It’s the Second One That Gets You

That tire that seemed to be holding air so well yesterday was pretty low today, so apparently the slow leak is back. I’ll take it in to the LBS tomorrow to have them find the problem and fix it.

That put me on the Trek Pilot for the ride in. I’ve mentioned before that the seat on that bike is not very comfortable in my work clothes, so I’m glad it’s a short ride.

As I was riding down State Street and approaching University Drive, I heard the black SUV speeding up. It accelerated past me to make a quick right turn onto University in front of me. I was thinking about how close that was when I saw the second car out of the corner of my eye veering towards me. She was following the SUV’s path, but I was there now!

I grabbed the brakes hard as she came over. If I hadn’t, I probably would have bounced off of her door and maybe under the back wheel, but instead my front wheel was grazed by the back fender. I yelled as I tried (successfully) to keep the bike upright. The driver kept right on going.

What would you do in this situation? I was in the middle of the intersection still facing east and quite pissed. My instant reaction was to chase her down. I took off south on University Drive and saw her turn into an alley about a block and a half down. I got down there pretty quickly to see her dart into a parking lot. Once I reaching the lot she was pulling into a spot.

I crossed the lot and stopped about 15 feet behind her car, and it took her a while to get out. By this time I was breathing heavily and the adrenaline was starting to make my legs shake. By the time she finally left the car, I couldn’t hold it still.

I said “Did you know you hit me back there on State Street?” “I didn’t know. I’m sorry” (that was her only line – repeated often). I went on to tell her what happened and just yell a little more, but my voice was shaky and nervous. After 45 seconds or so I gave up, telling her to be more careful and sprinting away.

By the time I rode the last few blocks to my bike rack, I had calmed down, and was left with a big chain grease stain on my pants and a good story to tell my co-workers.

Home again on the south route was again uneventful.

Miles Ridden: 9.0