Bicycles and automobiles- can’t we all just get along? @Kah writes about this universal (do aliens have this issue also?) problem of us co-existing with humans in cars. We all drive cars too and have cursed the occasional cyclists for some good reason. Cars are our greatest threat. We can crawl away from our own bicycle crashes, thanks very much. We always lose when a car is involved. Thanks for contributing @Kah.
Yours in Cycling, Gianni
High-visibility jackets offend me. I’m not in the position to judge fashion really, and generally don’t care what other people wear, but something that tarnishes an entire mode of transport as unsafe and dorky is not okay. These garments misinform the general public that cycling is an unsafe activity (look, that cyclist looks like a lit up flare and a Christmas tree had a baby!), they make all other cyclists look like dorks.
Now, I’m not picking on genuinely introverted people, but people who are just less comfortable interacting with other vehicles on the road. As someone truly in love with spinning pedals on the road, I don’t see why there is this reticence to spend time on the road. The footpath is by far the worse option: congested with pedestrians, littered with signs, and unpredictable in its ebb and wanes.
There’s a spectrum of how happy you are with sharing the road: going from very uncomfortable to exuding quiet confidence before becoming attention-seeking and finally there is a thin line to obnoxiousness.
Uncomfortable, more introverted cyclists tend to hug the kerb, trying to stay out of everyone’s way. Every potential interaction is exaggerated; every passing car becomes a danger. Confident cyclists who are experienced know when to draw attention to their intentions, when to back off while negotiating between quickly moving cars, and how to tell the difference between a passing maneuvere that is actually dangerous and one that is not even worth commenting on. This comfort around other road users is something you can cultivate, but not one you can fake.
Attention-seeking cyclists and obnoxious cyclists tend to feel more self-entitled. “I’m a vehicle/road user too!” is the common mantra of these cyclists who don’t feel inclined to offer the same courtesy they demand to the other road users. To be fair these rolling douchenozzles tend to be the same regardless of vehicle.
My problem is, the introverts are trying to make up for their meekness with the artificial posturing afforded by the YJA. Their mistaken assumption of course is that this magical garment bestows visibility, and thus invincibility in traffic, leading some to jump to the illogical conclusion that they have automatic right of way in every circumstance by virtue of the highly visible jacket.
Magic jackets are not the answer to safer cyclists. Learning to share the road on a bicycle is the answer. Anticipation, not hindsight.
Fucking cyclists.
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Okay, I have to admit to wearing a fluoro jersey in my dark (commuter) past. Ironically, I was wearing one when I was taken out by a car whose driver swore (and testified!) she didn't see me. Result: fractured C1 and busted up knee. Were it not for my (ugh, yellow) helmet, it would have been my last ride. Thankfully the helmet was smashed and the jersey had to be cut off in the ER.
And here's a question for the keepers: will the Farnese Vini/Vini Fantini kit ever be acceptable attire?
@frank
And someone currently wearing mtb shoes his his road bike.
I was just riding the very beautiful bays ride in Wellington and rounding the last corner I came across three roadies all in YJA's. From the looks of it one was Dad taking his fledglings out for their first ride hence the over zealous concern for their safety. The effect on the beautiful coastal view was jarring - fluoro yellow not being a colour that appears in nature so I floored it past them without a backwards glance. The guy was training his kids to fear the road right from the start, and that dork gear is part of the sport. Lead by example I say
@ten B
One of my favorite jerseys is a yellow/black Vini Caldirola. Unfortunately, I was wearing it when I got off the bike at speed resulting in a broken collarbone during the STP a few years ago.
It was only scuffed slightly but I'm superstitious and will not wear it again until I can wear it and successfully complete the STP.
The meek shall inherit the earth......
or was it the Greek!
@ten B
Hell yes. If you are a pro and you are Italian. I think it kills.
@Adrian
blessed are the cheese makers.
I love articles like these as they express a problem seen all over the world. How did the YJA become ubiquitous? And why embraced by the same people? What does the lowly Wall Street Journal have to say about that, FFS?
I don't mind the loud kit. If it makes us more visible to drivers and looks fantastic, it's good. And the YJA does not look good. The Farnese Vini/Vini Fantini kit does, go cipher that!
I bought a YJA before being introduced to the Rules. Thankfully it still has the label on it and has never seen my back and will soon appear on ebay. The great part of this article is the notion of riding intelligently. I always ride as if the driver hasn't seen me and pull out into the middle of my lane (first position) when it narrows or there are bollards. I use my road position to say to the driver behind, "You're not overtaking me HERE" and then pull over to second position when the dangerous area is cleared and wave him/her through. I also hope my white helmet makes me more visible but there's nothing you can do about drivers who aren't looking or paying attention at all.
So totally spot on I want to find the author and shake their hand - hell I'd give them a reach-around if they asked nicely.
We have a group here which calls itself Cycle Safe and basically makes people totally afraid of cycling. In their heads it is something that can only be done on a separated bike path, with protective gear and preferably with a vehicle for support (I kid you not). You should see the angst if they ever plan an excursion onto open roads.
And yet every few weeks there are stories of bad crashes and near-accidents - because they are inexperienced and not confident riders in groups of 20-30 on a cycle path.
My own group has been giving me a hard time recently about my non-helmet preference. I said to them only yesterday that part of my reason for not wearing one was to challenge the automatic assumption that cycling needs special gear and special places to avoid danger. They were at more risk in their cars, especially in Dubai.
And the other really good observation here is about those self-entitled cyclists. Especially he ones who wear helmet cams on their commutes and post videos on You Tube about all the dangerous things that happen to them. It's funny that most of us can go through many kilometres of cycling in relative tranquility yet these people seem to be involved in life-threatening, road-raging incidents on a weekly basis.
Fnally, on the subject of introverts, one of the few cycling jokes I know, which will make more sense if you've ever been with a bunch of audax, long-distance cyclists.
"How do you tell an extroverted audaxer ?"
"When he talks to you, he looks at YOUR shoes."
What makes the wearing of a YJA even more ridiculous is when there is a decent kit on underneath. If you are going to wear a YJA teeming it with good kit does not make it a forgivable offence.