Open Your F@#king Eyes!!!

This comes after almost being hit by a car twice in two days. Both by people looking someone other than through the front window. The first came on Sunday. You'd think that during a 98 mile ride, chances are higher than you'll have some sort of run-in with car. Especially going through Larimer County where they seem to pay people based on the number of cyclists they can take out. But no, #1 came during my 2 mile run off the ride. Through my golf-course neighborhood. I was running on the road (on the left-hand side) as I always do. The road is wide enough and it's not a high traffic area and in general cars are going slow enough. As I was about to cross a driveway, a car from behind me promptly turned left into the driveway, cutting me off by mere inches. My torso was maybe a foot away from this woman's driver-side window. She never even flinched. And it's not like there was a lot going on near the entrance to her driveway. There were no trees or bushes that I could have somehow blended into. I wasn't wearing bright cycling clothes, but I also wasn't dressed in camoflauge either. I was visible. If you had your eyes open. I started screaming and waving my arms thinking maybe she'd see something through her rear windshield. Nothing. Of course, this morning when I walked by her house, sort of hoping to find her outside so I could yell at her, I noticed a man outside. He was about 4-5 feet in front of the closed garage door, facing the garage door and marching in place. Clearly the entire household is a few cards short of a deck.

Near death experience #2 came yesterday when I was riding home from work. I was at the 4-way stop at Baseline and Cherryvale. I was coming from the bike path. I stopped at the intersection, even when most people do not. After waiting more than my fair share of cars going through, I started to go. I figured I'd wait until the people on my left and right went since they had less of a chance of seeing me, whereas the car facing towards me really couldn't help but to see me. Or so I thought. I started to go. As did he. He was making a left hand turn into me, the entire time looking over his shoulder to the right - the exact opposite direction that you should be looking when making a left hand turn. He had his window open and once again I started screaming. I didn't have many options at this point to get out of his way. He was probably a foot or two away when he finally heard me, looked up, and said, "Oh". Yes, "Oh". That's all. Not "Oh shit! Sorry!". Just a causal "Oh". My bike is bright orange and yellow. It's really hard not to see me. If you'd just open your f@#king eyes and pay attention!