The desire to ride certainly wasn’t there, but I knew if I didn’t get back on the bike it would take even longer to recover from Saturday’s ride.  My muscles were sore and stiff.  They needed some spinning to help get them limbered up.

It worked.  I went out for a very easy spin that ended up leading me to Cleveland Park.  I finished up an easy 20 mile ride just doing laps before heading home.  By the time I was finishing I was in a much better frame of mind and my body was actually feeling pretty good.

It was on the final lap of the park that I had an experience that left me shaking.  Now, I don’t think it typically would have, but I have had so much trouble on the bike this season that I had an interesting reaction.  I started shaking and had trouble catching my breathe.

The scene of my near miss

I was coming from left to right on Cleveland Park Drive.  As I approached this traffic configuration, I had a car coming toward me as well as a car coming toward the intersection on Richland Way (the road running from top to bottom).  Actually, Cleveland Park Drive ends here and turns into Richland Way.

I was in the lane with the right-of-way.  The car coming on Richand Way has a yield sign at the intersection.  You can see the dotted white line on the road indicates this.

The car caught my attention for two reasons.  One – it looked like my in-law’s car, and two – he was coming with a bit of speed and wasn’t slowing very quickly.  That really got my attention!

My brain did the calculations and it was clear that we would probably reach the intersection at the same time.  I assessed what was happening around me – a car coming toward me in the opposite lane, a car behind me, and this car.  I then put all my focus on this vehicle.

First, I tried to get eye contact with the driver.  He wasn’t looking at me.  That was not a good sign.  Second, I checked to see what type of route I could take by making sure where I could go to avoid any other vehicles while avoiding him.  Last, I bored in on him with my focus.

Sure enough we reached the intersection at the same time.  I could tell what he was doing.  He had focused on the car in front of me and was timing his arrival at the yield sign so that he could step on it once the car passed.  He wasn’t seeing me at all.

I started an evasive maneuver to my left as he encroached on my lane.  All this time I was looking him in the eye – or trying to catch his eye.  Then he saw me and I saw the look of surprise in his eyes.  He put on brakes and turned his wheel to the right.  Thankfully, this kept me from having to swerve into the oncoming lane.  I was able to adjust my line to avoid him without crossing the yellow line.

It all happened in a matter of seconds.  I kept going and he came up beside me.  He rolled his window down and apologized.  I just waved my hand and let him go.  It was right after that I started shaking.  I was definitely time to go home.

Bottom line is he would not have hit me.  I was more than prepared to avoid him.  However, what if I had not been paying attention?  What if I had assumed that the guy driving the car saw me and would stop at the yield sign?  There is no doubt in my mind he would have hit me.

We as cyclists must be always aware of what is happening around us.  We can never assume we know what a driver is going to do.  We can never trust in the laws of the road to keep us safe.  All it takes is that one person not obeying the laws to cause us injury.

Now, having said all that… I have ridden thousands and thousands of miles.  This is the second time in all of those miles that I have had this happen.  There have been many more near misses in a car.  So, before you tell me to get off the bike because it is too dangerous, consider that it is dangerous any time we go on the road – bike, car, motorcycle, or what have you.

Be safe out there! Be aware!

More importantly, I want to give you an update on my friend Mike. He had an MRI last week and the final report was that the tumor was slightly smaller. This is good news in that it isn’t bad, however the doctor would have liked to have seen it shrink more. There is also no bleeds from the tumor and it does not appear to be growing.

There are complications. Mike is having trouble swallowing. He hasn’t been talking, but does nod or smile to conversation. Of more concern is that he has started having seizures earlier this week. They had to take him to Duke Hospital where he had two more seizures in the ER and then two more later in the day. They were pretty bad.

He is currently under sedation and is being feed through a tube. The doctors seem to be stumped why the seizure medicine is not working. This prayer request comes from Mike’s church family, “Please pray that the seizures would be controlled, if they do not get better, they may have to induce a coma like state again. Last time they did that it took months for Mike to come out of it. Please pray for strength and God’s sustaining grace for all.”

Amen.

My Ride for Mike 2007 seems so insignificant right now. Still, I am glad that I can be an encouragement in this very small way. The donations have reached $1090. Things have slowed down somewhat, but I hope to find other ways to increase the amount. Would you consider giving?

