is there anyway this is my fault?
im riding on the shoulder, there are some cars parked so i get into the lane. everythings going sweet till some minivan tries to go around me nad i get clipped by the rear view mirror in the back... luckily it was the kind that swivled.

maybe i should start looking for a helmet sheeyot happens

helmet good.

i get hit by those at least twice a week. my bag hits them at least once a day when riding in between vans/trucks and cars in stopped or slow traffic. the crunching, slapping sound is the most annoying thing about it. neither i nor the drivers seem to mind. i think it's just part of urban riding.

Someone pegged me in the butt with an open water bottle on my way home from school today; I thought it was appropriate to share.

Until your bag gets snagged, then it's tumble time. A couple of months ago the strap, edge, or air from my bag (I don't know which, really) was snagged by one of those mirrors on the superwide Ford F-350s or what-have-you and I was dumped straight off my bike on to my left shoulder.

I agree that it's usually no big deal, and with most cars you're above the mirror anyway, but I'm a little bit wary of those super wide civilian trucks now.

PS: He didn't stop after clipping me, and given the size of his truck, I doubt he even noticed.

I can't that being your fault...IMHO

helmet=brain bucket

If you were in the lane and it was a no passing zone its likely you weren't at fault.

Take more of the lane next time or be quicker!

The best is when you take a side mirror off with your bag strap. Oops..

it only sucks when the car is low and you take it off with your leg...

Good point.

..

There's some seriously narrow streets here with cars parked on both sides. Absolutely no room for both a car AND a bike to safely occupy. So it's always fun when an oversized pick-up truck decides to pass me on one of these streets.

I can count on most people to wait until there's sufficient room to pass me, but the sudden revving of a large engine is usually a good signal that I'm about to get clipped by a large metal mirror and pushed into the row of parked cars. I hate the feeling of knowing it's going to happen and not having anywhere to go.

Did that last concussion affect your English skills?

sort of relevant, i know a guy that pokes peoples mirrors forward when someone cuts them off, not really violent, but a little annoyance that a lot of drivers hate.

Likely not, assuming you had been in the lane solidy before you got clipped. That is you didn't suddenly swerve right in front of the mini-v (it sounds like you were already in the lane for a while meaning you are not at all at fault)

As to those like visitordesign, you are hitting the mirrors, the drivers are not hitting you - its your choice to do so as you obviously know. But when when one is in an urban environment where cyclists are choosing to bump other vehicles, its becomes harder to expect they don't bump you once in a while, so folks like astrx are more likely to get clipped.

ps- in addition to the helmet a great tool is a mirror. I know the last thing some folks want to be seen with is a mirror, but you can get a much better idea if you are about to get clipped and react. The mirror may not last long if you like to squeeze between cars, unless its on your helmet. Of course when you are in near same speed traffic its less of a life saver than when you are in 50mph traffic.

Al

Seems like if you are on a narrow street and here a reving behind you it'd be a good idea to move slightly more left into the lane as to discourage them from even atempting to pass you.

yes and no. i get hit BY them at least a couple of times a week. my bag hits them at least once a day. drivers and riders in NYC have learned to live with it.

If you were in the lane, then seems to me it doesn't matter whether it was a passing zone or not, you're not at fault. The passing vehicle has the duty to pass safely.