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#1
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Most Dangerous: Cars, Dogs, Kids on Wheels, Other Bikers, Pedestrians?
I did a 55 minute training ride this evening, just shaking into adult
bicycling still. I've gotten in about three weeks of riding so far. Two weeks back, I put stirrups on the pedals, because of an old ACL injury - finally getting used to them. So how did I wind up dumping myself in the grass, you ask? Dog. In fact, got charged three times by the same dog, cussed out by the owner of the dog because I made the mistake of trying to herd the nasty little guy back to his even nastier owner (not the dog's fault his owner is a moron, I figure) because she thought I was 'attacking' her dog with my bike. Ummm, yeah, you can't even catch up with the dog in your tennies, you think I can in bike cleats? So, I get cussed, dog eventually loses interest in person standing behind bike telling him authoritatively he is a 'bad dog', 'sit', and 'go home!' (not that he listened), I ride slowly off, watching. Sure enough, he loops around owner and owner's kids, comes back for more fun. I manage to ward him off, but in process, go down in the grass. No injuries, 'cept my pride. Owner left behind in the interim. Dog goes off to another street. I cycle back to owner, tell her 'charged me again, dumped me this time, now he's over on (nearby street's name).' Ride off while owner is gaping because I came back to tell her where her lost dog was. How do you rank the most common dangers you encounter by risk? Meaning not just severity (cars!) but frequency (kids!). I'm not yet riding on the Real Roads, but when I do I suppose I'll be missing that nasty little dog in comparison to the traffic. Zia |
#2
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Most Dangerous: Cars, Dogs, Kids on Wheels, Other Bikers, Pedestrians?
"Ziactrice" wrote in message oups.com... So, I get cussed, dog eventually loses interest in person standing behind bike telling him authoritatively he is a 'bad dog', 'sit', and 'go home!' (not that he listened), I ride slowly off, watching. Sure enough, he loops around owner and owner's kids, comes back for more fun. I manage to ward him off, but in process, go down in the grass. No injuries, 'cept my pride. Owner left behind in the interim. Dog goes off to another street. I cycle back to owner, tell her 'charged me again, dumped me this time, now he's over on (nearby street's name).' Ride off while owner is gaping because I came back to tell her where her lost dog was. How do you rank the most common dangers you encounter by risk? Meaning not just severity (cars!) but frequency (kids!). I'm not yet riding on the Real Roads, but when I do I suppose I'll be missing that nasty little dog in comparison to the traffic. Depends on the route. I don't know why but I am very fortunate in my dog encounters. In over a decade I can think of only 3 serious charges by dogs and two were from the same dog. Most ignore me. A few give a half-hearted and friendly chase. The most troublesome from my perspective is the dog in a fenced yard who charges maniacally towards you to defend his territory. He can't get at you but he can startle you into an accident. At least with dogs on the trail/road you see them and can be prepared. The biggest problem with kids and dogs is the potential for both to dart in an unexpected direction suddenly. I think kids are more prone to that. Most adults seem more likely to plod along in one direction. The problem with cars can be eliminated 90% by well-designed roads. Of course it's the other 10% that can kill you just as dead. As for getting ready to ride in traffic: It is just a matter of acclimatization. You get used to it. |
#3
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Most Dangerous: Cars, Dogs, Kids on Wheels, Other Bikers, Pedestrians?
Ziactrice wrote:
How do you rank the most common dangers you encounter by risk? Meaning not just severity (cars!) but frequency (kids!). I'm not yet riding on the Real Roads, but when I do I suppose I'll be missing that nasty little dog in comparison to the traffic. Around here (MA) dogs seem much less of a problem than what's reported from some other locales. Most studies will show that cyclists are their own biggest danger. Most crashes involve just the rider. |
#4
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Most Dangerous: Cars, Dogs, Kids on Wheels, Other Bikers, Pedestrians?
Ziactrice wrote:
How do you rank the most common dangers you encounter by risk? Meaning not just severity (cars!) but frequency (kids!). I'm not yet riding on the Real Roads, but when I do I suppose I'll be missing that nasty little dog in comparison to the traffic. Roads: Inattentive drivers with or without cell-phones. Bike trails: Inattentive pedestrians with or without dogs. Power-walkers who go 3 abreast and talk too loudly to hear anyone else ("on your left ...ON YOUR LEFT ...HEY!! I'M COMING BY ON YOUR LEFT!!!") Regarding dogs, there is one little rascal in my area who lives next to a popular cycling road. He'll charge across his yard in a barking frenzy and grind to an abrupt halt right at his driveway's edge. Never sets a paw on the road, but looks for all the world like he'll shoot right into you. I think it gives his life meaning to startle the %$#! out of unwary cyclists. I'm used to him so it puts a smile on my face every time I see him. His house was at mile ~60 of a century ride a few years back. I swear I thought he was cheering me on. :-) -JR |
#5
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Most Dangerous: Cars, Dogs, Kids on Wheels, Other Bikers, Pedestrians?
