View Poll Results: How Many Close Passes Per Ride
Usually None
28
39.44%
Occasionally
19
26.76%
1-2
15
21.13%
3-4
4
5.63%
More than 5
5
7.04%
Voters: 71. You may not vote on this poll
How Many Close Passes Do You Get Per Ride?
#26
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It's a lovely piece of road, except for every 15-20 minutes when a car passes. What can I say, I appreciate desolate places. Hell, at least it's not the Outback, but it's close.
#27
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That is one hideous looking piece of road.
I'm fortunate to have good roads and accommodating drivers. In the rural area where I live, I get one or two close passes a year. Riding in the city it doesn't go up very much. Part of that has to do with the roads I travel. One long section is a wide 4 lane divided road with bike lanes and another section has sharrows so I'm in the lane and no one is passing. There are other parts of the city that I expect would be much worse. And those areas probably have more riders.
I'm fortunate to have good roads and accommodating drivers. In the rural area where I live, I get one or two close passes a year. Riding in the city it doesn't go up very much. Part of that has to do with the roads I travel. One long section is a wide 4 lane divided road with bike lanes and another section has sharrows so I'm in the lane and no one is passing. There are other parts of the city that I expect would be much worse. And those areas probably have more riders.
I don't know about this spot, but there are spots in the west where something like this is the ONLY road.
And that gnarly broken up stuff... quite common in San Diego... the city, where there is lots of traffic... and again, the road you are on may be the only road connecting two mesas.
#28
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Not every ride but often enough. Most of the time those are city buses, but occasionally also a car, like that b*tch this morning who almost pushed me into the curb.
I quite often have a situation where the oncoming car is passing another on a narrow road (also on city streets), so you also have 2 cars and a bike alongside each other, only the cars and the bike are going the opposite directions.. Granted, the upside is that you and the passing car see each other, but at the same time he's making the move seeing perfectly well that there is oncoming traffic, i.e. you, and chooses just to ignore that.
Most annoying thing about country roads is the tendency for drivers to pass each other, right as I'm being passed by the car in my lane, so you have 2 cars and a bike alongside each other.
#29
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Not every ride but often enough. Most of the time those are city buses, but occasionally also a car, like that b*tch this morning who almost pushed me into the curb.
I quite often have a situation where the oncoming car is passing another on a narrow road (also on city streets), so you also have 2 cars and a bike alongside each other, only the cars and the bike are going the opposite directions.. Granted, the upside is that you and the passing car see each other, but at the same time he's making the move seeing perfectly well that there is oncoming traffic, i.e. you, and chooses just to ignore that.
I quite often have a situation where the oncoming car is passing another on a narrow road (also on city streets), so you also have 2 cars and a bike alongside each other, only the cars and the bike are going the opposite directions.. Granted, the upside is that you and the passing car see each other, but at the same time he's making the move seeing perfectly well that there is oncoming traffic, i.e. you, and chooses just to ignore that.
#30
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Very aggravating when someone takes your lane of travel away from you like that, as though you had no right to even be there. It's worst when it happens on 55 mph roads with no shoulder.
People can be incredibly selfish while in their cars, they do things from behind tons of metal and tinted glass, they would never do to they if they had to look the other person in the eye directly.
People can be incredibly selfish while in their cars, they do things from behind tons of metal and tinted glass, they would never do to they if they had to look the other person in the eye directly.
I’m not a confrontational person, but under the stress of a sudden encounter, I do react to my satisfaction, FWIW, without the danger of a greater retaliation:
…I have those exact thoughts whenever I am passed, even when not too close by motorist who does not slow down or move over slightly, just as an indication that they notice me. I always think those self-absorbed cagers are only restrained by the thought of scratching their cars, or the hassle of filing police reports.
My only satisfactory retribution is to give them my previously-described Bicyclist Curse. (I repeatedly jab my pointed right index finger in their direction, while shouting an accusatory, ”You, you, you…”). The possibility of metaphysical retribution is more satisfying than the middle finger.
I do also bestow Bicyclist Blessings on drivers who show even a modicum of respect, with a wave of the hand...
My only satisfactory retribution is to give them my previously-described Bicyclist Curse. (I repeatedly jab my pointed right index finger in their direction, while shouting an accusatory, ”You, you, you…”). The possibility of metaphysical retribution is more satisfying than the middle finger.
I do also bestow Bicyclist Blessings on drivers who show even a modicum of respect, with a wave of the hand...
#31
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If a motorist really does something nice, I do the three part "Catholic priest-type" blessing they do at the end of Mass. Makes me feel more Italian, and a good deal holier than I actually am in real life.
#32
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…My only satisfactory retribution is to give them my previously-described Bicyclist Curse. (I repeatedly jab my pointed right index finger in their direction, while shouting an accusatory, ”You, you, you…”). The possibility of metaphysical retribution is more satisfying than the middle finger.
I do also bestow Bicyclist Blessings on drivers who show even a modicum of respect, with a wave of the hand...
I do also bestow Bicyclist Blessings on drivers who show even a modicum of respect, with a wave of the hand...
I have previously posted about my epiphany that introduced me to adult cycling, and empowered me to bestow curses and blessings:
I can precisely identify the day my adult cycling lifestyle was sparked back in May of 1970 when I rode my roomate’s Chestnut Brown Varsity, the first derailleured bike I ever rode. I needed to run a few errands encompassing a distance of a few miles. Being in a college town, I did not have (or really need) a car, and the bus system was too cumbersome to make all the stops I had planned.
