver.
11. Riding is easy, falling is a given, getting up, isn’t as hard as you think.
12. This is like life, just get up, and move on.
Happy trails
