First off, this is not a troll. I’m having an issue. I know I’ll get flamed, but I think that will help.
So: I’m having an issue where I find myself taking greater and greater chances for absolutely no reason at all other than I feel totally confident and in control of the situation when I do it.
I know this is a classic symptom of overconfidence and that unless I rein in my behavior, my number will eventually come up… but despite that, I can’t seem to stop.
Something about the endorphins, or “the zen,” or whatever just spurs me on. It’s like a switch, I get on my bike and just go off. When I get in this mode, my head is on a swivel, I’m taking the lane aggressively, when I want to, where I want to, how I want to, and basically just passing cars and bikes and peds and everything left and right, spinning like a wild ravenous animal.
Mind you this is all in downtown-style traffic mainly moving 15-30mph, somewhat heavy but not crazy.
Anyways I sort of had a wake-up call this morning. I’m riding downhill on a one-way street with two lanes of traffic and cars parked on both sides. Riding in the lefthand lane, I come up to a stoplight just as it’s turning green and smoke past three cars just getting going at the light. On the left hand side, which of course means that I was leaving myself open for a left hook… which didn’t come, but I knew it could come and took the chance anyways. Stupid.
So then I was mashing down the road, and the front-most of the cars I passed at the light, a red taxi, decides he wants to get cute. In my peripheral vision I see he’s pulled up on my right side about 6" from my right knee. I think, ah, what a sweetie, he’s mad because I smoked his ass back at that light and didn’t even call him afterwards. So now he’s waving his metallic car-cock at me in an effort to intimidate. I ignore him.
He nudges a little further forward, I guess thinking I hadn’t seen him since I hadn’t freaked out yet. He’s now even with my bars, his left fender underneath my right drop. This is getting ridiculous, I’ve got parked cars on my left about 2 feet away and a semi-homicidal cabbie six inches to my right.
My street is coming up, left turn, I’m at top speed so I’ll probably drag a pedal when I go around it, but since I’ve got a red Crown Vic trying to crawl into my lap, it’s not the right time to slow down… No worries. I still haven’t taken evasive action or otherwise acknowledged the cabbie. We’re just in tight Blue Angels style formation six inches apart at 20mph down the street.
Finally the time comes. I give his hood two good solid raps with my open palm and then break left around my corner. Only scrape one pedal. Have an adrenalin high for the next few minutes.
Why, I ask myself, do I have to ride like such a jackass?
Discuss.
