Jay -- I think safety for a cyclist requires that you be somewhat aggressive - aggressive in ensuring the rights that keep you out of danger, such as taking a lane. Yes, I would have taken the lane and, further, if someone crowded me, I'd have crowded back -- this last action would be supererogatory, and just a way to relieve my feelings. And, with a heavy-ish bike and a load, you have the advantage. But however you feel about that, the lane is a very definitely yes.
I've been crowded before -- very rarely, I'm glad to say -- jerks who get annoyed when I pass them or seem to them to be riding to fast. My own reaction has been, "Bring it on, boyo!" (It's never women who do this, IME.) On the other hand, to give this pack the benefit of the doubt, their omission may have been due simply to their focus in staying with the group and "not personal." On Sun, May 22, 2016 at 7:26 AM, Jay LePree <jaymlep...@gmail.com> wrote: > Hi group, > I am writing to ask how you would have handled this and to get a bad > action off my chest. Today, I was coming home with some baked goods after > my ride in Nyack, NY on my Rambouillet, set up with a big saddle > bag..Clearly not a race type looking bicycle. I was on a road with a > narrow shoulder and riding near the white line. I saw a pack of cyclists > bearing down on me, maybe at least 20 strong. My first mistake was to ride > inside the white line instead of taking the lane, but then again, I was not > sure how they would react and did not want to cause a pile up. They passed > me without any warning and were perhaps 6 inches away from me. There was a > sewer drain in front of me. Rather than move toward the center of the road > to allow me to avoid it, they ran me right into it. I was able to slow > enough to get over it. (One of those sunken-in type drains with oval > holes, not bicycle friendly.) As all this was proceeding, the combination > of surprise, fear of dumping the bike, and just consternation that a group > of cyclists would treat a fellow cyclist like this, I said, quite > clearly...A**h*les. (How hard would it have been to move to the center of > the road? How hard would it have been to alert me to their presence.) It > was dumb move on my part. Not taking the lane and then allowing my > emotions to get the best of me. (Nothing happened after > that....fortunately, they were too much into their ride and keeping pace > that no one stopped or challenged me back.) I confession is in order for > today I guess. > > It is an unfair question as this group was not there, but would you have > taken the lane? Would you have trusted them to react accordingly? If I > had more warning, I would have stopped and dismounted an went onto the > sidewalk until they passed; however they really were moving. I saw them > in the distance in my rearview mirror, and the then they were on top of me. > > Jay, > Demarest, NJ > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. > Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- Resumes, LinkedIn profiles, bios, and letters that get interviews. By-the-hour resume and LinkedIn coaching. Other professional writing services. http://www.resumespecialties.com/ www.linkedin.com/in/patrickmooreresumespec/ Patrick Moore Alburquerque, Nouvelle Mexique, Vereinigte Staaten ************************************************************************** ************** *The point which is the pivot of the norm is the motionless center of a circumference on the contours of which all conditions, distinctions, and individualities revolve. *Chuang Tzu *Stat crux dum volvitur orbis.* *(The cross stands motionless while the world revolves.) *Carthusian motto *It is *we *who change; *He* remains the same.* Eckhart *Kinei hos eromenon.* (*It moves [all things] as the beloved.) *Aristotle -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
