I almost got hit by a bus!

I participate as a comity member for an annual Diabetes ride in the Portland area called the Tour de Cure. As a committee member I attend meetings once a year to plan the ride and it is about a 1 hour bike ride each way, I incorporate it into my workout. Last night while I was on my way to the meeting I had a very scary experience with a TriMet bus.

I was riding at 5pm during dark rush hour in Portland which is definitely not my favorite thing to do and I was approaching a busy intersection. I know this is a scary intersection so I started to slow down but I was in the bike lane so I felt relatively safe but I was still being attentive. I noticed traffic had stopped and there was a bus in the lane next to the bike lane that would eventually merge into the bike lane about 1 and a half blocks away. In the past I have seen TriMet buses try to merge early so I was being very cautious. The bus was not moving and was staying in his lane so I decided it was safe to continue to ride. When I was at about the back door of the bus all of the sudden the bus started pulling forward and into the bus lane. I was stuck in between a TriMet bus and the curb with nowhere to go! The bus kept closing in. I uncliped my pedals and was skidding on the curb trying to stop.

Oh no! I thought to myself this is not going to end well. I was finally able to stop and at that point he saw me and slammed on his breaks. He was waiting for me to go but at that point there was no way I was going so we just sat there for a little bit and then he went and I followed.

My heart was beating fast but I still rode the remaining 5 miles to the Tour de Cure meeting. And then rode the 10 miles back home. I hope this never happens again!