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Time to put away that Discovery Channel outfit

Ash

Warming-Up
Apr 23, 2006
686
1
hi

Now I have lost the link to this one, so if anyone can find it please let me know. However a large british survey has just proven that drivers of all vehicles actually pass CLOSER to cyclists wearing helmets and decked out in professional looking cycling clothes. Reason? They think they are more competent on the road and thus less likely to have a collision with them.

From my experience of biking for many years in Tokyo, I tend to agree with this. Personally I think you would be nuts to get out on Shin Ome Kaido without a helmet, so I think this is scary news...

What do the rest of you think? Maybe we should have a sign on the back of the bike 'Beware: Only Looks Competent'

Ash
 
AREN'T we more competent? :p

Seriously though, I tend to agree with you. What about attaching one of these stickers below to the back of our jerseys? :D

motorist_emblems.jpg
 
sorry Thomas you are going to have to educate me as to the meaning of those!

Ash:confused:
 
well, there is no doubt we ARE more competent as you rightly point out Thomas (as well as extremely fashionable!) but that is not the point right?

I am always happy to be responsible for myself, but this is a dangerous activity. One of my friends recently bought a road bike after listening to me drone on for about a year, and it kind of worries me if anything happens to him, especially in the early days before he gets some real experience. That being said, I commute pretty well daily and it never ceases to amaze me that people in cars/trucks etc still manage to surprise me with their sheer bloody stupidy. so i am still learning too...

by the way, are you going on this unagi run?

Ash
 
well, there is no doubt we ARE more competent as you rightly point out Thomas (as well as extremely fashionable!) but that is not the point right?

Hi Ash, I agree with you. And I do not consider myself fully competent anyhow. Fashionable... not sure either. ;)


I am always happy to be responsible for myself, but this is a dangerous activity. One of my friends recently bought a road bike after listening to me drone on for about a year, and it kind of worries me if anything happens to him, especially in the early days before he gets some real experience. That being said, I commute pretty well daily and it never ceases to amaze me that people in cars/trucks etc still manage to surprise me with their sheer bloody stupidy. so i am still learning too...

Well, routine and experience come at a price. I paid with countless minor, self-inflicted accidents and crashes. It took me quite a while to reach a sufficient level of confidence and hit the big avenues, bridges and expressways. And to grasp the scope of what's "acceptable behaviour" for cyclists and what isn't - I am not even referring to traffic regulations. Watching the messengers on a daily basis helped a lot, lolol.


by the way, are you going on this unagi run?

In case you refer to me, I certainly will. Hope you join us as well. :)
 
Like the bicycle light advertisement for Cateye. The ad shows the new Cateye lights for 2007 and has a phrase stating: "When you use these lights, you are letting drivers know this is not a full contact sport!":mad:
 
I will add a pair of training wheels to my road bike and a flag!!!

I haven't riden a bike for a while in a big city and had forgotten about how bad or just pure ignorant some of the drivers are:mad: Only today a taxi driver decided to pull out straight in front of me in broad day light. We had made eye contact and he had seen me. Luckly my brakes are in good shape. I'm also glad that I had a helmet on. On the other hand, perhaps he thought that as I had a helmet on I wouldn't be to seriously hurt if he had hit me. Well some people don't think too logically at times do they.


Maybe it should be the drivers that carry a flag, with
Im a lousy driver written on it, and a big learner sticker. Not the poor old cyclists who are the victims of their rudeness.
 
Yes, taxi drivers.... One drove past me the other day (so he knew I was there) and then popped the door for some guy who had waved him to stop. I was about one meter from the door at the time going about 25k. The customer was nowhere near the taxi at the time and would have had to have walked AROUND the door in the first place to get in. I almost ended up in the taxi ahead of him anyway. Luckily I missed it by a hair.

This is what I believe is called an NDE (Near Door Experience).:eek:

Have you ever noticed the uncanny similarity in sound between a door opening and a gun being cocked? hmmm.... scary.
 
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