bicycle meets car car wins

[Steve Knight]

Well today was fun. I had forgotten my wallet and had to go get it so I could go to the post office today. The weather was sprinkling but the roads were wet. Here I am going about 15 as the road starts to slope up. The bike lane is one lane out and not against right curb so I was in it. A lady in a SUV pulled out in front of me. I put on full brakes but I could not stop so I went to the left to go around her. I think I was close to stopping and she was too I think. But it she still hit me in the side. Man I did a face plant but my helmet sure saved me. I saw the road real close but only my chin got a whack my head bounced off the payment. Well the helmet did. I was thinking why did my face not get hurt? Then I finally figured it out my helmet hit not my face.

Lots of witnesses and I was in the right. The lady that did it was really nice and even brought me home. I thought I might need the ambulance that arrived but once my leg was not numb I could feel it was not broken just bruised up a lot. So she brought me home gave me 100.00 to get a helmet and will fix the bike. Sure glad the frame is a good steel frame. I do admit I forgot to turn on my front flasher. It is a xenon flasher so it would have been visible. I don?t usually ride that time of day and I was in a hurry and forgot. But it sounds like she saw me and her food slipped off the brake pedal. (She admits she was at fault) so it may not have made a difference.

well this was yesterday. I am not as sore as I thought I would be more sore. my leg was not as sore as I thought it would be. knee feels a bit funny but I could walk just fine. my shoulders are what hurt. I never hit them (I landed face down) but I think trying to stop myself stressed them. every time I sit for a hour or so they kill me when I move (G) I took my bike into my favorite mechanic. I will get the results Monday. I know the forts are toast as they were spread apart a fair amount. the front detailer is toast and maybe the cranks.

[Greg Millen]

Steve, I am glad you weren't hurt. BTW, two days for the pain to kick in, not one.

As an aside, give us some warning next time so we can buy a few collector pieces before you bite the big one.

Seriously though, you're lucky (and so are we) that you're still around.

Take care,

[Fly-by-Night CC]

Well there's her problem right there. Jeez everyone knows you must secure the item to the pedal. That's why I only use broccoli with the rubber band or a rump roast with the netting - something that'll hold it securely to the brake pedal.

Glad to hear things weren't worse Steve... as in my opening The Oregonian this morning to read about some plane builder losing his sole on 82nd Street. Those helmets are life savers. I have no doubt that it quite likely saved mine - or at least averted some severe head trauma.

A couple years back I was peddling errands around my little 'berg with my then 3 year old daughter in a carrier mounted behind the saddle. (She had her helmet on too - picture Peanuts comic strip with Rerun.) Anyway, I was making a turn onto a city street with a train track that runs down the center. My front wheel got pulled into and became trapped in the deep and narrow rut between the rail and the surrounding pavement. The handlebars were ripped out of my grasp and a split second later I was going over the front of the bike. I tucked my arm against my chest hoping to roll off my side and shoulder rather than land on an outstretched hand/arm. I hit the pavement pretty hard on my entire right side - from hip to shoulder. I recall the bang of my helmet hitting the roadway and scrambled to my feet as quickly as I could to get me and my daughter out of any traffic that might not see us on the ground.

Luckily she was A-OK. A little jostled around but still held securely in her seat/rollcage. My helmet was cracked in two places and if not for the outer plastic shell would have been in pieces. My bike was OK. Still very shaken I rode home with her saying, "Go slower daddy. Go slower." It scares me to think of what might have happened had I not previously developed the habit of wearing a helmet. It is absolutely the number one requirement in our household before any bike riding takes place.

[Norman D. Crow]

Glad you're not hurt any worse Steve, and bike parts can be fixed or replaced!

Try the words "adrenalin shock". Some years back ('86) I hit & killed a good sized doe riding my '80 Kawasaki KZ1300 full dresser. Bike was almost stopped when I hit, but @ that point the rear wheel was lifting from severe front brake, I was already starting to lift out of the saddle, and after impact the bike just sort of laid down, maybe slid a couple feet max. I flew about 8-10', worst damage was the knee of my jeans, gloves jacket & helmet covered everything else. Friend & SIL came up over the hill behind me in a car, we picked bike up, rode to friends house for several coffees, rode bike home(frame mount fairing the brunt of impact. IIRC, this bike weighed about 1050-1100, the deer was 20' away, stone dead, & it looked like an explosion in a mattress factory, as it was late Apr. early May, so they were shedding).

