East Side Stay Alive

is what I call my roughly 10.3mile commute to and fro the hacienda and last night on the homeward it was true to name. Around about 1700hrs I was traveling east and moving down the hill in basically the gutter(18inches from the curb or less) on Central Ave/Centrolian Traverse when a big taupe Caddy came floating by at double my time speed. For whatever reason the driver drifted right just as the front right tire was passing me and then my left forearm bent with hand in cockpit was nicked with a thud by the passenger side view mirror. In a flash the contact was made, the car continued to drift right across my front and softly bounced off the curb aligning her back into her lane of travel. Through the rear window of the car I saw a small framed elderly woman with a crazy head of curly burned hair drive away not even conscious that she had made contact with the cyclist that she may have never seen in the first place. A heart sped rush happened over the next few seconds, I did not slow down right away but within a hundred yards I pulled over and let what ever scary emotion pass while watching the mass traffic. A close call, in this case less than an inch or two is sometimes a reaffirmation that this whole thing is not a joke and it is as serious as being run over could be.