I'm posting thsi thread cause I'm proud of my safety practices. I'm sure you were able to speak with any of the cyclist I've ridden with, they'd tell you how steady and how safe of a rider I am. That is one thing that makes me proud. My wife feels safe and I've had other women that wouldn't ride with any other cyclists other than my wife and I.
In the music thread, I stated my opinions. OK, so not everyobody agrees. That's cool but I chose not to hinder my hearing. If a component decides to fail, I chose to hear the warning. Hissing tire, chain danger, stem creaking and possible failure an snapping. broken spoke, failing frame or fork. It has happened. Broke my frame not long ago. I hear the pop! I was on a section of road where I descend at 45 mph. Thank goodness I was going up!
My thoughts on safety. We do the best with what we have. No Chipcom, "Are hearing impaired banned in Ca from riding cause they can't hear?" (question, not word for word). NO, I am sure they do the best with what they have as I do. My experience is the one rider in one of our lines swore the music didn't hinder his hearing. Of course while makig a left onto a bridge, he didn't hear or see the signals three of us used. He ran into the three riders ahead of him. They were pissed but luckily nobody was hurt or any serious damage to the bikes.
My experience around a group of oncoming riders. SLOW DOWN! SO many times I see unsafe riders in the oncoming position. Riders going aorund slower riders crossing into our lane running the risk of a head on collision. As much as it bothers me, it's better to slow. Sure I give them the disgusted look as they pass. What's funny is that it's usually a group of experienced looking riders that should know better. When I approach kiddie riders, I SLOW! I know that they will drift into my lane as I pass. I know children are unpredictable. The parents should teach them the correct way to ride on a path but even some of them don't know. I've seen 4 y/0 kids riding with better etiquette than grown ups. No excuse, everyone should be taught. Yes, kids have the ability to understand.
When in friendly competition with others, I SLOW if I see a hazardous condition ahead. I've had friends blow by seniors or children in an attempt to gain 2 seconds. I slow then figure I'll make it up anyway! Better safe than to lose a silly pretend race. I once had a friend competing with me on the downhill of a mountain ride. We were doing 30-40 mph on the dh. He crossing over the lines while I kept in my lane. I was actually worried about his safety so I backed off so that he would back off the madness. Right as I backed off he cut the corner in the other lane and went head on with a Jeep. He barley avoided disaster then almost went over the side in an attempt to coutersteer. HOLY!!!!! For the record, I beat him down the mtn while using safe practices.
Whateve the hazard, I SLOW. It's worth an extra second to stay alive or keep from getting hurt. IF I se a dog ahead, I back off. 30 yards away and the dog 25 feet off to the side. It only takes the dog a cople of seconds to dart in my path. I know that, I'd be stupid to think otherwise.
I use signals, I stop at lights, I do whatever it takes to stay alive. I do whatever it takes to keep thsoe safe around me. I know too may other riders with broken clavicles, hips, arms, heads, hands, faces to think anything less than safe is rediculous. It's also more than just on the bike. Proper air pressure, true wheels, good equipment even before I start a ride, everytime.
I'm posting this picture cause it's a prime example on how enjoyable a ride can be while riding safely. The riders are form the SoCal forum. There must have been about 15 of us. The reason this pic means so much to me is, if you notice the 2 girls right behind my wife, had never rode in a paceline before, They are good riders but usually fall behind as they aren't comfy in a line. That day I held it steady at 18-20. I rode in my normal safe mode. The girls were able to comfortably sit in with the fellas. They were so excited as they had never held 19 mph for any amount of time but were in the line. The line looks so straight and safe. Wht you can't see is that there are also about 10 guys behind the pictured riders in line.
After the ride the girls were so greatful. They were so excited and said they had never experienced a ride like this before. Fast and safe. That means alot when riders come up and thank me after a ride. 60 miles of fast safe riding is my MO Baby!:thumb:
That's me at the front! Girls right behind and about 10 guys inline behind us!:D
If I hadn't slowed down on the MUP, I might have crashed into a mom and here baby in stroller, correctly walking against traffic (me) when a group of "racers" came barrelling around a blind corner and passed a slower rider and went into my lane. Slowing down allowed me to keep control and not crash into a stroller. I will gladly take some road rash and crashing over hurting a baby any day.
