Accepting the taste of pavement

All cyclist will eventually eat pavement. I have come to accept this inevitable fate.

I make a point to not argue with drivers. I go as far as not even acknowledging that the driver is there. If a driver yells at me or flips me the bird, I just keep pedaling ahead. It's a lose/lose situation; only bad can come from talking back.

I got buzzed damn close by a big local bus Tuesday. It literally came within inches when there was absolutely no reason to be that close. I am fast on the bike. I kicked it into high gear and caught up with the bus after he passed, and I pulled up beside the driver's window at his next stop.

I knocked... "You almost killed me back there. You buzzed within inches of me!"

"Hey, I know what I'm doing there. Don't worry." said the driver who looked like he possessed all the intelligence of a bus driver.

"Know what you're doing? What are you, a (censored) astronaut docking a shuttle? You're crazy, that's what you're doing."

"Have a nice day sir." he replied, as if I was the crazy one here and he was above it all.

I don't know why I stopped and yelled here, but it just seemed to fit the situation. But the thing is, I was back out there Wednesday, and I was back out there today biking my little heart out.

Because, as cyclist, we all eat the pavement. It's part of the game. There are some cyclist who fear the taste of pavement, so they ride scared. You can tell these cyclists by the color of their knuckles on the handle bars: white. Other cyclists are in denial. "It can't happen to me." Fools.

Acceptance. It's the only way. You will crash, and you will get hurt. Buses will buzz you, and cars will run red lights. People will flip you the bird and birds will poop on your helmet. Dogs will chase you, and you will get rained on. Road rash hurts.

I'm not downplaying the seriousness of a bike crash. I've personally seen people involved in near death crashes, so I realize the impact of this event.

There's a zen that comes with realizing and not fighting these truths. Enjoy the ride, loosen your grip. It's the only way. As Lance says,

"If you worried about falling off the bike, you’d never get on.”