The weather also kept me off the bike until last night. I went out to Cleveland Park and was supposed to meet a friend for a ride. I think our wires got crossed because he wasn’t there – at least I didn’t see him there. I went ahead and started lapping the route. I actually felt pretty good. I was averaging 19.7 mph after riding for nearly 40 minutes.

About that time, it started to rain pretty well. It was just cool enough for me to decide not to end up getting soaked. So, I started to pull into the parking lot. I signaled to the car coming out the lot that I would going to turn left. However, the guy decides to just go ahead and start pulling out – as though he was trying to time my passing him as I went straight. I had to put on the brakes and because of the water, my rear tire fishtailed. Thankfully, he stopped and I was able to get around him.

This is the second time in three rides where people driving cars have ignored my hand signals. I make sure I use the signals that you learn in drivers ed and you have to know in order to pass your driver’s test, but man, you start to wonder how many people actually remember them!

Thankfully, I have learned to be alert and defensive. I simply ride as though they don’t see me and anticipate those kind of bone-head moves that I saw last night.

Cyclists must obey the rules of the road

I would like to comment on the increasing number of bicycle riders in the Greenville area. I think it’s great that this sport is being taken up by so many people. However, there are problems with some of the cyclists. On numerous occasions I have encountered cyclists hindering traffic. From what I have observed, not all bicyclists are careful and some are very rude. I’ve had cyclists show me “obscene hand gestures” when I tried to pass them.

The latest incident in my neighborhood prompted me to write. I live in the Pebble Creek area and the roads in my area are narrow and well traveled. Especially in the mornings. Two days ago around 6:30 a.m. I was on the road and barely noticed a cyclist was on the road. This person was not wearing any reflective gear and also the bicycle did not have any lights. He was coming around a curve and causing issues for all drivers.

What bothers me is that if something should happen to one of these cyclists the driver(s) will be blamed. However, the roads in most areas in Greenville are not intended for cyclists. I grew up in Europe where parts of the sidewalk are dedicated for cyclists. This is not the case in South Carolina.

If cyclists are going to be on the road, they have to obey the rules of traffic. Also, it would be nice of them not to get mad at drivers and make obscene gestures.

Sezi F. Demirkilic, Greenville

I am afraid he has a point. There are two things in play here. 1. There is some ignorance on the part of many new riders who have started riding because of the growing popularity of cycling in Greenville. 2. There are some attitudes among riders who have been cycling for years. I believe there is more of number 1 than 2.

It should be pointed out though that there are many many riders out there who obey the traffic laws and do everything they can to fit in with other traffic on the road. Besides, while we’re pointing fingers… how many riders who have been obeying the law, are wearing reflective clothing, and have lighting on their bikes can tell stories of obscene gestures, horns right as the car is about to pass, various discouraging phrases being yelled at them, or/and objects thrown at them.

Cyclists wearing helmets ‘more likely to be hit’
Telegraph, UK

I’m still wearing my helmet. I have “used” my helmet before and I would hate to think what would have happened to me without it. Ride safe!

Today I should be getting my bottom bracket replaced. Hopefully, I’ll get it back today so I can ride this evening. Sometimes it takes a while for Sunshine to get to the project because of all the work coming in. I should definitely have it before this weekend when I am planning on a longer ride. More on that later…

Bicyclist hit by car as he waits for an ambulance
The Greenville News

I won’t be able to ride today — or perhaps a couple of days. Ever since I got my bike, I have had issues with the bottom bracket. There is a lot of play when you put pressure on the pedals. Thankfully, it is still under warranty and I am supposed to take it by Sunshine Cycle Shop and they are going to replace it.

Here is the next item I’ve collected to help me in my training. It is a Sports Instruments ECG Pro 7. I’ll admit that I haven’t learned how to take full advantage of the computer.

“Based on your Threshold Heart Rate or your Maximum Heart Rate the Pro 7 automatically calculates 5-training levels based on contemporary training philosophy. The Pro 7 then automatically tracks the amount and percentage of time you spend in each training zone during your workout.” Now, what that means I’m not sure. I primarily focus on the time spent in the fifth zone, the average heart rate, and the workload.

There are lots of ways to use the computer that I have not even tried yet. However, just being able to see my heartrate during a ride has been a help. It causes me to focus on recovery between periods of intense output. I’m learning to control my system through breathing and altering my output.

Cyclist dies in collision with off-duty city bus