Sorry but this doesn't make sense. Many roads were designed specifically for car use only before bike use became common, as such they are inherently dangerous for bike users . You can get into the whole 'who has the right' to use the road and play chicken all you like but 1 tone of metal will always beat 7kg of carbon fibre...

Id prefer to ride without the stress, angst....or danger.

This entitlement is a big part of the problem, I agree. And it's wrong too. Nobody owns the road, learn to share. And I'm pretty sure bikes were on roads before cars were invented.

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It's really difficult to rationalize that disparity.

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https://connect.garmin.com/modern/profile/domingjm

That's great. My overwhelming sense of justice would see me doing the same thing. Good luck.

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https://connect.garmin.com/modern/profile/domingjm

Reminds me of the time I was called a "faggot" while out riding: http://forum.slowtwitch.com/...omeuppance_P2847751/

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

Thanks for posting this.
I really like Emmas suggestion.
Recently, a group of 10 I was riding with, were pulled over shockingly by a cop in a local town.
Needless to say we were flabbergasted that WE were the reason he flew by us sirens blaring at 60MPH down a small side road. After stopping us, he said he could issue each of us 10 dollar tickets. And deciding to use the F word at us a few times, I was sent over the edge.
I decided to write to the chiefs email, listed on the website and describe the situation in detail. A call from THAT police officer came about 90min later. He could not articulate WHY we "could" get a 10 dollar ticket each but was adamant that we deserved it, and he was blown away that I said he used the F word. (which is prob why his boss told him to call).
To emmas point...his tone totally changed when i offered to decorate him in super high end equipment and to come for a ride with me. I said I would even provide him some education prior to going out, for free. I stopped short of saying I would happily reimburse his time for this too (and i would).. but I digress. So he could see what it was like riding on the roads with the cars. The ones who brush by, or honk or yell or throw something. And one of these things happen EVERY time we go out.
I am going to forward this string too. Bc even though it should be law to ride a bike on the road before you get a license, maybe sending this string to local police chiefs will have a small impact. (crazy right? I know..)
Safe riding everyone.
daved

If cyclists feel the need to ride on a road where they hold up traffic in order to ride safe, they should do what every other slow moving vehicle does in that situation. They should pull over every few minutes or whenever it is safe to do so to allow the traffic to pass. If the cyclists can't be bothered to do what farm tractors and other slow moving vehicles are required to do, they shouldn't be on such roads.

When I ride on a road where I feel the need to "take the lane" to be safe, I pull off frequently. For me this is usually in construction zones or on twisty descents since I normally choose to ride on safer roads. Share the road doesn't mean that cyclists get to own the road.

I left Gold Coast, QLD and Oz back in 2001 and these events were key to my decision to leave the country. In the last year there, I was hit 3 times, including once by cops in a roundabout. They saw me on the ground and left. I went to the police station and they threatened me.
The 3 times I got hit add up to the numerous close calls. Every. Single. Ride.

Australia... shithole country

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Eric Reid AeroFit | Instagram Portfolio
Aerodynamic Retul Bike Fitting

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I wish everyone would buy front and rear cameras. This shit happens way too often and if everyone had cameras it would really shine a light on this behavior. Plus negative interactions with cops would get recorded too.

We get this in the UK a bit too... "pay your f**king road tax". Makes me laugh because road tax was abolished in the 1930s and replaced with an excise duty, which is now based on the emissions of the car. Hybrids and very low emissions cars pay zero tax. A driver who was shouting abuse at me from his Prius didn't get the irony, even when i tried to explain it.

I really don't enjoy group rides as i think you're inviting the abuse, i ride alone, and i try to be aware of cars that cant get past etc. and if they have been behind for a while i will pull over and let them past, and I always thank the courteous drivers.

UPDATE**
Local police chief that this thread was sent to responded.
He thanked me and asked to have coffee. Will take him up on it.
Always good to have civil discussions on this.

As for the argument about not riding on this road or that road and avoiding bc it is busy etc... just does not make any sense to me. What ever happened to sharing? In this case, sharing space.

Busy road, crowded road etc doesn't matter. If you are walking on a sidewalk and need to slow down or move to get around someone..do you yell at them to take a less crowded sidewalk? Or threaten them? or creep up behind them and then yell loudly in their ear simulating a horn? or do you just .... wait for it... share that space!?!?!? by adjusting your speed and direction....

daved

let's just call this what it is: Frodo survived attempted murder.

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https://lshtm.academia.edu/MikeCallaghan

http://howtobeswiss.blogspot.ch/

does anyone use and have suggestions for any front/rear cameras?

Literally at the top of my road last summer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbjWpPENrIw

Exactly the same problem in the UK with fat louts in vehicles giving it large to make up for their tiny manhood. I just don't get some people. Out on my ride today we got buzzed by someone who had taken issue with us riding two abreast on a section of road - held him up for all of 5 seconds or so.

I think it doesn't really dawn on these people how stupid they are until they are staring down the business end of a 20 year prison sentence for murder, well, if the courts do their job of course...

Better yet organize a large group of Lorre's / 18 Wheeler's to bully regular cars and push them around into uncomfortable situations. Then ask them to get into that same environment on a bicycle to really hammer home the point here. Safety, Respect and Humane attitudes for all.

