hotbike

Quote:
"....an avid cyclist out for his usual ride Saturday morning when he swerved to avoid ..."

Berkeley: Beloved vice principal killed in bike crash - ContraCostaTimes.com

Story from the Contra Costa Times... Has me further convinced that Pelotons are inherently dangerous...

If I want an Aerodynamic Advantage, I'll mount a Fairing on my handlebars...

I haven't been posting accident stories in A&S lately... You may remember that this is what I did years ago, like back in 2008...

Recently, Opus the Poet has quit writing about car vs. bike accidents, and I hope to fill the void.

Please try to keep the discussion civil.

kickstart

As a cyclist and motorcyclist, I will not do group rides that involve any type of formation riding for this reason. The rules, laws, and configuration of the road are not conducive to them, and they require relinquishing awareness and responsibility to others.

B. Carfree

If what I've read about this is accurate, then the deceased likely bears a great deal of the blame for his demise and it is unfair to lay it at the feet of group riding. He was clearly riding without a plan for what to do in the event of a tangle in front of him. Sadly, such crashes are all too common among unskilled riders (and motorists, if the pile-ups every time the weather turns a bit foul are any indication) and one must be aware of the possibility. Sure, no one wants to plunge into a couple of crashed bikes, but when the right side of the road is blocked and you can't see far enough down the road to be absolutely certain that the oncoming lane is clear, joining the scrum has to be the default choice.

Matariki

Wow, the timing of this horrible incident was incredible. Shows that the difference in life or death is mere seconds. If the water truck was speeding (as most drivers do) then it would have been well past the group when the crash occurred. There were 50-60 riders in Mr. Shum's group and that is way huge. When I rode with a group that big, we would have split into smaller groups spaced some distance apart. I am going to guess that these riders did the same; however if they formed one big peloton on a public highway I agree that they were assuming some risk.

Although in the past, I found riding with groups of up to 15 in a tight pace-line to be exhilarating, I recognise now that the trust we gave to our companions may not have been well validated. Sure, there were regulars whose habits we came to know, but we accepted any newcomer to the group with the same level of trust. If the equipment and attire was right, then so should the rider have been, right?

alcjphil

A group ride of 50-60 riders is too big. The club I belong to allows no more than 12 riders per group, but most of us prefer groups of 8-10. That way it is much easier to put together a group that is of more or less equal ability. The Quebec highway code does not allow groups of more than 15 riders together. A group 4 times that size is foolish and not safe and there are bound to be discrepancies of strength and ability in that big a bunch. Sounds like a pretend race without any sort of protection for the participants

hotbike

Thanks for those replies. You all seem to be more familiar with group rides than moi.

Chris516

I was hit a couple days ago. When someone passed me so close that, their mirror hit my handlebars. Thankfully I didn't crash, and was able to recover. I verbally chewed them out on account of them trying to beat me to the light.

kickstart

And that's it right there, formation and parade riding violates 3, and limits 1 of the rules of safe vehicle operation.

1. Aim High
2. Get the Big Picture
3. Keep Your Eyes Moving
4. Leave Yourself an Out
5. Make sure They See You

Chris516

While I don't ride motorcycles as a passenger anymore and have never ridden them on my own. I still agree with this. Riding in formation also unnerves me.

kickstart

I find interesting that we can be extreme polar opposites about taking control of others, but are on the same page when it comes to relinquishing control to others.

Lone

last year i stopped riding in our weekly group ride of 30+ cyclists. sometimes there are more like 50+. its like a big race, because every half-kilometer hill the order is broken up. its chaos. i used to just trust that nothing would happen and take it for granted. now i don't take the risks i used to take.

Keith99

I'm not sure of that. One huge question would be how much of the lane did the group take. If it was about half then there was a plan and a decent one. Use the other half lane to get past any problems. The article makes it sound like he was making it around the crash and then fell into the oncoming lane.

I'd also like to know the style and culture of the group too. I've avoided racing culture on the open road, but I have been in packs that are hammering, but the hammering was cooperative, not competitive. It makes a difference.

Remember also being in a large group has huge safety advantages. Not being seen simply does not happen in a group of 60.

EDIT: The Group I rode with typically had far more than 60 riders to start. Heck they had 5 or 6 different rides all starting in the same place at the same time with a huge difference in ability level. So figure 100-150 to start and much of the time staying that big for from 1/2 to a couple of miles. The thing is at least the better and more experienced riders considered the first few miles the warmup. Add to that no effort to keep in a large group, save perhaps riders a little slower putting in effort to hang on for a while to get the benefits of drafting.

Very rare to have problems with too many riders in a pack, and the few times it happened were right after regroup spots.

Chris516

The discussion can maintain civility. But getting hit by a vehicle is not civilized.