Living in Interesting Times

My bicycle commute Saturday encompassed the full spectrum of what could be called interesting times.

I was almost eight miles into the 25 miles to work when the first event began unfolding.  As I was approaching a bridge with significant grade, to allow barge and other large boat traffic, I heard a train sounding its horn behind me.  The river at this point is about a half mile from bank to bank, giving about a quarter mile of both ascent and descent.  While I climbed the bridge the train overtook me, it was out of my sight at this point because the separate bridge for rail traffic is lower than the highway and across the four lanes from me.  By the time I reached the far side of the river the lead engine was at least 100 yards ahead.  My speed was slowly decreasing when I pulled even with the engineer's window.  I was down to 22 mph when I finally edged ahead of the engine.  The train passed me back as I slowed due to the road beginning to ascend.  I caught it again in a half mile as the train made its way through the switch yard. Six miles down the road it overtook me and within a mile the rails split away from the roadway and I saw it no more.  That was an exhilarating portion of my ride.

photo modified from original by Simon Tong, CC-by-nc-sa si.smugmug@gmail.com

The four lane highway has no shoulder for over eight miles beginning at the river.  During the interlude while the train was in the distance behind me I spun along doing my best to keep my speed up.  I was coming down a short hill with a grade of about 3% where the road then extended straight and clear of obstructions for almost two miles, this stretch ended with a climb in the last quarter mile.  As I reached the long level section a car passed me with the three feet of clearance the law requires, but this was only three feet if I am being generous in gauging the distance between us.  The close pass aggravated me because the other lane going our direction was completely clear for a long distance behind us.  My guess is the driver justified it because he was making a right turn a half mile after passing me.

I made the remainder of the ride to the drop-zone without further incident, good or bad.

The ride home started before dusk but ended about 45 minutes after sunset.  On the home side of the river my route consisted of 3.5 miles on the same highway, it narrowed to two lanes coming off of the bridge, and ended with 4.5 miles on rural roads and lanes.  In the stretch of two lane highway I had multiple encounters with the drivers that all bicycle commuters regularly meet, the type that honk their horns or shout at you as they pass, even when they had not been forced to slow.  The most vocal that evening passed me while I was on an impromptu shoulder created by the parking areas of abandoned buildings.  Oh well...

Just after turning onto the rural roads I had my routine sprint to elude the big mean dog.  I never saw him during the first two months of using this route, only his small companion.  I would see the small terrier in my headlight cutting the corner to catch me and barking with a yippy sound as he ran.  I would also hear something heavy charging out to the road but didn't see the source.  Those first two months were September and October and I passed this point of my commute either before sunrise or after sunset.  Once we entered standard time I began seeing the big guy in the mornings, and on a few evenings when skydiving ended early due to cloud cover and I started home early.  I am now quite accustomed to seeing the large Rottweiler within five feet of my right ankle.

It was early in the commute home that the incident which allows today to be filed under the *May you live in interesting times* header.  I was less than two miles from the drop-zone going down a slight grade on the shoulder-less connector road between two county highways when I heard the vehicle approaching from behind.  The driver of the truck said it was an accident, he said "I didn't see you."  I believe him.  It was that time of evening when the sun is low on the horizon and glare can be incredible.  The sun was about 20 degrees to the right of the roadway, putting it close to the angle the driver would be looking in order to see me.  He said he was looking straight down the center of the lane and having a hard time seeing due to the sun.

As a pedestrian I have been struck down from behind by a vehicle when leaving a MLS game as a college student.  Before Saturday I have had many close calls with automobiles but had never been struck.  I am glad the four wheel drive pickup had those large hinged side mirrors instead of the fixed mirrors on brackets used to see around stock trailers.  The mirror hit me in the lumbar area over the left kidney and folded in against the passenger window.  I maintained my balance and held my line, never swerving further into the roadway nor off the pavement.  (The guys I once rode with in California would be proud.)  The driver didn't come to a stop for well over 100 feet, more than enough time for me to release an expletive in the belief that he was not going to stop.

He did stop and we talked for a bit.  I believe he was more shaken up than I was.  At the time I didn't think I had suffered any significant injury.  So far there is no bruising and I have no observed no hematuria. There is not even any pain.  *Interesting times* indeed, but I was very blessed in the outcome of the incident.