A guy had a collision tonight on Queens with a minivan that (presumably) pulled out in front of him.  He was talking and didn't appear to have any external injuries except for some scrapes- he shattered a side window.

A trailblazer was first on the scene and got him an ambulance (plus a fire truck and 2 cruisers).

A bike lane likely wouldn't have prevented this.  Seems accidents increase significantly the closer you get to 24HOB.  Inexperience?  Unawareness?

Ridefour15 wrote on 07/24/13 at 12:42am:


Bet that wouldn't happen if you rode like these girls!

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Pretty interesting video on the origin of cycling infrastructure in Holland.....a perfect storm of children dying in car accidents and the oil crisis of the 70's.  Population density and the entire country being mostly flat doesn't hurt either.
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I started out as a roady a decade+ ago and switched to trails shortly there after leaving the road behind until about a year ago.  Having recently found spending more time on the road in part because of the new rain forest environment we now have, this conversation is hitting closer to home.   

Since I don't know most of you in real life, I'm curious how big you guys are?  I ask because I'm a relatively big guy (6'2" 230lbs) and I may be naive about this, but I feel my size gives me a little more security on the road.  I'm totally open to the fact this may be a huge false sense of security and that's why I'm asking.   

Aside from my size, when I do hit the road I ride with the attitude that nobody sees me and that I need to assume nobody plans to stop for me.  Until I both make eye contact with a driver as well as see them either slow down or move over, I assume they don't know I'm there.  In other words constantly ride defensively.   

So, all said, how big are you guys?   

Second question- do you intentionally wear bright clothes?

The Cycle Path wrote on 07/25/13 at 1:38pm:


I wear bright stuff or at least a white shirt. Figure it either lets them see me or gives them something to aim for.

I do ride defensively, figuring most on the road are either drunk, high, distracted, enraged or just plain incompetent.

I consider myself average...5'11, 160-165.  I don't go out of my way to wear bright clothing, but I usually always wear a white helmet on the road.

I try and ride assertively as possible- ie I ride as far as possible off the shoulder.  Even in the bike lane, I will ride on the left line.  Give them an opportunity to pinch you into the curb, and they will.

I also never ride on the right side of the lane coming down Queens on the Booty- where the guy got hit the other night.  From driving there, I know it's very hard to see riders with the trees along the planting strip.

Here's the moto take on hi viz.....
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It's been a week and I've cooled down a little after the incident last Sunday.  I still keep running the sequence of events through my head and it gets my heart racing, but I'm trying to get over it.

I'm already having withdrawals from not riding the road bike, it feels really weird trying to supress the urge to ride. It was especially difficult Saturday with all the spotty rain that closed trails (and the BMX track!) and cancelled my hiking plans.  But then I think of all the issues I've had over the years and how stressed out I've gotten.

I think I might start riding again in a month or two.  Seeing bicycle commuters ride by my work every day on the same path I used to take drives me crazy, and maybe when it cools down a little in the mornings come September or October I might try commuting again.  3/4 of the route to work from my house has a bike lane, and the little bit that doesn't I'll just be more aggressive in taking the lane. I had a helmet cam on when I was hit (which helped me immensely in my legal case) and I'll be sure to continue using it.  Even still, I think my solo road rides otherwise are done and any other road riding will probably be group rides only.

FireAnthem wrote on 07/29/13 at 8:25am:


I've found that moving out into the lane works 99.9% of the time, but the .1% of the time it doesn't it's scary as hell how close people will pass just to squeeze a few seconds off their drive.

The craziest thing to me is that people will risk a head on collision.  I'm not so worried that they will hit me although I bet that if two cars collide head on near me that I'm in danger, but people will force oncoming traffic to slow down or stop to pass and they all do it at high speeds so I'm amazed there aren't more accidents.

Solar wrote on 07/25/13 at 1:20pm:


I think this is key. I have been riding motorcycles on the road for nearly 20 years and (knock on wood) I have never had an accident. You have to assume that you are invisible and that nobody can see you. Always have at least a finger on the brake lever and never let your situational awareness slip. Plenty of close calls but if you expect it, it is much easier to react. 

The big differences on a bicycle are the passing from behind and the lack of ability to accererate away from an accident. I agree that you need to be assertive, but I think we also need to be considerate of the cars on the road. If I know someone needs to pass I will either wave them by so they know I am comfortable with them passing or I will squeeze over to let them by. "Share the road" has to go both ways. 

That said, you can't avoid every accident, especially the ones that come from behind. It's an occupational hazard that we have to accept to some degree. Sorry to the OP for the trouble you had, but at least you will be spending more time in the dirt!

I've been feeling a bit antsy and really wanting to get back on the road bike, so today I finally decided I was going to give it another shot.  It's been just about four weeks since I said I was hanging it up.

Left my house heading towards the Booty Loop, did four laps, came back home (and the entire ride home was in pouring rain!): 29.75 miles.  It was honestly the most fun I've had on the road bike in a long time.  During the 7.5 miles home I could not wipe a huge smile off my face.

I wore a fluorescent yellow jersey, had my taillight on, and a new helmet with brighter colors (my old one was black).  I was more assertive in taking the lane than usual where a bike lane was not present, and did not get a hard time by a single car (I can't remember the last time I could say that!).  Actually, the only times I got buzzed were by other cyclists - apparently I was interrupting their training rides and they couldn't be bothered to go more than a few inches around me.

I just got a promotion at work and my hours are changing, which will make my car commute worse, so I plan on starting to commute by bike this week (provided it's not raining), and will probably ease back into road cycling in general utilizing the Booty Loop at first to get my confidence up again.  Mountain biking is an absolute blast, but only riding 2-3 times per week wasn't cutting it, and neither was running!