It could have been, but it wasn't

It could have been, but it wasn't.

Today was interesting cycling. The morning was dull, damp & misty, so I donned
the bright yellow & the reflectives and made sure the lights were working on my
bike - one "normal" red one & two flashing red LEDs at the rear & two white
front lights. As I cycled out of the village, I passed a couple of fellow
villagers cycling - they were the standard elderly cyclist - dark clothing, no
lights and sadly - cycling on the footpath in a couple of cases, when they were
most definitely old enough to know better. I was lit up like a Christmas tree I
cycled by them. On the way into town I wondered if it was "National Be Nice To
Cyclists Day" as motorists were giving me a wide berth as they overtook me, and
I even had a couple wave as they went by and the odd "toot-toot". The "toots"
were decidedly friendly in tone, and were definitely not PPPPAAAAAARRRRPPPs of
aggression. Drivers heading towards me on the other side of the road were
staring as they passed by. Something was up. I stopped the bike & got off.
Nothing was hanging off the bike - my lights were on - so I wasn't getting
friendly warnings of the imminent failure of some crucial bike part. Perhaps it
was National Be Nice To Cyclists Day after all. Perhaps the vision of yellow
helmet, yellow light-enhancing shades, yellow jacket, reflectives all over and
a bike lit up like a Christmas tree was a bit of a shock to the system. Still,
it did mean they had actually seen me on a dull, damp and otherwise miserable
morning.

I got to the hill into town by the George Hotel. Today is Armistice Day and at
11, there was to be 2 minutes silence and the local war memorial is at the top
of this hill. The hill had stationary traffic on it, much of it with the sound
of engines being revved, and the beeping of horns as drivers can do when stuck
in traffic. At the top of the hill I dismounted & walked the bike round the
bend to where the war memorial junction is. The old soldiers were there,
wearing poppies, getting ready for the last post and the two minutes of
silence. Quite a few young children from a local school were there, and
pedestrians lined the streets. The traffic was halted, as a mark of respect,
for the duration of the short service at the memorial. It must have been no
more than five minutes. During that time, the last post was sounded, two
minutes silence held, and then the bugle sounded to end the two minutes
followed by a very short prayer before people moved along. During the two
minutes silence, I was quite shocked by the number of halted vehicles who still
kept their engines running and the number of engines being revved - quite
clearly as a sign of impatience, and several motorists tried to force their way
around the standing traffic to get past the line. I mean, one day of the year,
when they are being held up for no more than five minutes… Sheesh!

After the paying of respects to the war-dead of the first world war to the
present day, life got back to normal, traffic moved and pedestrians went about
their business. It was then I discovered it wasn't National Be Nice To Cyclists
Day after all. The pent-up fury of having been delayed a few minutes brought
out the road rage. Sigh… In the next few half-hour, I was cut-up, carved-up,
overtaken on bends where oncoming traffic couldn't be seen, forced into the
side of the road by a double length low-loader truck. It was that or end up
under his wheels as he overtook me but failed to note that he actually needed
to pass me completely before he moved back to the lane. Another idiot, in a red
Ford Escort decided that when it was overtaking me, I would benefit from having
its wing mirror slap me on the thigh as it went by too fast and too close.
Obviously prior to eleven this morning, wearing high-visibility clothing and
being on a well-lit bike was something positive and somehow, post eleven in the
morning it became a Klingon cloaking device. Pity the space-time continuum of
before eleven couldn't continue. Still the day wasn't entirely bad post eleven
a.m. - when I got back home I was met by a purring black cat with one-eye, who
was very happy to see me, and who snuggled up on my lap as I sat on the sofa
with a cup of hot coffee to warm me and remove the dmap chill from my bones.

Cheers, helen s
--This is an invalid email address to avoid spam--
to get correct one remove dependency on fame & fortune
h*$el*$$e**nd***$o$ts***i*$*$m**m$$o*n**s@$*$a$$o* *l.c**$*$om$$

Man, you sure lead a danger-filled day cycling around there. Be careful,
dear. Like I tell the motorcyclists I x-ray, *you* don't even need to make a
mistake......


"dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers" wrote in
message ...
: It could have been, but it wasn't.
:
: Today was interesting cycling. The morning was dull, damp & misty, so I
donned
: the bright yellow & the reflectives and made sure the lights were working
on my
: bike - one "normal" red one & two flashing red LEDs at the rear & two
white
: front lights. As I cycled out of the village, I passed a couple of fellow
: villagers cycling - they were the standard elderly cyclist - dark
clothing, no
: lights and sadly - cycling on the footpath in a couple of cases, when they
were
: most definitely old enough to know better. I was lit up like a Christmas
tree I
: cycled by them. On the way into town I wondered if it was "National Be
Nice To
: Cyclists Day" as motorists were giving me a wide berth as they overtook
me, and
: I even had a couple wave as they went by and the odd "toot-toot". The
"toots"
: were decidedly friendly in tone, and were definitely not
PPPPAAAAAARRRRPPPs of
: aggression. Drivers heading towards me on the other side of the road were
: staring as they passed by. Something was up. I stopped the bike & got off.
: Nothing was hanging off the bike - my lights were on - so I wasn't getting
: friendly warnings of the imminent failure of some crucial bike part.
Perhaps it
: was National Be Nice To Cyclists Day after all. Perhaps the vision of
yellow
: helmet, yellow light-enhancing shades, yellow jacket, reflectives all over
and
: a bike lit up like a Christmas tree was a bit of a shock to the system.
Still,
: it did mean they had actually seen me on a dull, damp and otherwise
miserable
: morning.
:
: I got to the hill into town by the George Hotel. Today is Armistice Day
and at
: 11, there was to be 2 minutes silence and the local war memorial is at the
top
: of this hill. The hill had stationary traffic on it, much of it with the
sound
: of engines being revved, and the beeping of horns as drivers can do when
stuck
: in traffic. At the top of the hill I dismounted & walked the bike round
the
: bend to where the war memorial junction is. The old soldiers were there,
: wearing poppies, getting ready for the last post and the two minutes of
: silence. Quite a few young children from a local school were there, and
: pedestrians lined the streets. The traffic was halted, as a mark of
respect,
: for the duration of the short service at the memorial. It must have been
no
: more than five minutes. During that time, the last post was sounded, two
: minutes silence held, and then the bugle sounded to end the two minutes
: followed by a very short prayer before people moved along. During the two
: minutes silence, I was quite shocked by the number of halted vehicles who
still
: kept their engines running and the number of engines being revved - quite
: clearly as a sign of impatience, and several motorists tried to force
their way
: around the standing traffic to get past the line. I mean, one day of the
year,
: when they are being held up for no more than five minutes. Sheesh!
:
: After the paying of respects to the war-dead of the first world war to the
: present day, life got back to normal, traffic moved and pedestrians went
about
: their business. It was then I discovered it wasn't National Be Nice To
Cyclists
: Day after all. The pent-up fury of having been delayed a few minutes
brought
: out the road rage. Sigh. In the next few half-hour, I was cut-up,
carved-up,
: overtaken on bends where oncoming traffic couldn't be seen, forced into
the
: side of the road by a double length low-loader truck. It was that or end
up
: under his wheels as he overtook me but failed to note that he actually
needed
: to pass me completely before he moved back to the lane. Another idiot, in
a red
: Ford Escort decided that when it was overtaking me, I would benefit from
having
: its wing mirror slap me on the thigh as it went by too fast and too close.
: Obviously prior to eleven this morning, wearing high-visibility clothing
and
: being on a well-lit bike was something positive and somehow, post eleven
in the
: morning it became a Klingon cloaking device. Pity the space-time continuum
of
: before eleven couldn't continue. Still the day wasn't entirely bad post
eleven
: a.m. - when I got back home I was met by a purring black cat with one-eye,
who
: was very happy to see me, and who snuggled up on my lap as I sat on the
sofa
: with a cup of hot coffee to warm me and remove the dmap chill from my
bones.
:
: Cheers, helen s
: --This is an invalid email address to avoid spam--
: to get correct one remove dependency on fame & fortune
: h*$el*$$e**nd***$o$ts***i*$*$m**m$$o*n**s@$*$a$$o* *l.c**$*$om$$
:
:

I'm so sorry to hear that drivers are so inconsiderate. I'm afraid things
like that happen here too and I'm actually scared to ride a bike (but I do
walk if at all possible). So glad Waffles took good care of you when you
returned.
Best wishes,
--
Polonca & Soncek

"dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers" wrote in
message ...
snipAnother idiot, in a red
Ford Escort decided that when it was overtaking me, I would benefit from
having
its wing mirror slap me on the thigh as it went by too fast and too close.
Obviously prior to eleven this morning, wearing high-visibility clothing
and
being on a well-lit bike was something positive and somehow, post eleven
in the
morning it became a Klingon cloaking device. Pity the space-time continuum
of
before eleven couldn't continue. Still the day wasn't entirely bad post
eleven
a.m. - when I got back home I was met by a purring black cat with one-eye,
who
was very happy to see me, and who snuggled up on my lap as I sat on the
sofa
with a cup of hot coffee to warm me and remove the dmap chill from my
bones.

Cheers, helen s
--This is an invalid email address to avoid spam--
to get correct one remove dependency on fame & fortune
h*$el*$$e**nd***$o$ts***i*$*$m**m$$o*n**s@$*$a$$o* *l.c**$*$om$$

Man, you sure lead a danger-filled day cycling around there. Be careful,
dear. Like I tell the motorcyclists I x-ray, *you* don't even need to make a
mistake......


When I'm out on my bicycle I make sure I am highly visible and I cycle
assertively & make clear signals of my intentions e.g. on turning. Today was a
parituclarly bad day, I admit. Most days the good outweighs the bad. And the
health benefits of cycling far outweigh the risks.

And I have insurance & legal cover so if I am ever the victim of a SMIDSY
(Sorry mate, I didn't see you) then I shall be suing their sorry a**es off ;-)

Cheers, helen s


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So glad Waffles took good care of you when you
returned.

Which is the best bit :-)

Cheers, helen s

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"dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers" wrote
SNIP It could have been, but it wasn't. Today was interesting cycling.
SNIP

I kept waiting for you to tell us that you had forgotten to button your
shirt or something, hence all the "toots"

Stacey

I kept waiting for you to tell us that you had forgotten to button your
shirt or something, hence all the "toots"

Oh no. Much too cold for that :-D

Cheers, helen s

--This is an invalid email address to avoid spam--
to get correct one remove dependency on fame & fortune
h*$el*$$e**nd***$o$ts***i*$*$m**m$$o*n**s@$*$a$$o* *l.c**$*$om$$