Mark Lemmon wrote:
snip........I continue to ride on the roads is because if we all stop riding on the roads except for races, we'll eventually lose the right to ride on the roads, including races.
Had a similar thought this week with a cycling friend. I called animal control about homeowner that has several aggressive dogs. I let the group know where the house is located and one of my friends suggested I change a training route to avoid the home. I am not going to change the road I have been using for years when there is a law for unleashed dogs, there is a county animal control department that enforces that law and a homeowner that fully realizes that this is a common route for cyclist to use in training. In 2017 I hit a dog at 30 mph and was hurt fairly bad along with a torn PCL. I called animal control and they picked up the dog and never saw it again.
I agree and will do my part so that I (we) can use these roads without fear or intimidation. I let the group know and hope to report this weekend if the dogs are gone or contained. We shouldn't have to change what we do out of fear of being attacked or hitting the dog or getting hit by a car.
I do train inside during the weekdays for other reasons and must admit that I get better structured training from that than cycling on the road. Some of the previous bike handling skills comments do baffle me a bit, but I am a non-competitive roadie and can handle myself really well if and when I do ride in a
no mercy group ride. For the most part these days I am solo in aero on a tri bike on the weekends.
I do appreciate and respect the choice of the OP and others if they are content training inside all the time.
