wild animals

DISCLAIMER: This is a major rant and you probably don't want to read it, but I have to vent somewhere and don't want to tell any of my loved ones or they'll freak out.

About 9 days ago, I conked out while reclining in a weird position, and really hurt my knees. (They still hurt.) Two days later, my mom fell and broke both of her arms and her nose. I've spent most of the time since then at the hospital, or taking care of my mom at home, or studying and doing midterms (now you don't have to ask why I gained back five pounds in four days).

Today I finally got to go ride again, to return a DVD to the video store one town over, 11 miles away. A block out of the house, my leg was hitting my water bottle, and I realized that, when my sister knocked my beautiful bike over last week, it had bent the bottle cage (which also explains why I got the bottle stuck in the bottom of my pants on the Night Ride and almost fell over while going up a hill).

I was about 2 miles into the ride, and the headwind was battering me, and my knees hurt, and I wasn't sure I really wanted to do it anymore, but I kept on. Once I got off the highway, out of the wind, I noticed that my bike was handling really sloppily. Every time I pedal, the handlebars (and, obviously, the front wheel) move to one side or the other, and I feel like I'm all over the place. To me this means that if I pedal while going down a hill, or go over 25mph, I'm going to get shimmy and die. Also my brakes aren't "working that well." I can stop fine in regular conditions, but can't stop on fast descents. My favorite thing is to go 40 mph down a hill and laugh at the top of my lungs. So that's out.

So I get to the video store, drop the thing off, call home to let someone know I'm on my way back, and head out. I'm in this strip-mall sort of thing, in the parking lot. As I'm pulling across the outlet of the McDonald's parking, an oncoming truck approaches ahead and to the left of me, and a woman in a sedan pulls up perpendicular to me, on the right. I'm already going in front of her; she doesn't look my direction at all, and keeps going. I say "hey! hey! hey!" but not loud enough, and I don't know what to do because I don't know what that truck is doing, and I can't go backwards, but I don't want to dash between two moving vehicles. She finally sees me, slams on her brakes, and HONKS HER HORN AT ME. I was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt as long as she didn't run me over, but when she honked at me, I lost it. I turned around and flipped her off, and I gave her the gnarliest stink-eye in my vast repertoire. Then when I was further away and could safely do so, I turned around again and gave her another stink eye. She pulled up behind me and I turned around to glare at her again, and saw her window opening, which, because of the honking, I thought meant TERRIBLE CONFLICT.

LADY: Sweetheart, I--
ME: WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!
LADY: What I wanted to say was that I didn't mean to honk at you--my hand slipped.
ME: YOU ALMOST RAN ME OVER!
LADY'S HUSBAND: WE DID NOT--GROW UP!
LADY: I know--I'm sorry, dear, but I didn't see you.
ME: THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE LOOKED!
LADY: I know. I am very sorry about that. I didn't mean to honk at you.
ME: WELL, THANK YOU. THEN I AM SORRY ABOUT THAT. [read: sorry about flipping her off, not anything else, and my apology may have been undercut some by my enraged tone of voice]
LADY: Thank you. [drives away]

AUUUUGH. The lady was really cool, even though I was pretty much freaking out on her. (And she shouldn't have almost run me over, obviously.) It helped a lot that she was apologetic and wasn't trying to blame me for it, even though her jackass husband was a jackass. I couldn't have stayed cool like she did, so I give her props for that.

It was totally her fault, but I wish I'd been able to avoid the situation better. Hopefully at least she will be less likely to do that again, although I'm not sure about her husband...

So I wobbled away back up the hills and down the dales, and I kept thinking more about how if I get run over, and I live, my family will all have to quit their jobs to take care of both me and my mom, who can only just feed herself now. I got to the highway and a mile or so down, took a turn that lengthens the ride but puts me on a beautiful country road instead of that stupid highway.

