Saturday 22 November 2008

‘Shocked and dazed’

Going down Cheapside this afternoon in the cycle lane and an articulated lorry is coming up behind me, I've been about 40/50 metres ahead of him for about 30 seconds when he starts to speed up and eventually catches up to me. I'm now riding level with the front of his cab and can't see his indicator and I'm thinking 'surely he's not about to turn left, he's seen me ahead and saw how fast I was going so he must know I'm still down the side of him. But no, as I always tell everyone who asks me advice on riding around London, always assume that the nearest person to you is about to pull a fucking stupid move and anticipate for it. He swings left, smacks into me and sees or hears me fall and stops with me and my bike under the lorry at which point I seriously thought it was over. I realise I'm not actually dead, get up from under the cab and pull my bike out, the driver gets out and starts trying to have a go at me at which point 2 white van men (of all people) who have stopped come over and give him a savage verbal blasting and basically lay it down how they saw events unfold and thankfully put my point across as I was still in major shocked and dazed mode.