tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3449788532742031864.post4594573142389075925..comments2023-05-24T09:41:52.181-04:00Comments on Running In the Yard Next Door: Can't We All Just Get Along?Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12044041773404411751noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3449788532742031864.post-83940185766525114872012-08-20T19:21:28.794-04:002012-08-20T19:21:28.794-04:00Wow, Flutter, that's pretty gruesome. . .
I&#...Wow, <b>Flutter</b>, that's pretty gruesome. . .<br /><br />I've been passed at pretty close range by gravel-haulers lots of times, but I've never felt anything like that kind of 'suction'. Maybe I'm just bigger than that poor guy was. . .<br /><br />My two cardinal principles for riding in traffic:<br />(1) visibility, and (2) predictability. Make sure the vehicle traffic can see me (which sometimes means that I ride a tad 'bolder' than might seem intuitive), and try like hell to make sure that the drivers know what you're gonna do next. It's guys like Xavier's 'Flyer' that end up dead too soon. . .<br /><br />I could also add a 'Zeroth' priniclple of riding in city traffic: Don't ride in city traffic. If you MUST ride in city traffic, ride as little as you can in city traffic. If you have no choice, look for less-heavily traveled routes. Riding down a busy four-lane thoroughfare at rush-hour is craziness. . .Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12044041773404411751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3449788532742031864.post-6324472182230470372012-08-20T18:28:58.496-04:002012-08-20T18:28:58.496-04:00I always watch with unabashed admiration those cyc...I always watch with unabashed admiration those cyclist around our city which navigate the urban ebb and flow of traffic; hand signals and their bravado their only recourse.<br /><br />Personally, as a driver I get a little nervy driving alongside a cyclist. Some macabre corner of my mind is witnessing the bicycle tire swerve, lose purchase and slide/spin under my wheels the entire time. I chalk it up to a particularly grisly accident that happened on a bridge in the town I grew up in. A cyclist got sucked in by the updraft (wrong term, but you know what I mean...) of a semi trailer that passed by in the next lane. The pavement was stained for some time afterwards and needless to say it made an impression on my young mind. flutterbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17460436620025386593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3449788532742031864.post-56127781869356181222012-08-18T10:55:10.410-04:002012-08-18T10:55:10.410-04:00(*sigh*)
Yeah, the mix of bikes and cars is a dif...<i>(*sigh*)</i><br /><br />Yeah, the mix of bikes and cars is a difficult one, even if everyone did perfectly what they 'should' do. Alas, some of us are not so 'perfect' as all that. . .<br /><br />And hey, I WISH I had that kind of power. . . (or, you know, maybe not. . .)Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12044041773404411751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3449788532742031864.post-79964531888173740612012-08-17T16:55:22.421-04:002012-08-17T16:55:22.421-04:00Ironically I nearly wasted 'one of you' th...Ironically I nearly wasted 'one of you' the morning after my comment. Was tooling on my ride to work and approached a biker on the shoulder who was, in turn, approaching someone at a mailbox. For some unexplainable reason the biker 'flew' to the middle of the road. Fortunately no one but me was coming or going so I whipped right around him instead of, you know, SPLAT!! <br /><br />And all i could think of was "Did Craig send him to test me?" ;-)<br /><br />Yes, I have been working too many long days and nights. Why do you ask?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3449788532742031864.post-56001137581436736952012-08-15T22:27:43.615-04:002012-08-15T22:27:43.615-04:00Xavier - Wow; I had no idea. I would ride much mo...<b>Xavier</b> - Wow; I had no idea. I would ride much more conscientiously if I'd known I was bearing your vicarious burden. . .<br /><br />Sounds like you've got a few of the same guys I've met, out your way. . .<br /><br /><b>Lime</b> - Yeah, that's an unfortunate set of parameters y'all are stuck with. Mr. Lime has been hit twice? Ouch!<br /><br />Actually, the time I was probably most fearful on my bike was when a couple of gravel-haulers were converging, from opposite directions, on the spot where I was riding, on a narrow shoulderless stretch of road. I just rolled off into the weeds that time, and waited for my adrenaline to go back to normal. . .<br /><br />Flogging with bicycle chains. . . I could get behind that. . . Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12044041773404411751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3449788532742031864.post-8145238688891661542012-08-15T21:58:50.789-04:002012-08-15T21:58:50.789-04:00our area is absolutely horrid for cyclists (curvy,...our area is absolutely horrid for cyclists (curvy, hilly mountain roads with scant shoulders and aggressive city drivers)....and my husband and son are both avid cyclists. my husband has been hit twice. i pray...a lot.<br /><br />your last example, the dribbles from humanity's dick, they just need to be flogged....with bike chains.limehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17259558876349307173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3449788532742031864.post-71914459525066675282012-08-15T21:06:44.939-04:002012-08-15T21:06:44.939-04:00I've tried to be inspired by your travels enou...I've tried to be inspired by your travels enough to get back in the game myself but alas, work keeps me hanging on late at night so I bike through you. ;)<br /><br />My second bike was one of those Raleigh 3-speeds complete with fenders. I was fortunate to have 2 occasions when drivers thought it would be fun to push me using the rear fender. Fortunate to not have been run over, that is. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3449788532742031864.post-54159283665434002952012-08-15T15:10:12.403-04:002012-08-15T15:10:12.403-04:00Suldog - "dribbles from humanity's dick&q...<b>Suldog</b> - <i>"dribbles from humanity's dick"</i>. . .<br /><br />I was gonna go with 'asswipes', but I'm OK with your version. . .<br /><br />I'm very cautious about riding in the city, and I'll go a fair bit out of my way for the sake of a safer (wider, less-traveled) route thru the urbanity.<br /><br />I have had it pointed out to me that, even though my rights to the road might be equal to any motor vehicle's, I am much worse off if it comes down to a direct contest over whose rights will prevail. So, while I generally ride fairly assertively, aiming for visibility, and letting the drivers know what my plans are, I will happily yield if a driver decides he doesn't like my plan. . .<br /><br />I am punctilious about red lights in town, altho in the absence of cross-traffic, I will sometimes run a red light, just so as to eliminate confusion as to what happens when the light turns green. Standing at a red light in the bike lane, while the car to your left is signaling a right turn, is a dicey situation.Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12044041773404411751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3449788532742031864.post-76517410966485997232012-08-15T13:00:39.439-04:002012-08-15T13:00:39.439-04:00Lots to comment on here, but the last tale burns m...Lots to comment on here, but the last tale burns me up more than some of the others you described. What sort of dribbles from humanity's dick would do something like that and find it funny? Amazing. No matter how many times I hear of stuff like that, it always sickens me anew.<br /><br />I hang out, electronically speaking, at a place called Universal Hub, a website devoted to Boston news stories and other interesting tidbits of the day. Any time bicycles are mentioned, an astounding debate begins in the comments, militant bicyclists haranguing obtuse motorists, as well as vice-versa, and it's always a fun read (if one likes to hear nominally adult infants squabbling.)<br /><br />If you have some time, you might find it instructive concerning Boston's vehicular traffic, should you ever be of a mind to come here and try cycling the cowpaths, er, streets.<br /><br />http://www.universalhub.com/node/28965<br />(among others)Suldoghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07778845367184916684noreply@blogger.com