I’m not into long posts, here are the highlights; getting back into triathlon, first race is in July, living in a new area and just outta my mind with the bike conditions here. I mean damn, no shoulders at all, seriously, tons of traffic everywhere, this area is growing by astronomical proportions and new home construction is insane which means tons of construction traffic and dirty debris filled roads all over the place. The least empathetic drivers I’ve ever seen, I swear every Johnny Reb assumes everyone on a road bike is a Yankee(okay I am one) and should be dealt with in a very 1860’s sort of way, not to mention a plague of monster suv on the cell phone while drinking coffee soccer mom’s. I’ve only been here since Oct. and have had more close calls in an 8 month period than many years back in Jersey, including one pretty decent crash, how the hell do you deal without losing your mind or riding in total fear of getting plastered? Smartass and funny replies encouraged, but save the “just suck it up” and the like, I’m 44 and looking to train and race for fun, not to die.
Where do you live?
My guess is Arizona or Nevada.
CompuTrainer…
My guess is more like in the deep south, judging by the “Johnny Reb” slur. As a yankee who’s been in the south for 15 years now, I’d advise the OP to drop the 'tude and stereotypes. If you think the folks around you are dumb, be advised, they’re dumb like foxes. They’ll be as kind to you as you are to them, but they leave that ball in your court. As for the people clogging the roads and developing and building all those houses and driving SUVs while talking on cell phones … those are all yankees like you – and their teenage sons and daughters.
Five years ago I moved out to a very rural area here in the deep south … away from the Yankee invasion that was going on in one of the communities about an hour north of here. I live and ride every day among the long-time locals … true southerners. They are as kind and courteous to me as you could imagine. I’ve had a few minor problems with folks who don’t control their dogs. The only problems I have with traffic are when I get near the one stupid development that’s spoiling the pristine lake nearby. There, the gravel trucks and the developers in their rolling offices nearly run me over every time I go near.
Anyway, to the OP … it’s not “Johnny Reb” who’s causing you your problems. It’s Yankees … like you (and me) … and probably the person in the mirror.
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I second psycholist’s comments. I’ve lived in the south all my life, with brief exceptions, and my experiences with drivers are 99.9999% positive. Get with the program and don’t worry, be happy - your in God’s country now, son!
ps: sounds like you live in a somewhat “urban” area. I don’t think your going to find riding in an urban community anywhere very enjoyable or satisfying.
Have you found the best routes and right times to ride? Here were I ride (Birmingham, AL), I am amazed that some people will ride up a hill that has LOTS of traffic, no shoulder, and cars going 45 mph, when they could detour about a mile and ride a road where they might get passed by only one or two cars and get to the same place. Ride early and beat the traffic.
Being from Va and now living in NJ I havent noticed that the driver’s treat biker’s any different. I think the pace up here is faster and I hear a lot more horns blowing this year then the rest of my life all togeather. In Va the trouble is the shoulder isn’t as wide and the rural roads have more trucks with mirrors that can be a little scary…oh yeah more road killl to but the drivers are the same. I think the roads you ride on and the time you ride is the biggest factor. If it isnt safe to ride where you live drive somewhere else (ask your bike shop) or use the trainer.
Hook up with a local bike club and do some group rides to learn some routes. It’s possible where you are riding are the best available routes but unless you have ridden with the locals, I doubt it. Personnally, I basically gave up cycling for several years after a move because I thought there was no where safe to ride by my new house without going in endless 3 mile loops. Low and behold, it turns out that there are safe, low traffic streets that will take me out of my immediate area onto safe routes of virtually unlimted length. I never would have found it on my own since it is kind of a complicated route with about 20 turns in just a few miles but a couple group rides with the local club was all it took to learn it and now I can ride 60 miles from my house and barely see a car.
Another option is to drive to someplace to ride. Sometimes just a few minutes in the car can be all it takes. I used to live in a place with a great route but to get to it from my house required riding a short stretch on a super busy street. I would put the bike on the car and drive 1 mile just to avoid riding on that street. Even if you have to drive 20 or 30 minutes on a weekend, at least you’ll be able to ride a few days a week without risking death.
Must be Atlanta.
you’re going to hit unless you change your riding patterns.
All I can say is good luck! Sorry.
I have to put up with the most awesome scenery everyday during my runs and rides. Voted the most beautiful place in the USA.
BUT - since this is the case, 70% of the drivers are … TOURISTS… They’ll spend more time looking at the scenery then they do watching for you on the road. I see cars drive off the road all the time. “oh, look Martha…the pretty red rock…oh, SH*T…the ditch”. “HARRY…I TOLD you to watch the road!!!”
I ride on some narrow “tourist routes” with no shoulder and traffic at 45mph. All curves and hills, too.
Again…good luck. Might consider a virtual reality trainer. I use mine when the temps are below 60 and above 100.
I had the same problem. My solution was to buy a cyclocross bike, and I train almost exclusively on trails. Fortunately, I live in an area with a great trail system. Further, I can also use the trail system to get to out of the way roads, or dirt roads, where traffic is not an issue. I have an aero bar on the cyclocross bike so that I can ride the same position as I race in; although this position is still a relatively road (back, not steep) position so that it handles well in the dirt. I have sometimes used a race bike with a more forward position and have never had problems moving between the two.
So if trails are an option, get a cross bike. (The advantage of a cross bike relative to a mountain bike, in case you are unaware, is that the frames will still allow you to get at or very near your tri position. Yet the cross bike allows wider tires (good in dirt, puncture resistant), mud clearance, and cantilever brakes (or even disk).
Paul
Well, sorry to spoil your little diatribe on my comments of the culture clash between the north and south, but just stopped by the local tri shop and spoke to the “native” locals who echoed my exact sentiments and then some. Having lived in nearly every region of the US, and having traveled abroad, I go nowhere with an attitude except that I am a visitor in someone else’s home and to treat it with respect, just as I expect someone to do to me. As for the invading Yankees, I don’t know of any that put the confederate flag or Yankee go home sticker on their cars. As for stereotypes, well, there’s an ounce of truth in every one of them, and you are guilty of it by labeling Yankees in the way you have. Wow, I never met a self hating Yankee before, guess I won’t be invited over for coffee and sponge cake.
Don’t even get this whole north south thing going,as i sit here in the south surrounded by coworkers mostly from the GREAT north,if its so great up there why are you all down here? plus you do not see hords of southerners flocking to move up north
Feel better now, maybe take a break, pontificating can be very tiring. Hate to burst your bubble, but after stopping by a local tri shop today and speaking with “native” locals, they echoed every single sentiment and then some. I’ve lived in nearly every region of the country and have traveled abroad never doing so with a “tude”, except that where I go I am a visitor in someones home and to be respectful, just as I expect from others. As for the stereotype, well, there’s an ounce of truth in every single one, you should know, you just did so by blaming all the problems in the south as being from the north. Wow, a self hating Yankee, I never met one of those before, I guess lifelong friends is outta the question. You have indeed bested me, I have seen the error of my ways and vow to change. Oh, by the way, I love grits.
Why the two posts with virtually identical messages written over an hour and a half apart? Let it go. There are jerk-offs on the roads everywhere.
I have to echo the thought above about driving out to start your ride. I started cycling when I lived in Houston and always drove out of town to start rides. Once you get out of the urban areas and onto smaller country roads you get lots of space, lots of scenery, and super nice folks (and usually the other riders). Sounds like riding close to home is putting you in a very high risk category. It’s a numbers game - sooner or later you’ll have a bad wreck. It kinda sucks having to spend the extra time driving, but was well worth it for me.