Considering jacking in cycling

[Accy cyclist]

No,he came up on my left,overtaking, then wobbled and fell onto me,using me as an airbag. Then his mate sent me a text saying "YOU HAVE A CHIP ON YOUR SHOULDER!!!!!" and "GET A LIFE!!!!". Both messages in capitals and with loads of exclamation marks,like i've shown. The bloke who sent those messages is a methodist lay preacher as well. So much for Christian understanding eh!

Well what about this?! As i was leaving my front door yesterday,this person walked by. I had a split second decision to make. Should i ignore him or say hello. I chose to say hello,thinking it'd be left at that. He said hello back and then a few kind of friendly(ish)words were exchanged. We walked together,both asking what the other had been up to since we last spoke. He told me he hadn't ridden his bike since last October,due to his wife having a mild stroke and him not wanting to leave her alone too long. I told him of my problems etc etc, and we both agreed to help each other out. He doesn't fancy doing 50 mile bike rides with our club(and no way could i do it after 4 months off my bike) yet,saying it'll be too hard after being off his saddle for 5 months. When the weather does improve,we're going to do laps around the local park. That's how i first met him while i was doing my 20/30 lap ride one day. Some of the road around the park is pot holed badly,but the traffic's fairly quiet. So there you are. If i hadn't decided to walk out my flat at that time yesterday,none of this would've happened.

 

[gbb]

Dealing with idiot drivers can be dealt with internally, its a mindset you need to adopt to cope with it.
We've all been there, close passes, sometimes outright dangerous that make you question what you're even doing out on the road...and that can spill over to make relatively insignificant occasions seem much worse, you over focus on the negative.
Ive been there....and then thought...f'kit, you're not spoiling my day mate, smile and ride on. A new mindset and all of a sudden, the world seems a better place. Modestly close passes will always happen...it happened to me last night, twice, same van in city traffic, not dangerous but bloomin disrespectful. i shrugged my shoulders and put it down to maybe he didnt realise how that feels for a cyclist..maybe , maybe not, life's to short to worry about it. I even rode past his depot (i saw him pull in ahead)...in the past ive followed similar drivers to 'have a word'...not last night, ride on, enjoy the ride.

It doesnt solve any of the bigger issues, but it gets you through the day with a smile still on your face.

3 rides this week, none of them more than 12 miles each but nice to use the mojo while its there.