Actually it came in the mail a few days before Christmas. It was for "failure to keep right" and it was from the November 3rd incident. I understand that the driver got 2 tickets, one for the illegal pass and the other for swerving and stopping short in front of me. I plan to fight my ticket. I'll have more info when the case is resolved.
The school bus driver from a few weeks ago apparently got a good talking to by his bosses and some retraining. Those darn funny shaped signs with the word stop written on them can be pretty confusing.
For the non pilots among us that's Instrument Flight Rules. IFR conditions are when visibility is so bad you have to rely on your instruments to figure out where you're flying. The only problem is on a bike there are no instruments, so I was riding by feel most of Tuesday night. In my 10+ years of riding in snow, I've never experienced problems like Tuesday. Into the wind, my glasses would cake with snow or the snow would melt just enough to refreeze into ice, and with the wind the inside of the glasses would fog up. So it wasn't the best winter ride ever, but I did test out some new lights that worked well.
Tuesday was an interesting ride. A close pass is one thing, but actually being forced off the road is another. It wasn't as bad as a few weeks ago, but any time you're pushed off the road it shakes you up.
I don't know if the driver intended to put me in the ditch, but that matters very little when I'm fighting to stay upright on a shoulder which consists of jagged baseball sized rocks. My early contact with West Allis Police didn't seem promising. I got many of the usual responses, but the Sgt. agreed to look at the video and after he did he said that the driver was indeed in the wrong. He said that he would talk to the driver one more time and if he lied to him again about what actually happened he'd give him a ticket. The driver of course said I was in the middle of the road, and that he gave me plenty of room.
Thanks to the West Allis Police for getting it right again. Every time I've made a complaint with them they've gotten it right in the end.
What made Tuesday interesting was the fact that there were 2 incidents. The second involved an angry school bus driver who pulled out in front of me from a stop sign. He was angry until I told him his bosses would see the video of his driving and his cursing me out afterward. I stressed to his bosses at least 3 times that I didn't want him to lose his job over this, I just wanted him to be more careful.
Still no word on what is happening with the guy who actually put me in a ditch from a few weeks ago. I'll keep you updated on all of these incidents. Bikesafer and Happy Thanksgiving Jeff
I lost a good friend to cancer last night. I know most readers of this blog didn't know him, but I wanted to write about him anyhow. Besides we did ride together once and this is a bike blog.
He was gifted photographer, a great friend and most importantly an extraordinary father. He leaves behind 2 beautiful daughters. His passion for his craft and for his family was inspiring. His self deprecating humor and quick wit were entertaining. All this made him one of the best friends of my adult life.
The saying goes, "may the best man win." Sunday had shaped up to be a heck of a fight. The WCA 40+ Cat 4 cx championship came down to a dead heat between Tim V. and me. We didn't have to win the race just beat the other guy to win the overall. Whoever finished first won the jersey. Unfortunately I could tell early on that it wasn't my day. It was, in fact my worst day of the season. So the better man definitely won, or at least won our little race within the race. Congratulations Tim, you deserved it. Thanks to all the guys I raced against too it was a blast. How can you not love cross? See ya next year.
For anyone interested in an update from my last post, I'd love to give you one but I'm still waiting for an update myself. When I get more info I'll definitely post it.
The day after a guy in California is convicted for stopping short and injuring 2 cyclists, a guy in New Berlin clips my hand and then stops short in front of me while swerving toward me and the side of the road. Thankfully I wasn't going 30mph down a hill and there was a ditch for me to ride into. I'm not saying this incident is comparable to the California incident, other than this guy is every bit the menace Dr. Thompson was, I just got lucky. Hopefully there will be consequenses to dissuade him from using his car to force others off the road again.
I've been pretty busy lately and I've neglected the blog. A lot has happened since my last post, I won my first cx race, had a less than stellar race, and enjoyed a great halloween party, (thanks Gus), among other things. But I had to post about this.
Maybe, just maybe, this will teach other like minded criminals to think twice before using their vehicles as weapons. Hopefully the fact that the judge ordered him held until sentencing means he plans on giving him some substantial prison time.
In one of the stories about the verdict they mention that the doctor claimed they were riding 3 abreast. How can 2 cyclists ride 3 abreast? Maybe that's one of the reasons the jury called BS on his defense.
