Today’s ride was uneventful, except for a dramatic brush with catastrophe.
I left Jeffrey City early, and I was riding by 4:50 AM. Sunrise was at around 6:00 AM. When the sun came up, I was hoping it would warm up, but there were some clouds in the east, so it stayed kind of chilly. I stopped at an indoor rest area and warmed up for quite a while and ate some granola bars. After I started riding again, I noticed the sun really hadn’t warmed things up, because clouds still covered it. On top of that, I’d warmed up and perspired a little, so I was quite chilly. I was fiddling with my bike computer to check the temperature when it happened.
I heard a “WOOOOSHHH,” and felt a little warm wind, and some light gravel hitting my legs. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a car fly past me, traveling in the opposite direction, on my RIGHT side. It was going at least 60 miles per hour, and was already off the road when I sensed it. This is a very straight road, so it isn’t a case of the car taking a corner too wide. I think the driver either fell asleep at the wheel, or was distracted. The car missed me by perhaps two feet. If it had hit me, I’d almost certainly never have known what hit me.
The fascinating part is that I am hyper-aware of cars. I continually practice “what if” scenarios in my head. If I had been watching this car, and realized what was happening, my instinct would have been to go off the road myself, which would have placed me directly in its path. So this is one time not being attentive possibly saved my life.
Later, my eldest daughter called me, and I told her the story. She said, “How dramatic!” I wasn’t sure if she said “dramatic” or “traumatic.” This made me realize that I hadn’t been scared. It happened too fast for me to be scared. For ten minutes afterwards, I tried to summon some feelings about it, but all I could come up with was relief. I didn’t get squished, and I get to ride tomorrow.
So, today was a good day. And I have nothing else to add.