[pictures forthcoming]

Then when I got back in town proper, a guy wanted to make a left turn in front of me, from my right, but he waited for me, politely. The next guy who pulled up to his right (to make a right turn) couldn't see me from the other side of the truck. And he didn't look. But I knew what he was going to do, so I pulled left and slowed down, and sort of peeked around that big truck. The little car to the right gunned it and flew off in front of me. Instead of flipping them off, though, I wagged my finger at them, which is my second favorite insulting gesture and usually makes people feel dumb more effectively than the bird. But I had made sure not to get in his way.

I have an AirZound horn, and I just got a new bell, but I have literally nowhere to put any of it because of my interruptor brake levers and frame pump. I'm going to have to figure that out.

So, anyway, not very fun. I pretty much only ride my bike because I like it, but I hurt so much, and my bike seems so flaky (and I can't afford to have someone look at it so I can go 40mph), and I have so much responsibility right now, that it seems sort of like a bum deal.

Okay. I think I'm done.

whitecat

Well, we all had our days like that. Look at it from the bright side, at least you did not end up crashed. I had such days and ended up crashed, so you had it better Nothing to worry about, a bit of rest and in a few days everything will be as it was once again, you will enjoy to ride again. Just remember, that drivers do stupid things, and expect them to do stupid things, and be ready to evade in time if needed. Thats all there is to it.

rallison

You get the good and you get the bad. Do what you can to mitigate the bad and appreciate the good when it happens.

XR2

Sometimes all you get is another day. Your call on what to do with it.

dcrowell

It's okay to take a break for a day or two. Get your bike looked at to avoid future pain.

I had hoped to set a new weekly mileage record last week. I ended up only riding to work one day, and not riding at all over the weekend, save for a 3.5 mile trip for pizza a beer.

That said, the weekend was nice, and I'm back on the bike today. Don't ride because you have to. Ride because you want to, and don't ride when you don't want to.

BigPolishJimmy

Ok, the rant is over with and that's totally fine to do. Now it's time to look at your bike. first check to see if your bottle cage bolts are still tight, if not tighten them up, then if needed bend the bottle cage back out of your way. Bottle cages are cheap, replace if necessary. Now take a good look at the front of your bike, If you can't afford to have it looked at, it's time for you to figure out what's what, or at least try a couple of things. First wiggle the handle bars back and forth & left and right. Is there a detectable giggle in there where it shouldn't be? If so, check your headset to make sure it hasn't loosened up, if it has, tighten it up. You can find more detailed info on bike repair at bicycletutor.com, Seldon Browns website, and the Park Tools website, if you google search them you'll ge the links. My son's bike had a headset go loose and it make the ride really sketchy. I was surprised because I'd not experienced that before, but I tightened it up and it's fine now. Also check to see if your front wheel is tightened in correctly in the forks, and then make sure the forks are in allignment with the handlebars. What is your bike btw?

markdavid570

Haha...I'm glad I'm not the only one that gets (borderline) irrationally angry with bad drivers! One day I was starting a ride and was at a red light that crosses a pretty busy highway. I was the only one to pull up behind the one car in our lane who didn't have a turn signal on. So I pulled up to the curb to the right of her. When the light turned green, I started to go, but then she started to turn and almost hit me...and with her window down yelled at me, "I'M TURNING"!! Like I was in HER way! So then I yelled some very inappropriate words that probably made me look like an immature jerk. Oh well.

Then, yesterday I went out for a ride...got 2 miles in and realized I had forgotten my cellphone. I was thinking, "eh...it'll be fine". About a mile later I got a flat from a piece of glass. I couldn't find the hole to patch it, so I started putting a spare tube in. Well...I got that all mounted and when I was pumping the tired up the valve blew right off! I walked my bike about a mile back up the road to a store that luckily let me use their phone to call my wife...only to realize that I don't know her cell phone number off the top of my head! Yikes! Luckily I remembered it and got a ride!

cyclist2000

Thats a great rant, hopefully it takes some of the weight off your shoulders.

