I am all for "Share the Road", but how far do I need to go? I routinely
commute on bike at dawn and dusk. As such, I realize the dangers of
riding on roads at night. I make myself very visible to every car,
whether it is in front, back, or on the sides. I my bike has a very
bright blinky on the back, a high intensity three white LED blinky
headlamp on the front, I have reflectors on my riding shows, reflective
striping on my bright orange backpack, striping all over my bright
yellow jacket, and a white helmet with an additional blinky. If you
can't see me, you are either blind, playing with things in your car, or
just plain out to run me over.
This morning I had to drive in since I have to pick up some large items
from the store after work. The sun is just starting its rise and there
is a greyish blue tinge of light. It's dark enough to be using lights.
I pull to the edge of my apartment driveway as is normally the case
and inch forward. I have to do this since the cars in the street block
the view. I pull out a little further as I see no cars or lights and a
half a second later this guy on a fixie is swerving around me yelling
obscenities. If I didn't see the one lone blinky on his back, I
wouldn't have even known he was there. He was wearing dark blue and
black all over his body. A dark blue helmet on a black bike with black
shoes and not a reflector or reflective tape anywhere. No lights in
front and black gloves covered his hands. All this while riding next to
the dark cars parked in the street. You would have to have thermal
imaging goggles to see him.
So now he's in front of me, purposely going slow as if to punish me. We
pull to a red light and he decides to be lazy and go right through it.
The light turns green and he swerves in front of me again. I hold back
until we get the the red light (had just changed) at Colorado Blvd.
Since I know he won't be able to bolt across here, I get out and have a
few words with him about making himself visible as I do when I commute.
He replies with a f!ck you, to which I say suit yourself and this is
why bike commuters get a bad wrap and you are ruining it for the rest of
us. As I get in my car, the light turns green, he gives me the figer,
and he's gone.
DO I feel guilty that I almost hit him? Yes, I do. But, how far do I
need to go to ensure bicyclist safety? At the very least, if you are
going to ride in the dark use a light in the front.
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o-o-o-o Ride-A-Lot o-o-o-o
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