Bikeanoid

I will admit it. I am starting to get a bit bikeanoid.  Perhaps its this forum. Perhaps its the news media.  Perhaps its the seemingly increasing volume of stories about carnage on the road. Perhaps its because I have been leading one of the local Rides of Silence. Perhaps its me. Perhaps its the drivers. Perhaps they are out to get me...

...Following the discussion about a ghost bike today and then reading a story of yet another cyclist seriously injured finally got me.  How many of us have rationalized to ourselves, "I know what I am doing on my bike.  I don't know about THOSE riders but I'm safe."  It seems that more and more we read about exeprienced cyclists,  riders just like you and me, who are being hurt or worse on the roads.  

I have a gift certificate to REI. I plan to get  a vest, a bell, a new mirror.  I recently upgraded my light. I'm getting bikeanoid.   

I don't want to lose my edge.  We all need that confidence to ride urban roads.  We have to know what we are doing and be able to do what we know without hesitation  We can't flinch. We can't be scared. We can't be bikeanoid. 

I know I have been one of the annoying safety nerds on this board. Those posts came from somebody who thought he knew better.  Maybe it doesn't make a difference.  Maybe its just a lottery that we can't control.  Maybe all that safety crap will not do me any good. Maybe that truck is just waiting for me. Maybe I should forego the vest etc and get myself something more fun. Maybe I'm getting...bikeanoid. 

Ride safely friends...or @$#& it just cut right through, it might not matter.  :-)

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Deet 4.5mi on December 10, 2012 at 12:13pm

i know how you feel...

Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on December 10, 2012 at 3:46pm

When Dottie Brackett gets hit by a car after stopping at a stop sign and yielding to two cars, I am not sure it is bikeanoid.  My philosophy is I could be hit by a bus crossing the street in the Loop.  I would rather be doing something I enjoy if I am going to be hit by something.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on December 11, 2012 at 2:10am

A crash like Dottie's is never a good sign.  I'm with you about prefering to be doing something enjoyable if I'm going to get taken out.

Lisa Curcio said:

When Dottie Brackett gets hit by a car after stopping at a stop sign and yielding to two cars, I am not sure it is bikeanoid.  My philosophy is I could be hit by a bus crossing the street in the Loop.  I would rather be doing something I enjoy if I am going to be hit by something.

Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on December 11, 2012 at 2:19am

As Dottie pointed out at the outset of her LGRAB post, she is OK. 

Jennifer said:

Dottie Brackett got hit by a car??? Nuck futs, if she's not safe, no one is.

Permalink Reply by in it to win it 8.0 mi on December 11, 2012 at 2:55am

Light, mirror, bell, vest are not bikeanoid; just good sense.

Permalink Reply by Allison M. down Ogden 7.9 mi on December 12, 2012 at 11:11am

Seconded. I've acquired all of these things in the last few months, after going without for many years, and I don't know why it took me so long.

in it to win it said:

Light, mirror, bell, vest are not bikeanoid; just good sense.

Permalink Reply by David Barish on December 12, 2012 at 11:37am

I now have them all as well.  I will break out the vest on Friday at the Amlings ride. That and a dose of bikeax and I am feeling a little better.
 
Allison Mackey said:

Seconded. I've acquired all of these things in the last few months, after going without for many years, and I don't know why it took me so long.

in it to win it said:

Light, mirror, bell, vest are not bikeanoid; just good sense.

Permalink Reply by Tony Adams on December 12, 2012 at 11:54am

That URL isn't working for me. I think it was supposed to be: http://letsgorideabike.com/blog/2012/12/hit-and-run/

That kind of must-go-around-all-obstacles kind of driving is not uncommon and gets me seething with rage despite all my decades of zen practice. If there was a hell there would be a special place in hell for people who drive like that.



Anne Alt said:

A crash like Dottie's is never a good sign.  I'm with you about prefering to be doing something enjoyable if I'm going to get taken out.

Lisa Curcio said:

When Dottie Brackett gets hit by a car after stopping at a stop sign and yielding to two cars, I am not sure it is bikeanoid.  My philosophy is I could be hit by a bus crossing the street in the Loop.  I would rather be doing something I enjoy if I am going to be hit by something.

Permalink Reply by Jenn_5.5 mi on December 12, 2012 at 12:01pm

I have started wearing the ridiculous Hi-Viz-Vest. I have 2 each front & rear lights, always looking to upgrade.

I may not look cool and I am okay with it. (If I die my child becomes an orphan, he has already lost one parent- I want to do everything I can to prevent another grim out come.)

