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Re: Time to hang it up, near miss on the bike. [BMANX] [ In reply to ]
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How about this, I will drive my car straight into a wall at 60km right now and you do the same on your bike. Then we can come back and inform everyone here how that went. I am sure I will be back to report my findings.


OK, you first.

Point is, people never say "I'm going to stop driving my car when I don't have to." every time they have a near miss on the road or they hear of someone getting in a car crash.
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Re: Time to hang it up, near miss on the bike. [Zippy303] [ In reply to ]
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I do most of my biking on the trainer and watch a lot of Netflix.
I bike outside once a week at most as it is a social event. We drive 12 miles to a place where there is minimal traffic (maybe six vehicles an hour) and even then somebody got hit some years back.
Yesterday an angry motorist blew through a stop sign out in the middle of BFE and almost hit us. Not only did he not slow down, he stepped on the gas. Then he laid on the horn after he passed us. I swear it was the same guy who laid on the horn as he gunned the motor past us last Saturday. I brought up the possibility of renewing my concealed carry, as we were all looking behind us to see if he were coming back. But, if you feel the need to arm yourself for a friendly Saturday morning ride, why go.
We have to park a distance away from where we ride because people's cars get broken into if we park where we ride.
I won't bike alone here as I have been chased around and buzzed by people yelling racial slurs at me.
Then factor in distracted drivers, people throwing things out of the window at you, and constant flat tires from broken glass, metal industrial debris, and goathead thorns....makes the trainer + Netflix in air-conditioned comfort seem like a nice option.
I do plan a multi day bike trip on rails-to-trails every year. Just got back from 300+ miles on the Heartland and Paul Bunyan Trails in Minnesota. Highly recommended!!! There may come a day when my summer bike trip and races are the only times I bike outside.
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Re: Time to hang it up, near miss on the bike. [Shiv88] [ In reply to ]
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"Dabble in MTB, if you must!! "


I realize you are kidding but can you elaborate on your comment.

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Re: Time to hang it up, near miss on the bike. [Zippy303] [ In reply to ]
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Zippy303 wrote:

So I need to perhaps road ride in larger groups more, I have a garmin vario... but is it just time to move on and walk away cold turkey?


Thank you.

Do you have video of the incident? Something you can share with the police?
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Re: Time to hang it up, near miss on the bike. [blackrock1] [ In reply to ]
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blackrock1 wrote:
"Dabble in MTB, if you must!! "


I realize you are kidding but can you elaborate on your comment.

I have a friend who "quit road biking" and went strictly MTB and Xterra event... I believe for the same reason (he got sick of near-miss incidents?).

http://lostintransition.com

(His blog. Lots of great MTB related photos).

Personally, I love the speed and smoothness of road bikes & not fond of MTB as much. No disrespect to mountain bikers, mind you.
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Re: Time to hang it up, near miss on the bike. [Shiv88] [ In reply to ]
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Got it. Many thanks for the link.
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Re: Time to hang it up, near miss on the bike. [blackrock1] [ In reply to ]
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I think the craziest thing that's come up in the last couple years is that other drivers get pissed off if you're an attentive driver.

Case in point - I live in NYC and drive for work in and around the area. With the dedicated cycle lanes in the city proper, and great cycling destinations around the Hudson and Long Island there's plenty of enthusiasts and so seeing a cyclist on the road isn't like spotting Sasquatch. In the city, I always slow down at intersections and check all blind spots quickly, and if a cyclist is behind me I let them pass before making the turn. But every time I do this the driver behind me lays on their horn, like I'm doing something wrong..

Same thing outside the city, where there aren't dedicated lanes and oftentimes cyclists use the same roads as drivers. If I can't pass a cyclist safely, I'll drive behind them with a good cushion (at least 30') before passing, but whenever I do this the driver behind me goes ballistic.

With today's emphasis on on-demand instant gratification it seems like any inconvenience to people is a personal affront. That said I'll never change the way I drive or bike as I know it's the proper form, and if people have an issue I always invite any discussion, proper or not.
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Re: Time to hang it up, near miss on the bike. [kdw] [ In reply to ]
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I know people that do not drive because of other bad drivers so..............
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Re: Time to hang it up, near miss on the bike. [Zippy303] [ In reply to ]
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Feeling the same?

I try to minimize the risk by riding indoors, riding relatively closed/limited access loops of about 3-4 miles and group rides in the country. Between those, I do about four rides and 100 mile weeks. Not a lot but I'm 62 and want to live long and enjoy retirement.

There are local stories in the news about drivers killing drivers or just killing themselves. Most of that is probably distracted driving and being in a hurry. So whether I am in a car or on a bike I can't protect myself. The car offers more protection. The bike is a smaller target. Recently they wrote that the risk was equal between cars and bikes.

