Sometimes I am able to get out to Bartow for a nice ride on Tuesday evenings. There are about ten or so riders and a few are pretty fast. Big Al on his Bacchetta C.A. 2.0 is always trying to put a hurting on me and so I am always off the front to make him work for it. The only other Tuesday "A" ride is hectic and dangerous with sprints and so on and it only averages about 23. On the previous Tuesday that I rode the Bartow ride, I put in a 35 mile ride at 23.8 mph average and on this one, I was looking to do as well.
Right off the bat, the wind is strong. Allan is pulling the lead DF along at about 23 and I am feeling stiff from running 4 miles the day before. I wanted to let my legs warm up some more so held on for the first couple of miles. I then hit the front. Allan is looking strong and is right on my heels. It takes a while for me to get off the front and hold there. What I didn't realize is that now we are going in reverse of the previous Tuesday and I was lost...face palm! I would go to make a turn and they would go straight. If I would go straight then they would make a turn. Each time I would have to turn around and pass them and get out front again. I actually felt good as I would pull up beside them and then get off the front again. I would just use this as a challenge. It is pretty hard to catch riders of that speed.
So about a third of the way into the ride, I am off the front about a quarter mile. It is quiet and there is no traffic. The head wind is strong and hearing is not so great. It forces me into a peaceful work time and I focus on matters of person; blanking out the hard ride and going into the zone. When out from nowhere this happens! All I could think about was not going under.
Knowing that we have a 3 foot rule and are aloud to take the whole lane if the lane is under 14 feet, I am mad! There is no oncoming traffic and he could have used up the entire oncoming lane. And, even if there were traffic, by law he would have had to wait for traffic to clear in this situation. I "politely" let out what I had say and went on with my ride:-)
I like to carry a GoPro camera in case this happens and I hoped that it would come to good use. The ride went on and kept on as it was. I pulled into the parking lot about a minute ahead with a pretty good average. I was eager to get home and analyze the footage. Luckily the driver was nice enough to leave me his billboard and I was able to call the company and have him suspended. Now, some of you may question why I didn't call the police and the reasoning was this: I could have easily called the police. They would have given a ticket to the driver. The companies insurance would have gone up and the driver would likely have been fired. In our current economy, all we need is someone without a job causing even more trouble with bikes. It was better that they know cameras are out and safe driving is demanded on our public roads.
In the end, though, despite the close call, the ride was great. The wind was a beast and all came out with a strong finish! I am looking forward to riding again in Bartow as soon as the schedule allows.
Right off the bat, the wind is strong. Allan is pulling the lead DF along at about 23 and I am feeling stiff from running 4 miles the day before. I wanted to let my legs warm up some more so held on for the first couple of miles. I then hit the front. Allan is looking strong and is right on my heels. It takes a while for me to get off the front and hold there. What I didn't realize is that now we are going in reverse of the previous Tuesday and I was lost...face palm! I would go to make a turn and they would go straight. If I would go straight then they would make a turn. Each time I would have to turn around and pass them and get out front again. I actually felt good as I would pull up beside them and then get off the front again. I would just use this as a challenge. It is pretty hard to catch riders of that speed.
So about a third of the way into the ride, I am off the front about a quarter mile. It is quiet and there is no traffic. The head wind is strong and hearing is not so great. It forces me into a peaceful work time and I focus on matters of person; blanking out the hard ride and going into the zone. When out from nowhere this happens! All I could think about was not going under.
Knowing that we have a 3 foot rule and are aloud to take the whole lane if the lane is under 14 feet, I am mad! There is no oncoming traffic and he could have used up the entire oncoming lane. And, even if there were traffic, by law he would have had to wait for traffic to clear in this situation. I "politely" let out what I had say and went on with my ride:-)
I like to carry a GoPro camera in case this happens and I hoped that it would come to good use. The ride went on and kept on as it was. I pulled into the parking lot about a minute ahead with a pretty good average. I was eager to get home and analyze the footage. Luckily the driver was nice enough to leave me his billboard and I was able to call the company and have him suspended. Now, some of you may question why I didn't call the police and the reasoning was this: I could have easily called the police. They would have given a ticket to the driver. The companies insurance would have gone up and the driver would likely have been fired. In our current economy, all we need is someone without a job causing even more trouble with bikes. It was better that they know cameras are out and safe driving is demanded on our public roads.
In the end, though, despite the close call, the ride was great. The wind was a beast and all came out with a strong finish! I am looking forward to riding again in Bartow as soon as the schedule allows.
So scary, so glad you're safe....
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