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Here is an amazing post that explains exactly what needs to be done.

http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?3281-What-to-do-if-you-have-had-a-Bicycle-Accident

I hope her son recovers quickly, and fully.

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We need to take over Venezuela, since taking over Iraq didn’t pan out.

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Quote:

Blown sideways

whoah! kind of personal there

let’s keep these boards PG!

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Isn’t this a little like the boy who cried wolf? They keep playing up these storms, I heard them say “a nor’easter!” all excitedly. They make it sound so Armageddonish, then when a “REAL” storm (like Sandy) hits, people say “that’s what you always say”. Now there are a lot of dead people. When it finally comes around to the Zombie Apocalypse, I hope people don’t take it lightly.

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I’d take the lane. Now, that’s not quite as easy to do if you “filter” past all the stopped cars to the right of them, then cut in and take the lane in front of someone who finally got their chance….

I’d also suggest making eye contact with the drivers around you if possible, and make a signal when they see you so they know exactly what you’re going to do. More often than not, I find that if I ride courteously, make eye contact with drivers and signal my intention, they will 95% of the time yield to me, or at least slow down and drive carefully around me. It’s that 5% that you really gotta watch out for, maybe they didn’t actually see you, maybe they changed their mind at the last minute and pull the dreaded right hook, or maybe they’re sadistic sons of bitches who want to crush you and then tell the cops you were making an illegal turn. That’s why you need to stay alert.

In summary, be predictable, be alert, and be lawful. Damn, I bet someone could make a great slogan from that.

as for the stop signs, I’m not going to touch that one. There are a number of vocal folks who will, shortly, be offering their very clear opinion on those stop signs All I can do is tell you what I do. I almost always stop. Almost always. There are a few I’ll “idaho”, but even the one I’m specifically thinking of is there because it’s a ped cross, and bikes must always yield to peds. So I do, at least, slow considerably so I can react if I missed seeing someone crossing (or see that cop at the last second).

red lights? 99.9% I never run them. If it’s sensor activated and doesn’t pick me up, I might run it depending on what’s around and the road conditions, but more often than not I’ll limp over to the ped signal and press the button to wait my turn. That’s just me and my paranoia about getting crushed by that silent electric car driver who is texting.

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totally read that in an old man’s voice

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Awesome! I wish I could calculate all that and have such a great number at the bottom. Unfortunately I’d have to add the bike I bought for commuting, the extra gear I just HAD to have, the tools and toys that were absolute necessities to complete my commute, and all the extra food I ate so I could keep my shape (round).

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I won’t get a chance to ride to work until, at the earliest, Tuesday of next week. Hopefully I’ll be able to remember to be careful or maybe things will be better by then. The time change should help.

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I haven’t biked in a week

(of course, I was sick from Saturday to Tuesday, but that just invokes rule 5)

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looks like I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue

and the wrong weekend to get the flu ugh, my head feels like it’s going to explode

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Dirt during his first hurricane preparation?

also, what happens if this storm just flies on in, and stays a while? How often has that happened? I seem to recall a few storms that forecasters expected would blow out, only to have the storm just sit-n-spin.

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@vvill 34590 wrote:

Is this the same bike you’re trying to go faster on??

I know bike weight isn’t everything but unless you’re on a descent a 42lbs bike isn’t going to be easy to get up to speed (unless you’re Dirt).

About 1/2 the days I have enough stuff at work that I can take my Trek. It’s considerably lighter

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@Dirt 34580 wrote:

Definitely a top 5 near death experience for me.

David Letterman could make a hilarious top 10 out of Dirt’s near death experiences

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@ShawnoftheDread 34514 wrote:

Which bike?

My Jamis Bosanova. It’s steel framed, has a rack, and one Ortlieb pannier attached. I wasn’t really thrown off by the imbalance of only 1 pannier, so I shed the weight of the 2nd pannier and stuff it all in the one. I don’t really have too much stuff; park tool, jacket, sleeves/leggings, dirty under garments and socks, a power bar, extra tube. That’s about it. But it all adds up with the lights, fenders, etc.

@thecyclingeconomist 34528 wrote:

Your spoke tensions are too low. You need to have the entire wheel re-tensioned, not just replace a spoke and bring it back to true. The reason spokes break is because they completely de-tension when hitting a bump. I have a Wheelsmith tension meter, and for anyone above 175lbs, you should (on average, and it differs between the drive and non-drive sides on teh rear wheel a LOT) have your tensions higher than most machine built wheels come from the factory. After building all my own wheels for the last decade or so, I originally followed Brandt’s guide and then slowly learned other non-standard patterns and how the tensions are affected.

Are you breaking them on the front or rear? (I suspect front if it happens when hitting bumps, but it depends upon the bike you are on, how many spokes it has per wheel, and the lacing pattern.)

I didn’t slow down on a path last night as I transitioned from the path to a small bridge. I popped my front wheel up a bit, and the back wheel slammed pretty hard in to the concrete lip. Fortunately, I didn’t break any spokes, but I sure smashed my rim out of true. My petite frame and gear load is kind of hard on my bikes, so I see that I really need to learn how to true my own wheels. Where do I start? I am mechanically inclined.

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A comment on one of the news reports indicated the cyclist had passed as a result of his injuries. There was no other information, but the comment appeared to have been posted by a MoCo bus driver.
http://northpotomac.patch.com/articles/cyclist-hit-by-school-bus-in-darnestown#comments

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