Friday, August 20, 2010

open letter to oblivious cyclists everywhere

dear oblivious cyclists,

thanks for ruining my friday morning ride. a ride that should be safe with no cars around and just a few cyclists here and there who usually understand all of the signs posted along the way that state, bicyclists stay to your right. obviously, you don't understand this simple, yet important, rule. i hope you got a good look at the stupid owl you stopped to look at. did you ever think to get off the pavement because there may be other cyclists coming up behind you or did you think that you two were the only one's on this 7 mile loop? did you ever think to use the frickin mirrors that you have mounted on your handlebars? why do you all even have a mirror? why didn't one of you bother to look back and why did you move to the right when I was yelling at you that i was on your left? i know it was unintentional, and purely accidental but my goodness, why such stupidity? this could have been completely avoided with just some use of common sense. just being aware of your surroundings is such a basic concept, yet day in and day out, i see this happen...cyclists (usually not seasoned cyclists) making stupid decisions and causing crashes or near misses.

ladies, i hope that the next time you are out there riding, you remember me laying there on the ground trying to catch my breath. i did that for your sake because i was about to get up and beat your ass but then a calmness came over me and i thought to myself that you probably felt a lot worse than i did. please look back next time either with your mirror or just turn around and look or better yet, get off the pavement if you need to stop and look at a damn owl.

Peace out!
KC

P.S. i haven't taken a sick day at work in almost 2.5 years but thanks to you, i had to today.
**********************

well that was therapeutic! i feel so much better now. anyway, some of you asked if i ran into her and the answer is no. i completely missed her by inches. lucky her! i debated whether to post pics of my war wounds or not and decided to show my ass, what the hell! so here they are:



lovely, huh? i actually did go to work for a few hours but was a bit uncomfortable so i came home and iced a few times, fell asleep for an hour and just chilled out. still planning on riding 100 tomorrow in the hills but will make the final decision in the morning. i still need to go buy a new helmet. i just thank god that i didn't get hurt any worse, no broken bones, or head injury. everything is superficial and will heal but in the meantime it burns like a mother! i need my nurse to hurry up and get home from work.

have a great weekend everyone and a big shout out to everyone doing Timberman 70.3 this weekend, especially Mandy - Caratunk Girl bib #2597 and Jon at SwiCycloRun - Tales of an Age Group Triathlete bib #1955. Race smart and strong you two!

much love and peace out!

30 comments:

  1. Feel better. Note that tegaderm works best for road rash (I'm an expert this year).

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  2. Maybe what Arnie does is best. He says nothing and buzzes within 1 foot at 20 mph.....well maybe a compromise would be in order. Hope u heal quickly. Would ride with u tomorrow but son has first football game

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  3. Oh, I am so sorry that this happened to you! Sometimes people just don't think....I hope that she knows to pay attention from now on!

    Take care of yourself! I hope the pain and soreness goes away soon:)

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  4. Ouch!! I had a couple near misses this year. thank god for grass though!!! heal quickly and get back out there!!!

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  5. My heart is in my throat. I saw the pics and it missed a beat. I have to say you are lucky... as much as you may not feel like it. If you had got all tangled up in their bikes, your season could have been over.... KC I wish you all the best and a speedy recovery. If you drink.... make it a double.

    Sending some healing vibes from Penticton.

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  6. So glad to see/hear that the wounds are just superficial. I hope you heal quickly.

    I can't believe you are still thinking about cranking out 100 miles tomorrow. You are frickin awesome!

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  7. so glad you were not seriously injured. Good post. Heres to speedy healing :)
    You are a gracious and good hearted woman for not flipping out on those ladies. I commend you!

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  8. oh man, that looks so incredibly painful :( Good that you didn't break any bones though. Hope you heal up and feel better soon!

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  9. wow, sorry. But, glad you dodged a bullet here.
    last weekend in the Lake Stevens Race I couldn't believe how many racers stopped in the middle of the course to change a tire. I was thinking why don't they move off the road.....rghhh!

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  10. Just let it all out girl. I'm so sorry that you had to deal with this today - I hope that you gave those crazy ladies a piece of your mind.

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  11. Wow - KC so sorry you got hurt. That looks like it hurts like hell. I am so happy you are OK for the most part. Heal quickly.

    Thanks for the shout out!! It is so close! :)

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  12. Sorry about the unwanted tattoo. How I have managed to go this long without a run-in like that is beyond me. Of course, when I dislocate my shoulder, it is because of me falling off of my bike in my garage.

    Neosporin friend.

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  13. You handled the situation with great poise. Don't think I could have been quite that polite.

    Hang in there. Hope you can work the soreness out, heal, and keep moving forward.

    It is quite amazing how clueless people can be sometimes.

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  14. Damn, that looks painful. Good for you, writing a letter and using your words instead of your fists...I'm sure that took restraint!

    I'm all for everyone biking, but like anything, there are a few 'bad apples' (aka riders who dont follow the rules) that make the rest of us look bad.

    Recover well, friend.

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  15. Still think you shoulda slapped her in the head (-:

    Oh and thanks for the pace booty pic!

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  16. Rrrrrrrrr...totally frustrating. I guess that's a good take you have coulda been worse, also coulda been closer to the 140.6 - recover well and keep at it.
    -Derek

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  17. Oh, I'm so sorry that happened to you. I am glad that you were able to catch your breath or things could have ended up much worse.

    Keep exposing your war wounds to air so that they will heal quickly; nothing better than a 100 for that:)Pool water would probably be good for them too!

    You should write to your local paper about this one; it would make a great story and, maybe - just maybe, your oblvious cyclists or others will see it.

    Feel better.

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  18. Ouch some major road rash. I of course agree with Jeff you should have slapped them.

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  19. OWIE!!! I hope she at least saw you and felt bad. I hope she felt miserable all day! Feel better!!!

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  20. Ouch!!! Total bummer... so sorry. :-(

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  21. Ouch! That is terrible! I hope it heals soon. Its not just the scrapes but your whole body tightens up allowing you to do NOTHING. That is SO frustrating. I hope these people were apologetic to the 10th degree!

    Heal up!

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  22. Wow, what a day to find your blog. Sorry to hear about this, that just sucks. I'm new to cycling myself and try to be aware of my surroundings at all times. Hope the rash heals soon.

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  23. SOOOOO Sorry this happened to you. This is a true wakeup call to me to definitely keep my game up and pay attention to the morons on the road.

    KC, America has zero common sense anymore, it truly scares me. Shit like this should not happen.

    Good luck with this one. Play it smart... not sure how you are going to ride 100 with this monster getting irritated by your shorts.

    Hang in there and keep your head up :) You are definitely earning your 140.6 badge girl!!!!

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  24. Aw the pictures are not so good. That is a consequence sometimes.

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  25. Ouch! That looks so painful! I'm so sorry, but I'm glad you are alright. I can't believe you're thinking about doing 100miles after that! I would be laying on the couch taking time to heal, eating some of my "feeling sorry for myself brownies." I hope you heal soon!

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  26. OMG!! I am glad your ok, rookie and recreational cyclist scare me more then cars do, they are so unpredictable. I hope you heal up fast.

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  27. Ouch! I hope the healing is speedy!

    I have to say that I'm a rookie cyclist and try my best not to make stupid and oblivious decisions while riding...this is one of the many examples of why rookies should be extra cautious on the roads.

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  28. you poor thing :( grrr how frustrating... so glad you are ok and that it wasn't worse. sending good vibes to sunny tampa :)

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