#1
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The Fear -- Great Essay on CyclingTips
https://cyclingtips.com/2018/10/jra-...sian-the-fear/
I really like James' writing, and this one is particularly good. Surprisingly, the comments section is worth reading too. Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
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Io non posso vivere senza la mia strada e la mia bici -- DP |
#2
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Thanks for that...
Like the author, I push the idea of accidents to the back of my mind, but sometimes the thoughts make themselves felt. I still remember one of my old racing buddies telling me about why he quit riding on the road--he was a shop rat, and sold a new bike to a particularly lovely young woman (instant crush). A day later she was dead, crowded between the curb and a trolly bus and run over by the back wheels... He just stopped riding. |
#3
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It is a good essay, well worth a read. Their situation is very similar to my wife's and I, finding time to ride while having a toddler. However, one day back in May I got a phone call that my wife had been hit by a car while riding and she was being loaded in the ambulance.
Thankfully she just suffered a broken sacrum and some bruising. Her Specialized Amira was broken in half. Unfortunately, in the past two years a couple of guys I rode with back in Florida were killed by distracted drivers while riding. I thought about it and decided I didn't want to put my wife or child through that. I had been road riding off and on for 30 years, sold the road bike and that was that. Please don't take this as a "get off the road" post. I just felt it was the right decision for me at this particular time in my life. Maybe one day I'll get back on the road. |
#4
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Fear can cause anxiety which makes riding unhealthy but a therapist has helped me over the last year to start riding after my traumatic brain injury in 2011 .i am riding again fear free but I ride where there is little /no traffic bike paths only but I have to keep a lookout for tourists on rental bikes
Cheers
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Life is perfect when you Ride your bike on back roads Last edited by Fixed; 10-23-2018 at 01:15 PM. |
#5
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Very timely for me, as I’ve really made a big shift in riding habits this past year. I’m 57, secure and comfortable, with grown kids and the “empty nest” years to look forward to with my spouse. While I’ve ALWAYS been a roadie, what I see happening on the roads during my 70 mile r/t commute each day has really made me nervous. It’s pretty much a daily occurrence to see cars veering side to side, driving 55 in a 70 zone in the left lane, tailgating, etc. almost always because they aren’t paying attention. Can’t tell you how often I actually see the driver on their phones, oblivious to what’s going on around them. And it’s not limited to the highways ... it’s just as bad in the urban areas (even in my decidedly rural area of WI). So, I sold the Roubaix and bought a gravel bike and a fattie. I still enjoy riding the roads, but now it’s usually just to get from my front door to the gravel. I also started riding with front and rear daytime lights,which I would have never even considered in the past. All in all, I can honestly say I’m enjoying myself in the bike more this year than I have in a while. YMMV, of course, and I’m not advocating that everyone gives up riding the road (or even can, depending on where you live). But for me, it’s been a good thing!
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#6
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Yep, fear is always I in the back of the mind. too many near misses, some my fault, some not.
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Cuando era joven |
#7
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I instinctively turn off any fear as soon as I throw my leg over my bike.
Don't get me wrong, I ride conservatively and keep a way eye out for cars. I was hit about 7 years ago and got lucky to escape with basically no injuries and a bent rear wheel. 100% the drivers fault, he should have gotten a ticket, but he wasn't moving fast enough to do serious damage to me so I got lucky. I just don't ever have thoughts running through my head like he's putting in italics in the article. My wife doesn't really give me a hard time. It probably helps she rides about 50 days a year maybe. Not as much as me but enough she's not clueless. She doesn't really "get" proper defensive cycling out on the road and is more likely to stay in the woods/on trails/use sidewalks than I am but she knows enough to not be terribly afraid. The only place we have any conflict is teaching our son how to ride... she sometimes wants to do things like use sidewalks and such with him in ways that are basically training him to end up not being an intelligent/safe cyclist because she doesn't really understand where the risks lie. Good article though. I don't think much of this is that different between bicyclists and motorcyclists.. all of us exist on a spectrum of behavior/fear/comfort. If you're a 1 you're too afraid to ride. If you're a 10 you're a total idiot who is afraid of nothing and engages in all kinds of risky behavior out on the road. The successful riders must fall somewhere in the middle... no fear, but careful, don't let their head get away from them, don't get distracted, and ride within the rules. I've probably shifted my balance a little more towards dirt but not much, I always had some dirt in the mix. And an awful lot of the new stupid behaviors with the smartphones can be seen a mile away so if you're riding defensively you have plenty of time to recognize a bad driver and make moves to keep yourself safe. I'm 41.. there is also a big flipside that if I slow down my cycling at all I really start to feel less healthy/energetic pretty quick. We might become more aware of risks as we get older but the benefits seemingly get bigger the older you get. Anyone I know who is a cyclist seems to be aging a lot slower than our sedentary friends. It wasn't noticeable in my 20s but by the time I hit 40 it started becoming pretty dramatic. Last edited by benb; 10-23-2018 at 01:32 PM. |
#8
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Patricia Hall (Mike Hall's mum)
https://road.cc/content/news/249194-...atal-collision Quote:
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#9
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Read that. While I agree that things aren't nearly as good as they were when I first started riding, I'm not going to be scared. I REFUSE to be scared.
