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Truck Runs Me Off the Road on Old La Honda, Autobahn VR Damage
Coming down Old La Honda, I rounded a very blind corner to be confronted with an easy decision: leave the road, or engage in “truck sampling”. I left the road, which had a steep side dropoff, and plopped down on my leg and hip and ankle. The ankle got the worst of it (sock ripped right through), but it’s OK.
The driver stopped up the road a bit (did not get out of truck), but as soon as he saw me dust off, he continued on up. Never did check on me.
It was the Town of Woodside tree-trimming crew, and I probably should have made an issue of it, but I did not. This particular idiot thought it was a good idea to round a very blind corner way too wide, thus completely blocking the road to a few inches of the opposite side (my side). About 1/4 mile further down, his buddy did something even more stupid by deciding to pass two other cyclists who were ascending. This time, time I had just enough road to clear. You can’t make this stuff up—two morons in one day. But I praised my luck for not being seriously hurt.
It’s simple: if you can’t see around the corner, don’t pass. Drivers like that should have their driving license revoked.
Anyway my Lightweight Autobahn VR was damaged. I’m investigating repair and/or maybe Lightweight will honor the replacement guarantee. It seems to be non-structural (fairing) but with carbon fiber better safe than sorry, so in it goes to Palo Alto Bicycles to assess.
UPDATE: Palo Alto Bicycles contacted Lightweight for me: the damage is cosmetic not structural as I had guessed. The only issue is sealing the gash against ingress of water or various, which I have done with gaffer’s tape. I’m going to ride it through September, then have it repaired (about a month turnaround).
