[FlyVet]

Oh yes, if you're on two wheels, and expect cars to watch out for you, you won't live long. I've had cars on side streets, the driver look me right in the eye, and pull out in front of me. Or, pass me and make a right-hand turn, cutting me off. Or, the ones who are just trying to be nice, pull to a stop to let me cross on a busy road, but all they do is add confusion to the situation, because you don't know what other drivers will do. Just continue on your way, let us watch out for ourselves.

People are conditioned to watch out for the *big things* (cars), not the little things.

I had a Harley driver give me the evil eye in a parking lot last year. I almost pulled out in front of him, because I lost him in the front post of windshield. All I could do was throw up my hands and say "Sorry! Sorry!" It happens.

[cuban leaf]

I’ve been hit by three cars. I’ve never gone down (except once in 1965 on my schwinn paper-boy special while jumping dirt piles). All three cars were badly scratched up by my pedals, though. I ripped a pedal through the fender of a beautiful red Porsche 911 turbo once as he tried to make a right in front of me. I felt bad for that one. He just made a simple mistake.

[cuban leaf]

Best advice my experienced motorcycle buddy ever gave me was “assume you are invisible”. It saved me TWICE in one day on I-405. You subconsciously always have an escape route planned. Neither situation was even dangerous because I just used the escape route and continued on.