I had a incident on Saturday night, I was on an organized night ride (about 900 riders and began at 11 pm). We were crossing a busy street with a traffic light a driver on the busy street decided to do a right turn on red in front and into us. After hollering at the driver a few times he finally stopped making the turn. I am sure that he never saw us. I didn't flip him off or anything, I typically don't flip off cars since they could kill me if they wanted to and get away with it and I don't want people in cars to think that all cyclists are jerks and delibertly antagonize cyclists.

And I had an incident in the car where a car ran a stop sign in front of me, I honked my horn and the guy stopped, so I stopped

Him:what's wrong?
Me:did you see the stop sign?
Him: no.
Him: what do you want me to do?
Me: I honked you so you would realize that there is a stop sign there and I don't really want to kill you with my 5000 lb SUV in an accident.
Him: I wouldn't want you to do that either.

He didn't flip me off either.

Peter_C

1. *HUGS*
2. Go until you stop, then take a break - think this might be a good time?
3. I want to ride right now, but can't - don't feel bad for me - just remember, it can get worse...
4. really sexist remark I can't resist (am sorry) - I bet you look really cute when you start sputtering like that?
5. It's OK in my book to rant - we all need that from time-to-time. After the rant it's time to figure out how to keep what caused the rant from happening again. How bout finding a safe spot to keep your bike so it doesn't get knocked over? With all my dogs, I actually bought a cheap (like 7 bucks) pully system so my bike hangs from the ceiling in the garage and nothing can touch it - and is easy to get up and down - just a thought?
6. *More Hugs*

Daspydyr 

Don't forget that you have an important place here at BFs as one of the Athena Princesses. Its a truth that we have to look out for the big steel petro burners. Right or Wrong, they always win!

Nothing like having a fight or flight moment. Adrenaline works! And all us Clydes will probably agree, An Athena with an Attitude is Sexy! Stay safe, I enjoy reading your stuff.

BTW-when I'm enjoying a good downhill I have a Godzilla Snarl that I let rip. I at least amuse me!

jboyd

+1 Everything that Daspydyr said.

It makes me sad that you can't go 40mph down hill and laugh out loud. That just ain't right

If the bike makes you happy, fix the bike. You may have to limit fake fur additions for a little while, but we all have to make sacrifices

You are important here and I too thoroughly enjoy your posts. As I have said before, I think you are my kinda people.

tornado60

Bad drivers will drive you crazy if you let em. Get it out. Just a thought here on the bike. Check out that bottle carrier. If you can't fix/bend it back definetly replace. Sounds like the fall might have moved and/or loosened you handlebar stem. Stand in front tof the bike holding it straight. Put the front wheel between your legs give slight tug back and forth. Not hard just enough that if its loose it'll move. If it moves it will need to be tightened. Either way check the stem. It should come straight off the front wheel. If it isn't it needs to be moved.

TrojanHorse

Just be glad you don't live in a place with REALLY crazy drivers... like me! Although sometimes it's funny.... some lady blew through a stop sign yesterday, realized what she did and stopped square in the cross walk (which was about 15 feet after the stop sign) and just sat there looking at me on my bike. So I said "that was a splendid stop" and waved her on... not sure what i was supposed to do with a SUV parked in my way and I really didn't know what she was expecting. Just thought that was amusing.

Here's hoping you get your bike, your knees and your mother's ailments all sorted out so you can go cackle down some more hills.

Wogster

Do you feel better now

The number of clueless drivers is directly proportional to they type of day your having. Sometimes you need to tell them where to go, even if it isn't where you would like to tell them to go Saturday I practically had to direct traffic to get them to play nicely. Not sure why it is that people taking the driving test know the answer to the 4 way stop question, then immediately forget how to deal with them, after the licence is issued . First you go, now you, now me, the rest of you can figure this out yourselves. If you ever take a defensive driving course, one of the things you learn is that if the other driver can do something stupid, they will. If you always assume they will and they don't it's a pleasant surprise, if you assume they will not and they do, that can hurt.