Mr. Beanz
06-13-08, 04:46 PM
San Gabriel river?
Sant Ana, but we did a ride on SG about 2 weeks earlier.:D...This was about 1 mile form the coast.
Mr. Beanz
06-13-08, 04:50 PM
Amen, brother!
If I hadn't slowed down on the MUP, I might have crashed into a mom and here baby in stroller, correctly walking against traffic (me) when a group of "racers" came barrelling around a blind corner and passed a slower rider and went into my lane. Slowing down allowed me to keep control and not crash into a stroller. I will gladly take some road rash and crashing over hurting a baby any day.
One thing I don't get. It's safe, not too much congestion on this trail. Only one or two blind turns, one sharp. It's that one sharp turn, a rider comes head onon our side talkingon the phone. Comes around the corner and is startled like maybe there shouldn't be anybody else on the trail but him and his side by side partner.:o
Mr. Beanz
06-13-08, 05:13 PM
BTW,not looking for a debate on buds, Just stating the facts on how safe and Happy I've been!:thumb:
Missbumble
06-13-08, 06:02 PM
Hey Mr. Beanz,
Thanks for the post. I really do look to this forum to help me with safety - and what I am learning on Group rides. The other day on the bike path - a 16-20 yearold kid on a trick bike was on the left....I tried to say coming through as he was not moving over at all.. what I wanted to say was move your butt into the right lane...Anyway when I said on your right (Cause ther was no room if he was on the left) he ignored me (maybe earbuds???) and did a wheelly for many yards.... So very carefully I eventually got by him. I really wanted to tell him what a jerk he was...but here I thought the safe thing was to move on so he did not attack me. You never know.
Also - I have learned to really stop at each intersection on the bike trail (ok most of the time as some are totally deserted). Tomorrow I am going out with someone on the trail that does not ride often - so I will instill these saftey habits - aka say "passing on your left" and stopping at intersections. Also taking my foot free fmo the pedal waaaaaaaaaaaay ahead of time since I am still new at this.
Also steel feel nervous riding on the roads witht he groups - I guess I will feel better with time. I am glad that there are so many groups to ride with!
Mr. Beanz
06-13-08, 06:08 PM
Oh them kids are scary. On some of the underpasses you can find BMX kids shooting across the trail from large sloes made of concrete. I can see the fun but knowing hundreds of cyclist pass thru is dangerous. I watch them kids carefully. I slow when I ralize they are ahead.
I guess we are lucky cause our trail has no intesections. Atleast 25 miles of it is nonstop, no crossing. The other 5 has maybe one or two stops.:D
w2n
06-13-08, 07:27 PM
i love seeing other safe riders! thank you... there are far too many people that have no clue. my favorite is the people with those retractable dog things that let out like eleventy billion feet of leash and the dog is running all over the place and the leash is accross the entire trail. ahhh just makes my day. not.
Mr. Beanz
06-13-08, 07:48 PM
i love seeing other safe riders! thank you... there are far too many people that have no clue. my favorite is the people with those retractable dog things that let out like eleventy billion feet of leash and the dog is running all over the place and the leash is accross the entire trail. ahhh just makes my day. not.
Same thing happened to me about a month ago. Right after some dog owner posted the 'roadies are jerks' thread. Complaining about how roadies are stealth and quiet and sneek uip on dogwalkers. Heck, they ought to have the dog close to them at all times. Right after the thread, the wife and I were riding, not quietly when a walker had his leash across the trail, maybe 15 feet. He's walking in the grass. About 30 yards of grass on each side of the trail. But he has to be one foot into the grass on one side and his dog one foot into the grass on the other side. I don't understand that. We approach and I call out but he still doesn't retract. We pretty much had to stop before he realized we were there. Then the ol, "oh,oh, I'm sorry!":twitchy:
Last trail ride event. There is a large drop on the trail about 40 yards long. A second trail meets and ends at the bottom of the hill. We were traveling the oposite direction but I noitce a couple of riders ready to descend. 20-30 mph without pedaling at this section. I see a lady coming form the ending trail with two loose dogs not on the leash. Both about the size of Dalmations running across the trail!:eek:
The guys timed it so they missed the dogs but man that is scary. I told the lady as we rode by,"that's dangerous, you could really hurt someone". She didn't seem to care! Keep your eyes open for dogs. Most of all, watchout for the owners!:D
wayne pattee
06-14-08, 04:45 AM
I have a MUP a mile away that many people use. A lot of people walking unleashed dogs and rollerbladers and big familys with kids on training wheels.
