Road Cycling - The good ones out there (car drivers)

Today I set out to do a century - a big loop.

About 32 miles into it I got a little off course and wound up on a busy road with a tiny shoulder. I knew exactely where I had to get to and it was just a few hundred yards up a hill and left, I regulary ride pretty busy roads to connect more senic routes, but dislike it.

As I was picking up speed I felt a car or truck coming up along behind me, I moved my left hand off the bar for someting that I can't be sure what for -- then in a nano second my front wheel got jerked hard left INTO traffic, I fought it back just slightly,but I was already to out of control and went down very hard, about half way out into the road and slide back toward the side of the road.

I don't remember to much as it happened fast, but I hit my head pretty hard, my hip, elbow, and left hand of all things.

As I lay there just at the edge of the road (there wasnt much of a shoulder to speak of) the guy in the truck came running over, another truck pulled up behind me to shield me from traffic, a car pulled up and the driver got out, another driver was calling hte police, and a couple of guys were collecting my bike, glasses and pieces that broke off.

All told there were 8 people that were there helping me and 6 cars had stopped!!

So heres to the good guys (and girls) :beer: !!

These folks stuck with me while I recovered, protected me while I was down, and saw to it that I was OK.

I finished the century despite the aching hip (can hardly walk now....) bloody elbow, and hurting hand. I dedicated the ride to them, sucked it up and rode it out.

With all the bad press cars and drivers get, here were a bunch of blue collar regular folks stopping on a Sunday to help a downed rider. thats good stuff IMO.

ed

Sounds to me like you got away pretty lucky! ;)

That's a great story, and it's nice to know that there are good folks out there to balance things out! One nice idea might be to write an open letter to the drivers via the 'letters-to-the-editor' section of your local paper, thanking them for their help and hopefully encouraging other people to do the same for another rider.

Take care and heal well... :)

I hope you heal up soon! The thing is that there really are many good drivers out there. We just seem to see it as defacto that everybody should pass when supposed to and give ample room and that 2% of drivers that don't seem to give the rest a bad rap. Here's to the 98% of drivers that are nice and curteous and actually do watch the road.

I had a pleasant experience a couple weeks ago, though I was in a car this time. My wife picked me up from work and we were on our way home. She was driving and we came to a right turn. The light was red and we were first at the insection.

This particular street is narrow, and many cyclists (including myself) often use the wide sidewalk for this short stretch. As the lights began to cycle I looked back and saw a rider on the sidewalk approaching the corner. I warned my wife and she paused to let him pass into the street. As we watched him roll by he raised his thumb as thanks, with a broad grin. We waved back and made our turn. I felt very good about that; since I began riding in traffic my driving habits have improved due to a heightened sense of awareness toward cyclists, and it was great to see my courtesy acknowledged. :)

-Rob

edk,

Thanks for sharing your experience with the forum. It's good to hear about the positive encounters between cyclists and drivers for a change- we all hear (and experience) the horror stories too often. I recently crashed hard and am waiting for some broken bones to mend too, so I can sympathize with your situation. Hope you heal well and fast!

I like Grendel's suggestion regarding writhing a letter to the editor. The folks who helped you out, and all the other considerate and thoughtful drivers out there deserve thanks and recognition. In some small measure, it might help to bridge the gap between motorists and cyclists, who unfortuanately sometimes tend to few each other with distrustand contempt.

As in Rob's encounter, a smile or a wave on either party's part can go a long way in overcoming that distrust.

-r

Hope all you guys who crashed out there are doing OK! Glad it wasn't any worse.

It is good to be reminded that for every driver who makes a mistake or does something nasty, there are thousands who pass us safely and courteously. There are also a bunch of people who are willing to help anyone in trouble.

Dare I ask? Was anyone who stopped driving an SUV?:p

A friend of mine crashed in traffic and no one stopped to help him... but this is Los Angeles. People here turn into A-holes as soon as they get into their cars.

Great story - not the crash, but the people who helped you out!

The one time I went down hard on the pavement, 2 cars stopped, and both helped me out a bunch. Both expressed genuine concern and both were willing to give me a ride to the hosptial, which is what I needed most.

Now, the car that hit me - I'm still looking for him. :mad:

Yeah, there was one BIG SUV an excursion, the rest were pick-ups and cars.

About the letter to he editor idea, I was thinking the exact same thing.


ed

Wow. Hope you're OK soon.

What was it that caused you to go down? Sounds like it may have been one of those seams in the concrete -- the type that your wheels get stuck in or at least make it difficult to get out of.

Anyway, good story. My experiences in 6+ years of steady commuting are similar with respect to drivers. I hear horror stories in the forum all the time but can't say that I've experienced them.