Bottle cage, take the proper size allen key, loosen the bolts and have a look at it, some cages have slots in them, a few will have one slot that is up and down, the other side to side, this is in case the bolts are not quite in the right place. If the cage is truly bent, then just get another one, remove the bolts, then using the existing bolts, install a new one, I think the last ones I bought were like $3.99 each....

The steering, is probably loose, I think St. Sheldon describes the parts the best, the top of a threaded headset has a bolt that runs down the middle, with the bars and wheel lined up properly with the frame, simply tighten this bolt. With a threadless headset you tighten the pinch bolts. If neither is loose, then see St. Sheldon's article for headset adjustment.

The knees, if it still hurts, then go see a doctor about it, really anything that hurts for more then a few days, should be checked out.

I think though, the best advice, is what you use as a tag line, "Go until you stop, then take a break." take a few days off, get the bike fixed, then ride again....

irclean

Some days you're the dog, and on other days you're the hydrant.

wild animals

Thank you all so much for being so supportive. Thanks too for not telling me the thousands of ways that I could have done a better job. :) This is going to be long, again, but I want to respond individually.

whitecat: Good point! I have had some close calls, been buzzed, "not seen," and all that, but I think this was the closest I've been to getting actually run over or pinned between two automobiles. It is a whole other level of scary. I'm sorry you were crashed! It takes a lot of guts to go back out after something like that. I really don't want to get hurt on the bike.

rallison: Yeah, usually I'm excellent at avoiding dumb drivers at intersections, but that big truck seemed like a bigger threat at the time. I have learned from this. I also need to decide if it is worth it to ride tired and stressed out (not thinking clearly).

dcrowell: Thank you. It is good to reprioritize and realize you made the right decision, huh? Riding is a priority for me so I'm going to have to get my bike situation fixed. I might ride "safer" routes until my mom is better. I talked to her about it and she said she worries any time she knows I'm riding with my sister, but she pretends we're just doing something not near traffic :) She said it's better to live well than to prolong your life by avoiding what you love and staying safe.

BigPolishJimmy: Thank you! I have been meaning to look up headset maintenance, but I have been "busy." :) I had wiggled and jiggled the handlebars to look for slop, but couldn't find any. I kept riding the bike because I think the handling problems come from moving all my weight onto the back of the bike. The saddle is all the way back, my handlebars are all the way back, and I use a rack trunk filled with tools, binoculars, a camera... I thought that might be enough to throw it off. The wt. distribution makes my wrists feel way better, but seems to make the bike squirrelly. I have a Jamis Aurora. And I will check the wheel and fork alignment ASAP!@

markdavid570: I was pretty angry! But I felt pretty justified about it :) I would do it exactly the same next time, if I didn't realize the honking was an accident. Just like with your lady, it was the (perceived) indignation on her part that made me mad. The almost-running-me-over was an honest (dumb) mistake. The honking put me over!

cyclist2000: I feel that, when I'm on my bike, I have few ways to communicate with motorists whose windows are up. That was the most effective way at the time. I had never flipped anyone off before while on my bike. I wasn't acting as a cyclist, but as someone who was almost creamed, and then insulted. Responding to that in a rude way is pretty understandable. Now I know that she honked on accident, so I wish I hadn't flipped her off. But if someone almost runs you over, and it's their fault, you're allowed to throw a fit anyway. :)

Peter: I had only ridden once in the past two weeks! That is a pretty good break! haha :( I've been unable to ride before, too, and it was agonizing. Sorry but I'm going to feel bad for you. I hope you can ride again soon. My sister knocked the bike over while we were about to put it on the car rack. I had to be gracious even though I was pretty mad :/ Also I absolutely and categorically did NOT sputter. I SQUAWKED.

