Tip for Safe Training on US Roads

This spring I took a bike ride across New York State. Nice trip. In the town
of Medina I ran into a couple of cyclists touring from Wisconsin to New
Haven, Ct.

We had a bit to eat and got around to talking about road rage. They've
experienced a lot of it. We theorized why some motor vehicle drivers might
want to purposely hurt folks on bicycles or roller skis. From what they said
I concluded that the frequency of these incidents in the Mid-west are
greater than in New York State. These cyclists shared with me their tactic
to avoid harassment: They fly the USA flag from their rear rack. They
theorized that most of the motor vehicle users who might not think twice
about harassing them for riding, wouldn't dare desecrate the flag.

So, fly a flag on your left pole as you roller ski.

Gary Jacobson

Rosendale, NY

Gary Jacobson wrote:

They
theorized that most of the motor vehicle users who might not think twice
about harassing them for riding, wouldn't dare desecrate the flag.

Heh. Reminds me of the old story of the guy who found he got more
respect on the road from the locals after he painted his bike green
with the words "John Deere". Don't know if there was any truth to
it but it makes a good story. :-)

-Mitch

"Bush & Cheney 2004" would do just as well.

I have had numerous close calls with drivers who seem be representative
of the entire spectrum of politics and economics, not that I had enough
time to get to know them well enough to form any detailed viewpoints.
Pointing fingers at one group in these situations based on limited
knowledge of their economics, politics or other factors is short
sighted and probably off base, at best.

John

I am sorry, John. It was immature of me to post that.

Not at all. Recognizing socio-political demographics in the U.S. isn't
stupid or immature.

Gene

wrote:

I am sorry, John. It was immature of me to post that.

Or maybe other drivers think them militant enough types to want to stay
clear. Upstate NY Thruway left-lane drivers are the craziest bunch I've
come across anywhere, but on backcountry roads it seems like the city
folk are less cautious.

Gene

Gary Jacobson wrote:

This spring I took a bike ride across New York State. Nice trip. In the town
of Medina I ran into a couple of cyclists touring from Wisconsin to New
Haven, Ct.

We had a bit to eat and got around to talking about road rage. They've
experienced a lot of it. We theorized why some motor vehicle drivers might
want to purposely hurt folks on bicycles or roller skis. From what they said
I concluded that the frequency of these incidents in the Mid-west are
greater than in New York State. These cyclists shared with me their tactic
to avoid harassment: They fly the USA flag from their rear rack. They
theorized that most of the motor vehicle users who might not think twice
about harassing them for riding, wouldn't dare desecrate the flag.

So, fly a flag on your left pole as you roller ski.

Gary Jacobson

Rosendale, NY

I think (a) avoiding harrassment and (b) avoiding serious injury or death
while rollerskiing or skating or bicycling out on the public roads are two
different goals, with very different strategies and tricks.

My reading and experience is that harrassment is mostly about power and
status games (sometimes on both sides), while serious injury and death of
human-powered users of the roads is mostly about carelessness, and difficult
conditions, and impairments of judgment and perception (sometimes on both
sides). Far more bicyclists (and pedestrians, and other car drivers) die
because of alcohol than rage.

Other than working to reduce DWI, a good way to reduce the risk of injury or
death out on the roads is to practice strategies and tricks focused on
safety that have been worked out by some very smart bicyclists over several
decades in several countries: I suggest carefully digesting the ideas in
one or two of the books listed he
http://roberts-1.com/bikehudson/s/m/resources/#books

Some of the strategies in those books are counter-intuitive. Some of the
safety tactics will not liked or understood by car drivers. It is a tragic
fact that some of the things that bicyclists and skaters and rollerskiers
instinctively do to try to be "nice" to car drivers also result in a certain
number of those nice people getting killed unnecessarily and
unintentionally.

Many times when out skating or bicycling I have to choose between (a) being
liked by the car drivers, and (b) reducing my risk. Two different goals.

Ken

Ken,

Please post a brief example or two of your book's intriguing
counter-intuitive proposals.

DT

Very basic, very important for safety is this question:
"How close to edge of the road to rollerski, or skate, or ride?"

Sounds simple. But maybe it's complicated.

I'm not going to try to answer that question here, because the point is not
to get one right answer, but to discover a different way of thinking about
drivers and roads.

delltodd wrote
Please post a brief example or two of your book's
intriguing counter-intuitive proposals.

It's not my book -- I gave an annotated list of three books written by other
people:
http://roberts-1.com/bikehudson/s/m/resources/#books

Ken