I'm going crazy. And not in a good way.

[telegirl]

I don't have a big choice of roads. They are what they are near my house - very few of them have shoulders to ride on, most are fairly twisty, with limited visibility. I would have to drive for a significant time to find roads that are safer than where I live. There was not one road ride this year that I didn't have a close call (and by close call, I mean I had to leave pavement and dive off into the ditch) road riding- And my mileage on the roads is over 2K this season, so that is a lot of ditch time. I just don't see it as 'overcoming a fear', Denise - it has gotten to a point where the joy of riding is outweighed by the knowledge that I am going to be going off-road at some point in the ride or maybe worse.

But you are right, Dar- I'm just not a big fan of riding dirt roads in the rain and the single track we have is not ridable in the rain - too many roots and rocks. But I should just quit my moaning and just get out....I guess it is just too many complaints at once and the rain just makes me want to SCREAM!!

[DeniseGoldberg]

Are you riding far enough out into the road so that the cars know they need to move around you? I find that works for me on the narrow roads around here, but I'm not dealing with the kind of hills that I'm sure you are, and the roads are probably not as twisty as your Vermont pavement.

Or are you saying that the roads are so twisty and the cars are driving so fast that there is no way that they will see you in time? That would be an absolute bummer. And I certainly hear what you are saying about "ditch time".

[mimitabby]

I feel my legs corroding as we speak.... It is dark going to work now and in my car I passed two bicyclists!!! (guilt guilt guilt)
If i wasn't such a chicken today would have been a perfect bike to work day.
and it isn't even November yet. It's going to be a LONG winter.

[telegirl]

Yep, Denise - Cars, trucks, etc. drive too fast, try to pass when they can't see ahead of them, generally ticked off because there is a biker they have to slow down for....you name it, I have been run off the road because of it! Even when I have ridden farther out in the road, I have been clipped by mirrors, by trailers, etc.... It just seems like this year has not been stellar for me and road riding. At least in the woods, you have a warning before a tree falls on you!

[DeniseGoldberg]

Yep, Denise - Cars, trucks, etc. drive too fast, try to pass when they can't see ahead of them, generally ticked off because there is a biker they have to slow down for....you name it, I have been run off the road because of it!

Wow - that absolutely sucks. It's too bad that we don't seem to have any recourse in situations like that. And it's even worse that you live in a beautiful place like Vermont and you can't ride your bike safely on the roads.

[tygab]

wow, that sounds awful. I think of VT as a beautiful place to ride, especially around Burlington and the NE Kingdom. Central, I could see being tougher with the twisty roads. Are there local clubs to go with (maybe safer in numbers), or authorities you can complain to? Are the offending drivers in state or yahoos from mine (or Other More Populous ones)? I would write your mayor, state police, local police, newspaper, reps whatever til you find a sympathetic listener. After all, Vt markets itself to recreating families including cycling peeps.

In any case it sounds like it is time to fight for your rights to the road and to be treated with respect. I know, you shouldn't have to, but if you don't, by default the bad car driving fools win....

sorry to hear of this happening to you.

[Geonz]

There are places I've lived in the hils of Virginia that I'm not sure I'd bike in for the same reasons, though I'd probably get out and see if taking my lane helped because some of them don't have much traffic at all.

But... either in or out, you should "just do it." (I thought of that before NIke did. It even works for me sometimes.)

and yes, riding in the rain is FUN ... but it was late at night, low traffic, and I was lit up like a Christmas Tree.