Musings - December 13, 2010

I've heard other riders having close calls with vehicles in the last little bit.  Like them I concur that "bad drivers" are the exception not the rule.  I recently had a motorist instruct me where I needed to ride my F-ing bike, and that was on the F-ing sidewalk.  This was after they made a careful pass to go around me, before roaring up the road and cutting off another car.

I agree not all cyclists ride in a safe manner and not all motorists understand where bicycles fit on the road, but we make it work most of the time.  In this case, the driver got a hearty "thank-you" and a wave; I never moved from the line I choose.  Again not necessarily the prescribed method but one that I have had diffuse the situation every time except once and I'm not sure anything would have worked in that case.

Maybe it's the holiday season.  Even driving I have noticed more and more aggressive drivers since the holiday season has hit.  I will be happy once it's all over, although it is kind of fun riding past the lines of cars that are dealing with the additional shopping traffic.  I have considered adding spoke lights to give me a little better visibility from the side, but haven't made the leap yet.

I have also noticed that there seems to fewer bikes out.  That might have to do with the weather as well, which has been rainy and blustery, but I haven't even seen as many on the front of buses and backs of cars.  I did have an interesting ride as the rabbit again the other day (I managed to "escape" or not get caught), but haven't seen that rider since.  And very few others, which is sort of frustrating because there truly is safety in numbers.  The more bicycles on the road the more aware drivers are of them.

Oh and other thoughts, I will have cover just about 8000 miles by the end of the year (maybe closer to 9,000 hard to get it accurate with the computer problems I've had this year and the lack of computer on my other bikes).  I am going to try for 12,000 next year, an average of 1000 per month.  Considering I cover a minimum of 500 miles a month just commuting (closer to 800 in the summer) this shouldn't be a challenge.  I will add a counter to my blog at the beginning of next year.