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A Trackstand Saved My Life!
Headed home southbound, (Ontario St. @ 12th Ave.) I'd stopped and
dabbed to wait for the red light. Cross traffic was heavy. As the light was changing I looked to the left and saw that traffic was stopping. I checked to the right and it was stopped. I mounted up, clipped in the other shoe and started to go just as my light turned green. Suddenly there was a very large horn, very loud and very close on my left. I appears the city truck was either unable to stop or the driver just felt like squeezing the light to get across the intersection. I froze. I only needed to hold the track stand for about four seconds but it felt like an eternity as the truck passed within inches of my body. I turned to the pair of horrified cyclists behind me and quipped, "That would have been messy. But at least it would have been cleaned up fast." The truck was a street sweeper. -- zk |
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#2
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A Trackstand Saved My Life!
LOL
Similar situation happened to me. Traffic light had changed and a car and I were busy making our way across a 5 lane intersection. Buddy stops mid way and I stopped cause I was curious and bingo a lone white truck comes barreling through. One more second and I might not have survived. Common Sense saved my life. Another time I was on an admittedly narrow stretch of busy road in Surrey. Semis and everything going through. Being too tired to find a bicycle friendly way home. I looked behind and saw a White Construction truck coming a little way off and decided to watch him... he took way too long to inch over and i being kind of waiting too long to make a decision to get out of the clipless, slowly plunked on to the sidewalk. I'd say he gave me less than a foot and it was a fast heavy vehicle. The truck slowed down to see me get up but continued. No one else even slowed down. What a crowd. Just not my day I guess. Track Standing is definitely more sofisticated though. |
#3
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A Trackstand Saved My Life!
Zoot Katz wrote:
:::: I turned to the pair of horrified cyclists behind me and quipped, :: "That would have been messy. But at least it would have been cleaned :: up fast." The truck was a street sweeper. :: -- Glad you're alive. |
#4
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A Trackstand Saved My Life!
On Mon, 6 Nov 2006 20:44:01 -0500, "Roger Zoul"
wrote: Zoot Katz wrote: :::: I turned to the pair of horrified cyclists behind me and quipped, :: "That would have been messy. But at least it would have been cleaned :: up fast." The truck was a street sweeper. :: -- Glad you're alive. I'm glad I didn't soil myself. -- zk |
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A Trackstand Saved My Life!
"Zoot Katz" wrote in message ... Headed home southbound, (Ontario St. @ 12th Ave.) I'd stopped and dabbed to wait for the red light. Cross traffic was heavy. As the light was changing I looked to the left and saw that traffic was stopping. I checked to the right and it was stopped. I mounted up, clipped in the other shoe and started to go just as my light turned green. Suddenly there was a very large horn, very loud and very close on my left. I appears the city truck was either unable to stop or the driver just felt like squeezing the light to get across the intersection. I froze. I only needed to hold the track stand for about four seconds but it felt like an eternity as the truck passed within inches of my body. I turned to the pair of horrified cyclists behind me and quipped, "That would have been messy. But at least it would have been cleaned up fast." The truck was a street sweeper. -- zk at least they clean your streets up in Canada. down here all the storm drains are clogged leaving big pools and small rivers to hide big potholes! |
#6
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A Trackstand Saved My Life!
On Mon, 6 Nov 2006 20:49:28 -0800, "greggery peccary" .@. wrote:
I froze. I only needed to hold the track stand for about four seconds but it felt like an eternity as the truck passed within inches of my body. I turned to the pair of horrified cyclists behind me and quipped, "That would have been messy. But at least it would have been cleaned up fast." The truck was a street sweeper. at least they clean your streets up in Canada. down here all the storm drains are clogged leaving big pools and small rivers to hide big potholes! They keep the major streets clean. Most of the streets comprising the "bike route" system are residential streets. They're packed with leaf goo where we're expected to ride. There were several ponds and cascading torrents this morning. This street sweeper wasn't cleaning anything at the time. The brushes were up, thank dog. -- zk |
#7
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A Trackstand Saved My Life!
