Todays' blog entry is a bit short - I'm actually going through my photos of Saturna Island for a bit of a travel blog but something happened to me today which really made me, well, pissed off.
I was riding on a fairly quiet road - it's an arterial route but not tons of traffic- a two lane road with a solid yellow line down the middle. I was going up a hilly part at around 35 km in a 50 km zone and I noticed a black pick-up truck right behind me.
Now, at this point, I guess I could have avoided any problems and pulled over. But my feeling is, my 50 cc scoot is licensed and insured as a regular vehicle and maybe the guy behind me needed to be a bit patient and stop tailgating me. Besides, I knew that as soon as I reached the top of the hill, I would pick up speed and be back to 50 kms again.
As I approached the crest of the hill I looked in my mirror again and the black truck seemed pretty darned close. I went over the crest and went down the other side.
When I was about half the way dow the hill (and going at the speed limit) the truck pulled into the left lane around me - but there was a car coming the other way! He roared by me, just clearing my Vespa, and swerved back into the lane in front of me in the nick of time.
If that wasn't enough, after about 30 metres, the truck turns left off the road! He saved about 8 seconds in his day by passing me! Plus, he managed to both anger and terrify me and lord knows how the other driver was feeling. And for what?!
And it gets better...
We have a roundabout in or neighbourhood - it's by a park and it's there to slow down traffic at the intersection. Roundabouts are not all that common here so there are signs telling people how to enter them, how to turn, and that vehicles entering the round about have to yield to people who are already going around it. Pretty clear, right?
Well, I am already in the round about and signalling left. A white van enters the intersection just as I am about to turn in front of him. I blast my horn (although my horn really only makes a pathetic 'meep' sound) and slam on the brakes so he doesn't hit me. He merrily goes though and doesn't even slow down.
The thing that really got me about the two incidents is that they both happened close to my house! People in my own neighbourhood driving like jerks!
OK, rant over - stay tuned for pics of Saturna Island.
