Forums > Cross Training > Car vs. Biker -- biker wins!
Right on Hereford...
I just have to share this story because it has a happy ending, unlike most car vs. biker stories.
Mrs. Dakota was riding home last night in the freezing rain and dark. Not exactly a comfortable experience, but it was about to get worse.
The scene:
Mrs. D is headed north on a residential street. Bike is equipped with front and rear safety lights, both lights turned on and clearly visible. She is approaching an intersection.
Lady Oblivious is heading west on a cross street, also approaching that same intersection. Lady O. has a stop sign.
Lady O. stops, and then -- without once looking where she's going -- makes a left turn onto Mrs. D's street, heading straight for Mrs. D, who is now in the intersection and directly in Lady O's path.
Here is where the story would normally take a tragic turn. Screeching tires (or worse, no screeching tires), sickening thud, cyclist sent to hospital or morgue.
But wait!
Mrs. D has moves! In an almost unbelievable display of agility, she leaps onto the hood of Lady O's car, pulling her bike up off the street with her. Lady O is so oblivious that she didn't even hit the brakes until she noticed an extremely pissed-off cyclist standing on the hood of her car, bike in hand.
Talk about a wake up call to all oblivious drivers.
In another unusual twist, Lady O. was completely apologetic and asked Mrs. D. what she could do.
"You can listen to me bitch you out," said my wife.
And she did just that.
A Saucy Wench
awesome!
dh has done that while running, but to pull the bike up with her, that is some serious coordination that I can not comprehend.
I was thinking the cleats on the shoes would have done some serious damage to the hood of the car, but if she managed that with clipless I am super-awed. (and will someone PLEASE explain to me why clipped in are called clipless?)
I like the confrontation at the end too. Because that surge of adrenalin NEEDED to be released so really, taking her scolding was the right thing to do.
I have become Death, the destroyer of electronic gadgets
"It's not enough to bash in heads, you've got to bash in minds" - Captain Hammer
"I don't care how old I live! I just want to be LIVING while I am living - Jack LaLanne. "When I got too tired to run anymore I just pretended I wasnt tired and kept running anyway" - dd, age 7I failed the 12 minute run at 15...BQ'd at 38
If we don’t try we’ll never know. At least I can find out how good I can be. I can have an answer at the end of the days, and have a hell of a good time with the process. -Desi Davila
Riot: Act VIII - Reboot
I've been trying to replay this in my head, and I've come to one conclusion:
your wife is a ninja.
Seriously, though, glad to hear she came out of it okay. I've had a few close encounters with cars recently myself.
wow -- that's scary close to awful ending. Glad nobody was hurt.
Bike on hood -- I am picturing an x-games move.
2012= under-goaled
Turn Here
Thanks for sharing Dakota
As a daily bike commuter I can relate. I've had a few close calls and when you are as vulnerable as you are on a bike these incidences get seared into your memory.
This may sound ridiculous and probably raises questions of sanity or at least my decision making capability but I've often said it's not "IF" I get hit by a car.....it's WHEN.
I'm glad it turned out. It could easiy have had a different outcome.
I hope she keeps riding.
Support the Battle Against Cancer
I was thinking the cleats on the shoes would have done some serious damage to the hood of the car, but if she managed that with clipless I am super-awed. (and will someone PLEASE explain to me why clipped in are called clipless?)"
In my brief attempt at biking then realizing this town is way too biker unfriendly to even bother, it seems like I read that this refers to the lack of having to use the toe clips or cages that actually go over your feet to hold them onto the pedal.
Yes, SPD cleats, and yes, serious damage to the hood of the car.
My wife asked me last night, "Was it wrong of me to grind my cleats into the hood while I was standing there?"
Drew, yes she does have ninja qualities. And, she was a high jumper in college. Still, I don't know how she managed to do that, either. Wish I had seen it.
Ennay, RE: "clipless" pedals...
Here are old-school things called "toe clips."
When they came out with the things pictured below (what my wife was using)...
They didn't know what to call them. They didn't have toe clips, so they called them clipless.
Puttin' on the foil
I du! (+CX +Mtn.)
Kirsten
'07: 1324.5 ••• '08: 1561 ••• '09: 1810.9 run ~ 208.7 bike ••• '10: 1,000.3 run ~ 3513.5 bike ••• '11: 710.3 run ~ 4157.9 bike
run 750 mi
bike 3500 mi
• more off-road
• gain proficiency @ CX mounts and dismounts (ie stop leap-frogging w/people who ride slower after every obstacle -- finish further up the field)
WOW!
Glad she's OK. Wife standing in cleats on car hood ! Bike on car hood ! Getting some satisfaction from oblivious driver ! Priceless (worth even more with video)!
Once again really glad she won the encounter!
Masters Group and Marathon Maniac #747
Dave
Dude!
That's gotta be better than being married to a gymnast or one of those professionals on Dancing with the Stars!
In the fight between you and the world, back the world. --Kafka The Logic of Long Distance
© 2012 RunningAHEAD.com. All rights reserved. | Privacy