Bad Cyclist -- I almost hit in my car last night
 

Last night, I was in downtown Nashville and a cyclist made a
U-turn right in front of me as I was coming up Broadway. This happened right around 9:30. I was within inches of hitting him. He had no reflective clothing, head lights, reflectors, or tail lights on. His bicycle was black, so he was very hard to see.

You sure got lucky!:) If you had hit that guy he could of made your life miserable. Broadway at night is no place to be on a bike. That guy was taking his life in his own hands. Just pull the seat out and take a couple of deep breaths. Just be glad you had your wits about you and everything is o.k.!

I agree! The guy wasn't even wearing a helmet either!

That guy would try and sue etc. Someone was watching out for him:angel: It just amazes me how foolish some people are!

Doesn't sound like a 'cyclist' to me, but more like 'some dork on a bike'.

Nice distinction. Just as well you were being a motorist and not some dork behind the wheel.

of all the places i have lived the roads of Nashville are some of the most bike unfriendly around

i would not ride on Broadway...or West end for that matter ... day or night!

Braodway or West End St. in Nashville arn't much worse than Reelfoot Av. in the little town where I live. The problem is not having the gear to ride in the dark. I wouldn't ride at night without lights front and rear plus reflective bands at the least. Recently I bought one of the orange vest with the reflective bars front and back just to use on commuting or late evening, early morning rides. I WANT TO BE SEEN! It's clear this dork was just like the fella I tried to convince to ride with the flow of trafic last week, he just didn't care that what he was doing was against the law!:rolleyes:

You are right, Nashville is definitely not a bike friendly area, except when you get out in Bellemeade and Franklin. I ride out there all of the time. I live in Hermitage and ride from there out to Natchez Trace and back by way of Lebanon Road, Broadway, West End, and Highway 100. Once I get past St. Thomas, the riding conditions change. People are much more considerate.

i agree things get much better past st. thomas

percy warner is my favorite place to ride .... although west meade, belle meade and williamson county are nice as well..have not ridden on the natchez trace yet...will try to head out there next week



as far as that rider....he is lucky to be alive....


seen too many bad bike injuries in my career....many of them preventable :(

What do you Nashville area riders do on the 2 lane roads that seem to be around with NO shoulder and heavy traffic. Do you just try and time it for low traffic times, or just stay off them? I have a cousin that lives just out of Bellview who had a friend on a bike hit and killed by a car. He was just behind him crossing hwy. 100 when this happened. Gosh that must have been 30 years ago now when we where teenagers.

I am thankful more things are being done around nashvegas for cyclist but there is still years of bad driving habits to overcome of those in this area

The best route that I ride in Williamson County is to start out at the Natchez Trace entrance on Highway 96 and ride up to Mac Hatcher Road. I then ride to Franklin Road, up to Moores Lane, around the Galleria and across I-65 per Cool Springs Blvd. I then take a back road, beside the Courtyard Marriot over to 96 and then back through Franklin to Natchez Trace.

P.S. That little back road will kick your but!! The climb is short, but even with a a triple chain ring in the lowest gear, you are standing up, while climbing.

I just don't ride down those roads. I live in Hermitage and come down Stewart's Ferry pike on my commute to work. I would like to turn on Coucheville Pike, but it has those sharp curves, with trees around them. Knowing this and how fast people go on that road, I just don't come down it. I go on down to Smith Springs road instead. It's about 2.5 miles out of the way, but is much safer.

Thats one dumb man on a bike!!!