Written by Dusty Collins
Wednesday, 08 July 2009 17:19
I’m not sure if I previously stated that I ride my bicycle all over, so here’s a little something to let you know what it’s like.
I ride my bike all over. Whether it be to the grocery store, the park, the post office, and even a few of my buddies houses. I love my bike!
Now, one must keep in mind that I grew up in the country. In the country, we rode down the middle of the roads, usually dirt, but careless none the less. You never had to look both ways at intersections, or make sure there wasn’t someone behind you in some sort of mad rush. You could hear the cars or trucks, or whatever it may be, coming from miles away.
Needless to say, you can’t ride a bike like that in The City. Well I guess you can, but sooner or later your going to wish you were a little bit more careful. This is where my story begins.
One day last week at around seven o’clock in the evening I needed to run to the convenience store. So I hopped on my bike and I was off. The weather was looking pretty sketchy as I mounted my bike. Sure enough, it started to rain before I had one full revolution of the pedals. But I am a smoker. And Smokers know, desperate times call for desperate measures. I made the trek regardless. I was cruising down the side walk, I had the store in site. Not too wet from the rain since I opted to ride on the side with trees. That made a huge difference, helping keep me dry. One last intersection, and I was there. It was this moment that I noticed a car running, but parked near the intersection. I didn’t even think twice about that car. I had my eye on the prize.
Suddenly, the car took off, screeching tires and all. I was approaching the end of the curb when this kind gentleman decided he was banging a left. Of course he didn’t let off any, so the tires were still screeching when he realized he almost smoked me. On a more serious note, the driver came to an abrupt stop, skidding and all, right next to me. You see, once I realized he was making a left turn, I slammed on the brakes. I skidded the bike sideways within inches of the car. It was quite frightening, to say the least. Needless to say, I’m a little bit more careful since then. Here’s the real kicker. The driver actually had the nerve to yell out the window, “Get outta the road!” Thanks buddy!
