CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Infrastructure

Today's somewhat ironic near death experience

(15 posts)

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  1. gembo
    Member

    I cycled slowly down an icy WoL path. Was not too bad. I cycled slowly on towpath, bit slippy but spikes helped (though several youngsters going faster on knobbly tyred racers). I made it through the mean streets of edinburgh until the New Street one way downhill for bikes only. Approaching the precinct where the shacks selling steet food are sitting in the ice I watched a very gung ho bin lorry smash out in front of a car coming up from Calton Rd. THe bin lorry had been in the precinct. I proceed with extreme caution. A van driver was also looking to leave the precinct (note no vehicles should ever be in this precinct it is pedestrian). A car from Calton road stops for me, a car coming from east market stops for me. Both do this as err I have right of way. I edge slowly in front of the van driver at which point he drives straight into me. He had assumed the cars were stopping for him and then not looked to his left before exiting. Another one of my nine lives gone and also the button from my right boot.

    Take care out there

    Posted 6 years ago #

  2. unhurt
    Member

    Not hurt I hope?

    Posted 6 years ago #

  3. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    @gembo

    Have a man-hug. That sounds close.

    Posted 6 years ago #

  4. steveo
    Member

    You okay? White van man, need to start zip tying them to the front of their vans....

    Posted 6 years ago #

  5. gembo
    Member

    Seem OK, when previous things like this have happened I have come down with the shakes after the adrenaline has gone but nothing so far today.

    It was so close to my work I just rolled on down the hill.

    Posted 6 years ago #

  6. Cyclingmollie
    Member

    Sheesh Gembo, that's awful. I hope you are not too shaken up.

    Posted 6 years ago #

  7. minus six
    Member

    So did the van boy get out his motor and act human-like, or just stare at you frozen-like ?

    Posted 6 years ago #

  8. ejstubbs
    Member

    Hope you and the bike are OK.

    Sounds like an appalling lack of situational awareness by the van driver. If someone appears to be giving way to me for no readily apparent reason the first thing I think is: "OK, what haven't I seen that would explain what they're doing?" Not: "Whoopee, I can plough on regardless!"

    I actually hate it when people give way to me when they don't have to, precisely because it makes me think I've not seen something that I should have. Even when it turns out that they are giving way to me I find it irksome: if they have right of way then nine times out of ten I'd far rather wait for them to get on with their journey than have to reset my mental model of what's going on around me. The one time out of ten when I do appreciate it is if they are letting me in to a stream of slow-moving traffic, but even then I make a point of looking for the road user they haven't seen - the cyclist overtaking them, the pedestrian about to cross ahead of them, etc. If by the time I've done that the traffic has started moving again then so be it. I'm not in a race.

    The one that really annoys me (though plenty of people tell me it shouldn't) is when the last person in a stream of traffic moving past the junction I'm trying to emerge from gives way to let me out. I'm already preparing to move out (or not, depending on what else is going on) once they've gone past, and they suddenly and unexpectedly try to encourage me to move before I'm ready to. My feeling is that, if they're so poor at making rearward observation (because they clearly haven't realised that there is no one else behind them) then I can't have any confidence that they've properly evaluated the situation, or that they aren't going to suddenly change their mind. They've basically filed themselves in the "appears to behave irrationally" box in my mind, so I'm not at all inclined to place myself in front of their vehicle. I've more than once ended up in a virtual stand-off with "helpful" people like that...

    Posted 6 years ago #

  9. gembo
    Member

    My boots are short of the tightening button on the right foot. That is how close it was. Replacement for That will probably cost me a fair bit. The van lad was shocked. The two drivers who were observing my right of way both asked me if I was ok. I said yes as I was watching him he just wasn't watching me, Given the bike entrance to my office was fifty yards down the hill I just rolled on. As I may have said previously, given my experience of these situations I was waiting for the adrenaline to subside and the shakes to start but they have not yet. Bike fine.

    Posted 6 years ago #

  10. minus six
    Member

    the boa closure wheel is kaput ?

    are they even user serviceable

    Posted 6 years ago #

  11. gembo
    Member

    @bax, button missing in action, will pursue at EBC. Shimano winter mountain bike bootee I can press and twist with my finger and the gut tightens so there is a chance the sticky outy button is an individual item

    Posted 6 years ago #

  12. minus six
    Member

    Still rockin' the Shimano MW81 this side

    metal bits are a tad rusty tho

    a perennial concern

    Posted 6 years ago #

  13. gembo
    Member

    @bax San, I was going with Bo-ah pronunciation as in boa constrictor which is kind of what it does when tightening the laces but chap on EBC phone line going with Bo.

    Anyway can be replaced but need to take bootees in to shop so they can do the Boa Selecta and work out which button is the correct size to order.

    Posted 6 years ago #

  14. ARobComp
    Member

    Sorry to hear about this but glad you're ok. I'm almost certain that you can buy replacement buttons for these. A friend in peebles bought some broken shoes on ebay and fixed them in such a way - let me ask him and I'll report back.**

    Just read this thread properly and see you know that you're going to be able to fix it! If you struggle to sort it out let me know and I can find out if I can help.

    Posted 6 years ago #

  15. gembo
    Member

    Thanks Arobcomp. Will take you up on the offer if EBC can't help but They seem to know that different BOA buttons in different sizes.. Indeed I see in their sale a dinky red pair of Spesh Comp road shoes with smaller button, half price 60 quid but not in my shoe size.

    Posted 6 years ago #

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