How can you tell.....

[arielmoon]

Mostly I see newbies not able to hold their line. I try to stay away from them especially when they get tired.


I would also like to blame newbies for all the half wheeling (wheel overlap) in the paceline but some are not that new to be doing that.

On of my group rides just had a horrible wreck due to a newbie going for his water bottle on a down hill without one hand on the brake. He was near the front of a large group and took about 10 riders down with him.

[azfiddle]

I was a newbie last summer (a re-newbie, because I used to ride a bike a lot during high school). You could tell I wasn't one of the "cool kids" yet because I didn't wear a jersey - I was in the "t-shirt club" still. You could tell when I fell over 3 weeks in a row from my clipless pedals (although it was only on group rides). The constant refrain of "On the left!" as every other rider would pass me. Except that one time when I passed a very senior citizen on a vintage 3 speed bike.

[kcmpls]

A lot of the "newbie" things mentioned I see in my neighborhood all the time. But not by newbies, but by a) Latinos b) Somalis and c) Mormon Missionaries. All three of these groups ride their bikes a lot, but they never learn the rules of the road. They (except the Mormons) never wear helmets, are always on the sidewalk, have 3 or more people on a bike, and are on bikes that clearly don't fit them. Lots of adults on kids bikes and kids on adult bikes.

Of course, I also see a lot of people, not the missionaries, on what appear to be stolen bikes that don't fit them. Like 12 year old girls on 56cm fixed gear Surlys. And that's not just the ethnicities listed above, that's the white and blacks in my neighborhood too.

Anyhoo...

I've mentioned numerous times to bike advocates and bike groups in town that those are the groups they should be targeting for bike safety and rules of the road type outreach. But they like to stick to their English only programs and don't target the real bike commuters around the city, the low income immigrants.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Of course, I also see a lot of people, not the missionaries, on what appear to be stolen bikes that don't fit them. Like 12 year old girls on 56cm fixed gear Surlys.

When I was 12 I used to ride my big brother's 10 speed that was way too big for me, when he wasn't around. It wasn't stolen.

[kcmpls]

When I was 12 I used to ride my big brother's 10 speed that was way too big for me, when he wasn't around. It wasn't stolen.

That's why I don't call the police or bother them. It could be a legit bike. But since most of the neighborhood are on bikes from Kmart and Target, when a little girl is riding at $1000 bike, it stands out.