Postby twizzle » Wed Aug 21, 2013 10:55 am
Riding along, got a phone call so pulled over to check the voice mail. I did a head check before starting off and waited for a guy to pass - road bike with aero bars, a rear pannier, aero bottle cage on the seat post, mirror on the helmet : Mr Different. Then, about 100m up the road, this guy shaves me - no courtesy "passing" call, no courtesy space : Mr NoCourtesy. A 'coupla minutes' up the road, Mr NoCourtesty has caught up to Mr Different, looking for a place to pass. He gets a gap in the traffic and pulls across, Mr Different puts the hammer down, and now they are riding side by side with Mr NoCourtesy on the white line in an 80kph zone. Every-so-slowly, Mr NoCourtesy gets ahead and immediately Mr Different changes to Mr Klingon. Mr NoCourtesy is down on the drops hammering away with this guy stuck to his wheel who only seconds before was working his arse off not to be passed!
Now, I'm on my TT bike, so picking a gap in the traffic, I blast past both of them because I don't want to be near either of them. A head check about a K up the road showed that Mr Klingon had dropped Mr NoCourtesy and was trying to catch me, which he did at the next lights, but he couldn't hold on if I went into aero-mode. As I reached my destination, Mr NoCourtesy skimmed me when I sat up in heavy traffic, then for good measure at the next set of lights he squeezed past a woman waiting behind the white line at a red light so he could go first. The woman has turned and looked at me to see if I was going to do the same thing to her, I just shrugged.
I know I shouldn't judge others so harshly... but deity help us if they drive cars like they ride bicycles.
I ride, therefore I am. But don't ride into harm's way.
...real cyclists don't have squeaky chains...