Aware? Sure Assertive when I need to be? Yup Use hand signals to communicate? For sure Scared? Nope. The Golden BB is going to get me one of these days. I need to make sure my ducks are in a row, and there's enough insurance to cover me M |
#10
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I TRY not to think about it. Hard when you wound up your professional life working for a firm that specialized in injured cyclists. My sig other rides, but is very careful and prudent. I'm more of a guy that will leave for 50 without my flasher if I have a reasonably visible jersey on. She accepts it, despite the fact that a month after I moved in I trashed a motorcycle and spent 3 months in rehab, the first not moving much of anything.
The distracted driver thing does freak me. Have seen it in action. But what's much worse is usually the stuff you can control if you're on your game. The two worst accidents I've seen were both cyclists riding from west to east at 8pm and hammering. Both got left turned by responsible drivers that couldn't see them. They got avoidable helicopter rides, due to a lack of situational awareness. Cycling has always been a "selfish" endeavor, particularly this aspect. |
#11
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Quote:
I agree getting hit will always be possibility, but we can change things! - cycling infrastructure can be improved - riders can be more visible (with lights + clothing) - drivers can change (don't drive like a jackass, be more attentive) Maybe this particular column was a "pick me up" piece of writing in reaction to a bad accident, but I feel we should channel the fear into productive solutions. Last edited by slowpoke; 10-23-2018 at 05:53 PM. |
#12
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Fear is an industry to writers. Passed on reading it, and instead enjoyed the ride that I did for my own reasons, on my own terms.
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#13
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Quote:
I listened to a podcast with Rebecca Rusch last night on her "Blood Road" documentary - many parallels - harboring hate doesn't fix problems or undo the past..
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Io non posso vivere senza la mia strada e la mia bici -- DP |
#14
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Personal experience based on 35+ years on riding paints a different story for me. Distracts due to the proliferation of mobile and in-car devices plus more aggressive drivers may have made roads more hazardous for cyclists. Not my imagination, Bicycling magazine stated last year that the rate of cyclist deaths is rising faster than other groups, including drivers and pedestrians. The increase in these fatalities is only partially attributed to more bicyclists. The primary reason drivers give when involved in an accident causing a cyclist death was they did not see the rider.
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#15
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That's a very good essay.
Interesting range of responses to it here... all the way from 'I won't stoop to read it' and 'whatever made that dude nervous?', to those who are a bit less reactive and maybe more thoughtful. I was involved in a serious accident in 2015, broken neck, broken back, skull fracture, broken rib, broken nose, complex facial injuries, etc, etc.... and to make it even worse, my wife was out of town at the time. She still has some PTSD, relives the phone call from the ER and the evening of chaotic efforts to get home. She had been buzzed at 60 mph by some teenagers the year prior on a rural road a few miles from our home so had given up almost all road riding at that point. Since my accident, she's asked me not to ride the open road, so now I'm on paths, do some off-road/gravel and in-city riding. Still get over 4K miles in annually and I like hills... so don't worry too much about my fitness... still getting my endorphin fix. I'm semi-retired so have a bit more free time to ride than many others here. I really do miss the lovely rural roads of southwestern Wisconsin. Yet it's important to me that she can sleep at night. If I'm honest with myself, especially as the Madison area grows rapidly and those lovely roads get more congested (as well as more pot-holed and broken up at the edges), I have to admit it's more dangerous than it was just 3 yrs ago. As the Huang piece points out, it's not just about you. Loved ones take on the risks of cycling also... without the benefits.
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Old... and in the way. |
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