"No I didn't know I was that close to you." Almost immediately followed by, "why don't you ride on the sidewalk."
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For the bazillionth time, It's illegal to ride on the sidewalk!
Even if it wasn't, both these women seem to think that my not using the sidewalk would somehow justify their running me down.
I tried to calmly point out the danger in their driving, but what I should have asked the woman on Friday was, if your son was riding his bike instead of in the passenger seat next to you, and you had just come within 18 inches of killing him instead of me, would you be a little more concerned?
5 comments:
Could not find your email or anything, so comment it is.
Hi there!
I noticed you tend to get buzzed a lot. One thing I've found helps a lot is to fully take the lane when I feel it is unsafe to share the lane with cars. Motorists see a cyclist hugging the white line or shoulder as an invitation to share the lane. They'll probably get annoyed having to slow down behind you, but at least you won't be at risk for getting "mirrored".
Rear-end collisions are pretty rare compared to side hits. Helmet mirrors, while absolutely dorky, are very useful. They bring that risk down to nearly zero.
Safe riding!
I second the use of a helmet or eyeglass mirror.
And I have a horn. Beats the "finger wave" every time as it totally gets their attention. Amazon sells it, AirZound
www.amazon.com/Delta-Airzound-Bike-Horn/dp/B000ACAMJC
It's incredibly loud. Well worth the money
I never ride without my Take A Look mirror from Bike Peddler! The field of vision is astounding, it's fully warrantied, and it's made in the US of A!
Like obankobi suggests, giving cars a lane that's too narrow for you and the car is an invitation for them to run you off the road. I use my mirror to let me know when cars are coming up behind me, and if I feel the road width will be too narrow for both of us, I take the lane.
I never ride without my Take A Look mirror from Bike Peddler! The field of vision is astounding, it's fully warrantied, and it's made in the US of A!
Like obankobi suggests, giving cars a lane that's too narrow for you and the car is an invitation for them to run you off the road. I use my mirror to let me know when cars are coming up behind me, and if I feel the road width will be too narrow for both of us, I take the lane.
Once you make them put a wheel over the center line, cars are a lot more likely to pass you safely.
Rather than getting buzzed, sometimes I get people who make lots of noise revving their engine up as they pass me... when they leave angry but give me plenty of room it's a lot nicer than when they nearly kill me and I'm the one that's left angry.
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