I alwaws holler "comming by" way in advance and keep my hands on the brake levers because I always expect the unexpected.
wayne pattee
06-14-08, 04:47 AM
Keep your eyes open for dogs
Not to mention the the stuff the owners are too lazy to pick up.
w2n
06-14-08, 06:14 AM
Not to mention the the stuff the owners are too lazy to pick up.
thank god for my fenders! :p
w2n
06-14-08, 06:21 AM
and rollerbladers
do you guys ever see those three wheel adult "work out scooter" things that you propel by rocking back and forth? they are almost as wide as half the trail and to make them go they have to swerve into the on-coming lane and back into their lane... i almost had a head on with one the other day... thank god i was on my MTB because i was in the weeds. i think the guy was busy watching some woman catch a fish or something and went right into my path. that was a scarrrrry one.
these things... http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc187/w2n06/418VL7qWb-L_SS500_.jpg
Wogsterca
06-14-08, 08:31 AM
do you guys ever see those three wheel adult "work out scooter" things that you propel by rocking back and forth? they are almost as wide as half the trail and to make them go they have to swerve into the on-coming lane and back into their lane... i almost had a head on with one the other day... thank god i was on my MTB because i was in the weeds. i think the guy was busy watching some woman catch a fish or something and went right into my path. that was a scarrrrry one.
these things... http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc187/w2n06/418VL7qWb-L_SS500_.jpg
I've never seen one of those before, but they do look rather dangerous. The real problem with gadgets like this, is that they are not legally classed as a vehicle, bicycle or a pedestrian, they kinda don't abide by the rules of any category. Then of course the darwins using such gadgets, are usually using music players with the volume turned to ear bleeding, so they couldn't hear a Airbus A380 at full reverse thrust land on top of them.
hammond9705
06-14-08, 08:35 AM
Lot of good advice here. Only thing I would add is, I always assume that other drivers and riders are going to do the worst. Just because that car doesn't have his turn signal on, doesn't mean he isn't going to turn in front of you. Watch cars coming out of parking lots, and make sure they see you. When passing other riders, slow and be prepared for them to turn right in front of you....
Ride defensively, if you are in an accident with a car you are going to lose, even if you did the right thing.
chipcom
06-14-08, 09:19 AM
Lot of good advice here. Only thing I would add is, I always assume that other drivers and riders are going to do the worst. Just because that car doesn't have his turn signal on, doesn't mean he isn't going to turn in front of you. Watch cars coming out of parking lots, and make sure they see you. When passing other riders, slow and be prepared for them to turn right in front of you....
Ride defensively, if you are in an accident with a car you are going to lose, even if you did the right thing.
I call it 'planning for Murphy', as outlined in many a thread. The keys to riding safely are paying attention to what is going on around you (situational awareness), planning for Murphy, following the rules of the road (or the path if that's your thing), and of course being predictable and courteous.
This whole thread stems from my taking issue with the notion that you can't ride safely without having the full use of your hearing. Thing is, impaired hearing is part of riding, whether the impairment be from a physical challenge, wind, traffic, other environmental noises, someone yakking at you (or you doing all the yakking), or music. The competent rider doesn't let this interfere with his/her situational awareness...other riders, not so much.