Tried to go to work the next morning, lasted about 1/2hr. EVERYTHING hurt! Went home, took a handful of aspirin & went back to bed for about 3-4hr. Pain settled enough so I could function the rest of the day, and was gone after about 3 days. There was a little local trauma in the wrists and shoulders from the "landing", but I expected that. just wasn't prepared for the "total body" experience.

The ironic part is, that was supposed to be my last ride on the KZ, as I went to pick up my '84 Gold Wing the next night.

[Wilson]

People are WAY too unconscious and/or rude for safe riding these days. And some are just mean!

I'm basically dumb enough to do anything more or less normal, but my BMW stays in the basement. I rode a '47 Harley in the 60s and wish I still had it!

Good luck healing up! Wilson

[Leon]

Glad to hear that you were not hurt too badly Steve. If you have not yet, it may be a good idea to fill out a police report just in case.

[Never Enough Money]

Ouch! Steve, I hope you are alright (or at least healing fast). And that's not just because you're working on two planes for me!

As a fellow bicyclist, I understand the trails and travails of bicycling out in that confusion of motorists... Even here, in Boulder, Colorado which is one of the most bike friendly places in the US, I have close calls and encounter an occasional rude driver...

The woman that hit you at least was sorry and tried to make things right!

Wonder how cocobolo helmets would go over?

My SWMBO says I should give up that dangerous sport of road biking and concentrate 100% on woodworking. I still want both so maybe combining them in someway....wood helmets or wood saddlebags or fairings or....hmmmm, at least I'd have a niche market.

Remember the ibprofen and get well soon.

[snip]

[WoodMangler]

Steve Knight did say:

Glad you're OK Steve. As for the shoulder pain, after having hit head first, you may very well have a bit of a neck injury. Might be smart to visit your doc and get him to look at it. At the least, take it very easy on your neck for a little while. Cycling in traffic AND making your living with woodworking tools... Hope you've got at least one safe activity in your life. I've tasted the fenders of a couple of trucks myself, as well as my share of asphalt. As all of us cyclists know, it's the inattentive four wheel operators that are the real danger out there. We're far more vulnerable than those wrapped in steel and airbags.

For those of you who don't ride, next time you see a motorcycle or bicycle on the road, take a moment to notice how people in cars get MUCH closer to them than they would to another car. They should really give two wheelers more room than normal for safety's sake. I guess people don't feel threatened by the smaller vehicle, and feel safe themselves. Give us a little more room, please.

[WoodMangler]

Never Enough Money did say:

Going to start doing some night riding since the days are getting shorter, and wanted to extend the rear flasher to the left side of my LeMond about twelve inches. I've read that doing that keeps people from getting too close as they drive by. Anyway, I'm doing a bent laminated mount that will clamp to the seat post and extend a rear flasher twelve inches to the left. May as well give it an aero profile. I suspect it won't be the last wood project for the bike. Hmmm... what wood looks best with Ti and Al?

Russ

[J. Clarke]

When I encounter a bicycle I assume that the guy is going to fall off in front of me--the way a lot of folks ride it's not that risky a bet. But it's frustrating to have to trundle along at bicycle speed because giving the guy adequate clearance would mean going into oncoming traffic. Especially when the bicyclist is usually oblivious to the laws in most states that require slow moving vehicles to move aside at the earliest opportunity when there is a line of traffic blocked up behind them.

But, I'm going to add another preach--TEACH YOUR KIDS TO RIDE _WITH_ TRAFFIC not _AGAINST_ it. If somebody's on a bicycle in the wrong lane you don't always have lot of time to react. One of the scariest things I ever saw was four kids on bicycles, southbound in the northbound right hand lane of an Interstate highway, in moderately heavy traffic, back when the speed limit was 70. I got off at the next exit and called the Highway Patrol who I had the distinct impression thought I was crazy. Didn't hear anything about them on the news so presumably they got caught before they got hit. If ever I've seen a miracle, their survival was it. If I'd been in the right lane instead of the left when I saw them, I don't know that I'd have been able to stop or dodge before I hit one of them.

>

[J. Clarke]

Ebony or blackwood might fit in with the high-tech look. But you also I presume want it to stand up to the elements and survive a spill in reasonably good order, so maybe something strong and decay resistant like Lapacho would be good. But that would add a little weight (heck, it wouldn't add as much as ebony). Or if you're going with "aircraft quality" then Sitka spruce.

