Long, Steve

"Stay to
the right."

This, generally, is not good advice. In the situation with Mike, it may
or may not have saved his life and I send my condolences to the loved
ones. But, for cars coming from behind you (which it wasn't the case
here), it is much safer to actually take up 1/3 of the lane, and, as the
vehicle approaches you, move over further to the right to create an
impression of courtesy. It also gives me a buffer to bail out if it
looks like the driver is going to buzz me. However, I do wear a mirror
on my glasses so I can watch these drivers that I don't trust one iota.
I have never been buzzed using this technique. It's only when my
attention laps a bit, or I'm in a bike lane that I usually get buzzed.

It seems like we are sacrificing a lot of cyclists lately. Will this
madness never end?

-----Original Message-----
From: obra-bounces@list.obra.org [mailto:obra-bounces@list.obra.org] On
Behalf Of drewnelson
Sent: Sunday, September 17, 2006 6:57 PM
To: obra@list.obra.org
Subject: [OBRA Chat] bicyclist killed

I guess the driver, and her family oughta be thankful it wasn't a dairy
truck coming the other direction. I lived a mile down the road from
this intersection for about 26 years. It is bad for vehicles, and
cyclists alike. I had as many near misses on the bike at West
Union/Helvetia rd as anywhere. I avoided the stretch of Helvetia from
26 to West union rd. at all costs. Something about no shoulder, and
traffic from the tavern seemed not quite right. I think 20+ years ago a
lady drove through a whole pace line of riders right there near to the
same spot where this incident occured, drove em down from behind, if
memory serves me right. When the grass is tall, it is really hard for
cars who stop at Helvetia to see riders coming either direction on West
Union. If I have the spot right, I think someone already made reference
to the trees, and school, which would have blocked the sun at 6:00, and
I think that's right. At the spot of the accident, if the sun were
visible, it shouldn't have impaired
her vision of the cyclist, it would have been too high in the sky.
At 6:00 it would have been behind the school, and fir grove. Of
course I cannot say exactly without standing there at 6:00 to see for
myself. Wasn't it cloudy and rainy Friday anyway? I've seen other cars
do the very thing she was doing all the time. West bound traffic on
West Union cuts across the eastbound lane to hit a little side street by
the closed antique shop, to then make a left at the stop on Helvetia.
This move rarely involves a reduction in speed, and without any
signaling, oncoming traffic would have a hard time telling where the car
was going. It's a very last minute abrupt maneuver. If he was
watching, he may not have been able to tell where she was headed. I
wondered, when Karen Holtz passed away, about the safety of riding
alone. Now I'm thinking that a majority of fatalities recently have
been lone riders out enjoying the freedom, and solitude that a ride
alone has to offer. A riding alone
tip? Or 2. Don't ride alone, and if you do, don't wear an Ipod.
Keep your head up. Assume that every car you see, or hear coming
will do something stupid. Never assume you have been seen. Stay to
the right. . Know your ride...where are the potential danger spots?
Ride in a group. I realize there have been safety issues on group
rides lately, but thankfully no death's. Don't assume what's "legal"
will keep you safe, you have to be in court for it to apply. The single
most stupid thing I've seen is riders who's ears are plugged
with earphones, this is just my opinion. if you can hear the jacked
up 4x4 coming, more power to ya. Finally, keep your awareness up.
At the end of a long ride it's real easy to be thinking about how
tired your legs are, or how bad the bonk is, climbing the last hill,
a warm shower, good food, and getting home to family. These are just my
thought's. Hopefully there is something useful here. I feel bad for
the mother and children left alone. I guess a kiss, and hug are
important things to remember before each and every roll out. D

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Mike

"A riding alone
tip? Or 2. Don't ride alone,"

I've found it doesn't make much difference if you ride in a group or not. Several of us nearly got clipped on a group ride last week by someone who failed to check her mirrors before pulling into a parking spot on the street. There were at least ten of us.

drewnelson

I guess the driver, and her family oughta be thankful it wasn't a
dairy truck coming the other direction. I lived a mile down the road
from this intersection for about 26 years. It is bad for vehicles,
and cyclists alike. I had as many near misses on the bike at West
Union/Helvetia rd as anywhere. I avoided the stretch of Helvetia
from 26 to West union rd. at all costs. Something about no shoulder,
and traffic from the tavern seemed not quite right. I think 20+
years ago a lady drove through a whole pace line of riders right
there near to the same spot where this incident occured, drove em
down from behind, if memory serves me right. When the grass is tall,
it is really hard for cars who stop at Helvetia to see riders coming
either direction on West Union. If I have the spot right, I think
someone already made reference to the trees, and school, which would
have blocked the sun at 6:00, and I think that's right. At the spot
of the accident, if the sun were visible, it shouldn't have impaired
her vision of the cyclist, it would have been too high in the sky.
At 6:00 it would have been behind the school, and fir grove. Of
course I cannot say exactly without standing there at 6:00 to see for
myself. Wasn't it cloudy and rainy Friday anyway? I've seen other
cars do the very thing she was doing all the time. West bound
traffic on West Union cuts across the eastbound lane to hit a little
side street by the closed antique shop, to then make a left at the
stop on Helvetia. This move rarely involves a reduction in speed,
and without any signaling, oncoming traffic would have a hard time
telling where the car was going. It's a very last minute abrupt
maneuver. If he was watching, he may not have been able to tell
where she was headed. I wondered, when Karen Holtz passed away,
about the safety of riding alone. Now I'm thinking that a majority
of fatalities recently have been lone riders out enjoying the
freedom, and solitude that a ride alone has to offer. A riding alone
tip? Or 2. Don't ride alone, and if you do, don't wear an Ipod.
Keep your head up. Assume that every car you see, or hear coming
will do something stupid. Never assume you have been seen. Stay to
the right. . Know your ride...where are the potential danger spots?
Ride in a group. I realize there have been safety issues on group
rides lately, but thankfully no death's. Don't assume what's "legal"
will keep you safe, you have to be in court for it to apply. The
single most stupid thing I've seen is riders who's ears are plugged
with earphones, this is just my opinion. if you can hear the jacked
up 4x4 coming, more power to ya. Finally, keep your awareness up.
At the end of a long ride it's real easy to be thinking about how
tired your legs are, or how bad the bonk is, climbing the last hill,
a warm shower, good food, and getting home to family. These are just
my thought's. Hopefully there is something useful here. I feel bad
for the mother and children left alone. I guess a kiss, and hug are
important things to remember before each and every roll out. D