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Crash!

theBlob

Bokeh master
Sep 28, 2011
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I headed out for a quick hour on my 5.4km TT circuit.
on my way there I had my first crash. Coming up to a kink in a reasonably narrow back street (no houses just near one of those gold practice ranges) I can see in the mirror a bicycle coming the other way. So i slow down and go around right on my side of the road.

Sure enough there it is a mama chari loaded up witha kid and all right in front of me, right on my side of the road. I swerve further to my side, so does she:mad: I go the other way so does she. and boom I go right into her back wheel and off.

blood on the elbow, and hip, scratches on my bike. I yell at her and she apologises.

I should have asked her to pay for my levers and other scratched parts:mad::mad::mad: But I let her ride off instead.

Anyway at least nothing was broken or hurting too badly although my elbow is hurting pretty bad now, and I did get 38km in on my TT course after and hit a new PB of 34.4km/hr over the 5.4 km course so it isn't all bad...:confused:
 
bummer!

Sorry to hear about that, sounds like it was all right. I guess her and the kid were all right? (could have been worse if they were involved, eh?)
 
Yeah they were fine.
I don't know. Bicycle vs bicycle, surely blame would be assigned where the fault lay. ie With her - riding on the wrong side of the road up to a blind corner.

But then I am a gaijin so that would probably count against me.
 
dunno, man. kid gets hurt, i think you might have some trouble. crazy speedy bike, etc.


Time to top up that insurance.... :bike:
 
Except I was't speeding but you are probably right.

I have got full coverage for my cycling for me and others.
 
Sorry to hear that mate. Put it down to experience, and let it further cement the idea that most of the riders on this fair isle do not have a single clue what they are doing.
 
I always stop in these situations.
Then blame lies with the moving vehicle.

Both moving? Both at fault.

Protect the stupid mums and the innocent kids....
 
Bail out to prevent ANY collision with kid+mamachari. There is no possible way to outcome this in favor of a MAMIL. Even though they are 99.999% of the time completely in the wrong, they will always be right in the eyes of the law.
 
I think you got lucky. Next time stop and there is nothing to write about
 
I think you got lucky. Next time stop and there is nothing to write about

Yes, I'd agree, and that's usually what happens, but unfortunately, there's also a skid that comes off of your rear tire. :mad:

I encounter riders on a local bike path, and as much as I keep left as hard as I can, there are sometimes those who don't get it that keeping left is the way to go.

I try not to get aggravated about it, since trying to educate clueless people would be like pissing into the wind. I'm sure they think they're right about trying to stay out of the way, but it would be nice if there were a few signs along the way saying 'keep left'.
 
Bicycle vs bicycle, surely blame would be assigned where the fault lay.

Like Tim I also think that when you hit a mamachari with kids on it, you pretty much automatically lose. Some bicycles are more equal (i.e. considered more vulnerable) than others.

Even if it wasn't for that, I'd feel terrible if kids got hurt. It's not their fault if their mother puts them at risk.

I have a corner in my neighbourhood where I had my first clip-less pedal crash in a similar incident and the shoes was on the other foot there: it was me who was on the wrong side too close to the corner. I have now become very careful at such corners where there's a chance for surprises. I keep as much distance from the corner as possible or even ride in the middle and keep my speed down there.
 
Blob,

I hear you.
It's so frustrating......you are doing nothing wrong at all,hell,you are abiding the law,then along comes ignorant mamma and you're done for.
It's not fair but that is what it is like over here.

Hope you don't have another 'encounter' for a long,long,long while!
 
Blob,

I hear you.
It's so frustrating......you are doing nothing wrong at all,hell,you are abiding the law,then along comes ignorant mamma and you're done for.
It's not fair but that is what it is like over here.

Hope you don't have another 'encounter' for a long,long,long while!

On the contrary, I hope he has these encounters 2 or 3 times a day and learns how to react to them.

Eventually you learn to avoid most of them by realizing that there is possibly one behind every post box, telegraph pole, corner, tree, bush, parked car, leaf, pebble... :bike:

And don't get me wrong, I've yelled at many an idiot...but yet to hit any of them... (except that dog lead once).

I should have known better having 2 dogs myself.

And when I'm walking my 2 dogs at the same time... I AM THAT IDIOT getting in the way of cyclists on the cycling path.
 
Nearly every dog walker is in their own little fairy/unicorn/dog bubble world, and the last thing on their mind is wondering if a cyclist might be appoaching and wreck their fun at any given moment.

As for the momma chari lot, as frustrating as it is that compared to where we came from, some things seem idiotic, if we were not here preaching about how things should be, I think the locals would make out just fine. I don't know how, but they have made it this far.

Just my two cents. Bitter because I needed to work today and had the last two rainy days off? Maybe a little. Regardless, be safe out there.
 
Agressive response not working...

I always stop in these situations.
Then blame lies with the moving vehicle.

Both moving? Both at fault.

Protect the stupid mums and the innocent kids....

Have to agree here. I am getting pretty frustrated with cyclists who cycle against on-coming traffic, expecting me to swing out right around them while they stay close to the curb. But, angry tirades go nowhere. Either the idiots pretend they haven't seen or heard me out of embarrassment, or they look at me with complete bewilderment because my language skills are too advanced for them or they simply do not understand how they have violated the laws of the road, or worse still, they stare at me as if I were some irrational gaijin prat trying to ruin their day!

So, I agree with Edogawakikkoman. Now, I simply come to a complete stop and shift the bike slightly askew so that I am taking up a good three feet from the curb out into my lane of travel, and give the on-coming cyclist the arm gestures for, Hey, Buddy, what are you doing?:confused:

This forces them either to stop, or to swerve well out into an oncoming lane of traffic. And it covers me because I am no longer moving. As they pass, I say in a non-threatening way, "Abanai desu-ne. Muku gawa-ni itte kudasai." (You can see that I am totally proficient in the Japanese language, which is why I naturally want to avoid any major confrontation involving police and insurance folk. With limited Japanese, you're pretty sure to come out looking like a maniac on a road bike tearing up the tarmac! "Er, chotto matte... watashi no faruto ja nai, O-mawari-san. Er, kare wa totemo baka deshita... Chigau hou ni kitta..."):(

The key is education, I think. A few well-placed, targeted ads explaining cyclists' road safety basics such as obeying traffic lights and cycling with the flow of traffic will do more to help the situation than all the verbal vitriol I can possibly hurl at selfish cyclists.

A wayward thought: When I was a child, I was taught that one should always walk towards on-coming cars on narrow English roads because they would see you, and more importantly, you would see them and know exactly what they were doing. "My God, he's heading right for me...!" :eek:
 
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