On 6/19/2018 1:37 PM, jbeattie wrote:
On Tuesday, June 19, 2018 at 10:00:31 AM UTC-7, duane wrote:
On 19/06/2018 12:33 PM, jbeattie wrote:
On Monday, June 18, 2018 at 11:52:11 PM UTC-7, Sepp Ruf wrote:
jbeattie wrote:
People can crash just riding along -- even the mayor.
https://bikeportland.org/2017/11/16/portland-mayor-ted-wheeler-breaks-ribs-in-bicycle-crash-254716

The mayor's statement indicates that his braking action could have been
executed in a more careful manner. Just as a random $89.85 for a "quality"
helmet could have been better spent on tires working well in Portland
November, the 5.885 extra seconds (compared to a wet-weather hat) Mr. Walker
spent adjusting his foam hijab would have been better spent to initiate his
braking earlier. And, as this thread has already been driven deep into ribs
helmet advocacy territory, I'll boldly claim there is a corresponding 85%
chance Mr. Wheeler was not using the area of the road regularly cleaned by
car tires in his maneuver.

You can boldly claim whatever you want, but as you can see, Mr. Wheeler rides big rubber. He was riding the same roads where I fell and broke ribs and whacked my head, which is the usual fall mechanism when you have a low side crash on 100 year old broken cement pavement that has been reduced to polished rock -- with a river running down a 7-15% grade. Wheel tracks are just channels. Alternative route to work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJRnwgPa6rM&t=119s (including trail). Coming down is tricky when it is storming. I was doing nothing unusual when I crashed -- on worn-in 28mm tires, JRA. Scene of the crime: https://tinyurl.com/yagxzbws Flip around and check out the pavement -- it's enough to loosen your fillings.


Meh, that would be a luxury road in Quebec. Check around Morin Heights,
Sutton or more north toward Tremblant. You spend hours climbing and
then have to brake on the descents because of the potholes.

I've been riding next to skilled riders who crashed on the same road in the same place in the same turn at the same moderate speed just because they hit some unseen turtle **** or moss. You try to stay out from under the trees, but some places that's impossible. Whatever you views on helmets, every crash is not a matter of rider ineptitude.



Well you could have been creeping along looking for the turtle **** or
moss. Or you could refuse to ride roads with tree cover.

I'm actually a level four instructor (with oak leaf cluster) of turtle-****/moss detection, certified by the Slick Roads Cycling Academy. I now train other instructors -- "Listen up group -- tree level five, moss hazard orange!" We also have special hand signals. I can send you course materials if you're interested. We also have a certification in pot hole detection and avoidance. "Group -- pot hole level six, maximum hazard avoidance protocol!" I can't disclose the protocol because it is copyrighted, but it will prevent you from hitting another pot hole in your life, even in Quebec, or up there, le hole du pot.

Back in my most avid motorcycling days, my riding buddies and I had a
sort of hand signal to warn following riders about gravel patches.
Again, on a motorcycle I'm also very careful.

My crash record on motorcycles is very similar to my bicycle experience.
One low speed fall when a bungee holding my briefcase popped loose and I
did a bad job bringing the bike to a stop while trying to keep the
briefcase out of the wheel. One low speed off-road fall pulling out from
under a bridge after a thunderstorm, when I learned that wet railroad
tracks have zero coefficient of friction. Never an injury, except a
minor burn from a hot engine or exhaust pipe.

I leave it to the reader to guess how many car crashes I've had. ;-)

--
- Frank Krygowski