In article ,
Zoot Katz writes: Headed home southbound, (Ontario St. @ 12th Ave.) I'd stopped and dabbed to wait for the red light. Cross traffic was heavy. As the light was changing I looked to the left and saw that traffic was stopping. I checked to the right and it was stopped. I mounted up, clipped in the other shoe and started to go just as my light turned green. Suddenly there was a very large horn, very loud and very close on my left. I appears the city truck was either unable to stop or the driver just felt like squeezing the light to get across the intersection. I froze. I only needed to hold the track stand for about four seconds but it felt like an eternity as the truck passed within inches of my body. That's an ugly intersection. Southbound, as you were, you've got that hump on 12th just to the left where you can't see what's coming until it crests the hump, and then it's practically right in front of you. Northbound on Dumfries @ King Edward is similar, or even worse (no traffic lights there.) I turned to the pair of horrified cyclists behind me and quipped, "That would have been messy. But at least it would have been cleaned up fast." The truck was a street sweeper. I once heard of an account of a rider northbound on Ontario, riding through the traffic-calming car barrier (which lets bicycles through) at 11th -- a driver behind him tried to follow him, right through the barrier, knocking the sign over. That one reminded me of the time I was parked on the sidewalk at 10th & heather, doing some minor adjustment to my static, kickstanded bike, and a driver drove right up onto the sidewalk at me. Don'cha just hate it when they actually /aim/ at bikes? Then there's the drivers who ignore the "cars go one way" thing on Columbia, up the hill from Broadway (and MEC.) At least you can see those ones coming. Although I'd think that sort of stuff is as at least as worthy of inclusion in the mayor's Public Disorder online poll, as unh*lm*ted cyclists, defecating/urinating in the streets (I guess some drivers might actually /cause/ that,) jaywalking, littering, and open/public drug use: http://mayorsamsullivan.ca/survey/index.php?sid=2 cheers, Tom -- -- Nothing is safe from me. Above address is just a spam midden. I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca |
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A Trackstand Saved My Life!
Tom Keats wrote:
Although I'd think that sort of stuff is as at least as worthy of inclusion in the mayor's Public Disorder online poll, as unh*lm*ted cyclists, defecating/urinating in the streets (I guess some drivers might actually /cause/ that,) jaywalking, littering, and open/public drug use: http://mayorsamsullivan.ca/survey/index.php?sid=2 I thought you were joking. I went to the site on a lark. I cannot believe that someone was stupid enough to include cyclists not wearing helmets in a list of public disorder problems. That means that the person who created the survey (or someone who influences the choices) actually believes that not wearing a helmet is a sign of disorder! What the heck is wrong with these people? It smacks of the holier-than-though mentality I see among so many urban planning students. Come to think of it, the worst of the lot I had to deal with was from Vancouver.... If the survey wasn't active, I'd propose we skew the results a bit. If I were the mayor, I would have a long conversation with the maker of that survey. I just hope that the mayor didn't see/approve the survey before it was posted. -Buck |
#9
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A Trackstand Saved My Life!
On 10 Nov 2006 05:55:06 -0800, "Buck" wrote:
Tom Keats wrote: Although I'd think that sort of stuff is as at least as worthy of inclusion in the mayor's Public Disorder online poll, as unh*lm*ted cyclists, defecating/urinating in the streets (I guess some drivers might actually /cause/ that,) jaywalking, littering, and open/public drug use: http://mayorsamsullivan.ca/survey/index.php?sid=2 I thought you were joking. I went to the site on a lark. I cannot believe that someone was stupid enough to include cyclists not wearing helmets in a list of public disorder problems. That means that the person who created the survey (or someone who influences the choices) actually believes that not wearing a helmet is a sign of disorder! What the heck is wrong with these people? It's interesting. When I first stared back riding I wore a baseball cap and would not have worn a helmet - I thought they were uncomfortable and gorky. I wonder if drivers subconsciously consider helmet wearing as an admission that cycling is inherently dangerous, a dunce cap, almost a punishment, like using training wheels; a way of branding bicycles as 'toys' or something. Now I actually like wearing a helmet and if I forget mine as I walk out the door, will stop and go back and get it. Modern helmets look pretty cool, actually. But for drivers it's as though they're thinking 'ok, you're already doing something hazardous and getting in the way, the nerve not to wear a helmet so that you'll bounce when we hit you.' ;-) It smacks of the holier-than-though mentality I see among so many urban planning students. Come to think of it, the worst of the lot I had to deal with was from Vancouver.... If the survey wasn't active, I'd propose we skew the results a bit. If I were the mayor, I would have a long conversation with the maker of that survey. I just hope that the mayor didn't see/approve the survey before it was posted. -Buck |
#10
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A Trackstand Saved My Life!
In article .com,
"Buck" writes: Tom Keats wrote: Although I'd think that sort of stuff is as at least as worthy of inclusion in the mayor's Public Disorder online poll, as unh*lm*ted cyclists, defecating/urinating in the streets (I guess some drivers might actually /cause/ that,) jaywalking, littering, and open/public drug use: http://mayorsamsullivan.ca/survey/index.php?sid=2 I thought you were joking. I went to the site on a lark. I cannot believe that someone was stupid enough to include cyclists not wearing helmets in a list of public disorder problems. That means that the person who created the survey (or someone who influences the choices) actually believes that not wearing a helmet is a sign of disorder! What the heck is wrong with these people? Here's another one for ya: there's a "pedestrian safety" blitz going on here right now. Among the usual safety tips, the Authorities are admonishing pedestrians to only use /marked/ crosswalks. But here, every intersection is a crosswalk, and drivers (although most probably don't know this) are legally obligated to respect them as such, whether they're marked or not. cheers, Tom -- -- Nothing is safe from me. Above address is just a spam midden. I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca |
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