Bicycling in the Valley
Thursday (10/8/15) I was finishing a bike ride. I'd just gotten off the greenbelt and was heading north on Eagle Road. My ride had started at the Quizno's in Eagle and ended on the south exit to Eagle Road. If you get off the greenbelt to the south, you have to ride just over a mile north, to get back to Quizno's.
I was coming up at Eagle Rd. and Island Wood Dr. when the light turned red. At the same time a young man, on a bike, was waiting to cross Eagle. Just then a greyish sports car came speeding past me, heading for the light.
I don't know why, but I had the feeling the guy wasn't going to stop (maybe it was the speed he was traveling). I held up my hand to get the bike rider's attention. He looked at me and stopped, just in time for the idiot in the sports car to blow the light and make a right turn.
The car missed the teen by inches and the only reason the driver slowed down was to keep from rolling the car. As the other rider and I passed, he told me thanks for getting his attention and I told him, "Yeah, that guy was a Jackass."
I've been hit three times by drivers blowing stop signs/stoplights. One was a teen who was texting and in a hurry, another a Dominoes Pizza driver who blew the light making me slam into the side and leave a dent in the hood of his car, and the third was Linda Gregory, who blew a stop sign, bruised me up and trashed my bike. She began crying that she didn't have insurance and if I didn't call the cops, she would pay for everything. Guess what happened, never saw a dime from her. Brenda was right on that one.
You can say all you want about drivers watching out for bicycles, but the truth is, bicycle riders need to keep their heads on a swivel. Watch yourselves, it's dangerous out there.
Time to vent and leave stories.
Kevin Mee