Friday, March 14, 2014

Bike Route Class War.

DangerWillRobinson
MyMorningRideVille


This morning it started as I crossed over the Shaughnessy hump in the 20's when a black Mercedes SUV came within a foot or so of clipping my elbow as it swerved towards the curb and sped westward through the school zone.

Then, just east of Arbutus it was a Mercedes sedan that changed lanes without signaling.

Next, down in the Valley, a late model of Audi cut the corner right in front of me as it floored it while turning left.

Finally, and worst of all, I was double-teamed while climbing the hill to upper west CremeVille.

It began when a Lexus SUV ran a stop sign and swung left just as I chugged into the intersection with the right-of-way. As a result, I swerved right and was almost hooded by a Volvo cross-over that decided to run the stop sign, straight-up, from the other side of the intersection.

Which, once I stopped hyperventilating, had me wondering....

Why is it never somebody driving a Toyota Corolla that is trying to kill me.


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To be fair...When it comes right down to it, there really aren't that many Toyotas west of Granville these days, I suppose...Heckfire!...They are even starting to disappear in our near Eastern Townships neighbourhood...


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6 comments:

off-the-radar said...

Scary business, Ross. Sure glad you made it through okay.

As a pedestrian, I am constantly shocked by some drivers' bad behavior in my city.

Seriously?

You're going to almost run across my toes with your half-ton vehicle in order to save 30 seconds?

RossK said...

otf--

Probably the really big driver this morning was that I was a little later than usual...Which meant that I got to CremeVille just as folks were rushing to get their kids to school...That's when the real trouble seems to start on residential side streets.

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Bill said...

Sheesh

No question about it there is crash warfare out there and no street is really safe if you are not riding defensively at all times. Side streets, time of day, a set route and awareness make commuting safer but still you have to always be on your guard. The luxury vehicles seem less respectful to cyclist - a stereotyping that seems to hold true. Although all vehicles should be suspect.

Enjoy the treks. Stay safe on the mean streets.

Anonymous said...

Up here in my neck of the woods I find it's the wealthy first generation wannabe Canucks that try to brand my hind end with their BMW and Audi grill emblems. There's likely a few driving examiners out there making a huge tax free income.....

Anonymous said...

SH: Time for a bike cam with streaming video RossK--it could be a thing?

RossK said...

Thanks Bill--

Ya, it was a bit of stereotyping, and I acknowledge it had a lot to do with the neighbourhood I was riding through right before the schoolyard bells were set to ring...

It is amazing how much you can anticipate...And, truth be be really told, I did anticipate it all...Except for that damned Volvo - especially because I had already made eye contact with the driver - reckon she didn't expect the other guy to run the stop either and she figured she could scoot across right on my tail.

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Anon-Above--

I think there some documentation of your last point out there.

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SH--

Oh man.

Another obsession for my compulsiveness?

I'm not sure that would be a good thing.

But...

I wonder what the best version would be...at a moderate price...(he types as he moves towards the Google on the other machine)...point.

(btw - late winter juke is almost at a 100,000 listens)

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