Crisis of commuting confidence -what do you do?

[MrJamie]

Read this webpage:

http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/health/risks.htm

It should put your mind at rest.

The page doesnt load for me, i suspect my ISP (BT) is being crap.

 

[Nigeyy]

Ken Kifer was a cyclist who kept a page -unfortunately got killed by a drunk driver (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Kifer). Sad story, as I said the whole driving and drinking thing is something I'm aware of (e.g. I don't like to drive later in the evening at the weekends for the reason you assume people leaving bars are out then -you have to assume during your daily commute the chances of people coming out of bars is less during the day).

The page doesnt load for me, i suspect my ISP (BT) is being crap.

 

[Nigeyy]

Thanks for the replies -to be truthful, I'm still not sure what I'll do. I've read the replies and am digesting.
I've actually already changed commuting routes once already to avoid the road I got hit on, so I haven't really got an alternative route. I like to run, but it's 8-9 miles each way at the moment so a bit too far for me, let alone the time involved.

I do like the suggestion of riding somewhere for pleasure on other roads not related to a commute, maybe I just need a break.

 

[Tynan]

I lost my nerve big time after falling on a wet manhole and having the front slip on another soon after (Gator) a few months ago

I got really nervy in the wet, frightened of metal work and nervy about any sort of corners in the wet, it was wet a lot back then

It wore off slowly over a couple of months of riding like a big wuss

Stick to it fella and tough it out

 

[dave2041]

I lost my nerve big time after falling on a wet manhole and having the front slip on another soon after (Gator) a few months ago

I got really nervy in the wet, frightened of metal work and nervy about any sort of corners in the wet, it was wet a lot back then

It wore off slowly over a couple of months of riding like a big wuss

Stick to it fella and tough it out

I can relate to this, had my second fall ever a few weeks ago on a wet manhole cover... No damage just a bruised ego (and thigh) However now i take that corner like a snail; and other corners just don't seem as safe... yet!

 

[Jimmy Doug]

The ironic thing for me is that you live in a country which, rightly or wrongly, has a reputation for safe roads; I live in a country which, rightly or wrongly, has a reputation for dangerous roads; you find cycling dangerous; I find cycling safe.
Could it be that our perception of what makes roads safe and dangeours is completely warped ? I think it is. From the point of view of a motorist, the roads in the US are safe (low speed limits, large lanes, straight ...); but for cyclists, the US may not be such a safe country - drivers are too relaxed, don't pay attention and think that everyone should drive anywhere that is further than 100 metres. If there's an accident, it'll probably involve two cars and the consequences won't be that great (because the roads are adapted to cars). However, any incident involving a car and a bicycle can be fatal. Here, in France, I think the situation is reversed. Travelling in a car can be very danerous (smaller roads, very high speeds, a driving culture wherby the other driver is the enemy). However, the French are very keen cyclists and overwhelmingly respect cyclists.
Perhaps you should retire in France?

 

[Nigeyy]

The ironic thing for me is that you live in a country which, rightly or wrongly, has a reputation for safe roads; I live in a country which, rightly or wrongly, has a reputation for dangerous roads; you find cycling dangerous; I find cycling safe.

Well not so fast.... I'm certainly not sure that the USA has a reputation for safe roads; see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-related_death_rate . From those figures it would seem France is safer -of course, any stats can be slanted and that's probably not the true picture, though given the lower speed limits here and bigger roads here in the US, it does make you think. I do remember reading else where on the web that the US has about twice as many fatalities per number of cars as the UK (sorry can't remember the source). It wouldn't suprize me if it was accurate though. Oh, and I do remember reading that over 50% of fatalities in the US involved alcohol (whatever that means) and at least in Massachusetts, the blood alcohol limit is about twice the UKs. Last night I also saw on the news someone got caught driving completely inebriated last November and just got a 45 day license suspension and also had to attend driver reducation. Like I said, not treated seriously at all.

Going from personal experience and hugely generalizing, it seems that UK drivers are much faster, follow rules and pay attention much more and drive on well marked and well designed -but smaller and busier -roads. US drivers are slower, don't follow rules and pay much less attention on poorly designed roads with less traffic. Again, as I said, huge generalization and based on my experience of cycling in both countries (~10-12 years in the UK, ~22 years in the US). I do think the width of the roads here and lower frequency of traffic helps considerably though -while smaller roads, more traffic and faster driving in the UK probably don't help the UK cyclist.

Yeah, I find cycling generally safe, but my recent experiences has given me pause for thought. And yes, I have thought about living in France when I retire!

 

[Tynan]

and riding home Monday at 11.45 I braked firmly for a red light in the slightly wet and the same gator started to slide out, it felt exactly like I was going off as I got to a low enough speed to save it

I'm thoroughly convinced Gator is no bloody use as a front tyre, it's gong on the back and the new conti super sport is gong on the front, the current rear could not be more square and it through the rubber on almost the entire circumference, damn good tyre