How dangerous is road cycling, for real?

[Froze]

I hear you Beanz. I was clicking on other surveys here and never had a problem then BOOM! I had a problem, so I won't be clicking on those ever again, but I thought, because of what happened to me, was to tell everyone so they won't run into a problem. I'm glad you told us all what you do though, not sure how foolproof the cursor thing is especially with a lot of Chinese and Russian hackers could make something appear legit and it not be.

I used Webroot years ago and that thing was worthless! They must have changed it since I used it. I'll have to check it out again. I'm using Microsoft Security Essentials now, and it missed the Trojan virus, but I've been using it for 3 years after AVAST failed me several times, and in the last 3 years that Trojan was the first time anything got past MS Security Essentials. I'm thinking these viruses change all the time and a virus detector will spot todays, and another will miss todays but catch tomorrows when the other one that caught todays misses tomorrows.

Anyway I'm not a computer wiz so I don't know what the heck I'm talking about! LOL!!

 

[Germanrazor]

After road cycling for nearly two decades I can say it is all chance. No more dangerous than other like outdoor activities.

The problem I see from other cyclist that lend to being struck by cagers are as follows:

- Wearing dark clothing rather than bright visible
- Not having a decent rear blinking light on your bike for catching the attention of cagers
- Improper road etiquette
- And as always.....cyclist just doing stupid stuff

Even if you wear bright clothing, rear blinking light and just in general awareness....you can still suffer a accident. But your goal is trying to decrease those odds.

Good luck.

 

[alphasports]

I have been road cycling now for some 60 years (I am now pushing the door of 75 years young) and giving some serious thought to reluctantly ceasing riding my one and now only steed - a 50cm Flat-bar Bianchi Via Nirone 7 Road Hybrid.
I sadly parted company with my 50cm Steve Goff last year because of ongoing arthritis in my right shoulder.
generally the roads are far more crowded than they were even 10 years ago and motorist are far less tolerant of each other and seem to have little respect or consideration towards cyclist;that said I live in open rural countryside where the week end fantasy peloton including the older boy racers in their Lycra thunder through often 4 and 5 abreast in their rather drab and most definitely not visible kit.

Very few drivers pass cyclists with sufficient room for allowing for for an emergency manoeuvre to avoid potholes - the ones that car drivers don't feel could cause a serious frame failure never mind buckled wheels.
The Chelsea Tractor brigade are in my experience the worst of the lot followed by those towing long caravans and often with a Chelsea Tractor.

As for my part;I always wear bright coloured cycle jerseys in dry weather and carry and or use Hi-Viz Green/Yellow jackets on not so good days.View attachment 4367 View attachment 4368

Beautiful bikes, and garden too!

 

[allen9H]

Hello everyone,,
I biked about 500 miles this summer before I crashed (totally my fault) and broke my ankle. Had a blast doing it. I'm still really interested and plan to keep riding, but nearly every day I see a post on here or in bicycling about yet another cyclist who has died after being hit by a car or something like that.

The risks that you would be hit by a car are minimal, in my opinion.

 

[Mr. Beanz]

I know people don't like to hear it but plenty also depends on how the cyclists behaves on the road.

Being a person who has always avoided group rides, I recently started about 3 months ago riding with a group after an invite from another forum member I have known for 15 years.

I invited 3 of my buddies and I can see a big difference in the way we ride. I have on video, one of my buddies switching lines and even though in the bike lane, I see him look back EVERY time before changing his line. That is what we are supposed to do. Make me proud that I look at my buds and you can tell they are well disciplined.

Then you see 2 abreast from the group, in a line of maybe 10 riders. I'm at the back to avoid trouble when I see a rider just pull out and go around the others WITHOUT LOOKING BACK FIRST! Holy cow!

I see it often then I also see riders get passed, then come from the back as we approach a stop light insisting on being at the front of the group. Ok, now you made it so the faster riders have to pass you again for no reason taking risks. If I arrive in position #7 at the light, I stay there.

One chick I see insists on being at the front for bragging rights claiming to pull the group. Yeah, for a couple minutes then fades and gets dropped on the first smallest incline. Which again forces stronger riders out into traffic having to pass the fading cyclist who shouldn't have been up there in the first place.

