79pmooney
Posts:3189
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| 05/31/2018 10:33 AM |
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Yesterday evening I rode the fix gear up Terwilliger Blvd out of Portland, a gentle climb of 2 1/2 miles and several hundred feet. Started just ahead of another rider on a higher end hybrid. He caught me early on and drafted me. No biggie. I"ll probably pull away from him later and if I don't, all power to him. Then I saw in my mirror he was on his aerobars. I immediately pulled off and as he came through said "Please don't draft me on aerobars. If I slow, you crash" in a stern voice. Seemed he heard me. When I then passed him he didn't follow.
So this morning, I open Velonews to http://www.velonews.com/2018/05/commentary/kabush-commentary-dont-put-aero-bars-gravel-bikes_467839 !!!
My huge pet peeve - drafting riders who are not near their brakes. Especially riders who are drafting fix gears. Apparently it never occurs to them that if a squirrel runs in front of me, my reflexes are going to put my bike 3 feet closer very fast! (Something I used to advantage many times in my commuting days into Boston. Allowed me to follow much closer to car's rear bumpers going through the ubiquitous Massachusetts rotary free-for-alls.)
Rant, rant.
Ben
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 05/31/2018 11:22 AM |
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"curly bars"?!?!!?
SMH.... |
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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 05/31/2018 12:29 PM |
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| I don't brake for squirrels, trick is to steer straight at them and when they finally decide which way to go, you go the other way, no momentum lost. |
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79pmooney
Posts:3189
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| 05/31/2018 02:35 PM |
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OC, squirrels came to mind first. I could have said kids or dogs. And yes, I have hit 3 dogs. The kids haven't happened ... yet. The point is that my front wheel would be in his rear long before he was even off the aerobars, never mind getting to the brakes.
Curly bars- it's about time someone makes fun of roadie stuff. We've been belittling the rest of the cycling world long enough. |
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zootracer
Posts:835
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| 05/31/2018 08:41 PM |
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| I've run over two squirrels and the squirrels survived..I hit one dog and ended up fracturing my elbow..A couple of weeks ago while on a ride, I saw something sitting on the side of the road, not moving. Not sure what it was,,got close and it was a bob cat. He took off running , leaped into some bushes, never to be seen again..probably looking for a meal, most likely a squirrel. |
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longslowdistance
Posts:2886
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| 05/31/2018 09:41 PM |
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Death count on two wheels for me:
squirrels: 1
birds: 1
dogs: 0.5 (not dead, but I sure did hurt his feelings. the MF deserved it after trying to kill me)
bugs: one zillion
OTOH, critters on me:
Dogs: 2 bites over 5 decades. Coulda been worse.
Cats: one ditch entered, but stayed I upright
Wild turkeys: ducking wasn't enough, but the helmet did its job.
Bugs: back in the day when we rode without eye protection, all I can say is what were we thinking? Much better now. Now I get more sunscreen in my eyes than bugs.
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79pmooney
Posts:3189
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| 05/31/2018 11:39 PM |
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I forgot I ran a dog into a telephone pole. A long, long time ago. On my 3-speed as I recall. That dog chased everybody. He lived at the base of the hill to our house. He hit that pole hard. Never chased a bike again (and I got a few thanks from other riders.)
I've ridden into bees and wasps and been stung several times. THhankfully, never a bad one from a honeybee (yet). I don't do well with those ones.
lsd, the secret to no sunscreen in the eyes - Aloe Gator Gel. (REI) The stuff does not run and is easy on the eyes to boot. SPD 40. I apply in a racoon pattern including forehead, my eye sockets and eyelids. Use Banana Boat everywhere else because it applies faster, is not greasy, attracts fewer bugs and is much faster to wash off later. (No bug landing in the Aloe Gator is leaving.)
Ben |
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zootracer
Posts:835
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| 06/01/2018 12:00 AM |
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| I must hold the record. Been bitten by dogs 5 times. Dog gone. |
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Dale
Posts:1767
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| 06/01/2018 07:50 AM |
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Nailed a dog square on that resulted in a damaged bike and loads of road rash.
Was with a buddy a few years later when he did a repeat of my wreck-- 30mph and broadsided the dog. It snapped his bike in half and he was road rashed pretty good.
Never been bitten or hit anything else (other than the plethora of bugs) |
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longslowdistance
Posts:2886
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| 06/01/2018 10:27 AM |
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| Forgot about bee stings. Many times. |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 06/01/2018 01:45 PM |
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No dog interactions ever since we moved to wet coast. Back in Ontario days there were many vicious dogs in Mennonite country. Some close encounters.
The current main nuisance are hot summer days climbing Mount Seymour. My hillclimb speed is about same as cruising speed of deer flies (horse flies), can't evade them except maybe with a bit of red zone acceleration but as soon as you hit wall they catch back up. These things bite hard. |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 06/01/2018 09:25 PM |
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| We were cruising pretty good on our early Thurs AM group ride when a deer appeared on the very edge of the road....damn near ruined the day for a LOT of us!! |
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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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smokey52
Posts:498
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| 06/04/2018 08:45 PM |
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My colleague and friend Kaarlo stopped cycling after a crash with a deer in Harriman Park a few years ago. He was zooming down by Lake Welch. He missed the first deer, but the second totaled him and his bike. It wasn't fear of deer that stopped him from riding; he just could not get comfortable on the bike.
In the previous VN forum, I mentioned that I often rode pre-dawn before the rest of the household woke up. On one morning's ride, I saw a black and white form scurrying across the road. I went as far right as I could but still hit the skunk's nose. I didn't get sprayed, but my left shoe got a definite odor. On the same route a while later, I bumped a bat who was hunting under a street light -- just a slight scratch on my cheek, and I did not develop rabies.
With respect to dogs: If I cannot ride away with a reasonable expectation of success, I dismount and keep the bike between me and the aggressor. I almost fell off the bike once doing a wrong-side dismount. I always get on and off from the left, the direction of that attack. Since then I've practiced right-side dismounts. |
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longslowdistance
Posts:2886
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| 06/05/2018 01:09 AM |
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An entire thread - make than an entire forum - could be about dog stories.
Seems like my encounters with dogs are much less common now. Those electric fences really work. Good thing, too, as I am too old to outrun a determined dog. |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 06/07/2018 11:04 AM |
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SO on our fast group ride on Tuesday, a squireel bolts form the right side of the road, hits my buddy's front wheel, bounces into the rear wheel of the guy next to him and then off the guy behind him (and next to me)...and then completes his mad dash across the road.
Today we had three deer on the right hand side of the road and two darted across the road as we were approaching and the third was waiting on the side fo the road...thought for sure he would jump to join his family just as we got alongside...luckily he stayed put. |
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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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