Do you know anyone who just quit the sport for no other reason..?

[fijichf]

Hang in there, OP. If you’re not feeling it, take a break as your bike can wait and it’s important to place family first. FWIW, I’ve been injured more on the trail than on the road...go figure.

[redir]

Originally Posted by benb

I've had 3 incidents in the past 20 years riding alone on the road. 2 of them were falling over not getting unclipped in time in the first year or two riding. One was getting hit by a truck that had a stop sign and pulled out and hit me.

I can't even begin to count the # of group ride incidents and race incidents I saw.

I Pretty much saw someone going to the hospital pretty much every race weekend. I had to go 2x in racing incidents, both of which were more severe than when I got hit by a truck. A very large # of the incidents I've seen even outside of races were more severe injuries than when I was hit by a truck. Actually I had two motorcycle accidents as well... one on the street when I was a brand new rider and one at high speed at the racetrack. In both cases I was wearing full protective gear and was essentially uninjured compared to going down at 10mph on a bicycle in lycra.

I never even saw anyone get hurt as bad in my motorcycling days, including track days as I saw in bike races & group rides. You had to step up to actual motorcycle racing to see injuries as common and severe as bike racing. I've also definitely *never* been on any group ride where the entire group got through the entire ride without breaking the law and behaving dangerously in intersections, and intersections are where all the danger is! I never entered a single race where there weren't riders breaking the rules in dangerous ways as well. The officials were like broken records trying to stop that!

I don't think anyone has any good stats but from my personal experience no one is ever going to convince me group riding and especially racing are safer than riding alone. I'm thankful I've never seen someone killed or paralyzed in a group ride or race.

I'm not saying I'm never doing a group ride again... just that I go in with eyes wide open that I'm engaging in much riskier behavior, and since I don't go very often any more I make a quick assessment of the groups behavior the first few miles and then come up with an excuse if I decide the group is too dangerous to bother riding with. Otherwise I just stick to riding with people I know very well. Obviously there are payoffs, it is really fun to ride in a group when everything is going well.

That's been my experience too.

I think the only safety that comes with a group is that a group is a lot easier to see for cars coming up from behind. But that's about all I can think of.

[veggieburger]

Originally Posted by redir

That's been my experience too.

I think the only safety that comes with a group is that a group is a lot easier to see for cars coming up from behind. But that's about all I can think of.

I'm not suggesting that riding with random strangers is safer than going solo, I'm talking about the group of guys I have been riding with for over a decade. Big difference IMO.

[redir]

Originally Posted by veggieburger

I'm not suggesting that riding with random strangers is safer than going solo, I'm talking about the group of guys I have been riding with for over a decade. Big difference IMO.

Agreed that is a big difference. And I think you mentioned before too a good point and that is in the event of a crash there are people who can immediately help.

[veggieburger]

Originally Posted by djdj

OP -- ignore the keyboard macho men. If you are not comfortable riding -- for whatever reason -- you should do something different with no qualms or hesitation. Life is much too short to engage in a hobby you don't fully enjoy. My only advice is not to sell your bike(s) just yet, as you may later find you want to get back on the road. Keep us posted on how things go!

I love keyboard macho men. Few things make me grin as big as someone who tries to convince themselves of their toughness on the internet. But that's another thread.

Been riding with one other buddy lately, on very specific roads. Also doing the big weekend rides on gravel. All good here.

Enjoy the week, all!

[Ralph]

I think generally riding in a group is more dangerous than riding solo. The group I normally ride with has been riding together over 10 years. All experienced alert riders. Close to same ability. Recently there was a crash, one of them ran into other, and several went down. Broken ribs, clavicle, etc.

Someone made a mistake. Wasn't looking up when he needed to. Just happened. Kinda like a NASCAR crash. I think stuff more likely to happen in a group.

[C40_guy]

Originally Posted by gbcoupe

Related or no (hopefully no). Post deleted.

Thank you!

[XXtwindad]

Originally Posted by veggieburger

I love keyboard macho men. Few things make me grin as big as someone who tries to convince themselves of their toughness on the internet. But that's another thread.

Been riding with one other buddy lately, on very specific roads. Also doing the big weekend rides on gravel. All good here.

Enjoy the week, all!

I think cycling makes me a better Father. It's a huge stress relief, and it allows me to be calmer and more understanding towards my girls and my my Partner. I really need to cycle.