Daspydyr, thank you for telling me so tactfully not to pull in front of cars :) Godzilla snarl! SCREEEE! Love that. I would be amused too. Thanks again!

jboyd, haha, yeah, it is like a civil right or something. :( I love my bike and I'm invested in it but I probably need a custom or lady's tourer if I don't get a recumbent. But I'm going to get this one tuned up anyway because it's the only option to keep riding right now. Thank you! Sweet high-fives!

Tornado60, yes, I bent it back as soon as I noticed! But it made me worry what happened to the rest of the bike...I decided to get it tuned up even though I can't afford it. :) It cracks me up when I see things like that SUV stop. To me that says "Whoops! I screwed up!" which is so much nicer than "YEAH I DID IT! AND I'M GOING TO KEEP GOING SO STAY OUT OF MY WAY!" Thanks so much for all your kind words.

Wogsterca, yes, thank you :) I sort of told a couple of people in my family, too, but one of them is so drugged up that I don't think she'll remember, and I didn't tell the one who seems to worry most about me being on the highway.

Haaha, I love 4-way stops :/ I'm lucky to have a lot of drivers around that know how it works (I take the lane), but every once in awhile I get cut off, or someone waves me through even though it isn't my turn and I'm not ready to go yet :) I bent the cage back into shape, but I might get a new one anyway. I'm more worried about the bike--if the cage bent, what did the rest of the bike do? Thanks so much for the link, and I like the name St. Sheldon...it is perfect and that is how I will call him from now on. Going to fiddle around with the headset later and see what happens! Then I'm getting a tune-up. I hardly have time to ride right now anyway. Thank you!

You guys are awesome! Boy, would you look at all those emoticons. haha.

wild animals

There is the cool creek that goes through our town. I hardly ever ride by here which is an error. I was hoping to see an animal drinking from or gamboling in it, but no such luck.

In the second one, you can see a big cement tunnel (?) on its side, which is both cool and creepy. I wanted to stay but I also wanted to run away as fast as possible.

Aquakitty

That's not so bad, sometimes I have been known to scream and swear like a psychotic..pms'ing female *ahem* at ******* drivers. Funny you met a nice woman though I guess if some driver is going to hit ya they might as well be polite about it

wild animals

Yeah! I was really glad she was so nice because we both probably got something out of the interaction, and I might still be breathing fire today (and a little scared to go riding), if she had been confrontational. I am going to try to be cooler like her the next time someone is mad at me for screwing up

whitecat

Well that is why we are here, or at least why I'm here - to exchange experiences with others and help when I can.

Looking at my crash, I might had been able to find a way out if I could predict stupid driver's actions at least a minute in advance. If only that would work
I had a situation where I was taking the lane, because the lane was narrow, and oncoming traffic from the other direction were 20-ton trucks. So I took the lane, and kept those cars that were following me, behind me. Or at least I thought so - on the right side there is a bus stop that widens the road, and one "smart and wise" driver decided the he would go around me on my right, so he pulled right into that bus stop lane, and when he saw he wasn't going to make it back in front of me, what did he do - he simply steered back left and into my side, pushing me over the center double line into the oncoming lane traffic.

Having seen that, the driver of the truck from the oncoming lane started braking heavily, but it was obvious he was loaded and too close, so that he wouldn't be able to stop in time. I also saw that I cant brake hard while in a turn (as that car pushed me) - I would end up dumped right in front of the truck if I braked hard, since I would probably flew off my bike.

I decided to do the only thing I could - steer left all over the two lanes, cross in front of the truck, and try to slow down as much as possible before stopping altogether in the concrete wall that is beside the road. A tall wall, higher then me

I didn't scrub enough speed for the impact to be gentle , I was going maybe 20 mph at the moment of impact. Results were; a mild concussion, destroyed helmet, quite some skin missing from palms, badly bruised and swollen left arm that returned to function after a week of therapy, a lot of blood everywhere, and the bike seemed ok, but was ultimately replaced in a month - that crash made a crack that grew over that month and eventually made one tube of the frame snap. The biggest problem was that I didn't have my gloves on that day, although I wear them regularly. If I had gloves, there wouldn't have been so much skin loss. That was the most painful part, growing back that in about a month's time.

