Originally Posted by
astrodust
I've been building my confidence and skill on riding with traffic for a few years and wondering if it is sane to be on the road with cars
I do monthly rides and other group rides, and for the second year I've done g.o.b.a
(great Ohio bike adventure). Goba is a 7 day bike ride with 50 plus miles a day.
This year I experienced people passing (I believe intensionley) close to me and other riders. Drivers screaming, and one guy rolling coal as he passed rider after rider. I bailed out the last day. I Found out that the same day a 80 year old rider was killed by a pickup at a intersection. Not the first time someone has died during goba. My girlfriend rides too, and the thought of losing scares me
why do we do this??
Time of day matters, as does location. Until recently I was working 4pm-midnight; when I left the house at 3pm I would take either the trail or the neighborhoods to work whereas on the way back I would take the main arteries home. When traffic is heavy drivers tend to get competitive with each other which leads to unsafe driving practices; every incident/close call I have ever been a part of or witnessed happened during broad daylight with typical city traffic. When riding at midnight, however, people tended to pay closer attention, drove much nicer, and gave me plenty of room. I'm not saying that you should start driving at midnight, but rather just alter your rides and times to avoid the kind of traffic that is causing you problems. Trails and paths are great, but you can't go wide open and you lose variability. I generally stay on a rail-to-trial path to and from work - especially after an incident with a distracted driver that left me with a broken bone from which I am still recovering - but I sorely miss being able to mix up my rides, take the hills, and enjoy the city.