I knew when I started riding in Melbourne that it would be risky at times. Everyone who rides has at least a dozen stories of near misses. I’ve got my own fair share. It’s just part of the experience.
But last night’s near miss really rattled me.
I was waiting at the lights at the corner of St George’s Road and Holden St, heading home down St George’s Road. The lights went green and I pushed off. I put new cletes on my shoes last week and I’ve been having a little trouble with them as they’re much harder to clip in at the moment. I couldn’t work out which way the pedal was so I quickly looked down to check. When I looked up, there was a car turning – illegally – in front of me. It was going way too fast and I didn’t have time to brake, turn away or do anything except make a tiny squeaking noise as I was 100% certain I was about to be hit.
Obviously, I got lucky otherwise I wouldn’t be writing this right now. But it was close and I mean really close. Closest call I’ve had in a long time. Being the big whimpy girl I am, I totally freaked out. I started shaking and wobbled the rest of the way home with tears leaking out of my eyes. I don’t know why it scared me so much. Maybe it’s because I’ve had this happen before except that time I did get hit. Got really lucky that day – the road was wet and I somehow managed to stay upright after the initial contact and slid into the side of the car. Well, it was more like a slamming into the car followed by a desperate grab of the roof instead of going down like a sack of spuds. Of course, I was yelling a string of profanities at the top of my voice and was being watched by a captive audience. I wasn’t seriously hurt and was able to walk away – after giving the car driver a piece of my mind.
Last night was genuinely scary but I can’t tell you why. I’ve had four wheel drives get within centimetres of me and it’s given a me a nasty surprise but not affected me like that. On Sunday morning, I had a bus nearly launch out in front of me. Maybe it’s because I’m partially to blame. I looked down when I shouldn’t have. I took my eyes off the traffic even if it was for a second. The person in the car was doing something incredibly stupid and dangerous but I should’ve been watching. I should’ve been looking out for myself. I know there are car drivers out there who really do think cyclists are the scourge of road and would run us all down if they could get away with it and I ride with the knowledge in my head. Last night I dropped the ball and nearly got myself seriously injured or killed.
I have to stop thinking about it though. Nothing bad happened to me except I got a huge fright. Wasn’t hurt, injured or maimed in any way, shape or form. It’s nothing but a moment in time. The lesson is that I must be more careful all the time. It’s crap that we have to be so defensive all the time and ride like car drivers are out to kill us but it’s a choice between that or not riding at all.