Interesting article in today’s Age newspaper on invasive species — animal and plant — and their effect on the environment. Our friend Tim Low appears to be one of the big names involved, a shame that the published website address is bollocksed up, still, I guess it would be too much to expect for reporters to know the difference between a slash and a backslash — http://home.vicnet.net.au/~invasive/.

This morning’s ride to work suddenly became eventful near the car-yards in Oakleigh — two idiots tried to hit me in about 10 metres of roadway! First was an elderly gent driving out of a car-park, he drove up to the edge of the road, paused, looked at me, then turned right straight across in front of me. Swearing and swerving I managed to just make it around the front corner of his car — from the look on his face I’m guessing that in whatever country he originally learnt to drive, cyclists weren’t allowed on the road. I’d only just recovered when I went past a lady parked across a driveway at the side of the road, she had her right indicator on and as I drew level with the drivers door she started a u-turn! Another swear, another swerve, this time my pedal and foot hit the bumper, but I stayed on the bike… just. Just going on appearances, but I’m going to have to try really hard not to make any comments about migrants who have overseas licenses who only have to fill out a form to get an Australian license…

Only one idiot on the way home, a gentleman who refused to pull out onto the other side of the empty road, or to wait a few seconds and pass safely, but who decided to blast on the horn to warn me that he was about to pass with centimetres to spare. Funny thing is, he was driving one of the smallest hatchbacks that I think it’s possible to get at the moment…