On the other note, I don't think there was anything particularly untoward in the responses. No name calling or transgressing boundaries. That's what makes a response uncivil. One of the most egregious offenders has (perhaps) been escorted off the site. And that's a good thing.

Here's another interesting thread on the subject of cycling risks and parenthood. Some of the responses were very illuminating. In all kinds of ways. https://forums.thepaceline.net/showt...t+mouth&page=2

[benb]

Originally Posted by veggieburger

I'm not suggesting that riding with random strangers is safer than going solo, I'm talking about the group of guys I have been riding with for over a decade. Big difference IMO.

Yah I should have qualified this.

There are two types of group rides really and they are vastly different:

- Organized ride set up by a team/club/shop that is publicly advertised, gets a pretty big draw, and has a constantly rotating cast of characters

- Totally private "group" ride organized by long term friends or team members.

The first is super dangerous IMO, the 2nd type I am totally fine with saying could be safer/same/only a teeny bit more dangerous than riding solo.

The people I know the best and have rode with for years/decades who have 20+ years of experience and ride thousands of miles each year, racing experience, tons of pack/paceline experience, etc.. I feel very safe riding with those people.

But anything organized with a rotating cast no way... we have one shop here that are absolute safety Nazis, or at least try to be, and their rides can still be really dangerous. Some places don't try at all.

The club I was in years ago had to work incredibly hard to rein in behavior on our advertised weekly ride that was open to other clubs to keep behavior safe. The rides that were only open to team members were 100x safer, though I still remember a crash on one of those.

The slow club/shop rides can be dangerous because there are totally new riders on them.. the pace can be super slow and it can still be dangerous. Riders don't know the rules/laws of the road, don't know pack etiquette, are still wobbly. The fast rides are dangerous because someone is going to start pretending it's a race inevitably, and you can have random riders who are fast enough to be on the ride but are too new, too stupid, etc.. to know how to behave.

[veggieburger]

Originally Posted by XXtwindad

On the other note, I don't think there was anything particularly untoward in the responses. No name calling or transgressing boundaries. That's what makes a response uncivil. One of the most egregious offenders has (perhaps) been escorted off the site. And that's a good thing.

Absolutely! It's all been quite civil. I'm talking about...how should I word this...chest puffing or sabre-rattling. The relative anonymity of the internet turns many folks into MMA champions.

I know what you're saying about needing to ride. I get it. I need to do something, and for most of my life it's been riding. Makes me an all around better person! But there was also a point in my life when I was into racquetball in a big way, so I guess my mind wanders to other possible past times. But yeah....being intentional about gravel, trails, riding with friends on lesser-traveled roads probably further lessens the overall risk.

[mj_michigan]

Originally Posted by benb

Our chances of an accident are not dictated by the statistics generated from everyone else's behavior if everyone else is behaving in a bunch of different ways.

Of course. I agree.
In fact, the table confirms this - women are twice as safe as men. They must be much more cautious while riding a bicycle.

Interesting, I don't believe this applies to motor vehicles where they are about equally safe. IIRC, men have more fatalities, but drive more miles by about the same fraction. On the other hand, the Chicago study should only be taken as one data point.

[m_moses]

Originally Posted by Blown Reek

Does this have anything to do with Clean39T deleting everything?

This made me lol.


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[mcfarton]

Veggie did you ride today?


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[martl]

I see no reason to be overly concerned about riding/safety, at least not in first-world countries where most traffic participants obey rules. Yes cycling has a slightly higher risk but its still not hazardous, far from it.
If one feels uncomfortable on the road, there are ways to avoid them- one can still do gravel or MTB.

[Clancy]

All these posts reinforce what I’ve been puzzled about for years.

Why are cycling clothing manufacturers researching ways to make clothing more protective??? Other than advancements in helmets and reflectivity in clothing, NOTHING (that I can tell) has been done to advance the protective qualities of the fabric. Nothing in terms of lightweight, breathable fabric designed with abrasion protection. Nothing in terms of technically advanced, strategically placed crash padding.

I believe there is a mentality in pro cycling that crashing is not only part of the Job, but almost a badge of honor, part of the mystic of suffering. I believe this de-emphasizes any incentives for the industry to look into more protective clothing. This directly impacts the end users.

This will remain so until enough cyclists demand better, more protective gear. But that’s not going to happen because 99.9% of cyclists have never given this a second thought. Including, I bet, 99.9% here.

Yes, technically advanced materials designed to resist abrasion will not keep a rider from being hit by a car, but might very well greatly reduce the extent of injuries.