Great advice

[OakLeaf]

Believe it or not, from the Bike Snob.

Surmounting the Obstacles to Cycling

[sundial]

From Bike Snob:

It won’t take you long to anticipate their stupid behavior in the same way you can usually figure out what your dog is about to do next.

I'm sorry but I have to disagree with several of the points the author makes. There are several experienced TE'ers who couldn't have anticipated what the driver was going to do and they ended up being seriously injured. One TE'er was given the right of way by a driver and he still injured her with his vehicle. As for the dog, some aggressive behaviors are triggered by chemical reactions and the reaction of the dog was not anticipated.

If I was a new rider, I would want the company of an experienced rider for 2 reasons: 1) for direction and 2) for safety. I don't think the author is being very sensitive to her needs as a newbie. There are too many variables that can be overwhelming, not to mention dangerous, for a solo, novice, female rider.

[VeloVT]

From Bike Snob:



I'm sorry but I have to disagree with several of the points the author makes. There are several experienced TE'ers who couldn't have anticipated what the driver was going to do and they ended up being seriously injured. One TE'er was given the right of way by a driver and he still injured her with his vehicle. As for the dog, some aggressive behaviors are triggered by chemical reactions and the reaction of the dog was not anticipated.

If I was a new rider, I would want the company of an experienced rider for 2 reasons: 1) for direction and 2) for safety. I don't think the author is being very sensitive to her needs as a newbie. There are too many variables that can be overwhelming, not to mention dangerous, for a solo, novice, female rider.

It was actually a remarkably sensitive post for BSNYC .

The whole post is intended to be a little tongue-in-cheek, you have to keep in mind. I actually thought the section about traffic was pretty good, though.

[NJBikeGal]

"Drivers don’t honk when they’re about to kill you because when they kill you it’s because they didn’t see you."

I must say...this is a very good point! I can only do the Bike Snob in small doses, but I have to agree with Liza on this one...it is an awfully benign posting!

[OakLeaf]

Sundial, the thing about it is (and I deal with this all the time as a motorcyclist) is that you have to BELIEVE and RIDE as though you can prevent every collision. Wear the gear, for sure, but don't ever think that car/bike collisions are "inevitable."

On rare occasions that turns out not to be true. On a forum this large, sadly we're going to have some of us who have experienced those occasions. On many, many other occasions, a rider's momentary lapse combines with a cager's gross negligence or recklessness, and the result is the rider being seriously injured or killed.

It's important to realize that it's not a value judgment on the rider to recognize that they might have prevented the accident. By slowing down, speeding up, shifting their body weight differently, positioning themselves differently in the lane, whatever. There's not one of us who has 100% perfect attention or reflexes or judgment, and sometimes that moment gets us. There are very, very few accidents that can't be learned from (by others, if sometimes tragically not by the victim).

Another way of saying this is: our safety is our own responsibility and no one else's. Accidents can be someone else's fault, but they're our own responsibility. And I think what BSNYC is trying to say (in his own inimitable way ) is that you can't let fear deter you from taking that responsibility.

[Trekhawk]

Thanks for posting the link.
I really enjoyed the post and it gave me my first laugh for the day.