TGT1

I often this time of year do my long ride starting at 6:00 am Sundays. That, and the weekends I don't ride I'm on the freeway at 6:00 AM headed to either J Tree or Iydylwild to climb.

I've been doing the climbing thing for going on 40 years. At least once a month there's one obvious drunk on the freeway speeding and weaving at that time of the morning and about the same ratio for bike rides on surface streets early Weekend AM.

Yesterday in the first two miles of my ride I came upon the CHP cleaning up the aftermath of one accident that had to involve a 80mph plus solo impact with a Meyers cabinet, several small trees and a telephone pole. The car or what was left of it had been removed, but the road was still littered with the normal flotsam and jetsam that accumulates in the interior or trunk of any older car. The car must have disintegrated!

Then a half mile or so along the Sheriff had their hands full with a high speed head on.

i remarked to one of them "Lots of drunks on Temple this morning" He just grinned and said "yep!"

TrojanHorse

Of course, let us not forget Joseph Robinson, who died at the hands of Somer Gozales at 8 freaking o'clock on a Sunday morning. DUI. I guess we're never 100% safe.

I've hit the road at 5 am any number of times... I really like it that early, I just hate getting out of bed. Usually it's very peaceful and you get to see the sun rise. Good times.

KingCat

I live in Hawthorne California and I cover news stories. The media does NOT report vehicle vs bike stories unless someone gets killed. Just in my city and the city of Gardena there are about 3 cyclists hit per week by cars. Many of these are serious injuries. Based on my experiences about 80% of the drivers are illegal aliens.
Keep your head in the sand if you want but this is a serious issue for cyclists in Los Angeles.

Jed19

Well, here in Orange County, careless motorists run the whole gamut. There are texting teenagers, drunks, distracted soccer moms, doped-up individuals etc. You get my drift. I have not seen the cops here identify a motorist that maimed or killed a cyclist as an "illegal alien" yet.

D1andonlyDman

San Diego certainly has more than it's share of illegal aliens, but I can say with pretty high confidence that more accidents are caused by legal citizens who are driving while using their damn cell phones. I did not start this thread to get into an unrelated discussion about illegal aliens - many of who's presence here contributes to the fact that I can buy fresh produce at reasonable prices. I started this thread to complain about an immediate and increasing threat to us cyclists - distracted drivers. And there is no question that when I am bicycling on the road, a driver who is using a cell phone while driving poses a FAR greater risk to me and my well-being than a driver who happens to be an illegal immigrant.

BTW, your purported stat of 80% of the drivers causing these accidents being illegal aliens is sheer B.S.

GP

jimxyz

No way - never at 3! (3:30 was the earliest, but only because we wanted to make it to Baldy and back before the heat kicked in...)

CbadRider

Please don't turn this thread into a Donald Trump presidential debate or it will need to be moved to P&R.

TrojanHorse

LOL... just stay clear of downtown.

volosong

This is such a discouraging thread. I guess I'm 'lucky' because out here in the high desert, rarely do things like these horrific events happen. Perhaps they do, but I haven't heard of any, (no chatter during the local bike shop sponsored rides).

I've just returned from spending a week in northern Idaho. Took the bike, of course, and got in a few rides. I couldn't believe it! Motorized vehicles are so courteous towards bicycles. Without exception, every single car that came to an intersection the same time I did always deferred to me, (so that I would proceed through the intersection before they did). As I was riding across the Rathdrum Prairie, and cars/trucks would pass me . . . if they couldn't pass in the other/oncoming lane, they waited patiently until oncoming traffic allowed them to pass with about six-seven feet of clearance. At many intersections, when I came to a full stop, cars would refuse to go first. They always waved me to go first. Even when I 'stood my ground' and waved them to go . . . they would wait for me. The experience was really encouraging.

I asked some of the locals about this behavior, they put it down to 'education'. Knowing how little 'education' car drivers here receive before getting their license, I totally understand. Our state really does not give car/truck drivers any type of education about how to interact with bicycles.

When I retire next year, I'm headed to Idaho. Along with car's consideration for the safety of cyclists on city streets and country roads, there are some awesome off-road, paved bicycle trails. They may be MUPS, but running from the Washington border to the Montana border, there's a lot of miles far outside any urban areas. Northern Idaho is paradise for bicyclists.

I'll be sorry to leave this state of my birth and my father's birth, but it has changed to the degree that it is not a very bike-friendly environment anymore. Riding is what I do and who I am. The only thing that will stop me is death. I just hope it does not come at the hands of a distracted driver who's only punishment is a 'slap on the wrist'.

TrojanHorse

Alrighty then, make sure you organize up a "I wish I lived in Idaho" ride once a year.

Btw, spent a week cycling in Italy this year (6 days in June) and it was spectacular, although I did get flipped off once. I was bombing down a hill from Montepulciano at about 45 mph and I guess my antatonist thought I should be riding on the fog line (speed limit was actually a bit slower than I was riding). Other than that fine interaction, it was bliss.

People suck. Ride your bike.

prathmann

I wonder if any of the difference is due to the 'Idaho rules' on Stop signs & red lights - i.e. that a bicyclist can legally treat a Stop sign as if it were a Yield sign and can treat a red traffic light as if it were a Stop sign.

Cyclcist11023131

Not A Don Trump advocate....but I was hit in Las Vegas while waiting for a red light. 4 Molly maid types, all texting. I was hurt pretty bad. Lost six weeks of work. Because they were illegal I had a choice to make as dictated by the local Police. Accept the $500.00 they were able to get from the driver and passengers or get nothing. The Police said they would make bail and head back to Mexico. So I took the money. Lost $3000.00 in lost wages plus a grade three concussion and broken Cheekbone and Orbit from falling on my face from way up high as I fell after getting thrown into the sky off the windshield. Stupid texters ! I am a full on Bigot now. Not about race, its about ignorance. I hate stupid people whose idiot mistakes cost us but we have no recourse. They just walk away laughing. By the way I live in a heavily Hispanic area and have been robbed at gunpoint twice. Both White guys on Meth. Both caught after getting a little bloody. They really shouldn't drug up before they go out on a mission........

KingCat

As long as you can get fresh produce at a cheap price makes all the blood in the streets worth it.

D1andonlyDman

Actually, the blood in the streets is mostly coming from distracted drivers using cell phones. FAR more than illegal aliens. And we're still waiting for you to back up your B.S. claim about 80% of the drivers in Hawthorne being Illegal Aliens with some sort of legitimate documentation, as opposed to simply pulling the claim out of your butt.