I was nearly wiped out of existence by an automobile while cycling on Gibraltar Road last Sunday evening. The driver crossed the middle of the road and drifted into my lane as we were both navigating a narrow switchback. I avoided a head-on crash by instinctively maneuvering around them.
It was nearing sunset, visibility wasn’t perfect, and I had my light on — this wasn’t my first near-miss. I recall many over the years, and it seems that a cyclist gets injured on Santa Barbara’s mountain roads every year.
As a road user like anyone else, my goal is safety and responsibility for everyone. Cyclists should obey the laws of the traffic. But please, Santa Barbara drivers, slow down to stay in your lane on these narrow mountain roads of ours.