Armani_Rugpilot

This is a confused argument. People forgettting that runners drive cars. People forgetting that bicyclists drive cars. People forgetting that drivers can run and can ride a bike. We all the same people in other type of vehicle: shoe, bike, car, SUV, whatever.

I seeing man drive the car and throw from a window his trash from cigarette or candy and gum wrapper and fast food stuff. I wanting to pick it up and give back into his sunroof on the car. Too many fights from just talking. I do nothing and still bad feelings today.

AR

cybor

Rb,
That was me who said thanks for the 'Miles from Nowhere' book referral - good read. Do you, or anyone here, know where that thread is with book rec. - can't find it. I'm ready to do a mass order from Amazon.
Thanks

HyacinthBucket

A bicyclist sits astride a saddle, not a seat! But we bet it hurt, if true, just the same.

Mr. B also read "Miles From Nowhere" and now speaks of trekking across China on a bicycle. I need for him to read a book about a couple who spend a summer at the shore drinking pina coladas!

bear900

Bike anatomy 101: back in the SADDLE again…

Now where did I leave my seat…

This would not have happened in first class!!

cybor

Mrs. H,
Perhaps you and Mr.H could go to China during the summer and spend time around the water. Bring your own colada mix, though.

orangetravelcat

I have to say that since I started this post, I have become more tolerant of cyclists. I guess I never gave much thought to the fact that I am sharing the road with them, rather than that they are using "my" road. My new attitude is making me less stressed out when I see a group of them.

rb_travelerxATyahoo

I'm hoping your comments are not "tongue-in-cheek", "orangetravelcat" - you sound sincere.

I think a lot of the conflict is due to motorists just not having any empathy for the cyclists' risks driving patterns & requirements. Many of us never get on a bicycle again after we get our first car, so it becomes hard to relate to cycling ... and even most of the cycling that we did do was not "serious", but the hijinks that most kids resort to. Eg: the old joke: "Look, Mom, no hands!", "Look, Mom, no teeth."

Thank you for the follow-up.

Devonmcj

RB, I picked up and just finished reading Barbara Savage's Miles from Nowhere because of your recommendation. It was a fabulous story. Even though it was written more than 25 years ago, very little about it seems dated. Reading about the Savage's travels through the US alone will give you a whole new perspective on bicyling. Their ride across Florida was terrifying. My little family seldom rides on anything but designated bike trails because I'm too much of a chicken to brave the kinds of dangers the Savage's encountered. My brother was in a very bad accident just last month in DC because a car made a right turn in front of him.

rb_travelerxATyahoo

Devonmcj: I'm glad you enjoyed "Miles from Nowhere". I first TRIED to read it in 1984 - my copy was defective- something like pages 33-64 repeated and 65-96 omitted - but while I was in a hospital 2 1/2 months recovering from a hit&run someone mailed me photocopies of the missing pages. Whatever pages it was, it was the Florida part of their trip. I must credit my state, NY, with generally having well-paved shoulders that may not always be a smooth enough surface for continuous riding are at least good enough surface for refuge when necessary; most of us don't want to hold up traffic.

Did you know that there are more bicycle crashes per mile traveled on those designated bike trails, than on the road? True. People become complacent because there are no motor vehicles, then crash into trees, people, dogs, or just ride off the trail because they let their guard down. If you'll read Forester's "Effective Cycling", you'll find that most bicycle crashes happen in front of you, and are either avoidable or can be minimized by avoidance techniques discussed in the book.

Many cyclists will ride on the wrong (left) side of a street/road in the mistaken notion that it is safer. Not so. Motorists don't expect such high-speed wrong-way traffic coming at them, there is less time to react to an unexpected action, the effective speeds of the two are accumulative, and it's just wrong. Forester's studies show that wrong-side cycling is one of the biggest contributors to car-bike crashes.

When you brother saw the car pass then turn right (in front of him), taking a very hard right turn of his own might have minimized infuries or even avoided the crash; but this is something that must be learned and even practiced so that it becomes second nature. Hopefully your brother will return to cycling and would enjoy "Effective Cycling"? (no, I have no financial interest in the book! lol) Actually, "enjoy" is not the right term; the book is more like reading a manual - rather dry but factual. But it could save lives if every bicyclist read it.

Devonmcj

Thanks for the tip about Effective Cycling. I'll pick that up for us, especially since my son is just getting into faster biking speeds. My brother actually did do what you suggested - he made a sharp right and avoided hitting the car. He still broke his wrist and had to have surgery on his collarbone. I guess it could have been a lot worse.

bear900

Glad to see you coming around OTC.

There are a lot of bicycle clubs where I live (ca central coast). Our neighbor 2nd door down was a bicycle enthusiast most of his life, and he and wife would do tours around the US and Canada. He was hit by a car and killed on a routine bike ride near Morrow Bay about 5 years ago. Since then we take extra care of his widow inviting her over often. He had just sold a successful business, and was set for an early retirement. Things just sometimes happen that way and no one can predict it. We can however be safer and perhaps save a life. Peace… >-