Also, same chick falls behind. We stop at a red light. She passes the stopped group on the left and blows the red light if possible slipping between traffic. Wow! Dangerous and the other thing, it's illegal. Most the group want to avoid a $500 ticket for something stupid like wanting to be first when you shouldn't anyway.

I was chatting with the ride leader yesterday, suggesting that he give a little more instruction to the riders with unsafe practices. He says he tries but they don't listen. I told him I've felt like saying something at times but I just mind my own as I am not the leader.

But I sure would hate to see another rider get hit while going around with noting to prove. Or go around and get hit by a car and getting tossed into the group injuring several others.

I try to be safe. Even think that I shouldn't be riding in a group for given reasons and common practices in every group I have been in and seen.

I rode with another group twice 10 years ago. 10 minutes into the ride I was like HELL NO! Never went with them again, 2 crashes for stupid reasons ending up in broken bones. I saw it coming in the first 10 minutes out on the road with them. I mentioned it to the president of the club, he got upset and we ended up in a feud that lasted for years.

Till he got a taste of his own stupidity and crashed for stupid reasons ending up in his permanent disability and loss of one side of his body. Even right before his accident, I would see the club flying through red light intersections at blind corners. Wow!

Well, somebody learned by their mistakes and it wasn't me. I learn before I make my mistakes and make adjustments to keep myself safe. Too many riders get involved in a club or group then think all the stupid things they do are acceptable.

Forget all that ****, follow the rules, use good etiquette and keep yourself safe.

Not saying all bike accidents are the fault of the cyclist, but I see way too many cyclists setting themselves up for failure for no reason other than ego. F that, I finish in the middle of the pack or at the end as long as I am safe. And that is with a group of 30 that maybe 3 are stronger cyclists than I am. Safe rather than sorry!

It is as dangerous as you make it. Sadly I can see about 5 of the group riders getting hurt sometime soon.

 

[Froze]

I hate to agree with you Mr Beanz, but after 40 plus years of riding a bike and driving a car, and being highly observant of things going on around me, I have to say, most bicycle accidents are the fault of the cyclist. I know I've read reports that have said that motorists are the ones at fault most of the time, but those reports come pro cyclists activists, so they will be slanted. I can tell that you noticed the same thing I have so I know what I've seen over the years is not a fluke. I'm surprised you haven't gotten any stones thrown at you yet!

While I think some of those cyclists have ego issues, a lot of it is just stupidity, and some just don't have a clue how to ride safely.

 

[Mr. Beanz]

I agree and yes, I do get stones thrown at me often ha ha!

I actually hate talking bike accidents at times for the reasons you mention. I remember years ago, a cyclist was found on the side of the road dead. Comments all over the forums to prosecute the driver for murder. Turns out the guy hit a grating, flipped and broke his neck. Not even a chance to investigate before cyclists were wanting to hang a driver.

I see a lot of stupid drivers doing stupid stuff in cars. But I also see a lot of stupid cyclists doing stupid things on bikes. But we end up dead when we do stupid things on bikes.

And not only stupid things that get us killed, stupid things that give cyclist a bad name. Just yesterday, one of our riders was passing by a couple of peds on the side of the trail, off the pavement in the dirt. He was shouting horribly scaring the **** out of the women. Wow, made me ashamed to be in the group. Luckily he only did it like twice because I was about to same something to him. That is utterly ridiculous.

Cyclists need to learn how to act to keep themselves safe, as well as others.

But yeah, too many just don't have a clue. Sad but true!

 

[Froze]

Because riding a bike (or motorcycle) can be dangerous, mostly because we don't have sheet metal around us, knowing that, I have no problem when I have the right away to yield it to a car.

 

[ACyclingRooster]

Hi to all of you professors of cycling safety.
Let us not loose sight of the fact that accidents of any kind do NOT JUST HAPPEN they are CAUSED,there is always a reason and the reason must be continually scanned for,listened for if one does not want to become a statistic.

They come under the general heading of CAUSE and EFFECT.

 

[Mr. Beanz]

Hi to all of you professors of cycling safety.
Let us not loose sight .........

Well I am no professor but I did make it to the 4th grade so I know there is only one "o" in "lose".

As in taught in driving school, 99% of accidents are preventable. Managing my part is the easy part. Controlling the actions of others is the hard part.

 

[Froze]

Well I am no professor but I did make it to the 4th grade so I know there is only one "o" in "lose".

As in taught in driving school, 99% of accidents are preventable. Managing my part is the easy part. Controlling the actions of others is the hard part.

Oh Mr Beanz, you silly *****, lets not get into correcting spelling and grammar, you want to know why? Because in your very next paragraph, you state: "As in taught in driving school,..." See anything wrong with that statement?

 

[Mr. Beanz]

Oh Mr Beanz, you silly *****, lets not get into correcting spelling and grammar, you want to know why? Because in your very next paragraph, you state: "As in taught in driving school,..." See anything wrong with that statement?

I never said I did well in typing class!

 

[jasonandrew]

Its not dangerous

 

[mpre53]

There are two kinds of serious road cyclists: those who have crashed, and those who are going to crash. That's the bad news. The good news is, 99.9% of the time, you'll get up, grimace at the road rash, check to see if you knocked the bars out of alignment with the fork, and climb back on. **** happens. You'll flat on the front wheel on a turn at speed, you'll hit a raised piece of pavement flush, you'll try to stop on a painted road surface that's wet, some knucklehead on a group ride will overlap your rear wheel on the right, and everyone's favorite, you'll eat it crossing wet railroad tracks at an angle instead of straight perpendicular. If you're a cautious rider and traffic aware, getting taken out by a car is like getting hit by lightning out of the blue---just your **** luck. It happens, but it's likely not going to happen to you.

 

[Mr. Beanz]

We had a girl in the group 2 weeks back. Hit a seam in the road, black top to concrete. She went down and broke her wrist in 3 places. So yeah, it can be dangerous.

Sometimes is can be dangerous because you sometimes rely on others and they don't do what they should do. If I had been in front of that gal, I would have called it out as I have many times before. That gal was unlucky and got stuck with an idiot in front of her.

 

[jasonandrew]

It is very easy not too dangerous

 

[Pinelander]

My most recent mishap was not being able to get my foot out of the clip in time when stopping for a light in traffic. Went over like a redwood. The only damage was to my pride. Most advice here is spot on. I used to ride with a good friend, but riding with him was the only time I had cars honking. He couldn't hold a line and always looked unpredictable. Unfortunately, he was out by himself one day and swerved in front of a Ford Explorer. He had no ID and it took his girl friend 8 hours to find him. He didn't survive. I always flinched when he'd reach for his water bottle and start swerving around. I hate to say it, but it didn't come as a surprise.

All I can add is hold your line, obey the rules of the road, be courteous to drivers (it does come back to you, most times) and act like you know what your doing.

 

[Jesica Miller]

cycling isn't that dangerous. but road cycling is kinda dangerous. as lots of other heavy vehicles also travel through, bike riders are more at risk than any other vehicle on the road. Statistics show that in 2015, 43 more people died from cycling than driving cars. All the vehicles are dangerous. If one can take safety measures, danger can be reduced significantly.

 

[Germanrazor]

You can only do so much like visible cycling clothing, blinking rear and front lights, stay right if at all possible and make your intentions known early.

The rest, well, that is up the good Lord above and if He is ready for you to leave this earth.

 

[cyclintom]

Hello everyone,,
I biked about 500 miles this summer before I crashed (totally my fault) and broke my ankle. Had a blast doing it. I'm still really interested and plan to keep riding, but nearly every day I see a post on here or in bicycling about yet another cyclist who has died after being hit by a car or something like that.

It makes me hesitant to want to keep riding. Is it actually worth the risk, or does the risk just seem inflated in cycling communities online?

Bicycling is one of the safest forms of exercise. More pedestrians die every year than bicyclists. Yes you can be hit by a car and killed if YOU aren't careful. Always be ready for some idiot to pull out of a driveway without looking or some dumb chick to roll a stop sign and then tell the cop "He came out of NOWHERE!" but I have been hit once in 40 years of riding. And it was some distracted old bat rolling a stop sign. The bike was a hell of a lot more damaged than I was. Though I don't think I looked all that graceful flowing over her hood. And then screaming names at her.