SideBySide
Posts:444
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| 09/12/2014 02:10 AM |
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My wife gets really nervous. I don't think I'll tell her about the idiot driver who was so busy with her phone that she almost hit me. I was on one sidewalk, crossing in the crosswalk, with a walk symbol. She was in the middle of the intersection staring at her phone, because the lane was full. When the light changed I moved, about when I was committed, she started moving. I think they heard my yell in Portland. The look on her face was priceless. |
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longslowdistance
Posts:2886
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| 09/12/2014 07:11 AM |
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I've had more close calls caused by an SUV driving woman on a cell phone with her kids is the car. Worrying about a cyclist is way down the priority ladder for her.
What my wife hears: I easily saw and readily defused a potentially dangerous situation before it actually became dangerous.
I come home safe and happy time after time, which builds faith that it's OK to be on two wheels on the roads. Trust building had to begin all over again when I got the motorcycle license a few years back, but she's cool with it now. |
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Keith Richards
Posts:781
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| 09/12/2014 11:31 AM |
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If I told my wife how often I ALMOST get hit, I would be telling her horror stories three, five times a week.
I commute through a major urban area (DC), so close calls are a regular occurrence. |
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It is his word versus ours. We like our word. We like where we stand and we like our credibility."--Lance Armstrong. |
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zootracer
Posts:835
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| 09/12/2014 11:46 AM |
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I pretty much tell my wife everything. She won't be completely surprised if the cops show up on our doorstep with bad news. let's face it, our passion is extremely dangerous...
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SideBySide
Posts:444
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| 09/12/2014 12:29 PM |
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I may take LSDs approach. I watched this lady focus on her phone the whole time she was there, and yes, it was an SUV. I might yell to get her attention before I started moving next time.
My wife is getting better. The first time I felt good and rode a significant amount more than I had told her, she was about ready to call the cops to see if I was on the side of the road somewhere. Now unless we have plans, she pretty much expects I'll keep riding.
I don't think I could take DC or heavy city traffic.
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ChinookPass
Posts:809
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| 09/12/2014 01:34 PM |
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At crosswalks, I often count to 3 after it changes. The other night a woman blew right through a red, well after it changed. Several peds were on both sides of the cross walk.
It also seems clear to me that drivers have pretty much decided that texting and driving is ok. At this point, there is not much that can be done to stop it. They might get a bigger fine after running someone over if it is found out that they were using their phone but at the time, they are not thinking about that. At most stoplights, the majority of drivers are surfing or texting, no exaggeration.
Our state passed a vulnerable user law to place an added punishment on top of a traffic ticket when someone dies due to a negligent driver. The law is being disregarded by judges. They are still regarded as just "accidents". Maybe having to live with the fact that you killed someone with your vehicle is punishment enough, but no one is thinking about that before or while acting negligent.
What should you tell your SO? "Pedaling makes me happy, please spread the word among your friends that you have a loved one out there and you hope they behave like you or someone like you is close by." |
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Dale
Posts:1767
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| 09/12/2014 02:45 PM |
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My girlfriend does the anesthesia at a good sized hospital and has seen several cyclist in to get pins, plates and otherwise patched up in the surgery rooms.
On the one hand everyone in surgery likes cyclists as we're easy to work on-- no excess body fat, good condition, veins are easy to stick and sometimes we come in already prepped for surgery 
I don't tell her every near death experience but she also sees the cuts and bruises when I get back from mountain biking or a cross race so she knows there's more to the story that "I had a blast!"
She also knows cycling for me is like alcohol to Winston Churchill, "I have taken more out of alcohol than alcohol has taken out of me." |
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SideBySide
Posts:444
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| 09/12/2014 03:04 PM |
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| Chinook, the problem with her was that she and another car were parked IN the intersection going straight on 228th westbound at Fitzgerald. I was crossing the street to head up the hill. |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 09/12/2014 03:27 PM |
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What Keith said. She gets told zip. Nothing to tell; its part of doing business.
In BC car insurance rates are going up 5 percent with same rise in claims, coincident with use of gadgets in cars. |
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vtguy
Posts:298
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| 09/12/2014 05:17 PM |
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| I tell my wife about the deer, wild turkeys and the occasional otter or mink that I see on early morning rides. I say nothing about near misses with distracted drivers on the road or mishaps on the trail (that are usually my fault). But I always tell her the time that I'll be back, and I always carry a phone. |
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Keith Richards
Posts:781
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| 09/15/2014 03:26 PM |
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Posted By SideBy Side on 09/12/2014 12:29 PM
I don't think I could take DC or heavy city traffic.
lol! I actually have more problems and issues with single lane country roads with no shoulder. The type of roads I as a cyclist SHOULD like. Blind corners. Rural drivers in huge vehicles with no respect for cyclists because they don't deal with them regularly...I tell people often that the traffic, and the slow speeds that result, make negotiating the urban roads not nearly the problem one would think.
But there is a learning curve. I know the timing/pattern of every light on my commute in detail.
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It is his word versus ours. We like our word. We like where we stand and we like our credibility."--Lance Armstrong. |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 09/15/2014 03:36 PM |
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| Keith - I would say semi-rural, not rural. Often realtively small roads not designed to handle traffic volumes is where biggest dangers are. Semirural also equates to people in a rush on relatively small roads. Urban or rural I've never had problem with. Big part of south Ontario is semi-rural and wasn't particularly pleasant to ride. |
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SideBySide
Posts:444
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| 09/15/2014 03:37 PM |
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Personally, my issues with traffic are my width (31" at the back wheels) and my current lack of speed /acceleration. I can't really narrow the rear wheels much, I already have to lean way out to keep all three wheels on the ground. I do OK with speed once I get going, but throw in a small rise and my speed drops quickly, nor do I accelerate as quickly.
I was telling some cycling friends last night about a driver laying on the horn at me as I was trying to cross two lanes to the left turn lane. Their comment, "you need to put your whole hand out, not just point, because they may think you are flipping them off." That is something that never occurred to me. It's a learning experience.  |
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Keith Richards
Posts:781
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| 09/15/2014 04:27 PM |
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| OC, I would be totally comfortable with that distinction. |
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It is his word versus ours. We like our word. We like where we stand and we like our credibility."--Lance Armstrong. |
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Serotta94
Posts:25
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| 09/15/2014 05:59 PM |
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| Not cycling related, but topic related. Spent some time in the Sierra peak bagging with my youngest son and a friend over the weekend and we did a bit of 3rd and 4th class scrambling. At one point we were taking some pictures and a comment was made that these were classified photos not to be shared with mom who did not have the proper clearance or need to know. |
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