Agreed, Nick. MIrrors are great. http://pathlesspedaled.com/2012/03/gear-reflecting-about-cycling-mirrors/
I typically ride with a mirror attached to my shades to point that having used it for so many years that on the very rare occasions, like the other day, when I don't use it I still ride like I'm wearing, if you know what I mean. And actually, I had loaned my wife my shades that day. She wasn't using the mirror, but I did see her do a quick look over her shoulder. I think the person on the other bike was coming up so fast that it didn't register with my wife. It certainly didn't with me, and I'm pretty tuned into traffic noise. Yep, MUPs can be like the wild west; it's safer to ride on city streets, that's if you're obeying the traffic laws, riding with the flow of traffic, being predictable. Riding on a MUP that are congested are highly unpredictable where riding slow and being mindful of all the various situations that might occur really is sensible. As for the other rider not seeing and estimating what was ahead of her, all I can say is that she was totally oblivious of her environment or completely blind. Sometimes my wife calls me the bike Nazi because I get a little uptight about people who ride their bikes without an iota of common sense, like riding in the opposite direction against traffic or bombing down a crowded trail in their racing costumes. And I know I'm no saint, but I at least try to use some common sense when riding in mixed traffic situations, i.e., cars and pedestrians. Anyway, mirrors make life on a bike more comfortable in my opinion. They may look funny when worn on a helmet or shades. But their worth it. On Tuesday, August 7, 2012 9:25:09 AM UTC-7, NickBull wrote: > > Too bad about the crash. All the bike trails I've ever been on seem to be > like the wild west -- no law enforcement whatsoever. It's everyone for > themselves, so the only way to survive is to have maximum situational > awareness, know where everyone is around you both ahead and behind, and > ride as though everyone around you will do something stupid. Clearly the > pedestrians were wrong to be three abreast because it causes a hazard. > Clearly the bike that passed without warning was wrong to do so, though > they may not have been aware of the pedestrians ahead of you. > > But if you were wearing a mirror and took a glance in it the instant you > saw the pedestrians (to check on whether anyone is coming up behind), then > another glance just before you're going to move over (to check that the > coast is still clear), and a final look over your shoulder to double-check > the instant before you move over, then it is almost impossible to have had > this develop into an accident. You might have had to brake hard when you > glanced in the mirror and saw someone coming up fast. But at that stage > you still would have had time to brake safely. > > I had almost the opposite incident happen to me the other day. A woman > passed me (safely) but then slowed down somewhat so we were going the same > speed. I was about fifteen or twenty feet behind her because I don't like > to ride close to people who I don't know. This continued for about half a > mile. As we were coming up on a pedestrian, I moved to the left well > before she did, still fifteen or twenty feet back. At the last moment, she > glanced over her shoulder, saw me, and slammed on her brakes and cursed me, > presumably thinking I was trying to pass her. All of this drama would have > been totally unnecessary if she had been wearing a mirror. Had she been > wearing a mirror, then after she passed me, she would have seen that she > wasn't dropping me, but that I was behind her at a safe distance and she > had plenty of clearance to move left. > > Nick > > On Monday, August 6, 2012 1:58:16 PM UTC-4, SteveD wrote: >> >> As a commuter, I'd like to think I'm pretty good about being safe, riding >> defensively, especially when it comes to using MUPs (multi-use paths), >> which brings me to an incident my wife and I had yesterday on the >> Burke-Gilman Trail just north of 70th Ave NE (or is it NE 70th?) in >> Seattle. The last days here have been pretty nice, although very hot, the >> trail tends to get very busy with cyclists, pedestrians, pedestrians with >> dogs, pedestrians with perambulators, and so forth. All good stuff; there's >> no denying that because one way or another, as individuals, we all use the >> trail system in a variety of those roles. But not everyone understands that >> this is a MUP, and that common sense dictates that everyone needs to look >> out for one another, especially when the trail gets congested along the way. >> >> Imagine taking a leisurely ride on your local MUP on a very nice weekend >> morning. The trail has its busy sections here and there. Cyclists and >> pedestrians are moving along pleasantly enough; lots of "on your left" and >> passing around people two, three abreast, cooperating with the riders. >> You're going along at a casual 9 to 10 mph. No biggy; safe enough. >> >> Everyone's enjoying their day on the tree-lined trail with a nice little >> breeze. You notice that there's a threesome of pedestrians abreast of each >> other, chatting, about 50 feet or so ahead of you. There are other cyclists >> "on your lefting" as they pass. The trail is getting a little congested, >> and your preparing to slow down as you approach the pedestrians to pass. >> "On your left," the pedestrian don't heed your warning and at the same time >> some rider goes zipping by you without any warning as you're making your >> move, oblivious of the situation, causing you to slam on your brakes in >> order to not run into the people in front of you, and causes you to jar >> your shoulder, and hit you pubic bone against the bike stem and cut your >> leg on the chain ring as you try to stabilize your bike without taking a >> full-on fall. And, your spouse who is riding behind you, swerves to the >> left across the trail and into the ditch that runs alongside it so that >> he/she doesn't rear-end you. Not a pretty scene. >> >> So here's the rant. These MUPs aren't high-speed highways for cyclists. >> I'm pretty sure there's a 15 mph speed limit on the BGT. Although, I really >> believe that most of the cyclist that use these trails are pretty sensitive >> to how they're used, they're a number of people who ride that have no clue, >> and do not know how to anticipate a situation before it happens, especially >> when the trail gets congested as traffic moves along. Riding a bicycle >> really isn't much different than driving a car when it comes to riding >> defensively. Yes, pedestrians, on and off the trail, have the right-of-way! >> And if we could all predict the future before it happens, wouldn't life be >> box of chocolates. It's not that way, especially in a traffic situation. >> We're not perfect, that's a given. But what happened to common sense, >> courtesy, and respect. >> >> Anyway, I landed safely in the ditch, nothing serious happened to me or >> my Atlantis, except for a little gouge I took in the calf from a pedal >> spike. The rider would've kept on riding if it weren't for my wife yelling >> at the rider to come back. Thankfully the rider did come back to listen to >> my wife's lecture, and then mine, as a few other riders sped by without a >> "on your left." It's too bad that the rider who caused this mess is most >> like not going to find this post. It would be good for her to see the >> grapefruit-sized hematoma on her upper inner thigh, and the cuts and >> bruises on her leg. >> >> Steve DeMont >> Seattle >> > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rbw-owners-bunch/-/-JN5iAiN_vAJ. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@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.
