I Almost Died Today

It’s true but first, no cheering!  See, riding is my therapy.  Sure, it helps keep me from getting fatter but I can get that on the eliptical (over at the $17/month gym which is great, btw) but it isn’t the same as moving along in the elements, fair or foul.  It’s simply therapy.  It helps me from getting crazier.  If I get on the bike and I’m pissed at somebody, I’m still mad at the end of the ride but it’s diluted.  The mindless repitition in the middle of the ride makes my mind wander from the subject at hand and focus on the physical exertion.  This tempers my anger and wrings it out of me.  It makes me think of everything else as my attention wanders. 

That daydream state saved my life today.

My usual route takes me accross town to cross the Prince William County Parkway at Harry Parrish Blvd.  That intersection is probably 5 miles into my route and, while the route up to that point doesn’t climb, it can be intense as I push for speed.  As you might imagine, crossing a 70-mph (be real, 55mph is a fantasy) divided 4-lane highway can be, well, complicated.  What I usually do is just cross right in the lane like I’m a car.  If I’m lucky, there’s already a car in the trigger spot for the light and I cross in the lane behind the car.  If I’m not lucky, I pull up far in the lane and get a car to trip the light sensor for me.  Using the crossing signals is not recommended.  They are in the wrong place and screwed up.

So, today I wasn’t lucky and I had to wait until a car came up behind me to get the light to trip.  It was hot today – genuinely hot for the first time all year – and I am still sorting my legs out after the disaster that was last year so I’m zoned out.  I’m sitting there waiting for all the turn lane folks to go by and I grab the water bottle for a quick hit.  Someone behind me very politely honks (you can tell by the duration) and I clip in and prepare to launch accross the intersection.  Of course, now I’m late and embarrased so I’m really going to heave on the pedal.  And here’s where I almost died:

At the exact time I was ready to heave on the pedal – all of the traffic was stopped on the Parkway in both directions – a trash truck ran through the red light at about 70 mph.  He passed all of the stopped traffic in the turn lane – about 4 feet in front of me and continued down the should for a hundred yards or so.  I don’t want to be crude but it scared the s*** out of me.  Try it sometime, you’ll probably share my sentiment.  If that truck would have hit me I would have been, in the words of my college ROTC instructor describing the effect of a human tripping an anti-tank mine: “A red mist”.  I would also point out that, for whatever reason, trash trucks seem to have it in for me.  Recall that a trash truck nearly offed my last summer.  Not sure what I ever did to them.

Ironically, I would have been just as dead even if I was in a car but there would have been more left of me…I’m not sure what all of this means but I do think my Priest is right: life is short and we don’t have much time to gladden the hearts of those who travel the way with us.  Be swift to love….and look both ways before you cross.