Pedestrians?

[Bethany1]

I was coming home yesterday and nearly took out a pedestrian. I was going down the road at about 26 mph since it was a straight shot down the hill. The road does have some smaller hills and when I came over the top there was a guy walking up.

The last thing I want to do is hit the guy at this speed and I couldn't tell if there were cars behind me with the wind blowing. I'm braking for dear life wondering if I should head over into the grass and hoping I don't go over the bike or take a chance and go around hoping a car isn't coming behind me as I couldn't see.

The guy isn't moving out of the way and I just took a chance and rode around him. It's not that busy of a street but you never know. He waved hi as I rode past him.

So, was there a better way to handle this? Was he supposed to walking up the road facing oncoming cars? If there was a car behind me should I hit the grass? I didn't have enough time to yell at him to move either. Yell at him that I'm going really fast and move out of the way if I had time? If I had hit him, I'm guessing I would be the one responsible since pedestrians always win.

It just really scared me as I try to be responsible on a bike. If I had been in a car, it would have been a close call as well. I'd just like to be better prepared the next time I face a pedestrian. No..there aren't any sidewalks.

[Wingher]

I think most states have the same law that pedestrians are to walk facing traffic, if there are no sidewalks available. In our area, we have quite a few joggers along the roads, so IMO, you did the right thing. So down a bit and pass the walker/jogger on the left. You may not have had to hard brake, but in the future, just give them some room and pass on the left. If they are jogging/walking with traffic (which is usually illegal) a warning of "on your left" before passing is an appreciated courtesy.

You also might look into a mirror for your bike or helmet. (No pun intended!)

[OakLeaf]

What Wingher said. The rules are the same for you on your bike as they are when you're driving a car - you're a vehicle in traffic. Pedestrians are required to walk facing traffic, and it's ordinarily the safest place for them to be.

It's a good idea not to hug the curb on a blind climb anyway. You don't want to encourage cars to pass you and potentially hit an oncoming vehicle head-on (odds are that one of the vehicles would hit you, so this is a self-interested position as well as anything else).

Now, when I run, I often cross to the wrong side of the road when I'm on a blind climb or on the inside of a blind curve. But that's illegal, and it also may not be possible if there's traffic in both directions. I also wear a neon orange visor so that as soon as my head is visible over a hill, it's really visible. Still, just as for us cyclists, the fact that someone might not be following best practices doesn't obviate others' responsibility toward them.

[Bethany1]

Thanks for the advice. I don't think I'll be going up/down that road again on a bike. It's not safe.

I need to get a mirror. I can't turn my head far enough to look behind me as I've discovered.

Turns out all these years that I've been walking wrong then if I'm supposed to face traffic. LOL.

I don't usually ride in the mornings as people are always out walking. Usually early afternoon works the best to avoid cars and people. I just needed to do an early ride so I could get some other errands done.

[Biciclista]

Bottom line, pedestrian has the right of way even if he's in the wrong place. Fortunately most of the time they stay on the sidewalk, but many places around here don't even HAVE sidewalks. I'm with you; pick a better route!

[lph]

I'd go one further and say move well out into the road when approaching anything blind at speed, and check your back in advance to know if you can move even more out in a hurry. If you're uncomfortable with turning your head to check, you need a mirror. Hearing is not reliable to tell if there are cars there. Moving out into the middle of the road also signals any cars behind to hold it a minute and not pass. It also pisses off some drivers, but if you obviously and deliberately move out when needed, and back when the coast is clear, I think most drivers will see that you're doing for a reason.

It is tricky when things turn up un-expectedly, but it is your responsibility both as a driver and a cyclist to handle the unexpected, as it were. There could be an animal there, a car-crash, something that would force you to stop or move completely out of the way.

I'm not saying I never ride too fast to handle something like that, though

[soprano]

I make a habit out of going down hills with my hands way up in the drops so I can get the most leverage on the brake levers, and my weight further back on the bike. In other words, I go down the hill anticipating that I might have to pull a quick stop. I also upgraded my brake pads because I have to deal with several steep hills on my commute. When I'm over 25 mph, I take the lane so I have somewhere to swerve if needed.

When I took driver's ed, I was taught that it's a good idea to not outrun your stopping distance. If you can't see over the next hill or around a bend, slow down. Going fast is exciting, but it's not worth having a wreck because you didn't see some obstacle. Riding a bike isn't any different. Save the fast stuff for when you have high-quality blacktop and unlimited visibility. The same rule applies to night driving and riding: don't outrun your headlights.

[OakLeaf]

+1.

Re: "bracing yourself against the handlebars," I'm not really sure what that means, but it seems it would tend to move your weight forward, which is exactly the opposite of what you want to do. (You also want a light touch on the bars to preserve your ability to steer.)

At high speed you want your weight back anyway because you're more stable with your weight over the non-turning wheel. That goes double for under braking: as far back as you can sit.

#1 rule is that even though your front brake provides at least 75% of your braking power, it's a Very Bad Habit to rely on it exclusively. Weight back (to give you rear traction when your weight starts to shift forward and to avoid a rear-wheel skid as well as avoiding a stoppie), hard on the rear brake, gradually squeezing the front brake to a hard application.

- Lucky faceplant survivor, still practicing...

[NbyNW]

When I took driver's ed, I was taught that it's a good idea to not outrun your stopping distance. If you can't see over the next hill or around a bend, slow down. Going fast is exciting, but it's not worth having a wreck because you didn't see some obstacle. Riding a bike isn't any different. Save the fast stuff for when you have high-quality blacktop and unlimited visibility. The same rule applies to night driving and riding: don't outrun your headlights.

This. Put another way, your speed vs. stopping distance and line of sight is different on a bike than it is when you are inside the safety cage of a car, wearing a seat belt. If you can't make a safe stop within your line of sight, you are probably going too fast.

[lph]

On downhills I have a habit of shifting my butt back until I'm actually sitting more on my thighs, my rear just about hangs off the saddle... Looks a bit silly, maybe, but I can tuck down against the wind and still be ready to brake very efficiently. I have my bars fairly low, though.

[Owlie]

If I can't see, I take the lane. Parked cars, corners, hills. Same if I can see, but I know from experience that seeing anything from a car on that stretch is difficult. (There's a hill in my neighborhood like this.)

+1 on what everyone else said about line of sight and speed.

On descents, I scoot way back. Not quite as far as lph, but as far back on the saddle as I can get. I'm trying to avoid the death grip, but that's easier said than done.