bikingMILF

gee pete, why ya gotta come in being such a jerk? every forum's gotta have a few....nice to meet you too. jagoff.....

Itsjustb

Here in NC, the typical car's turn signals are activated once each year: at inspection.

late

Ouch! Call this a crazy idea if you want... but try contacting Bicycling and see if they can do a Biketown
where you live. When they came here they saturated the airwaves with Share the Road messages, got the city to put up Share the Road signs, bike giveaways. I was very sceptical when it happened.

But it worked. Ever since riding has been just plain nicer. Cagers wait and wave me through intersections.
It sounds crazy, but it really helped.

Itsjustb

That's a great idea!

I LOVED the issue of Bicycling sharing the stories of Portland as their first Biketown. I lived in Portland/South Portland before moving here; I miss Maine (OK, I miss Maine in the summer and fall ).

late

You AIN'T whistling Dixie about Maine winters... We just had a long cold Spring. Last weekend we were riding around, it never even got to 60F. When I retire I hope to move somewhere warm, as much as I love Maine, the bones don't like the cold no more.

bikingMILF

plenty of room for ya here in NC, late

K4LK

bikingMILF,

Also stay out of the "door zone" (far enough from parked cars so that if they fling their door open without looking you wouldn't run right into it and go over the bars).

I speak from experience that endos (over the bars) is rarely very nice.

Dana

P.S. BTW, you did nothing wrong. I constantly watch for right hooks. Last week, my brother and I were riding in Clearwater. He almost got it from a left-cross.

Quartz

I don't know. This reminds of a time I was in a car (totally un-bike related). When I lived on Parkdale, I signaled left, and started to slow down to turn into my driveway. The driver behind me saw me signaling, and slowing, and naturally assumed I was going to... stop in the middle of the street. He pulled out and tried to pass me on the left as I started my left turn.

I vividly remember the look of shock on his face and the screeching tires as he realized I was actually planning on turning the direction I'd indicated.

late

I just might do that. Know any redheads?

bikingMILF

hmm..... lol just this one really tall chick, but she's a perv. best you stay away from her.... LOL

bikingshearer 

Tall, huh? Cool. Perv? Even better.

Seriously, though, the rule for road riding is the same as for driving a car: always be thinking of what stupid maneuver drivers of other cars could pull and position yourself to avoid or escape the problem. Train yourself to think that way - it gets to be second nature pretty quickly if you work at it - and you'll be amazed how few "stupid driver tricks" you seem to encounter. Also, be visible and predictable. Do these things (oh, and stay our of the door zone, as a poster suggested) and you'll find that the vast majority of your riding is hassle-free.

And don't be afraid to yell when necessary. I dn't mean yelling to insult someone after they've cut you off/ I mean yelling to get the driver's attention as they are starting their dumb maneuver. It works a fair amount of the time (especially if the driver is simply being clueless or inattentive, as opposed to intentionally being a jerk) and it gets the attention of potential witnesses, shoud you need them, God forbid.

But again, if you concentrate on doing this stuff at first, it will becone second nature pretty fast and your rides will be mostly uneventful - at least in terms of dealing with cars.

maddyfish

This incident tells you that you ride to far to the right. If a driver has to make no effort to pass you, then you're invisable, and it doesn't matter if they cut you off. If they even saw you at all, in the first place.

The driver should have seen you, and not turned in front of you, but if the driver had to pull into the other lane to pass you, you'd KNOW they saw you.

xerocoma

Absolutely normal unfortunately... you need to develop a totally different awareness of your surroundings when you're on your road bike... YOU are the only person out there that is going to ensure you get home safely.

It's probably fortunate this happened to you on your first ride... now you have a better idea of what roadies are up against..

trickmilla

Just keep riding. And remember that lots of drivers are total space cadets. assume that they dont see you and be just prepared for them to do something stupid at any given moment.

xerocoma

+1 You'll be astounded to see how many drivers are paying NO ATTENTION to what's outside their car... my theory is that you don'y notice it as much when you are cocooned inside your own vehicle but as soon as you're exposed on your bike your situational awareness of what drivers are doing changes radically... mine does anyway...

trickmilla

Everybody I know who does urban riding claims that it has greatly improved their driving (even though they actually drive less).
If every HS kid in America took an urban cycling class or had to learn urban cycling as a condition of getting a driver's licence the roads would be 10 times safer.

kjmillig

I got right hooked just yesterday while driving my car! I was approaching a red light in the right lane of three, preparing to stop, when the lady in the center lane, already at the stop line, suddenly decided she needed to turn right, so she did right in front of me. I'm glad my foot was already on the brake.
Thinking about while on a bike, if the car has already passed, don't they have the right of way? Shouldn't we be expecting to get right hooked and back off a bit or move left for safety? Don't get me wrong, I still think it's stupid and inconsiderate at the least, but I don't think it's neccessarily illegal.

xerocoma

+100 education in drivers ed and testing as part of obtaining your operators license... comprehensive, consistent and repeated over the years.. it won't get through to everyone but every one it does get through to helps.

genec

+100

Fully agree.

genec

If someone has passed and there is room (no other traffic) why not move left... it gives you some room to react.