Wednesday, August 7, 2013

day 75 : dont freak out when i was INCHES from getting run over

for real, you guys!
i have been biking for almost 4 years & i have had plenty of close calls ; but this morning, without a doubt, was my closest brush with death.

yesterday, i shared that i bought a new bike this weekend [you can read about leaving a yelp review here] for my upcoming duathlon.
blake & i got up early to get a long ride in {70 minutes}& on our way back, i was almost hit by a car.
because we have biked for so long, we are obnoxiously cautious ; i pride myself on really being present and aware when i am on the road.

so, we were at a 4-way stop. a car stopped before us {to our left}, then we stopped and then a grandma on our right stopped. car 1 went. then we went. and as we were in the intersection {i was closest to the grandma}, she went.
i think she was on auto-pilot & didnt quite register that humans were crossing the intersection.
as she starts to go, blake & i are both yelling and i visualize myself getting hit by this car.
{and mom, if you are reading this ; im just kidding. nothing like this ever happens...}
finally she stops INCHES away from me & one of us {hint : NOT ME} starts shouting and yelling at the grandma.
i couldnt make out what she was saying with her windows up, so i walked to her car {shaking SO hard, by the way!} and heard her out.
she said she got confused and her foot slipped. she apologized & i think she was sincere.
i told her that getting run over would seriously suck & she agreed. {cuz lets be honest ; NOT FUN!}

i was really proud of how i handled it. i know the initial reaction is to freak out & curse ; but im not interested in creating stress and bad vibes.
she apologized and we headed home. i was really shaken up, though. her headlight was really, INCHES away from my legs.

also, public service announcement : PLEASE be so careful, aware & kind when you are around bikes.
one wrong move & both of your lives could change forever.

1 comment:

  1. Oh my gosh! Go you for handling that so well!
    Poor all of you! That's scary for you guys and probably for her as well. She probably shouldn't be driving. My grandma wouldn't have admitted anything like that, she'd have blamed you. She's definitely one that SHOULDN'T be driving.

    Either way, good job!!

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