SlowRider wrote:
Ziactrice wrote: How do you rank the most common dangers you encounter by risk? Meaning not just severity (cars!) but frequency (kids!). I'm not yet riding on the Real Roads, but when I do I suppose I'll be missing that nasty little dog in comparison to the traffic. Roads: Inattentive drivers with or without cell-phones. Bike trails: Inattentive pedestrians with or without dogs. Power-walkers who go 3 abreast and talk too loudly to hear anyone else ("on your left ...ON YOUR LEFT ...HEY!! I'M COMING BY ON YOUR LEFT!!!") Why would anyone train on a multi-use path? The one I'm most familiar with is overrun with kindergarteners on bikes, college students rollerblading, iPodded joggers, construction equipment, neighbors talking, . . . Training on it seems nothing short of remarkably foolish to me. Scott |
#6
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Most Dangerous: Cars, Dogs, Kids on Wheels, Other Bikers, Pedestrians?
Scott L wrote:
Why would anyone train on a multi-use path? The one I'm most familiar with is overrun with kindergarteners on bikes, college students rollerblading, iPodded joggers, construction equipment, neighbors talking, . . . Training on it seems nothing short of remarkably foolish to me. Training on a bike path might indeed be nuts, but I said nothing about training. I use the bike path as a conduit to bypass some dangerous intersections on the way to my favorite roads. It's where I do the warm-up/recovery part of my ride, and amounts to barely 2-3 miles each way. However, it's nowhere near as crowded as the one you describe. Yikes, if it were that overrun with people/equipment I might not use it at all. -JR |
#7
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Most Dangerous: Cars, Dogs, Kids on Wheels, Other Bikers, Pedestrians?
I ran over a dog once. It charged at me in a corner, went under the
rear wheel, and then yelped as it ran back from whence it came. It was about mile 60 of a 96 mile bike marathon raising moolah for cancer or something. I was around 13 and riding a Ross 10 speed, and so the combination of youthfull skill and quickness, combined with a heavy steel wheeled bike, ensured that I stayed on course. |
#8
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Most Dangerous: Cars, Dogs, Kids on Wheels, Other Bikers, Pedestrians?
In article .com,
"Ziactrice" writes: How do you rank the most common dangers you encounter by risk? Meaning not just severity (cars!) but frequency (kids!). Well, I'd put jaywalkers right up near, if not the top of the list. I don't know if they think bicycles "don't matter" since bikes are smaller than cars, or if they just don't visually register the presence of oncoming bicycles. And a lot of 'em underestimate the speeds and stopping distances of bikes. cheers, Tom -- -- Nothing is safe from me. Above address is just a spam midden. I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca |
#9
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Most Dangerous: Cars, Dogs, Kids on Wheels, Other Bikers, Pedestrians?
Tom Keats wrote: In article .com, "Ziactrice" writes: How do you rank the most common dangers you encounter by risk? Meaning not just severity (cars!) but frequency (kids!). Well, I'd put jaywalkers right up near, if not the top of the list. I don't know if they think bicycles "don't matter" since bikes are smaller than cars, or if they just don't visually register the presence of oncoming bicycles. And a lot of 'em underestimate the speeds and stopping distances of bikes. I had a couple Jaywalkers sneer at me just the other day--walked out in front of me when I was about 2 seconds from them. I swerved and went behind them and they made "gosh" sounds. This is in a town in Connecticut (where walkers have absolute rights if they are in a crosswalk) where they were not in the crosswalk--they were just too lazy to either (a) wait for traffic to pass or (b) walk an extra 30 yards to get to the crosswalk. |
#10
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Most Dangerous: Cars, Dogs, Kids on Wheels, Other Bikers, Pedestrians?
bill wrote:
Tom Keats wrote: In article .com, "Ziactrice" writes: How do you rank the most common dangers you encounter by risk? Meaning not just severity (cars!) but frequency (kids!). Well, I'd put jaywalkers right up near, if not the top of the list. I don't know if they think bicycles "don't matter" since bikes are smaller than cars, or if they just don't visually register the presence of oncoming bicycles. And a lot of 'em underestimate the speeds and stopping distances of bikes. I had a couple Jaywalkers sneer at me just the other day--walked out in front of me when I was about 2 seconds from them. I swerved and went behind them and they made "gosh" sounds. This is in a town in Connecticut (where walkers have absolute rights if they are in a crosswalk) where they were not in the crosswalk--they were just too lazy to either (a) wait for traffic to pass or (b) walk an extra 30 yards to get to the crosswalk. You could have always used the football move and straight armed one in the throat, clothes lined him. That would have put a stop to that as long as it didn't take you off the bike and you would have 2 to deal with. I have an excess of adrenalin, and it comes out in the presence of idiots. Not for everyone. Bill Baka |
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