I was amazed at how quickly and conveniently I could get around on that beautiful Spring day and in particular because I grew up in Detroit. I alluded about it in my Introdution to Bike Forums.
My roommate and I did some riding together in Ann Arbor, and I refer to him as my cycling guru. I have occasionally quoted on Bike Forums his remark one day as the skies unexpectedly cleared as we were about to go out on a ride, “God smiles on His bicyclists.”
I was amazed at how quickly and conveniently I could get around on that beautiful Spring day and in particular because I grew up in Detroit. I alluded about it in my Introdution to Bike Forums.
My roommate and I did some riding together in Ann Arbor, and I refer to him as my cycling guru. I have occasionally quoted on Bike Forums his remark one day as the skies unexpectedly cleared as we were about to go out on a ride, “God smiles on His bicyclists.”
Last edited by Jim from Boston; 08-31-18 at 07:43 AM.
#33
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We have a lot of good bike infrastructure in my area (Minneapolis), you can plan a good/fun route that avoids any shared space with auto-traffic. However, frequently I'm riding somewhere specific and there's no way there that avoids all shared infra and when I'm 'sharing the road', punish passes happen every ride.
#34
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And speaking of "punishment passes" this is a bad one. I've had only one or two in my life this close, but never from a truck that big:
#36
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That's not my experience, my commute includes a couple 4-lane 40 mph roads. I controlling the right lane and have drivers split lanes so that they can punish-pass, there is no other reason for driver to fail to move completely to the left lane except to threaten/intimidate the rider. This happens at least once a week.
#37
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That's not my experience, my commute includes a couple 4-lane 40 mph roads. I controlling the right lane and have drivers split lanes so that they can punish-pass, there is no other reason for driver to fail to move completely to the left lane except to threaten/intimidate the rider. This happens at least once a week.
#38
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This happens to me on occasion also. But since I always position myself to have some space to my right, and monitor overtaking traffic in my mirror, I can mitigate even these "punish passes" you speak of. Usually to a point where I wouldn't even consider it a close pass.
#39
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True, I do move right when a driver tries to punish-pass... and I give them a big smile and wave, nothing messes with an angry person like a friendly response. But the intent of the person in the car is still clearly there, and to me that still counts as a close pass. I understand that's debatable.
#40
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It has not been a concern of mine for well over a decade. I can't think of one close pass I did not encourage or set myself up for.
If I am in a bike lane left biased I may occasionally get a close pass by a motorist who watches the line instead of other vehicles, but nothing unexpected so I don't do anything to avoid it.
If I am in a bike lane left biased I may occasionally get a close pass by a motorist who watches the line instead of other vehicles, but nothing unexpected so I don't do anything to avoid it.
#41
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I get one or two per week of about 200km of riding. But then again I choose my route very carefully. Nd even that one or two are not actually that close when I look at the video, and probably outside one meter. But they feel closet at the time.
#42
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I had a milestone today. Guy in a gigantic maroon Ford pickup truck close passes me, with his mirror buzzing a foot away, right past my ear. Cop has a bird's eye view of the whole thing, but does absolutely nothing. Folks, sorry to say it, but the 3 foot rule is dead in this state.
#43
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Serious question: how are you (everyone) measuring your "close" passes? Is it the subjective feeling of being at risk from the pass?
Very occasionally I get a pass that I think was intended to be "punish passes" because the driver is accelerating sharply at the same time, loud engine roar. I don't really care about that if it didn't seem to put me at risk, so is that a "close pass"? If a driver really wants to "punish" me he should stop and attempt it in person, but that has never happened so I think they're just fooling themselves.
On the other hand I get some passes that are physically close but at such low speed that I feel no particular danger from it. I don't count those as "close" either. But I'm interested in the question. What I'd really like is to set up some equipment and actually measure the distance and passing speed. I'm thinking optical, with a reference spot shining on the road surface which I could do with an android phone and laser pointer. Since sonar is trickier than you'd think to implement, and other methods are quite expensive.
Very occasionally I get a pass that I think was intended to be "punish passes" because the driver is accelerating sharply at the same time, loud engine roar. I don't really care about that if it didn't seem to put me at risk, so is that a "close pass"? If a driver really wants to "punish" me he should stop and attempt it in person, but that has never happened so I think they're just fooling themselves.
On the other hand I get some passes that are physically close but at such low speed that I feel no particular danger from it. I don't count those as "close" either. But I'm interested in the question. What I'd really like is to set up some equipment and actually measure the distance and passing speed. I'm thinking optical, with a reference spot shining on the road surface which I could do with an android phone and laser pointer. Since sonar is trickier than you'd think to implement, and other methods are quite expensive.
#44
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I've felt a side-view mirror brush against the sleeve of my jersey-- does that count as close?
Yesterday an 18-wheeler passed me and the wife at probably right at the 3' mark-- but he was doing about 50 in a 35, and ran the red light at the intersection we were approaching. It felt really close. Enough to make the HR bump up a little.
Yesterday an 18-wheeler passed me and the wife at probably right at the 3' mark-- but he was doing about 50 in a 35, and ran the red light at the intersection we were approaching. It felt really close. Enough to make the HR bump up a little.
#45
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It's 4' in PA, where I live.
#46
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I, unfortunately, had to think about this thread on Sunday. Usually I ride around in the city and close passes are not the norm, but they do happen. Most of the time I don't worry about it too much. However, I was riding in the rural part of the county on Sunday. I was in a wide outside lane on a quiet road. I hear a car coming up behind me and move a bit over to the right of the outside lane. The car passes a few inches from my handle bars as a dirtball kid yells something unintelligible out the passenger window.