No pelotons on bike/walking paths please

[kppolich]

Strava Flyby that group of bike path goons.

[truth]

Originally Posted by Ciavete

Riding along the recreational bike path in Irvine, CA. Wednesday morning, September 4th. A wannabe peloton group coming the opposite direction tries to pass someone, with the leader seeing me coming and doing the whole hand waving thing to the group behind. But one of the riders in that group doesn't see or care about the hand waving and plows right into me during the attempt to pass. I don't remember my fall, but wound up with a concussion, road rash, a severely bruised hip, a cracked $200+helmet and, worse of all, a scratch on my Joe Bell repainted BIXXIS steel bike. Serious money. The bike's at the repair shop now for a post-crash inspection and repair. Gonna be some more money. I'm recovering off the bike now for a couple of weeks at least during the best riding weather of the year.

I should have gotten names and numbers. But I was flat on my back and disoriented. Somehow managed to get up and ride home, which I have no memory of. A couple of cyclists stopped and kindly checked on me. Whoever hit me disappeared.

Wanna play peloton? Stay on the roads and off the recreational bike & walking paths. Thanks.

I'm sorry that happened to you, that sounds terrible. I hope you fully recover quickly.

[Ciavete]

Thank you all for the kind words, support and counsel. Checking-in with Cento1 on the local riders specifics... maybe I can get my helmet and repairs covered. What an awesome forum.

Wait... there are two other Bixxis riders on this thread!? Doriano De Rosa has built an empire!

[bigbill]

I had a similar situation on the Silver Strand bikeway on Coronado. The winds were stronger than normal from the north so I rode south on the shoulder of Silver Strand Boulevard and took the bikeway north to get home instead of fighting the wind on the Boulevard. A large group came toward me heading south with a tailwind. They were edge to edge on the bikeway. I yelled, waved my arm, and finally had to bail off the bikeway to avoid a head-on. Sometimes cyclists in groups are morons.

[echappist]

Speedy recovery to the OP!

I (NAL) am thinking joint and several liabilities. The group of riders should be easy enough to find. They played some very silly games (including the rider leader who thought it prudent to lead a large group on a path and assume that they can take up almost the entire width of the path while doing so), and all of them should win some very silly prizes.

Sue them all and let the chips fall where they may.

[CNY rider]

Originally Posted by Bob Ross

No, they're not "different", they're clearly the same as groups of cyclists everywhere else in America! I've encountered assholes like this an nearly every state I've cycled.

Hearing this makes me appreciate my little part of upstate NY even more.
We don't have too many cyclists and those we have are mostly good natured and caring.
Now jobs and decent weather may be a different story.....

[EB]

Years ago the local Nextdoor was 50% rants about pathletes in lycra, but they've since moved on to spending 100% their time ranting about teenagers on Super73s.

[fourflys]

Originally Posted by OtayBW

~25 mph on a recreational bike path = no bueno....

to be fair, my story wasn't on a MUT, but while I was in a bike lane alongside Hwy 1.. I just can't believe how trusting (or don't give a sh*t) of me not to alter my line when I had no idea they were back there..

[johnniecakes]

This happens about weekly on the SRT west of Philadelphia. A pack with heads down hammering BTTW weaving around casual bikers, runners, strollers etc. I would love to take some of them into the Pocono mountains and show them a few uphills and see how fast they are then.

[novacyclist]

Originally Posted by Bob Ross

No, they're not "different", they're clearly the same as groups of cyclists everywhere else in America! I've encountered assholes like this an nearly every state I've cycled.

I am returning to cycling after a few decades away and I can constantly reminded that today's cyclists are different then how I/we were back in the 90s/early 2000s. I feel like today's cyclists tend to want to own the road and generally do not have the same respect for fellow cyclists or cars that I saw in a few decades ago. It is disappointing to me.

[ridethecliche]

Heal fast OP.

And yes, the strava flyby info could be really interesting here, especially if it could pinpoint the group that rode by you. I wonder if anyone's ever subpoena'ed them for that kind of info!

Originally Posted by johnniecakes

This happens about weekly on the SRT west of Philadelphia. A pack with heads down hammering BTTW weaving around casual bikers, runners, strollers etc. I would love to take some of them into the Pocono mountains and show them a few uphills and see how fast they are then.

Didn't realize you were a local! Want to show me sometime instead? I'd love checking out some 'kick yer butt' kinda climbs!

[cgolvin]

Originally Posted by Ciavete

Wait... there are two other Bixxis riders on this thread!? Doriano De Rosa has built an empire!

Oh, we're out there.

Alas, I went searching the gallery to admire yours but imagine my disappointment.

BTW, @Cento1 is known around here as "the mayor of Orange County" so I'm optimistic he can help.

[Turkle]

Originally Posted by cgolvin

BTW, @Cento1 is known around here as "the mayor of Orange County" so I'm optimistic he can help.

I really hope so. We cyclists have to endure so much from impatient and aggressive drivers, and the scorn of the general public, we absolutely have to take care of each other better than this.

And if we are riding on an MUP we need to be maximally respectful of all the others that are using the path.

I know that when my local club needs to use an MUP to bridge between roads, we keep the pace down, but there are some bad offenders here too. I will bring it up with the cycling club leadership here.

[Ciavete]

Originally Posted by cgolvin

Oh, we're out there.

Alas, I went searching the gallery to admire yours but imagine my disappointment.

BTW, @Cento1 is known around here as "the mayor of Orange County" so I'm optimistic he can help.

I hope to make it up to you.



The steel fork was made by Dave Kirk, painted by JB, who eyeballed it to match. A tad heavier but I like the steel fork ride.

[dmitrik4]

Originally Posted by prototoast

Mistakes happen, but I'm pretty shocked a person just hit you and left you concussed on the ground.

In this case, I recommend filing a police report. I know you talk about the helmet and bike paint damage, but medical bills can be orders of magnitude more expensive. It's not unreasonable to think you might need follow-up visits and therapy to help you recover. If any of these injuries inhibits your ability to do your job, lost wages may also be a factor.

I also recommend reaching out to your local cycling community to see if you can connect with people who may know who was involved. If that was a group ride, they may come by the same place at the same time daily or weekly. Strava flybys (you should have been so lucky for it to have been a flyby) can also help to identify.

I don't know if the damages will be large enough for an attorney to get involved, but it may be worth at least an inquiry.

Yes, all of this. The Strava data is also a good idea; I have no doubt they regularly receive subpoenas for that kind of data.