[mark]

For those of you who don't ride, next time you see a motorcycle or bicycle on the road, take a moment to notice how people in cars get MUCH closer to them than they would to another car. They should really give two wheelers more room than normal for safety's sake. I guess people don't feel threatened by the smaller vehicle, and feel safe themselves. Give us a little more room, please.

Hmmm...you know, you're right. I never noticed that. I've actually done that. I'll think twice about it next time.

My pet peeve is bike riders who ride down the center of the lane like they own the road, and expect you to pass them on a double yellow or a blind curve. While car drivers definitely don't give bike riders enough room, I see plenty of bike riders who aren't aware of what the road looks like from the car point of view. I do that now when I ride my bike -- if I'm on a blind curve, or a hill where there is no way a car could see past me enough to pass safely, I make sure I'm as far to the right as possible.

[Larry Jaques]

On Sun, 10 Oct 2004 05:40:15 GMT, Steve Knight calmly ranted:

I'm glad to hear that you're OK and that she admitted guilt and paid. RE: the bike, more often it pays to get a new one vs. trying to repair a sprung frame. Look for new replacement bikes, then take both figures to the lady. She might even spring for an upgrade since you haven't threatened to sue her. Remember the fluorescent vest, helmet, and your xenon flasher/lights next time, eh?

Did I tell you I finally fixed that shoulder plane of yours? The second brass strip fell off (mine was an early model before you found that the epoxy didn't hold metal to wood really well) so I put a jarrah sole on it. She's sweet again.

The LVT flushcut saw worked well and was small enough to fit inside the throat to cut the mouth. I used my new Japan Woodworker ryoba to cut the ends off.

-- SAVE THE PARROTS! Eschew the use of poly! ----------

Poly-free Website Development

[WoodMangler]

mark did say:

Usually, that is the best way. But, on some roads where there isn't enough room on the right side for a cyclist to ride, and for a car to pass them without at least partially crossing the centerline, it is safer for the cyclist to get out in the road. People will literally nudge you with their rear view mirrors in an attempt to pass you without crossing the centerline. I've had it happen. When the road is too narrow, I'd rather have people waiting behind me for a couple of seconds while I round the curve than be pushed into the ditch by an impatient driver.

[mark]

Yeah, good point.

[WoodMangler]

J. Clarke did say:

It's certainly important for cyclists to understand the rules of the road. More-so since we'll pay a higher price for misunderstandings than the multi-ton machines we butt heads with.

I do understand that it is frustrating to be stuck behind someone slow, especially when they've ignored opportunities to allow faster traffic to pass safely. Some, unlike you, choose to physically remove the obstacle from their path - endangering lives to alleviate their frustration. I'm likely to pull around these inconsiderate cyclists at the first safe opportunity to do so, then stop a ways ahead, and when they catch up offer them my view of how an experienced rider might have ridden that stretch of road. I've done that a few times, and have never had an unpleasant interaction with them. Cyclists, like woodworkers, are always interested in knowing how to engage in their pastime safely. Since that means less worry and fear, that almost always translates into more enjoyably.

As for riding a bicycle against traffic on a busy Interstate... Well, there's natural selection to consider.

[Steve Knight]

it's far better today. only the cuts on my legs really ache. it's weird they are not deep and hardly bleed but they sure hurt. I think they were bruised too. this could have happened in a car too since she slipped. but it had to happen on a day that I was trying to get to work to ship a bunch of planes that where behind (G)

[Larry Jaques]

On Sun, 10 Oct 2004 10:17:40 -0400, WoodMangler calmly ranted:

Bounced off the side of a car's panel? It would break your neck with the weight of the rebound.

You could always Mexi-Chrome pineywood (AL paint) if you didn't want to go to the expense of Ebony.

-- SAVE THE PARROTS! Eschew the use of poly! ----------

Poly-free Website Development

[Steve Knight]

I am pretty careful when riding. I always think that no one see's me till proven otherwise. that works pretty well. and here in Portland I haven to had any real problems or close calls riding. 15 years ago I did but that was my errors mostly.

them train tracks are something that love to grab bikes. as hard as I hit the helmet only has scratches I was surprised (don't worry it gets replaced) as a kid I cracked my head open twice playing. I seem to be good at it.

[WoodMangler]

Larry Jaques did say:

Metalflake pineywood... Now why didn't I think of that!?!?! Schweeet...