Originally Posted by
Jimriides
Last week, while descending down an 8% grade at about 42 mph I had a School Bus fly by me at 70+ ... The general consensus was the Pressure Wave caused by the Bus had set me into that vibration. Be careful out there!
In a place where I lived several decades ago, literally the only safe way to get from one town to the next via bicycle was along a short stretch of highway. 65mph speed limit, which basically means many drivers would go 10-15mph+ more than that.
Around 6mi in distance, with a (generally) fairly wide emergency lane, occasionally a big truck or bus would come along. Often, seemingly "riding" the white line along the right side of the lane. A flat-faced passenger bus or flat-faced older "big rig" truck would create such a wall of wind coming off that vehicle's front end such that a cyclist could get knocked off the saddle unless prepared for that blast.
Nasty section of road, despite the space. And it was only those "flat-front" larger vehicles that'd have enough push against the air to cause that blast. Never did like the handful of times I needed to make that journey. But the alternatives were even nastier, on two-lane winding country roads with zero shoulder, zero emergency lane, no thought of a bike lane, and no hope of staying out of the ditch or bay.
As you say: be safe.