Permalink Reply by Holly on December 12, 2012 at 12:22pm

More often than not lately, I feel lucky I'm still alive when I get home and more often than not, that has very little to with the way I'm riding my bike. 

Here's a new one for me. I'm starting to feel increasingly freaked-out by drivers who are turning left when I'm going straight --especially if there's not a car that's to the left of me who's also going straight. (At least the left turner sees an oncoming car as an obstacle.) I've nearly been t-boned a few times in the last two weeks because the person turning left doesn't seem to see me as oncoming traffic. Look--I'm in no way hugging the gutter, I am moving fairly briskly on a green light, wearing a yellow reflective jacket and I have a blinking headlight. Apparently, I am supposed to treat this green light as a yield sign if someone turning left might, per chance, see the gap as their option to "gun" it. It's not just me who should be concerned, either. Pedestrians who are crossing and have a walk sign are also supposed to be prepared to yield to cars. (That's f'd up. When I learned to drive (at an off-brand driving school) it was stressed that your goal is to drive defensively and never, ever hit anything much less a person!)

I don't know if I'm more sensitive to what is going on, but I feel like the way people are driving around this city is out of control. Within the past week, two of my friends were hit by people driving cars. They were both obeying the law and doing things the way they're supposed to be doing them. 

I'm still enjoying riding, but I can't say that it's not getting a little stressy and tense because there are way to many people who will not and cannot seem to slow down for anything or anyone. 

Permalink Reply by Holly on December 12, 2012 at 1:13pm

This is only my 3rd season riding in the winter. I'm not fully aware of these seasonal shifts, but I believe that you're right. Drivers don't necessarily expect to see bikes. On the other hand, some jackwad hit me with his van on one of those 98 degree days last summer. He had a stop sign. I didn't. I was going straight. He was turning right and didn't bother to look before he hit my rear wheel. At the time, I was going super slowly because I was boiling hot. Why didn't he see the front of my bike pass the intersection?  Gee...was he, perhaps, looking down at something in his hand, like, say, a telephone?  I cannot believe how many people find this to be an acceptable way to drive a car. I want some kind of car slapping stick that I can use to reach into the lane next to me and wake them out of their texting reverie. 

Cameron Puetz said:

Drivers always seem to get worse when the weather changes. The first bit of winter is always a struggle. I don't know if it's that drivers can't imagine being out there and therefor assume that no one is out there or what.

Holly said:

More often than not lately, I feel lucky I'm still alive when I get home and more often than not, that has very little to with the way I'm riding my bike. 

Here's a new one for me. I'm starting to feel increasingly freaked-out by drivers who are turning left when I'm going straight --especially if there's not a car that's to the left of me who's also going straight. (At least the left turner sees an oncoming car as an obstacle.) I've nearly been t-boned a few times in the last two weeks because the person turning left doesn't seem to see me as oncoming traffic. Look--I'm in no way hugging the gutter, I am moving fairly briskly on a green light, wearing a yellow reflective jacket and I have a blinking headlight. Apparently, I am supposed to treat this green light as a yield sign if someone turning left might, per chance, see the gap as their option to "gun" it. It's not just me who should be concerned, either. Pedestrians who are crossing and have a walk sign are also supposed to be prepared to yield to cars. (That's f'd up. When I learned to drive (at an off-brand driving school) it was stressed that your goal is to drive defensively and never, ever hit anything much less a person!)

I don't know if I'm more sensitive to what is going on, but I feel like the way people are driving around this city is out of control. Within the past week, two of my friends were hit by people driving cars. They were both obeying the law and doing things the way they're supposed to be doing them. 

I'm still enjoying riding, but I can't say that it's not getting a little stressy and tense because there are way to many people who will not and cannot seem to slow down for anything or anyone. 

Permalink Reply by Martin Hazard on December 12, 2012 at 2:18pm

I dont think drivers behavior or skills are getting worse. I think there are a lot more cyclists out there these days. That gives drivers more to pay attention to, wich they are not used to.

So they just don't.

Why should they? They have been driving for years on these same streets. There has been no change in law worthy of note to them. In fact the recent increase in coverage of cyclist fatalities due to driver negligence only reinforces this. The worst case is-they get a ticket, even if they kill a person. 

I believe that until we see legal motivation (prosecution) of drivers, we will see no improvement in their, behavior. The fatalities will mount with the increase in cyclists.

Myself, having ridden in the city for close to 20 years, I have not detected any reason for increased vigilance on the part of cyclists using common sense, and basic safety equipment.

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