On the last two rides, I was amazed to get buzzed closely by 18-wheelers.
Usually these are nice enough guys, but both times were on the final feeder
to a dead-end road, not out in the open. In the first case the guy came
close enough that I unconsciously pulled in my left shoulder. He had cars
parked on his side of the road, and though he was driving at about 10mph or
less, a prudent person would have hesitated behind the car parked on his
side and let me scoot past him in my lane. As it was he went way over into
my lane, getting closer as the rear end of this vehicle came near me.
He was consciously cutting it as close as he could using the diagonal to
make it even more frightening, even though eventually slowing to about 5mph
as the dead end of the street neared. I was riding uphill out of the dead
end, where the trucks had a delivery station. (Allied vans)
I came very close to turning around and finding this guy's boss and telling
him what happened. As it was I tried to be cool, and had worked up a good
head of steam coming up the hill.
Today, a guy came around a corner, and up a hill at about 10-15mph. I was
half-way up the hill, and he had the whole road open. Instead he chose to
do the same thing, cut across me slightly so that his rear end angled ever
closer and -again- I unconsciously pulled in my shoulder - this time
looking in the mirror, thinking, 'he's gonna clip me!' (The involuntary
flich tells me, by rule of thumb, he was within a foot to 18".
Again, I could have followed him to the drop station and complained - it
was the same Allied Van drop off, but he had a different truck.
I didn't hinder either of these guys, or even make them slow. Why would
they risk running over someone in a company truck - just for kicks? Equally
strange is that they knew I could follow them and confront them. Most
cowards will do it and speed off so you can't read their plates.
-B