Riding my bicycle with Jerks on the road

[Nanci]

There's this very addicting cycling sport called randoneuring http://rusa.org/ . They start you out doing a simple 100k ride, and pretty soon you're going 600k, or even 1200k! So that was my 600k ride, finishing my Super Randoneur award. I went on to complete the R12, the 53rd person in the US to do so, and the first (and only so far) female in Florida. It took persistance!

I LOVE my helmet mounted mirror. I don't know how I ever rode without one- I'd feel blind now. I just like to know what's going on back there.

Here's the url for S-Caps. http://www.succeedscaps.com/main_scaps.html Electrolytes may not seem so important, but they make a HUGE difference in how you feel, riding when it's really hot. If your stomach feels icky, it's usually because you need more sodium.

Nanci

[SuPaFRo]

Whenever I can, I try to ride my bike to short destinations...especially in the evening after a calf exhausting stop and go drive home from work (I drive a stick). I bike on the road when it isn't a major super busy street. Furthermore I like biking on roads that have paved shoulders (or any shoulders at all!).

But when I get to a very busy high speed non shoulder road, I just don't feel safe biking on it. Especially since more often that not these streets are major bus routes. Granted the bus drivers in Winnipeg are pretty good and give you the whole lane when they pass you. Unfortunately most large pickups and other vehicles do not, and can breeze by you at a good clip while well within your lane. Some don't even move over at all and pass you as if you weren't even there!

In those situations I'm sorry to say I bike on the sidewalk. I'd rather pay a fine than have someone pay for my funeral. BUT I ALWAYS give pedestrians the right of way when on the sidewalk. So I'll bike in the grass or anywhere else off the paved walkway so that the walkers have all the room they need.

First things first, you gotta wear a helmet. I can't believe it when I see some people biking on very busy high speed roads without a helmet. Personally, I wear mine even when I'm going down the street to the store or the gym. I do however need to look at acquiring a "rearview" mirror for my helmet. It would make me feel safer while biking without having to always look behind me. I also need to look at getting some flashing lights (front and back). I have all the required reflectors, but like mentioned above, they don't always suffice.

All in all, I would like to see my city create the infrastructure to support cyclists. There just aren't enough bike lanes out there. And those peddlers that run lights, stop signs, and don't follow the traffic rules are ruining the bicycling image for the rest of us. It also doesn't help me convince a gas guzzler to try biking somewhere. They always end up referring to the negative things that those bikers do.

[BailOut]

Congratulations, Nanci! That's a heck of an accomplishment and I know you worked your butt off to achieve it.

I'd never heard of that sport until you mentioned it but I can see how it would be addictive.

[Shrek]

Originally Posted by laurieaw

there actually is a product that allows you to ride with your dog:

http://www.dog-training.com/springer.htm

Exactly, and my idea is for a car-training equivalent - that will teach cars to keep an appropriate distance while passing. Just as a shocking collar used for sheep-training, this one would punish by making painful needle-scratches along the side of the car

[Bike123]

Congratulations, Nanci. I've read some accounts of doing brevets on Tandem@Hobbes. I'm sure you have done those some of those epic rides in "less than ideal" weather, too.

In the Canadian Rockies, I saw a bike tourist with a flag mounted horizontally to the left. A co-worker from the Netherlands says the horizontal flag is pretty common there.

[Jimmy]

I have riiden a bicycle for decades, and really enjoy it - especially when I am on the "rail trails". However, even though it is legal and bikers have every right to be there, I try as much as possible to stay completely off of roads and highways that carry motor vehicle traffic. I am too afraid to do otherwise.

When I must travel along a road I will always use the sidewalk if one is available. Adult bicycle traffic on sidewalks is illegal in some parts of my area. Nevertheless I will take a chance on getting a ticket or getting an injury while on the sidewalk. Running into a pedestrian or another sidewalk-riding bicyclist will almost always result in injuries far less extensive than bodily harm resulting from a collision with an automobile or a 6 ton truck.

So, for me, mixing bicycles with motor vehicles is too dangerous. Insisting on my right to be on the road is just not worth the risk.

[kelly.cardona]

Originally Posted by Nanci

There's this very addicting cycling sport called randoneuring http://rusa.org/ . They start you out doing a simple 100k ride, and pretty soon you're going 600k, or even 1200k! So that was my 600k ride, finishing my Super Randoneur award. I went on to complete the R12, the 53rd person in the US to do so, and the first (and only so far) female in Florida. It took persistance!

I LOVE my helmet mounted mirror. I don't know how I ever rode without one- I'd feel blind now. I just like to know what's going on back there.

Here's the url for S-Caps. http://www.succeedscaps.com/main_scaps.html Electrolytes may not seem so important, but they make a HUGE difference in how you feel, riding when it's really hot. If your stomach feels icky, it's usually because you need more sodium.

Nanci

Congrats Nanci!! That is a heck of an accomplishment. Another problem I face is that I have a mountain bike and even though I have replaced the tires with thinner ones I still work almost double then if I had a road bike, so that is another challenge I have. It does however condition me a little better for when I do get my road bike.

Thanks for the links, I am definitely interested in the randoneuring seems like a lot of fun and pushes you to the limit.