Closest I’ve come to being wiped out on the road bike today.
On the return leg of an out-and-back 40+ miler and I approach the J26 roundabout of the M62 from Brighouse to go straight across heading for Huddersfield. Traffic has been reasonably light for the ride so far, probably due to the poor weather (I’ve been out in constant heavy rain for around 1h 45m by this time), and the roundabout is completely clear – nothing on it or on the exit slip either. I crest the slight rise without breaking my cadence and continue on my way. I’m about half-way across the Westbound entry slip when a silver car appears at speed from nowhere, left-hooks me, missing me by about 6 inches. All the driver got was a volley of abuse, but bugger me, my heart was beating out of my chest! The most worrying part for me was that I had no idea whatsoever that there was a vehicle approaching. I’m usually very conscious of what’s going on around me when on the roads, but this pillock was within a hair’s breadth of my front wheel before I knew what was happening. Extra vigilance for me in that area from now on, I reckon.