So I almost got run over last night on the way home, but there's already plenty of blogs out there about the Chicago biking scene and people complaining about drivers who evidently think they're the only people on the road. I don't have the longest commute, so it's usually pretty uneventful except for the 2-3 times a month there's a close call. And while I don't want to hash over each and every ride I have, the adrenaline rush of nearly getting run into makes last night stand out a little.

Basically, someone turning left was getting passed on the right just as I was coming up the stop sign where the action was happening. No blinker, and it's not like they were going anywhere either; they were passing to get to a four-way stop. Only I was practically at the passenger side window slowing down to stop when she went right. I stuck my left hand out to brace myself off her window, and used that to give me some help moving to the right fast enough to stay out from under her. My wedding ring made a nice cracking noise as it hit the window. Thankfully, no one was parked on the street that close to the stop sign, and there was room for me to go right instead of slamming into another car.

How did I know the driver was a she? Because she rolled down her window to call me a dick while she rolled through the stop sign. Classy.

If I was a little more awake this morning I would probably be banging out some venom-filled tirade about drivers vs bikers but it's all been said before. And I realize there are some pretty awful bikers out there as well, that cause just as many problems as the lousy drivers. Entitled speed-freaks that want drivers to give them the rules of the road they expect, but then don't follow any themselves aren't going to solve any problems between cars and bikes.

Being a bike commuter has made me a better driver when I do have to drive somewhere. I like to think I look around more and make sure there aren't vehicles of any kind where I want to go and I'm willing to give bikers room to get around in. If I see a biker while I'm giving my wife a ride to work or something I'm usually jealous, but I'll still make sure I'm not in their lane.

At some point you've just gotta let it go. My wife and I have been talking a lot about karma lately; whether we really believed in it and if we had any stored up to make some upcoming life decisions go our way or not. Or at least make the decision-making a little easier. It's definetely easier to see karma as some kind grand scale measuring out everyone's actions than seeing people act like selfish pricks without repercussions, but I'm not always sure that's how things work. Let's hope so.