I had a bit of a slow start on my new trike. It arrived at RBM the day we were leaving to go on vacation. While on vacation, we got word of a death in the family so, although I picked it up, I didn't get to ride it due to funeral arrangements and traveling. Then we had to move my daughter back to college. When I finally got my big chance to take it out on my street for the first time, a neighbor almost hit me head-on with his Suburban. He was in a hurry to get home and when he turned onto the street, he decided to drive down the wrong side intending to park at the curb. He finally saw me and swerved back across the street and into the opposite curb, missing me by about 8 to 10 feet. Undeterred, I have continued to ride almost daily, but have discovered that there is a lot of hostility on the streets. One morning I had three different guys yelling variations of "get your (insert expletive of choice here) out of the road". Ironically, none of them were even on my side of the road but they felt compelled to whine nonetheless. Last weekend, I went to White Rock and almost had a guy back over me at a stop sign. He got impatient with the driver in front of him and decided to go around. I realize a trike is harder to see but I could see this guy in both of his mirrors before he started backing up. He just didn't look. Guess I'll need to get a horn as that "reverse" on my trike is not responsive enough for my liking.
In spite of these little incidents, most of my rides have been great fun for me. I ride to work most days and find that it makes my whole day more enjoyable. Each time I ride, my safety checklist gets a bit longer as I try to anticipate common hazards as well as the dumb stuff people do while driving. The trike is way more fun than my bike ever was but does require more vigilance on my part.
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First Outings on the New Trike (Read 2955 times)