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"Train so you have no regrets @ the finish line"

Fly 12 / Fly 6 combo. They just came out with new versions of both.

o.k, but do you need to ride two abreast? It seems to me that many riders ride in a fashion that rightly or wrongly attract the ire of car drivers...and continue to keep riding that way. I have NEVER had anyone abuse me, toot their horn at me or anything. Quite the contrary I often get drivers showing me courtesy and waving me through and waiting for me etc.

I know I'm going to get flamed but....it seems there are riders who have a level of arrogance that they own the rode and that everyone else can just dam well wait for them, and then play the victim card when they don't get flowers and a box of chocolates in return.

I ride 300+ks a week and also drive regularly and as a driver I get frustrated when coming behind a group of riders taking up half a road for no good reason. Roads are there to be shared-taking up half a road (which is effectively the whole road) is not sharing. As a rider I can only begin to imagine how non bike sympathetic drivers must feel. And then bike community scratches their heads about levels of aggression.

It's what the highway code suggests we do. We don't do it all the time, but at the same time we are generally riding on quiet roads in the countryside early on a Saturday / Sunday morning. I agree that certain cyclists can be utter tools, but even if someone is riding along giving you the finger, spitting on your car etc etc is that an excuse for murder?

Aside from a Go-Pro, is there something ultra lightweight, maybe combined with a seatpost light that has long HD reverse camera recording ability that will hold a charge for a 5-6 hr ride? Seems like a good market and safety feature + preventative measure for cyclists to have. Many times an offending driver does their stuff before you can get a license or view of what they're doing behind you.

At least you'd have some ammo for court cases aside from a finger pointing match if you survived.

Cycliq fly 6

Meanwhile, back in the U.S.......

“The driver accused of killing a popular Bend cyclist last month allegedly circled back after the crash and berated other cyclists who were riding with the victim, a prosecutor said during a hearing Tuesday in Deschutes County Circuit Court.

Members of the Bend cycling community crowded the courtroom, helmets in hand, for the latest hearing in a manslaughter case against Shantel Witt, 41, who is accused of crossing the centerline in her GMC pickup and striking 38-year-old Marika Stone on a two-lane stretch of Dodds Road east of Bend. Stone, a local dentist and mother of two, died at the scene. Witt is accused of driving while impaired.

Deputy district attorney Kari Hathorn said after allegedly striking Stone, Witt drove off briefly before turning back. And back at the scene, she yelled at Stone’s two surviving companions, allegedly saying, ‘You f-ing cyclists, always crossing the centerline,’” Hathorn said.

Witt held her husband’s hand as she passed through the crowded courtroom to the defendant’s table.

She stands charged with manslaughter, driving under the influence of intoxicants, reckless driving and reckless endangerment. The results of a pending blood test could yield additional evidence.

Judge A. Michael Adler denied a motion by the prosecution to increase Witt’s bond amount from $270,000 to $500,000. But he imposed all other requested conditions, including house arrest for Witt for the duration of the trial, GPS monitoring, a prohibition against driving and a requirement to wear an ankle monitor with an alcohol sensor.

She’s scheduled to be arraigned on indictment Feb. 6 after the case goes to a grand jury.

Stone’s father, Gregory Middag, briefly addressed the court Tuesday to argue for strict trial conditions for Witt.

“We ask the judge to keep the safety of the community in mind,” he said.

Witt was to begin her house arrest immediately following the hearing.

According to Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office’s narrative of her arrest, Witt was driving east on Dodds Road at 3:21 p.m. on Dec. 30 near the intersection with Obernolte Road. She had failed to negotiate a slight right curve, continuing straight and striking Stone, who was the third cyclist in a line of three heading west.

A search warrant affidavit describes how Witt failed three field sobriety tests and admitted to taking painkillers and muscle relaxers. In her vehicle, officers found empty beer cans, prescription drugs and a 9mm pistol.

Hathorn cited Witt’s alleged actions in the moments immediately following the collision in arguing for a higher bail amount.

“She is a danger to the community because of her lack of remorse,” Hathorn said.

Additionally, Hathorn said the district attorney’s office received a call from someone who knows Witt reporting a concern for her mental state.

Stone practiced at Bend’s Mill Point Dental Center. She is survived by two children, 5 and 7, her parents and an identical twin sister. A native Alaskan, she was valedictorian of her Ketchikan High School class. She later graduated with honors from Portland’s Willamette University, as well as the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry, according to an online bio.

Outside the hearing, friends of Marika Stone hugged and talked quietly.

Ryan Levering was sitting in Stone’s dentist chair when they first met.

“I sat down and immediately, when she walked in, I thought, I want to be friends with her,” she said. “She was just unbelievably tough, physically and mentally, and unbelievably intelligent.”

Friend and fellow cyclist Kristi Cutter of Bend said, “Losing her doesn’t just affect this community; it’s far-reaching.”

Many cyclists at the hearing are members of the Sunnyside Sports Race Team, of which Stone was a member.

Peter Werner, an official with Oregon Bicycle Racing Association, said Stone was one of a dozen or so elite female cyclists in Central Oregon.

Witt and her husband own a house in Bend. They’ve lived here for 34 years. She doesn’t currently work, her attorney, Bryan M. Donahue, told the judge.

She was arrested in 2014 for driving under the influence of intoxicants. She successfully completed diversion treatment to have the case dismissed.”