- I was nearly hit less than a quarter mile from home tonight. I saw it coming. The car was coming from a side street to my right. The driver was looking to her right, away from me. When she saw she had no cars coming from the right, she started her left hand turn, directly into my path. I turned to her, shined my helmet-mounted light right into her eyes, and said in a very loud and measured way “WHAT…THE…FUCK….ARE…..YOU…DOOOO….ING?” She stopped abruptly. Then she honked her horn at me. I guess she felt embarrassed at her own incompetence. Better her red face than my dead face.
- What would she have done if I were a truck instead of a bike? I guess it would depend on how quickly her ambulance arrived.
- Yesterday, I had a close encounter with a deer for the second time in a week on the Mount Vernon Trail. It’s that time of year. Seeing deer up close is disconcerting. Not nearly as freaky as a kangaroo though.
- Tonight I saw a once well-known, local corporate executive running on the trail near Rosslyn. He sued his father in a dispute over the family business. He always looks like he just bit into a lemon. Every time I see him I wonder what his karma will be.
- I often see a local sportscaster/play by play man on the trail running north as I head south toward Old Town. He was my son’s baseball coach freshman year in high school. The way he interacted with umpires cracked me up. Instead of yelling and getting mad, he’d calmly walk toward the ump, wag his finger, shake his head, and say in a quiet voice: “No. No. No.”
- My high school baseball coach was a genius. One of his players screwed up a defensive play. Coach: “What are you doing?” Player: “I thought…” Coach: “Don’t think. DO.” It’s funny what you remember from high school.
- My high school French teacher got mad one day when he smelled something foul in his classroom. “Fellows. Nobody gonna fart in my class.” Needless to say not a lot got done for the next half hour.
- Have you ever seen a baby learn to crawl? They try with every cell in their body to move forward and they move backward instead. They haven’t gotten to the “do” part yet.
- Dogs probably don’t think to much about lying down. But they always seem to spin around three times before they do.
- And, because this blog is supposed to be about cycling, tonight I passed 7,000 miles for the year.
A Few Spokes Shy of a Wheel 
7000, Chapeau! Your ramblings remind me of my own random thoughts but I never seem to be able to remember them to write them down
P.S. I’m glad that you’re still alive to tell the tale!onwards and upwards to 8000!
Vehicles making a left turn is a danger to all bikers, with or without motors. It’s a phenomena that we are not the normal thing drivers are looking for, and often times we are right in front of them, they look right through us, and don’t even notice us. A well timed “What the fuck are you doing” yell is our greatest defense. Or maybe just a “HEY” could suffice. But I like yours much better. It gives us a warm fuzzy felling doesn’t it?
AHH that would be terrifying to be almost hit, I love your response. YIKES. Great job on passing 7K miles!