Although this is not an action photo it nevertheless shows a near miss.
Last week I cycled along this single track country lane and saw a burnt out car in the entrance to a woods. A metal skeleton brown and black. I don't know why the car there or why it was torched but in this isolated spot somebody had been up to no good.
This week it has all been cleared-up - the council has done its job but there are still traces. This tree is one of them as you can see where it has been singed. On seeing this I suddenly realised how dangerous the fire had been. The past two months have been dry and if one tree had caught fire then the likelihood is it would have spread.
It was a near miss. I wonder how many near misses of all types there are every day - occasions when the fates could have aligned events differently to create an unintended disaster, but didn't.
It is something I don't like to think about when cycling - otherwise I would become too nervous and unable to move. Will passing cars be careful? On single track roads will oncoming be travelling slow enough? On a fast downhill will the road surface remain true? Will it be clear of debris and obstacles? Will cars see you at junctions and roundabouts?
There are all sorts of things that can happen but mostly don't because there is a 99% chance that everybody is behaving within predictable boundaries.
The way I cope is to put the 1% to the back of mind and concentrate on what I can control and keep alert.
That is all anyone can do.
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