I rode Bolton to Piccadilly yesterday on my newly built up Singular Gryphon and had a hoot – chunky 29er tyres soaking up the sh!tty road condition, single speed (gearing spot on – by pure luck), the brighter night, net downhill and simply a brill ride. The Gryphon feels like a big, nimble BMX that just hits the spot on loads of fronts. HUGELY POSITIVE!
HUGELY NEGATIVE – Rode the return leg this am. (06:15) and coming through Salford Crescent before the bike lane re-appears I got buzzed by a bus (despite being lit up like a Christmas tree). Never mind I think but then I overtake said bus as he’s picking up/dropping off and I hear him coming again. This time he gets so close as to clip me (the outer edge of the Midge bars I’m running). I basically cack my pants a bit but I had the presence of mind to lean into the bus to keep upright then shoulder myself off it and keep rolling. I was fuming but happily in one piece and upright.
As it happened I caught up with him outside Salford Central station at the lights and pulled into the box in front of him. I turned to share my disquiet with him and the fact that he’d hit me and he told me through the glass that I was taking up too much room and that I was riding in his lane. He then edged his bus right up to touch my wheel. I was going to go the karmic route of thumbs up and ironic thanks but he was such an ar$e I lost my rag and gave him some commentary with added hand signals. The only thing I got from the encounter was him missing his green and me nipping off over the pavement and onto the road parallel – I took this evasive manoeuvre as I honestly thought he’d have another go!
Karma eh – great bike, great ride off-set in less than 12 hours by a raging bell-end!!
Yin & Yang.