When it comes to group rides, hearing becomes much more important, so you should refrain from impairing your hearing by your own choice...and refrain from impairing the hearing of others by yakking up a storm! :D
Mr. Beanz
06-14-08, 09:36 AM
do you guys ever see those three wheel adult "work out scooter" things that you propel by rocking back and forth? they are almost as wide as half the trail and to make them go they have to swerve into the on-coming lane and back into their lane... i almost had a head on with one the other day... thank god i was on my MTB because i was in the weeds. i think the guy was busy watching some woman catch a fish or something and went right into my path. that was a scarrrrry one.
these things... http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc187/w2n06/418VL7qWb-L_SS500_.jpg
Yeah, those things are scary. As are the rollerbladers swaying from side to side. Not usually a problem since most take control of their movements while going by. But scary if they don't know you're threre!:D
Mr. Beanz
06-14-08, 09:37 AM
do you guys ever see those three wheel adult "work out scooter" things that you propel by rocking back and forth? they are almost as wide as half the trail and to make them go they have to swerve into the on-coming lane and back into their lane... i almost had a head on with one the other day... thank god i was on my MTB because i was in the weeds. i think the guy was busy watching some woman catch a fish or something and went right into my path. that was a scarrrrry one.
these things...
Yeah, those things are scary. As are the rollerbladers swaying from side to side. Not usually a problem since most take control of their movements while going by. But scary if they don't know you're threre!:D
BigPolishJimmy
06-14-08, 02:54 PM
Anybody put an air horn on their bike?
mkadam68
06-14-08, 03:14 PM
...The girls were able to comfortably sit in with the fellas. They were so excited as they had never held 19 mph for any amount of time but were in the line. The line looks so straight and safe. Wht you can't see is that there are also about 10 guys behind the pictured riders in line.
Big gaps, weren't getting too much draft. Gee...I bet they could hold 19 by themselves. It wasn't you, Beanz!! :lol: ;)
mkadam68
06-14-08, 03:23 PM
One thing I am guilty of (sort of) in Beanz' post:
When approaching someone from behind, I'll yell, "Behind!" and wait for them to pick a side. If it's obvious they didn't hear me and don't move, I go by on the safe side, but--and here's where I'm guilty--I go by quickly. It may startle them, but so does going slowly. And if I go slowly, it gives them time to startle and time to move into me. It's happened more than once. If I go quickly, they startle, but when they move into my direction, I'm already gone and they don't hit anyone.
If I'm in a group, this doesn't apply. We all yell loudly so they know we're coming.
And I only go around them when nobody's coming from the other way.
Just an FYI, the roadie/racer types who do go around and squeeze between you and the passed rider/walker (as has happened to me and I have ridden with those who have done it), they're probably only doing it because they're giving you the benefit of the doubt that you know how to ride in close quarters and it won't be a problem. I know for some, this doesn't apply, but at least it's not 'cause they think you're a jerk and should be ridden off the road. My $0.02.
jaxgtr
06-14-08, 03:25 PM
do you guys ever see those three wheel adult "work out scooter" things that you propel by rocking back and forth? they are almost as wide as half the trail and to make them go they have to swerve into the on-coming lane and back into their lane... i almost had a head on with one the other day... thank god i was on my MTB because i was in the weeds. i think the guy was busy watching some woman catch a fish or something and went right into my path. that was a scarrrrry one.
these things... http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc187/w2n06/418VL7qWb-L_SS500_.jpg
There is a kid in our hood that was riding one of these things. I almost hit her in my car one night as she was not watching and just came out from behind a parked car. I went to her Mom and told her what happened and then I asked if the thing was a good work out. She let me try it and I lost control and fell of the thing. Very hard to maneuver and control at first, but once I kind of got the groove, it just sort of slings back and forth. To me, it wasn't much of a work out as you really can't go fast as you would loose control. I told her, she would do better on a bike. :D
*WildHare*
06-14-08, 03:45 PM
To me, it wasn't much of a work out as you really can't go fast as you would loose control. I told her, she would do better on a bike. :D
:thumb:
Richard_Rides
06-14-08, 06:18 PM
The competent rider doesn't let this interfere with his/her situational awareness...other riders, not so much.
Exactly. By the way, this thread is much more enjoyable when you add the safety nazis to you ignore list. :thumb: