Into London on the bike yesterday for a meeting - on the way back forgot the protocol for joining motorways…i.e. hazards to avoid when other vehicles are gaining motorway speed. e.g. bonnet flying up into car windscreen after not being latched securely (funny but scary), car driving the wrong way down the hard shower (toward me), petrol caps and other detritus in the main road.
Yesterday was a new one - accelerated away from the Chiswick overpass after reaching the National Speed Restriction sign - so ahead of everyone after a few seconds, and pulled over into Lane 1 to cruise, came up towards a high sided Ford Transit lumbering along and pulled out into Lane 2 - a little earlier than normal, but no one around - as I did so one of the large plates of glass being carried on the outside of the van, attached on the nearside, came loose.
The slipstream caught the glass and as it swung back against the side shattered into several large pieces before hitting the road and exploding in a shower of crystal shards, the frame bounced off into the undergrowth…
As I overtook I brought it to the attention of the driver by use of the appropriate ‘hand signal’ and he must have realised at the same time as he peeled off onto the hard shoulder.
Continuing toward Heston Services the next vehicle that I came upon was a police patrol…pity he wasn’t a few seconds further back to view the event.
