Do you ever get the feeling that something large and menacing is lurking out there somewhere and wants a piece of you??? I feel like Chief Brody everytime I ride through Danville and Alamo. Twice in the last couple of months the same old lady with the same big hair in the same champagne colored Cadillac has almost killed me while pulling out of the same strip mall parking lot in Alamo.
On Saturday morning as I was heading north on Danville Blvd having just had my coffee at Peets next to Pegasus cyclery I finally traded paint with a champagne Caddy. Just across the street from that little french bakery place in Danville a big land yacht came up behind me and made a right turn straight into my path. My left pedal left a big nasty score along the side of his passenger door and my fist made a nice big dent in his front quarter panel. I have a little bruising on my left leg but other than that no damage done. Luckily I was able to keep the rubber side down and not go under his wheels.
To his credit the guy pulls over and gets out to see if I’m OK. He had his teenage grandson with him too and he looked very upset. Before I could open my mouth a lady who had been riding just ahead of me on the road and heard my expletive ridden yell and the crunch when I hit the car, opened up on the old guy and gave him hell. The guy almost broke down and cried.
I have the bike a look over and there didn’t appear to be any damage. My pedals are already pretty scuffed up after a couple of wrecks so I couldn’t tell if he had added to the scars, but everything else seemed to go around in circles like it should and there were no rattles or out of the ordinary funny noises.
I told the guy not to worry about it and to chalk it down to experience and keep an eye open for bikes. I almost asked him if his wife had big hair, but I let it go.
Damn, Matt! I’m surprised no one has responded to wish you well. What does that say about your popularity on this board?
Seriously, I’m glad you’re okay. I’ve had some close calls (albeit, not that close) before. I hope you went home and hugged your little girl. Might be time to alter your route with that kind of mojo working against you. Feel better soon and count your lucky stars. It could have been much worse!
Nothing against Matt. I just think people are thinking this has something to do with biking and thus “Off topic” for the “Off topic” forum…so no ones reading it.
Good to hear nothing major happens. That stuff is so scary. I’m getting more and more paranoid about this kind of thing every day. I purposefully run against traffic so I can see the people coming at may so I can jump in the ditch if necessary…and yes it’s been necessary. Unfortunately can’t do that on a bike.
I’m in Madison, WI a lot recently and it seems there are bike lanes on every road, lucky bastards. Sure would make a guy feel a bit safer but I bet bikers still get cut off now and then.
Crazy coincidence, huh? I sure hope my first car is not on the road any more. It was an old Citroen 2CV and not in safe working order even before I sold it to a junk yard 20 years ago… (-:
Good to see the grammar police are still writing tickets!
You had to take a deux chevaux to the scrapyard? I kid you not, a friend of mine in college had one and didn’t want to pay the fee to have it scrapped so he cut it up and over the space of several weeks he stuffed it into his garbage can and those of several unwitting neighbors. the engine bloc became a bookend.
You had to take a deux chevaux to the scrapyard? I kid you not, a friend of mine in college had one and didn’t want to pay the fee to have it scrapped so he cut it up and over the space of several weeks he stuffed it into his garbage can and those of several unwitting neighbors. the engine bloc became a bookend.
Cool idea, and totally doable! The metal sheets the body was made from were so thin you could punch through them (and probably cut them with kitchen scissors). Your friend must have had one hell of a bookshelf though.
I loved that car. Nothing like going for a ride on a warm summer day with the top rolled back and three or four (or seven!) friends and a case of beer in the back. The suspension of that thing was legendary.
My first car was an Opel Kadett.
My then-girlfriend (now wife (-: ) had an Opel Ascona she “inherited” from her older brother. The triangular back windows fell out when you tried to open them, and the front blowers didn’t work, so no defogging the windshield. Made for interesting riding in the winter.
Ahh, good times… (-:
I know… I just can’t pass up a chance to get a dig in on Matt.
Does anyone know where Art Franke was at about 10am Saturday morning? and what he looks like?
Please send the contact information to me. As the new Attorney General, I will get it taken care of for you. Is three years in Gitmo without charges enough?
