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@BringMeMyFix
Aaaargh, me this morning. I could cite a load of circumstances which led to my error of judgement, but they're irrelevant really. At the bottom of the Pentonville Rd bus lane (heading west-ish) I decided to move up in front of a coach before the lights changed. I'd seen the lights go red, so thought I had the timing of the sequence sussed, there was a big gap in front of him before the light/junction itself, and furthermore, the traffic a little further ahead was also stopped and lined up about 6 deep at the next set of lights. I guessed that when the coach did pull away, it would be a gentle rolling away from a stop, using the slight gradient, as there'd be no point rushing to the next queue. My mistakes then:
i) Letting the events of the previous 10 minutes get my pulse racing, and not being fully aware of the fact they had.
ii) Being complacent about the timing of a traffic light sequence, something that can change temporarily or permanently for one reason or another.
iii) Anticipating one set of events, and then putting all my eggs in that basket.
iv) Riding beyond the lack-lustre braking capabilities of my British folding bicycle.
v) Assuming a driver had seen me / given a shit about me before I entered one of his blindspots.
I acknowledged my error to the driver after my high speed jump through an ever diminishing gap, and vowed not to make the same mistake. There's even a sign there saying 'cyclists don't overtake buses', FFS. Sometimes I despair of myself, I really do.