Are you afraid?

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BillytheKid

BillytheKid

Jun 1, 2011
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I am afraid just driving my car here. Albuquerque is a great place to ride, however, and has many miles of good bike routes and paths, but the city grew a lot in the past 20 years, and the traffic volume has increase to the point some favorite rides are sketchy now. I don't put in the big miles anymore so I have no worries, but you do have to be careful of where you ride. A bike path routes down and back 32k on a levee along the Rio Grande. A great flat one, with flights of Sandhill Cranes and Canada Geese during certain times of the year. You do have to be careful of dog walkers and other folks who seem oblivious of the center-line rule. Great though on rainy days and windy winter days as you will have much of it to yourself.

If you ever vist, here is a map of the city routes. Many have a bike lane. Use caution as they sometimes end abruptly. Be careful out there.
http://www.cabq.gov/parksandrecreation/recreation/bike/bike-map
 
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winkybiker

Jun 30, 2012
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Crackles said:
I very much enjoy reading peoples opinions on cycling and hanging in the background (lurking as you will), but I've been following this case in Brisbane and the verdict finally came down.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/...-richard-pollett/story-e6freoof-1226635894242

Please be careful on your next ride!
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It seems legal to murder someone in Australia, provided you are driving a car or truck and they are riding a bicycle.

It is perhaps more useful to urge the drivers of cement trucks to be more careful. And to urge them to stop killing people.
 
42x16ss

42x16ss

May 23, 2009
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winkybiker said:
It seems legal to murder someone in Australia, provided you are driving a car or truck and they are riding a bicycle.

It is perhaps more useful to urge the drivers of cement trucks to be more careful. And to urge them to stop killing people.
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It doesn't seem legal. It is, just don't be too obvious about it. Doesn't help when our crappy bunch of "shock jocks" posing as media whip up hysteria about dangerous, reckless, aggressive cyclists every slow news day :rolleyes:
 
Ninety5rpm

Ninety5rpm

Mar 18, 2009
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Defensive driving works. It works for motorists. And it works for bicyclists. Even in traffic full of distracted drivers almost all crashes could be avoided by either party involved. That includes you, on a bicycle. Show me someone involved in a crash, and I'll show you someone who was not following defensive driving techniques and practices.

Defensive driving for cyclists is both easier and more challenging. It's easier because our speed tends to be lower. But that lower speed also makes it more challenging, as we have more interactions arriving from behind, and our smaller size makes us less visible and gives us more positioning options. That last one is double-edged sword. Yes, all the positioning options makes it more challenging, but it also makes it possible to make us more conspicuous.

Take a class. Read a book. At least watch some online videos (see my previous posts to this thread). That fear? It can be overcome.
 
42x16ss

42x16ss

May 23, 2009
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MarkvW said:
I wear stupid black thermal tights in the winter. I'd much rather wear lime green with reflective stripes up and down the front and back of each leg. But nobody sells such an obviously useful product. I'm also looking for a rear light that is as bright as my front light-vwith an onoff program that is random. I want a rear light that slightly ****es the oncoming driver off. That will help with everybody except the violent Yahoos.

Route planning is big for me. I really try to avoid bad roads and traffic. Timing is huge. A road that is blissful at 5:00 a.m. can be terrifying three hours later. The worst for me is when I am on a scary road because of my own dumb mistakes--then it's basically f*** it...if you're gonna kill me, you're gonna kill me. And I'm not too proud to ride sidewalks.
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Check out the new stuff from Hincapie. The Edge range has cool bands on the end of the sleeves of the jersey and knicks that is really reflective in low light. I've seen a few guys wearing it locally and thinking of getting some for myself.

For winter you can use these with a base layer/warmers/gillet etc and still look ok.
 
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Leonardus

Feb 23, 2012
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Now I think about it and read some of the stories here I think I'm pretty reckless on my bike. Usually I am very careful and not much of a risk taker but when riding my bike it tends to the opposite. I grew up riding a bike every day in a city like most kids in the Netherlands so being afraid never has been an issue. Everyone pays attention to cyclists because they are simply everywhere in the Netherlands.
But in France it's the same for me, I'm always cautious but it's quite rare to get into a dangerous situation. Especially in the countryside car and truck drivers usually behave very careful when they see me on a small road.
But I also use my bike in the centre of Paris, of course you have to be very cautious and often you have to use bus lanes, and traffic can be pretty crazy but most car drivers are scared to death to hit a cyclist. Plus it's getting more common now so general awareness has also improved a lot in recent years.
The only country where I'm a bit afraid on the road is Italy. Italians are crazy, can't drive, don't care about anything and they think quiet, smaller roads are race tracks. One time I had to dive in a ditch on the side of the road with my bike because some truck drivers were having a race and one tried to overtake the other. Only time I was really scared and was shaking a bit afterwards.
 
