This one is totally serious. No sarcasm, wise guy comments, or goofing around… the subject matter demands too much respect for that and I hope you all agree. Ok... there will be sarcasm... but no goofing around!
So, let’s get to it…
Earlier this week, I participated in a group ride with about 10 other fairly seasoned riders. We were about 10 miles into a 40 + mile ride. We were on a 2 lane back road, strung out single file… traveling at close to 25mph… we were all sitting as close to the solid white line as possible, so I can honestly say at the moment, we weren’t impeding traffic.
I was on the Fleas’ wheel and that’s when “it” happened.
A car passed at high speed, then abruptly cut out to the left and then just as abruptly cut in to the right and then alarmingly attempted to run over 4 of us, as she tried to get into her driveway.
At the last possible second she locked up her brakes, causing the tires to smoke like hell… and then she hammered the horn…
It all happened so fast! I didn't have the chance to shout out a warning, never mind flip her off... I was too busy dodging the bumper of the car... all I saw was the Saab hood emblem...and felt the heat from the grill of her car.
She clearly felt it was our duty to have stopped and let her into her driveway. She was pissed... we were pissed.... thank God no one was hurt or dead! We just dodged a bullet.
Every year the sad reality is, cyclists get hurt or killed due to accidents just like what almost took place a few nights ago … some accidents due to the fault of the drivers, some accidents due the fault of the cyclists.
So… let’s talk about what we can do to protect ourselves… And the answer isn’t to start carrying guns... although the state of NH would clearly allow us to do so.
We as cyclist have to get smarter and be a little more courteous and yes… even a little less arrogant at times. Because, there are situations where we do own some of the blame. We are responsible for our own safety out there.
Last night was not our fault... and the jerk I described above and others like her, I despise... more than words can describe. To be candid, there is very little that gets me angrier and can incite me to riot than an asshole behind the wheel of a car, who is so casual and careless with the lives of others.
But come on… There are some situations of bad road riding etiquette, that we unwittingly play into, that result in a butterfly effect: The driver gets a case of the butt, makes a bone head move in their car, puts us in danger, other drivers in harms way, worse yet… they continue to take it out on some unsuspecting rider up the road who had nothing to do with anything… they just happened to be the dog that gets kicked because this moron had a bad moment.
We can't fix the drivers who will "never get it"... but we can each improve just a little and increase our own odds of dodging another bullet and that means another day of riding.
So... Let's work together on this...
As a reminder, here’s a few group riding rules of etiquette that are good to keep in mind:
The Ride Leader should know how many people are in the group before the ride departs and take a count at each stop... know if they are leaving someone on the road
Although some state laws allows 2 abreast riding on roads, riding single file is the safest… use your heads when riding 2 abreast
Advise when a car is back
Advise when a pedestrian is on the road, or a car is parked on the road
Stay alert at all times... don't drone off into some weird zone
NO Time Trial bars in a group ride... EVER!
Hold your line
Don’t overlap wheels
Don’t look back! EVER!
Relax!! Over gripping the bars translates into twitching riding
Focus on the rider(s) ahead
Beware of pot holes in the road and shout them out
Don’t brake unless absolutely necessary
Pass carefully
Always move through the pace-line at a steady pace and make sure you are clear of the front rider before pulling off
Clothing removal, etc. should take place when you are in the back of the pace line…
If you are hassled by a car and have time to take a picture with your cell phone, of their license plate... take it and then send it to the local police department.
The world of cycling is a family... Let’s work hard at lowering the statistics of cyclists injuries and deaths this year by doing our part
and lets keep dodging the bullets.
What we do is suppose to be fun. Let’s keep it that way. I would hate to have to deliver this blog to your hospital bed… or worse yet, write it from MY hospital bed!
Have a great Easter.
Have fun out there, ride safe.
I’ll talk with you all soon.
The Peanut Gallery
