This Just In – Yesterday I was out to fetch my grandson at the end of his preschool day. Driving along Borland Road, I came upon a cyclist. Borland Road is typical of much of our county. It’s a winding country road with no shoulder.
I approached the cyclist and waited behind him as there were cars in the distance approaching. Sharing the road was on my mind. While I might have been able to go around the bike and return to my lane in time, I thought that it would be a quick move and not prudent, so I waited. No problem.
A mile or two ahead, I repeated this exercise as I encountered a second rider. Again, no problem.
I picked up my 4-year-old grandson, whose new favorite phrase is “Did you know …?” and we started back along the same route to return to my house.
Coming around a bend, I once again encountered one of the two cyclists … coming toward me. In a galactically stupid maneuver, the driver following him ignored the rule of patience that one MUST follow when coming up to a slow-moving bicycle on blind curve on a road with no room for error. The driver thought he could pass the bike (not that it matters, but also crossing a double line).
I came upon this by nearing the curve, seeing the cyclist and then seeing the headlights of a pretty fast moving vehicle, completely in my lane coming straight at me. This is in a 45 MPH zone. Only the bike was moving slowly. If you remember your math word problems, you know that the space between us closed very quickly.
Fortunately for me, the oncoming nitwit saw me and immediately yanked his steering wheel to the right while slamming on his brakes. In terms of drama, all the excitement was on his side of the road. I had time only to take my foot off the gas and steer slightly to the right. Very, very slightly.
After passing that, my grandson none the wiser, I wondered what that fool thinks “Share The Road” actually means. No time to dwell on it as I remembered that there were two bikes on the way out. Another one is coming up.
That’s a good thing, because when this happened the second time, it was worse. There were two cars following the bike and one of them was a full-sized pickup truck that looked like it could drive right over the top of my little Ford Explorer. The Prius behind the truck was well obstructed, but that didn’t seem to keep him from passing over the double line, pulling into the oncoming lane, unsighted and trying to pass this cyclist.
My father taught me how to drive. One of his most memorable lessons was “If you can’t see, don’t go.”
Again, except for my heightened caution, I had little ability to do much of anything – not even lean on the horn. Again, the big fat truck and the very shocked looking woman driving it yanked back into its lane, behind the cyclist, followed by the Prius. From that truck, she could see Chatham County, but not around a curve.
Again, I’m happy to report, no one hurt and my dear grandson continued with the J-Ma after-school quiz of “Did you know …?”
I’m not sure that either of these cyclists had any idea that any of this happened. None of it was their fault, obviously. They were wearing highly visible gear and staying as far right as was safe given the lack of shoulder. It’s worth noting that they also were the most likely to get killed in these exchanges.
I only wish that a State Trooper had been hanging around Borland Road yesterday to dish out the maximum citation for three cases of reckless driving. Obviously, I’m grateful for the unspeakable thing not happening (twice) but also that I didn’t let loose with the rainbow of obscenities that would have found their way into the “Did you know …?” quiz for Mommy and Daddy after we brought Elvir home.
The weather has cooled. Grateful people who love riding bikes are out and about enjoying the countryside. If you’re on four wheels instead of two, please remember that the burden of keeping cyclists safe when passing them is yours. Share the road.
Jean Bolduc is a freelance writer and the host of the Weekend Watercooler on 97.9 The Hill. She is the author of “African Americans of Durham & Orange Counties: An Oral History” (History Press, 2016) and has served on Orange County’s Human Relations Commission, The Alliance of AIDS Services-Carolina, the Orange County Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, and the Orange County Schools’ Equity Task Force. She was a featured columnist and reporter for the Chapel Hill Herald and the News & Observer.
Readers can reach Jean via email – jean@penandinc.com and via Twitter @JeanBolduc
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I can assure that that most competent cyclists are aware of the circumstances described in the article. Like many cyclists, I run a camera and I have many replays of this . I sometimes count how long a motorists is delayed before they make a decisions that could kill or maim. It is usually like 5 seconds.