PS more likely to buy an indoor spin bike suitable for training than another tri-bike or road bike. Going to spin classes and people watching is also entertaining.
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Re: Time to hang it up, near miss on the bike. [Zippy303] [ In reply to ]
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Personally I feel less safe riding in a group than solo. Fellow riders are quite often their own worst enemies, although it is usually nothing that will cause serious/critical injuries.
However groups also quite often tend to antagonise motorists more due to the greater tendency of impeding their progress on the road.
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Re: Time to hang it up, near miss on the bike. [Zippy303] [ In reply to ]
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I hear you. I've been on the trainer for over a year now as I just don't want to bother with the crazy drivers anymore. I havent trained for a real tri in a long time as well and have been doing running/ultras exclusively just because I don't want to go outside. I have a cheap magnetic trainer but if I decide to do another half or full IM I'll probably invest in a smart trainer just to stay off the road.
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Re: Time to hang it up, near miss on the bike. [Zippy303] [ In reply to ]
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Life gets in the way.... sometimes I'm doing races and sometimes I'm barely finding time to ride or run. Point is, you don't ALWAYS have to be racing. Remember why you are doing this, it should be for the love of the sport.

On a different note, I've had some close calls. One creepy moment was when we waived to a cyclist and minutes later, she was hit by a drunk driver. We read it in the papers the next day. a friend reminded me that we chase death every day, sometimes by seconds. I have had a few close calls with cars, but never hit.

As far as riding mountain bike or something else.... lol, All of my crashes have been on mountain bike and last year I hit a tree and thought I broke my ribs. The year before I face planted and luckily missed landing on the tree stumps and boulders.

Anyway, good luck on what you choose! I don't think there is a great answer.
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Re: Time to hang it up, near miss on the bike. [Zippy303] [ In reply to ]
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I was in your shoes a few years back and decided to hang it up for good ( Road riding). With young kids that need me to be around, a wife that likes my income and the overall desire to not be in a pine box just yet, I decided the risk is not worth the reward. I loved riding with friends and the feel of the open road, humming along with a high heart rate and how you felt after a good 60 mile ride, but just can't justify the risk.

I sold all my tri gear, road bikes, wheels, trainers ( about 12K in gear) and never looked back. It was not as hard as I thought. I am more into weight training and running now. Also more time for scuba and other hobbies.

Every now and then I get the itch to get another bike and start again, but then read a post like this or hear how some poor guy got killed on a road bike. Reaffirms I made the right decision.
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Re: Time to hang it up, near miss on the bike. [ACE] [ In reply to ]
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ACE wrote:
Every now and then I get the itch to get another bike and start again, but then read a post like this or hear how some poor guy got killed on a road bike. Reaffirms I made the right decision.

How would you feel if everyone posted about their road ride that ended without incident? You know, the hundreds of thousands of rides every weekend that resulted in a great experience?

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"Go yell at an M&M"
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Re: Time to hang it up, near miss on the bike. [MJGuswiler] [ In reply to ]
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I ride 90% of the time on my trainer and only ride outdoors for races. it sucks but I have a infant child to look after so ...
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Re: Time to hang it up, near miss on the bike. [Zippy303] [ In reply to ]
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There's no reason you can't just bike on the trainer and then on the road for race day. I'd say that most good triathletes do most of their rides on a trainer anyway.
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Re: Time to hang it up, near miss on the bike. [Zippy303] [ In reply to ]
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Glad you are ok, I made the same decision a few months ago.
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Re: Time to hang it up, near miss on the bike. [ACE] [ In reply to ]
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"I am more into weight training and running now. Also more time for scuba and other hobbies."

And yet...scuba has a higher mortality rate than cycling...
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Re: Time to hang it up, near miss on the bike. [Zippy303] [ In reply to ]
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I came to the same conclusion several years ago. I just wasn't willing to risk it any longer. I probably helped that cycling was my least favorite discipline. I still do a hell of a lot of running and swimming. My racing is now comprised of ows, marathons and trail races. I don't miss riding on the roads at all.
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Re: Time to hang it up, near miss on the bike. [Zippy303] [ In reply to ]
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make that decision based on facts and stats, not the fresh emotion of your terrible experience. i will say however i stopped bike racing after a near miss high speed crash.

things like making some rides indoors, riding with others, always using blinking lights, get on mtb trails some, choosing the right time of day and roads, can make the already tiny chance of an incident truly minuscule.
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Re: Time to hang it up, near miss on the bike. [DBF] [ In reply to ]
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Nice! Have any cheap bikes for sale?
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Re: Time to hang it up, near miss on the bike. [Zippy303] [ In reply to ]
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I respect your feelings here - my daughter is about to turn 8 months old, and here in provincial NZ I've had more near misses like the one you describe in the last 5 years than I care to count. I have one 70.3 in January, and after that I'm giving very serious thought to a switch to Xterra. Like you say - it's a collarbone, not instant dismemberment at 100+km/hr closing speed. I'm doing SwimRun in April for the first time and I'm tempted to keep my riding to groups after this 70.3 in January. Life is short. It doesn't need to be any shorter.

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Re: Time to hang it up, near miss on the bike. [Zippy303] [ In reply to ]
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Ditch the road and hit the trails on a mtb. It's the only thing that got me back on a bike after a couple of incidents on the road with cars.

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Re: Time to hang it up, near miss on the bike. [JTNY] [ In reply to ]
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JTNY wrote:
I ride 90% of the time on my trainer and only ride outdoors for races. it sucks but I have a infant child to look after so ...
I've learned that Zwift with a smart trainer makes indoors actually fun. I've had many a close call over the years but now that I'm getting older riding outside on the road is getting less appealing.
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Re: Time to hang it up, near miss on the bike. [travis_lt] [ In reply to ]
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And the gravel roads. That's where I'll be spending a lot of time this winter
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