Originally Posted by
Daves_Not_Here
This weekend I had another experience that reinforced the value of a mirror to me -- I was northbound on PCH on the 4000 meter stretch at Bolsa Chica. It was busy and I was passed by literally hundreds of motorists at speeds ranging from 50 to 85 mph. I knew how close each one was going to be well before every pass. My mirrorless fellow cyclists did not -- none of them were consistenly rotating their heads to look at each car before it passed.
The closest passes happen when there are two wide vehicles traveling abreast. Sure enough, I saw a bus next to a truck coming up behind me at about 60 mph, right hand mirror over the white stripe. Call me inferior, but I moved well to the right. At 5+ feet clearance, the pass was a non-event for me. The cyclists ahead of me, not so much -- they got the 10 inch buzz job, leaving them swerving and gesturing.
Of course, I looked more like a Fred.
This. As I've posted before, I was able to narrowly avoid an attempted intentional dooring (driver buzzes me while passenger flings open door at me) because I could see him creeping closer as he passed (I was even in a bike lane
). Since this was starting back up from a red at an intersection, there's no way I would have looked back at every car in line as it passed me. I've pretty much never been buzzed since I started using my mirror, since I can just move right if the pass is too close.
Not to say I can't ride without it - couldn't find it before I had to leave to work today, as a matter of fact - but I definitely notice it's missing, and feel at a disadvantage.