So I got my first road bike and my first road rash in the same month. Untill recently, I hadn't ridden a bike since I got my first car, but my wife and I rented mnt bikes while visiting Niagra Falls and we caught the riding bug. So when we got back we bought a couple of Gary Fisher hybrids and and having taught spinning classes for several years, I immediatly started logging some major miles riding to work in Hartford.
So I was riding home Mon comming towards the outskirts of the city when I was suddenly "helped" off my bike by a car door swinging open. There were cars parked all along the side of the road and I had been trying to keep an eye on whether anyone was in them but I definetly didn't see this one comming. Thankfully the guy hadn't gotten the door all the way open cause if I had hit it square I would have gone flying head first. As it was the door clipped my right leg and spun the bike out from under me landing me on the same spot that hit the door. Thankfully nothing broken. Its more like the mother of all charlie hoses which has since turned all sorts of colors and is still causing a pretty good limp a week later.
So the real ? is, being new to this whole street riding thing, is there any tips to avoiding this situation when riding along a street w/ parked cars?
BTW the bike seems to be ok, some minor scuffs. I took most of the damage lol. And yes I was wearing a helmet.
I will usually slow down a bit, but I'll look into the back window of each car to see if I can see a silhouette of a person, if I can, I go a little wider. Not a lot you can do besides that and get good enough to look in side view mirrors for people's eyes, but that's a tough one...
Heal up soon!
E
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"It's what you've got inside that matters. The details and technological things will take you only so far. You still have to pedal the bike. Some people are always looking for the magic secret. There's no secret. Just bust your ass." -Dave Zabriskie
I have the same issue on my ride to work. It is a short bit of parallel parked cars. My answer is to take the lane. I move out far enough into the lane that the cars just have to stay behind me for a bit until the unfortunate parking situation is over and then I move back. Remember, you have a right to the lane. Take it when you need it.
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Today's mighty oak was once just some nut who held his ground!
Thanks for the tips. I guess I have to chalk it up to 50% inexperience and 50% just wrong place at the wrong time. I'll be back on the road as soon as I heal up.
I'm with Joe, I have no issue at all with taking the lane. I have several blocks of three lane street with parked cars on the right lane. I just take the right lane, and actually feel safer with a car right behind me. People see the car and don't pull out or open their door, but they seem to have no problem ignoring or "not seeing" the bike. Ride like a car and you'll be better off.
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"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." --Benjamin Franklin, 1759
A tip. Stay the *&$% away from car doors. If you ride in traffic, you should *never* be within swinging distance of a parked car door. People have died.
Take the lane; any car behind you can wait for something that insures your safety. Heal soon.
I think the real answer for me is to stay away from the area I was in. I have the feeling that I'm not any safer taking the lane around there. Someone driving by me may just open their door to knock me off.
Again, stay away from parked car doors! ALWAYS make sure you're at least a door's length away from any car- take the lane with confidence and move over when safe. Feel better.
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From Aoife: You're just being a brat. You want to have a nice perfect body with no work. So do the rest of us. Too bad there's that reality thing, huh. I mean, come on...
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