That feeling when you understand that there is no way out, or at least that getting out unhurt is a very small possibility, is a bit disconcerting to say the least. But, I made the best I could from my situation, and stayed alive, and that is the important part. A 20-ton truck would probably hurt much more then the wall.

I got back on the bike a week after, couldn't really hold the handlebars good yet, but - I wanted to ride, that need to ride was much stronger then any fear. Yes, it was scary to ride a few days after, but it went away and now I'm going faster and harder then before. If you're afraid of something, by doing it a lot, I've found out that my fear disappears. Just like bungee jump - it's scary the first few times, but later...gimme more I look at it this way - people had been known to get killed walking, and slipping on a banana peeling. So if walking can get someone killed, why wouldn't I ride? You never know what tomorrow brings, so while I'm alive I can at least do what I want and like to do, like riding a bike. Fear is temporary, good health lasts.

Here where I am, there had recently been quite a lot cyclists killed lately in traffic accidents. But, I would venture to say that at least maybe 60 to 70% of them are the only ones to blame. Riding at night on a black bike, in black clothing with no lights, in a contra-flow direction. Those ones, by my opinion, are asking to get killed. There is always a surge in cyclist fatalities this time of the year, spring/summer time as more and more of unaware cyclists get out and ride. No common sense, no lights after dark, no rules - need I say more? It sounds harsh, but with such behavior, I expect them to get hurt or killed riding in traffic. It comes as no surprise, sadly.

On the other hand, we who use our safety gear, who cycle abiding the rules of the road, who have lights - seem to get hurt much much less often. So I would say that fear has little to do with reality - you have as much chance of getting hurt walking as it is with biking, as far as I can tell.

About communicating with drivers; I use my front P7 led light that I shine directly into their face if they run red light, try to turn into me, or try to cut me off. That stops them almost immediately most of the time. If that doesn't work, shouting does. You need to get their attention; and having the means to do that while riding is important. And remember, even when you have their attention, always assume that they will still do something stupid. That assumption has saved me more then once. Always be careful and it will be alright.

Avoid super busy roads and highways if you can; ride carefully, have all of your gear on you (gloves, helmet, lights), try to predict other drivers moves by imagining what could be the stupidest thing they could do that moment (so that you can avoid it), and you will probably be right

Regarding your bike, can you post some pictures? A few pictures of your bike from different angles might be helpful to diagnose. I would offer my services, since I have been wrenching on bikes for 10+ years, but the little thing called the ocean that is between us, makes that a little bit harder to do

whitecat

I love such scenery! If you have an option to ride there, you are right it needs to be used more. I can see that tunnel you're referring to, do you know what it is? It looks like a drain of some kind maybe? Interesting.

gotls1

Flipping someone off who almost killed you really isn't so bad. I once called a lady who almost took me out a "f#$%tard". Not really sure what that is, nor was it my proudest moment, but it seemed appropriate at the time.

Neil_B

I don't think Sarah Palin will ever forgive you. :-)

Neil_B

"I pretty much only ride my bike because I like it....."

OK, so only ride your bike when you like it. You don't have to like something 24/7.

jboyd

The above along with Wild Animals bird flipping is AWESOME You girls RULE

Now, with that being said, there is a social X/Y injustice here. You gals can throw the f#$%tard out and I am willing to bet that at most you get the same in return or maybe the expletives ramp up. I dodge cars constantly and usually the most I give is the WTF arms extended with the nasty puzzled look on my face, and usually I get three psychotic meth heads getting out with metal pipes and are wanting to kill me....seriously