Arnout

Arnout

Mar 10, 2009
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Fearless Greg Lemond said:
I am fearless on my bike, always have been. I make cars stop, break or I will kick the mirrors of the car, done it many times. I simply own the road when I go out and ride. I treat my fellow cyclists with utter respect though, just because I see dangerous situations more quickly then others.
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You're serious about this? Then you're an idiot.
 
ustabe

ustabe

Jan 13, 2010
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Carstenbf said:
Middle aged men in neon tights on a powertrip acting out their road rage.

Sure, sounds familiar. And then we wonder why many people harbor anomosity towards cyclists.
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Usually I'm too absorbed in the ride to be afraid or angry. Occasionally I'll catch up with another old guy, and some of them do seem to relish riding farther to the left than necessary, provoking motorists. If I can't drop these guys I'll let them drop me.

A purposeful but amiable demeanor goes a long way. Maybe feeling like I don't have many riding years left makes me too impatient to waste time feeling scared or angry.
 
42x16ss

42x16ss

May 23, 2009
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ustabe said:
Usually I'm too absorbed in the ride to be afraid or angry. Occasionally I'll catch up with another old guy, and some of them do seem to relish riding farther to the left than necessary, provoking motorists. If I can't drop these guys I'll let them drop me.

A purposeful but amiable demeanor goes a long way. Maybe feeling like I don't have many riding years left makes me too impatient to waste time feeling scared or angry.
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I hear you. With cycling starting to really catch on over here it seems that people are getting more polarised on the issue of cyclists on roads. All too often I find that the people who have the most incidents and near misses are the ones who are least experienced and match carstenbf's description.

So many people are buying bikes, smashing them every ride and dismissing the road rules. How hard is it to keep tight and to the left (or right for many) save the hard work for the long country roads or hills and have some patience and awareness?

I'm seeing too many people ride like idiots because every ride must be an uninterrupted smash session :(
 
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winkybiker

Jun 30, 2012
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Zam_Olyas said:
Riding in South Asia/south east asia can be dangerous. imo
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Yes, especially in Australia. Home of the most aggressive, incompetent and inconsiderate drivers on the planet (in my experience). They also have the full protection of the law when they murder cyclists.
 
ElChingon

ElChingon

Mar 10, 2009
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Zam_Olyas said:
Riding in South Asia/south east asia can be dangerous. imo
Click to expand...

Its actually stated as:

Riding on Earth is dangerous.

Otherwise you're just being a Regional-ist, but I guess my statement is Planet-ist :D
 
ustabe

ustabe

Jan 13, 2010
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42x16ss said:
So many people are buying bikes, smashing them every ride and dismissing the road rules. How hard is it to keep tight and to the left (or right for many) save the hard work for the long country roads or hills and have some patience and awareness?
Click to expand...

The whole situation was a lot more polite before we all started wearing helmets and sunglasses, I hate to say. We were more considerate of the safety of the riders around us, and I think the motorists saw us more as people riding bikes rather than damned cyclists.
 
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Dalakhani

Sep 18, 2010
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Jeriko said:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/jun/21/veteran-cyclist-leonard-grayson

The first paragraph is rather infuriating given the contents of the last paragraph.
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9 seconds of not paying attention? And that's what could "happen to any" driver?

Maybe, being a cyclist, I'm a bit too emotive about this. Maybe it's because a driver in my city, who had already been convicted for killing a cyclist, killed another one and walked (see the thread I started about this a couple of months ago). But I see the judges remarks as suggesting that it's simply not safe to cycle and, should you decide to ride a bike, you're usually responsible if you die.
 
RedheadDane

RedheadDane

May 5, 2010
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ustabe said:
The whole situation was a lot more polite before we all started wearing helmets and sunglasses, I hate to say. We were more considerate of the safety of the riders around us, and I think the motorists saw us more as people riding bikes rather than damned cyclists.
Click to expand...

Gotta say that if people aren't considerate towards people not wearing helmets then people are simply idiots!
 
Netserk

Netserk

Apr 30, 2011
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I must say that I feel very safe here in Denmark. Almost every village and city have bike lanes, and drivers are generally careful around cyclists. A lot of people commute on bikes in Denmark, so every driver is used to have cyclists around.

Here where I live (on a farm), there are almost more cyclists than cars on the roads in the summer.

So no, I am not afraid.
 
RedheadDane

RedheadDane

May 5, 2010
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^ Ditto to that! (Except I live in a city...)

Sure, I frequently complain about people parking on the bike lane. But, if my biggest problem is people parking on the bike lane I guess I have it fairly easy! Especially compared to some of you guys!
 
StyrbjornSterki

StyrbjornSterki

Jul 18, 2010
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ustabe said:
The whole situation was a lot more polite before we all started wearing helmets and sunglasses, I hate to say....
Click to expand...
There has been one study documenting that motorists leave a slimmer margin when overtaking a cyclist who is wearing a helmet.

EDIT:
Scientific American: Strange but True: Helmets Attract Cars to Cyclists
Although you might not want to leave your protective gear at home, just know that if you do, drivers will be a lot more scared of hitting you.
 
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