R-Wells

Hi folks, It has been suggested by a couple of members here that some of my contributions to sound “ Anti Cyclist” or “ Anti Bicycle”.
So I would like to introduce my self and assure every one that I am not Anti Bicycle.

First, while I have not posted here before, and just recently registered as a member.
I am a long time lurker.

Now a little background.

My wife is 41 years old and commutes about 10 miles a day in most weather.
We both have road bikes that we ride for pleasure

I was raised on a bicycle,
As a kid I delivered newspapers on a bicycle.
I rode a bike to school all the way through high school.
I had a 20 mile round trip ride to high school, which I rode in all but the worst weather.
My parents never bought me a car, and I didn’t own a car until I was 19.
Up until I purchased my first car, a bike was a permanent part of my body.
My love for riding has not diminished at all in the past 48 years, I just can’t ride like I used to.

Both of my younger brothers were hit by cars while riding bicycles.

In the first instance,
I was 13 and had just received my first “New” bicycle I had ever owned.
All previous bikes had been second hand stuff.
My brother asked me if he could try it out, and of course being the loving and kind brother that I was, I said sure.
So it takes for a ride, and is traveling about 15 feet of the pavement along a road with a 55mph speed limit.
Along comes a Black 1960 El Camino traveling in excess of 100mph.
The driver, upon seeing my brother, who is 15 feet of the pavement,
Promptly slams on his brakes and looses control of his vehicle.
The passenger side of the rear bumper clips the rear wheel of the bike.
Now please note, I am 13 years old, standing about 30 yards away, watching all of this take place.
Somehow my brother survived this incident with relatively minor injuries.
He spent 2 weeks in the hospital, and every square inch of his body was cover in road rash, even between some of his toes due to both of his shoes coming of.

We find out later that the driver was drunk, and on his way to the eye doctor because he was having a hard time seeing with his current prescription glasses.

Now as if all this is not enough.
On my brothers first day back to school, the principle meets us on the sidewalk in front of the school, stops my little brother and me and gathers a group of other children around and says to them.
I want you all to look at this. This is what happens if you are not careful!
This boy was riding his bicycle and hit the side of a school bus!
I get in three fights that day defending the fact that my little brother did not run into a school bus.
When I get home I tell my mom what the principle said, and she promptly gets an attorney and goes to see the principle of our school.
Well now some more info comes out.
The El Camino was registered to the school, and the driver was a janitor at our school.


The second incident involved my youngest brother.
At this time I am already out of school and have my first fulltime job and am no longer living with my parents.
My youngest brother is about 12 years old, and he and one of his friends decide to ride together on my brothers bike on the way home from school.
The cross a highway and are hit by an elderly lady.
I dont believe the lady did any thing wrong.
I don’t remember all the details of this.
My brother survived, the other 12 year old did not survive.
My brother was in the hospital for 6 months and in a wheel chair for another year.


I have never been hit by a car while on a bike.
I have however in my youth, collided with stationary vehicles for one stupid reason or another.
I have taken more spills than I can possibly count and have a least a dozen permanent scars (mostly on my stupid chin) from riding in my younger immortal years.

I promise any thing I post here, whether it makes since or not, whether it is right or wrong, comes from a real interest cycling and cycling safety.

I don’t have any money invested in or a personel opinion on,
VC, PC, QC, DC, ROTC, BLT, TDC or any other combinations of letters, except PMS
I do have an opinion about PMS, but I refuse to speak on grounds I might get myself castrated.

Artkansas 

You'll fit in...

Yes, this is the most contentious forum.

Sorry about your brothers. I hope they are okay now.

Many of us have similar stories. I have felt a car running over my bike(I was on it at the time) fortunately only the rear wheel was destroyed.

I do have one observation about PMS though. I think that Patsy Kline is the official songstress of PMS. I noticed my ex-wife played Patsy on a monthly basis, especially "Crazy". One time we went into the store of a friend and she was playing Patsy. We commented and discovered that yes, it was that time. Patsy Music Syndrome???

twahl

There's good stuff comes out of this forum, but if you don't hate most if not all motorists, and you don't automatically blame the "cager" for every bike/car accident, you can expect to be called anti-bike or a cager apologist. That's just the way it is around here. I personally with they'd divide safety from advocacy, since the two are often at odds with each other.
Welcome to the forum, develop a thick skin, and take each post for what it's worth. Remember that a lot of ideas apply very well in that particular cyclist's situation, but may not apply well for your particular circumstances.

ryanparrish

Wow, talk about a strong person I think I would have given up the bike with all the bad stuff happening in your life with your brothers. I am 19, I too have crazy scars from adventure sports such as skating, reppelling, Mountain Biking, road biking. I am waiting for the extreme computer scars if there are such things

saraflux

It's good to see that I am not the only one confused by the hostility in some of the posts in this area. I want to comment on a lot of the stuff that I see, but I don't have the energy (or the spare time) to waste arguing over minutae.
Everything is relative.

R-Wells

Yeah, I really struggle with the hostility, but I gotta feeling the ones that are most hostile are in the minority and we just hear from them because they are just hostile about every thing, not just cagers.

I really would like to see a discussion about ways to improve the situation for cyclist that didnt involve genocide of the cagers.

But I am starting to understand why so many drivers have problems with cyclists.

CommuterRun

I am not hostile about everything, only some things. Some people are just overly sensitive.

Okay, now that that argument is out of the way. Welcome aboard.

Oh yeah, and some around here will try take you to task for calling cagers, cagers.

Blue Order

Welcome aboard!

I've found here in A&S that the attitude that some drivers have is also exhibited by some cyclists. Same personality type, opposite choice of vehicles. I agree, there's good reason that drivers have issues with cyclists. I saw one cyclist run a red light the other day, and nearly collide with a car that had the right of way, before nearly running down two pedestrians in the crosswalk.

Personally, I take issue with the relentless pushing of the POWERWEAVE™ agenda as the solution to all cycling issues. My opposition to that agenda probably comes across as hostility, for which I apologize. I do disagree strongly, but I'm not really hostile.

R-Wells

I havnt noticed your posts being hostile,
Please dont confuse passion with hostility.

John E

Thanks for the introduction and setting of context, R-Wells. I am hostile to drunk drivers and to inattentive motorists. I do not concur with everything the VC crowd says, but I certainly understand their rationale, such as maximizing one's visibility to motorists or preserving one's right to mobility on public roadways. I do not pretend to have all the answers; if I did, I could afford to be fearless in traffic, which I am not. I am a seeker, and I find often find truths and useful ideas in this forum.

donnamb 

Perhaps so, but my favorite all the same. It'll be the pepper in your stew.

tomcryar

R-Wells---Up until I purchased my first car, a bike was a permanent part of my body.


It must have been hell to use the bathroom.

R-Wells

I am sure no one wants to know about this, but it still is sometimes.
I