On Fri, Apr 9, 2010 at 06:03, JoelMatthews <joelmatth...@mac.com> wrote: > James: Where do you live? Chicago here. While I agree mirrors are > very useful on the open road and even in suburban Chicago with long > spacing between intersections. Chicago itself has relatively short > city blocks (not all are uniform but 1/10th of a mile is the > approximate measure) and (argghhhh!) some sort of traffic control at > nearly every intersection. At most my rearward area of concern is > around 500 feet.
Your mileage may vary. I live in Los Angeles (incidentally, I spent four years in Hyde Park way back when) where I'm usually riding on the larger avenues and boulevards. I find that using the mirror allows me to see what's behind me quicker and with more accuracy than I could without it. I typically do an actual head turn only when I want a driver behind me to see me doing the head turn as a kind of implicit signal that I'm going to do something. Knowing more about my surroundings makes me both safer and more courteous toward other road users, and increases my control over my situation. I know that a mirror on a bicycle takes some getting used to, a few hundred miles at least; but I find it essential. To those that doubt it, try driving your car without using the rear view mirrors at all, and see if you miss them. Last year when my helmet mirror broke and I rode 100 miles without one, I felt pitifully naked. Actually, it was kind of fun, because I felt like a shark that could only move forward and couldn't care less what's coming behind me, but the tradeoff isn't worth it, in my opinion. I also would absolutely choose the mirror before a helmet when it comes to keeping safe. In my initial comment in which I said I would recommend them "to anyone who rides in traffic, cares about their safety and the quality of their riding, and wants every advantage they can get," what I really meant was to exclude people who don't place a priority on these things, for example, cyclists who ride in city traffic while listening to their iPods. I know an iPod cyclist isn't going to heed and consider a mirror. Sure, listening to an iPod doesn't guarantee you'll be squashed, but it tells me that awareness of your surroundings and being fully engaged in your cycling is not your thing. Philosophically, I would advocate being fully engaged in whatever activity you perform. James Black Los Angeles, CA -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
