Last Updated on April 29, 2023
Few subjects divide cyclists. Bike brands do, a lot people when asked what car they drive they will say something like ‘oh it’s just a little xxxx’ or ‘It’s a xxxx and its shit.’ But ask a cyclist what bike they ride and they will push out their chest with pride and announce the bike brand loudly… and then tell you why its better than your bike….
Few other things split us….. Whether you should wear a helmet does, so do cameras on the helmets. I tried using a camera for a few weeks to see if I needed one, it was a cheap one off Amazon for less than a tenner…. I decided it wasn’t worth the effort, It wasn’t about the picture quality, that was okay. I would have upgraded if the process had interested me though.
If you use a helmet camera it might be different for you, if you ride in a busy city, so I’m not going to criticise you if you do use one, but nothing really happened on my commute, the odd close pass, but nothing more than I would normally shake my fist at and shout ‘excuse me Sir, that was a tad close don’t you think’
It was almost as though I was waiting for something to happen, so I could be all indignant about it, post it on Youtube with a caption along the lines of ‘Wanker in white Mercedes van XX20 YYY’…… Then email a copy to my local MP and the Chief Inspector. So I abandoned my experiment and the camera is now lying neglected in drawer somewhere.
However after this morning I’m beginning to have a rethink.
A lorry overtook me, giving me at first plenty of room. It then cut across me when only halfway past. I assume something happened in front of him that forced him over. Just to clarify how close it was….. I had to take a detour onto the pavement via a fortuitous dropped curb or I would have been under it’s wheels… literally an inch away from my bars, and he was still coming over when I bailed out…..
I pulled over and stopped. If I had got off my bike, I reckon I would pushed it last mile to work… interestingly the lorry stopped as well, further up the road. Possibly to see if I’d stayed on my bike. Being generous It may not have been totally his fault, he may have been forced into it by oncoming traffic, but he should have held his line, not put at risk the most vulnerable person involved in the situation, me. I cycled off to see if I could catch up with it. He drove off before I got to him, If I’d have caught him I don’t know what I’d have done…..
I think I know the firm it was from the type of lorry and the colour but I have no proof so in the words Vic Reeves I’m going to ‘let it lie…’ (Or in the words of ‘Frozen’…… Let it go, Let it go….. LET IT GOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
I was still shaking when I got to work. Has it put me off commuting by bike? Nah It’s only the second time I’ve felt in danger since starting to ride a bike again 6000 miles ago……. Will it make me get my camera out of the drawer and use it? …. Maybe….
Photo Credit – Nesster
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