Mike Rosenfeld
Thanks for all the feed back and more details about the intersection.
I actually do not care if the cyclist was in the right or wrong, or if the
Bus was right or wrong. It all comes down to realizing that what we do in
our day to day lives impact not just us but others around us.
The whole incident actually shook me up pretty badly, the adrenaline boost
made my normal morning cup of coffee go cold. Most days I would have
shrugged this off and not even bothered writing in about it. However a lot
of "what if's" entered my mind I could not shake the image of just how darn
close that 10Ton bus was to the 200 Pounds of biker and bicycle. I have
even thought about the fact that he could have been bounced from the side of
the bus and directly in front of me...causing me to have killed him. Would
not that have been ironic. One avid cyclist kills another avid cyclist.
I am glad that the, to quote Wil Catlin, "Demi god" of a sprinter made it
past the bumper of the bus and all is well. The flip side is this:
He dies.
His mother and father who gave him life, raised him, and loved him are with
out a son.
His present or future children are denied a father.
His extended family and friends are denied the pleasure of his company other
than a yearly visit to his grave marker.
30+ people have to deal with the fact they watch a man in the prime of his
life dragged to his death beneath a large vehicle they were riding in.
One poor decision that worked out in his favor was one poor decision that
could have affected so many people lives.
We are all guilty of it. In my younger years I did not wear a helmet, I ran
stop signs, I cut lanes of traffic with little or no regards to who or what
was where.
I felt I should share this mornings event as a reminder to all of us about
what is important. Your life.... and how you live it, whether you wish to
admit it or not, decisions you make and things you do affect other people.
I am not over thinking this...it is the cold hard truth.
Thanks for your time.
Mike Rosenfeld.
On Thu, Apr 2, 2009 at 12:39 PM, Steven Beardsley wrote:
> Just to set the right of way discussion straight, at this point the lane
> of the on-ramp turns Barbur from a two lane road into a three lane road. So
> any cyclist that does not take the bike path is put in to the middle lane of
> traffic and no traffic is forced to actually merge. The bus stayed in its
> lane and the bike should have stayed in the middle lane until it was safe
> and legal to change lanes.
>
>
>
> I have just as many confrontations with motorist as anyone else. Just keep
> things in perspective, the vehicle or object with more lug bolts will win
> any roadway feud. Unfortunately bikes are at the bottom of that list.
>
>
>
> *From:* obra-bounces@list.obra.org [mailto:obra-bounces@list.obra.org] *On
> Behalf Of *Justin Serna
> *Sent:* Thursday, April 02, 2009 12:03 PM
> *To:* Chris Alling; Obra
> *Subject:* Re: [OBRA Chat] What was he thinking.
>
>
>
> I would have to agree with Chris in this situation if the cyclist was in
> fact traveling at the speeds you described he had every right to hold the
> lane he was in and the bus should have given him the right of way.
> However I will agree with you that merging in front of a bus at that speed
> and proximity is very dangerous. I have found that quite often bus drivers
> can be the worst offenders when it comes to giving way to cyclist.
> Unfortunately with the increased popularity of cycling we will see many
> different types of riders just as we see in those who drive automobiles. I
> think the key is to judge each situation as an individual case and then
> remember that everyone has a point of view, but I guess that would be a bit
> idealistic.
>
>
>
> Cheers and safe training and riding..........
>
>
> J. Serna
>
> #1250
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> *From:* Chris Alling
> *To:* Obra
> *Sent:* Thursday, April 2, 2009 10:54:05 AM
> *Subject:* Re: [OBRA Chat] What was he thinking.
>
> >From your description it sounds as if the bus should have yielded the
> right of way to the cyclist and he should be lambasted for not applying the
> brakes and yielding. It sounds like the bike was traveling legally with the
> flow af traffic.
>
> ------------------------------
>
> From: JRaedeke@roguecc.edu
> To: obra@list.obra.org
> Date: Thu, 2 Apr 2009 10:07:49 -0700
> Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] What was he thinking.
>
> Amen !!! Lets all try to *not* give motorists any reasons to dislike
> cyclist on the roadways. Lets make positive progress.
>
> john
>
>
>
> *From:* obra-bounces@list.obra.org [mailto:obra-bounces@list.obra.org] *On
> Behalf Of *Mike Rosenfeld
> *Sent:* Thursday, April 02, 2009 9:38 AM
> *To:* OBRA
> *Subject:* [OBRA Chat] What was he thinking.
>
>
>
> I am not one to publicly lambaste another cyclist but I witnessed such a
> huge display stupidity this morning I have to take the time to vent.
>
> The incident took place where Capitol Highway merges onto Barbur Blvd. I
> have attached a picture of the area to refresh memories.
>
> There is a bike path for those heading towards downtown to go around the
> overpass and then merge back onto Barbur Blvd safely.
>
> It was about 7:45am, pouring down rain, and very low visibility.
>
> I was driving (yes I know...you can pick on me for driving) towards
> downtown and was passing under the overpass. I see a cyclist with minimal
> lighting and dark cycling gear, The rain jacket was Red, bluish helmet. I
> would have to gauge this cyclist as a racer due to the type of bike, smooth
> spin, and speed at which he was traveling, also the gear was indicative of
> someone who knows how to ride in the rain....speed would be maybe 25 to 30
> mph. They decide to bypass the bike path round-about and go under the over
> pass.
>
> As I close the distance and pass under the overpass I see a Trimet bus
> coming down the ramp getting ready to merge onto Barbur from Capitol.
>
> The cyclist stands up and starts to sprint.
>
> The Bus increases speed.
>
> I slow down in case the cyclist needs to veer into my lane....Every muscle
> in my body tenses and I mutter a curse under my breath through clenched jaws
> as the cyclist cuts across in front of the bus. And this is no
> joke.....there was only 5 feet of clearance between the rear wheel of the
> cyclist and the bus...it was even less by the time the cyclist clears the
> bumper of the bus and is safely across the lane.
>
> The brake lights on the bus never even flickered.
>
> I really thought I was going to watch this guy die....not just hurt but
> actually dead. The bus was doing at least mid 30's and would have smeared
> the cyclist for at least 100+ feet before stopping.
>
> This is the sort of thing that gives people legitimate complaints against
> cyclists.
>
> I know the argument that some experienced cyclists have with regards to
> being in control of their environment and know the limitations of their
> handling skills and speeds....but for goodness sake this was just down right
> STUPID!!
>
> I hope the cyclist is in fact a racer, a member of OBRA, and is reading
> this. My message to you is this:
>
> Your actions impact more than just you. If you had been wrong in your
> abilities to clear the buses bumper, I and at least 30+ other people would
> have watch you die. *Horribly.* Think of how the driver of the bus
> would have felt knowing he or she had taken your life. For what?? 30 extra
> seconds? Not wanting to deal a little bit of gravel? Think about this
> before you do something like this again. Your actions.....your
> decisions....have consequences to yourself and others.
>
> I am a cyclist. I have been riding both competitively and for leisure on
> and off for 25 years. I state this to lend credence to my assessment of the
> situation.
>
>
> Mike Rosenfeld
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
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