No pelotons on bike/walking paths please

[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.

[vav]

I 100% agree with you. Only I'd be more worried about the concussion than the scratch on the bike.

[ColonelJLloyd]

Originally Posted by Ciavete

I should have gotten names and numbers. But I was flat on my back and disoriented.

Ugh! Yeah, but hindsight is 20/20. Johnny Road Racer should have to foot the bill for the helmet, bike repair, etc.

[marciero]

Sorry to hear. The guy(s) just left you there? That borders on criminal.

[Turkle]

Originally Posted by marciero

Sorry to hear. The guy(s) just left you there? That borders on criminal.

Wow, this is my takeaway too. I can't imagine slamming into someone on my bike and just riding away! And the rest of the peloton group let it happen? What is wrong with these people??

Wishing you a speedy recovery!

[fourflys]

having lived in San Diego for 6 yrs, I can tell you that groups of cyclists down in SoCal are "different".. I was riding along the bike path on Hwy 1 one day (just north of Del Mar for those who know) and had a group pass by me at high speed, super close to where I could certainly feel the "draft" as they went by.. now this in itself isn't that big of a deal, the thing I found super interesting was there was zero indication from them that they were coming up and I had no idea they were there until they passed me.. I was probably doing somewhere around 15 mph and they were probably some at least 10 mph faster.. if I would have varied my line a bit, I would have taken the while group down and probably would have been some serious injuries!

I'm just saying, give a rider a "on your left" once in a while!

heal up soon Ciavete!

[Waldo62]

Similar close calls with groups on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. Wishing you a quick and complete recovery.

[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.

[Bob Ross]

Originally Posted by fourflys

having lived in San Diego for 6 yrs, I can tell you that groups of cyclists down in SoCal are "different"..

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.

[OtayBW]

Originally Posted by fourflys

having lived in San Diego for 6 yrs, I can tell you that groups of cyclists down in SoCal are "different".. I was riding along the bike path on Hwy 1 one day (just north of Del Mar for those who know) and had a group pass by me at high speed, super close to where I could certainly feel the "draft" as they went by.. now this in itself isn't that big of a deal, the thing I found super interesting was there was zero indication from them that they were coming up and I had no idea they were there until they passed me.. I was probably doing somewhere around 15 mph and they were probably some at least 10 mph faster.. if I would have varied my line a bit, I would have taken the while group down and probably would have been some serious injuries!

I'm just saying, give a rider a "on your left" once in a while!

heal up soon Ciavete!

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.

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

[cgolvin]

First and foremost, glad it wasn't worse and good luck healing up quickly.

Good advice from @prototoast regarding local clubs and Strava flybys -- I used flyby to track down the sh*tstain who I encountered recently climbing a one way descent. Though, if successful, I recommend being more diplomatic than I was (not proud of that), especially since you'll be unlikely to single out the individual who hit you.

[cento1]

Sorry to hear about your accident,Do you have an exact or specific location of the bike path or street lane,I can help to find the group.I live in Irvine and knew all the group rides here.Let me know or private message me.

[Alistair]

x3 on finding the group and maybe even rider. If nothing else, if there's a group sponsor/club, they need to be made aware their riders are assholes.

I stopped doing one local ride that spent too much time on the MUP in big groups. Not safe, not fun.

[tuxbailey]

I know they don't have the best reputation, but I would recommend cameras front and back for crashes. I use Fly12 and Fly6 CE (old versions by now.) At least it will help me document for insurance purposes.

[fignon's barber]

I see this type of crap all the time on the MUT here. I'd try to find the person. It shouldn't be too hard to find the group, then I'd assume there was at least one decent human in that group who'd point the ass hat out.