Date with a driver

I should have known yesterday's journey home was doomed. (As you may know, I commute to and from work via bicycle most days.) On Tuesday, I mounted my two-wheeler and was not a quarter-mile into the ride when I thought, "Wow, I'm really feeling the breeze today." I reached my hand up to my head and realized I'd forgot my helmet. Unprecedented, for me. So I reversed course, returned to the office for the helmet and started anew.

As I approached a red light, not a half-mile into the new ride, a car pulled alongside in my lane. This is not unusual, as a wide lane can typically handle both a bicycle and a small car. What was unusual is that rather than remaining on the left side of the lane, this car suddenly moved over to the right side, where I was riding. I would have been hit had I not bailed into the adjacent turn lane.

As I mentioned, this was right before a red light. So, I moseyed on up to the car's passenger-side window and motioned for the driver to roll her window down. She did and I asked as calmly as I could, "Are you crazy? You almost ran me over!"

(A few notes about this car and its driver. Notes that shouldn't matter, but I'll point them out anyway. Beautiful, seemingly newish vehicle. Johnson County plates. The car's occupant was well-dressed and, in a stroke of irony, a fellow Hallmark employee. The point of making these points is that cyclists tend to stereotype cycling-unfriendly drivers as the less-affluent or rural residents. My experience has been just the opposite: the worst drivers to cyclists are the well-heeled and those who work at KU Medical Center.)

She responded to my initial question with, "I'm sorry, but I waited for you as long as I could."

(A few more notes. First, remember that we're at a stoplight. There was another stop light less than a quarter-mile before this one. Between here and there, I had two cars in front of me, all of us moving at 20-25 miles per hour in a 25 mph zone. She didn't have to wait for anything. But let's just say that she did. Are we to accept that because one to two seconds were added to her commute that I deserved to die?)

My response: "Maam (yes, I really did say that), I could legally take up this entire lane if I wanted to. But I'm all the way to the right and there's another lane you could've used if you wanted to pass."

She replied, "I'm sorry if you feel that I infringed upon you." (Yes, she really did say that.)

To which I said, "It's not a matter of what I feel. It's a matter of what the law is. You need to read a driver's handbook before you get out on the road again."

It was a surprisingly civil discussion, given the adrenaline coursing through my veins. The light turned green, she unnecessarily revved her engine and sped away.

I know cyclists can be annoying to motorists. That's why I use less-traveled streets and go to great lengths to observe all road rules. Most motorists reciprocate by treating me very decently. Every so often, though, I cross paths with a stinker who doesn't place much value on the lives of her fellow citizens/Hallmarkers.

That's what I get for not remembering my helmet in the first place.