My ride to work is about a 30 min freeway drive into Nashville TN. Once I get into Nashville, traffic usually gets heavier although never that bad considering the bigger cities I've been in. However the interstate I come in on (65 south) merges into I-40W and at that merge, everyone is trying to get over to the far right lane to make the exits into down town. It is always touch and go because oncoming traffic from I-40 is trying to go straight through town.

This morning was like most of the rest riding into town on the hawk. I enjoy using the HOV lane and trying to stay to the left in the fast lane. However when I arrived at the merge onto I-40, I had one car in front of me and we were both trying to merge to the right to hit the first exit (Demonbreun). When the guy in front of me merged in between two cars, the right lane began to slow. I sped up hoping to find a spot to fit in and began to merge over into the right lane. However as I'm looking for a spot slowing down, I glance in my left mirror and notice a car coming fast behind me in my lane. He doesn't see me and is about to clip me. I immediately pull to the right, splitting the lane and about a foot from the rear quarter panel of a caddy. The caddy begins to stop quickly and I pace his car so I don't eat his rear door and mirror for breakfast.

As I'm splitting the lane, braking quickly, downshifting, being overtaken by some idiot, and trying to stay alive, I see a huge pothole coming. I swerve around the pothole right as the guy flies past me to my left. I then make my way in behind the caddy and proceed to exit off the ramp. My adrenaline is pumping so I nail it in first and head up the exit.

When I get to work I email a friend at TDOT about the pothole and send him a link to view it on google maps street view. After hearing the story, he has a crew going out tonight to hot patch the seam between the two lanes going into downtown. I'm alive and there is one less pothole in Nashville I have to worry about.