Ride Facing Traffic

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donbosco

donbosco

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In rural #DeepChatham County NC, if you didn’t ride facing traffic you didn’t have a chance.
 
It’s amazing all the people who either don’t know, or refuse to practice, the simple act of walking on the side of the road while FACING the traffic.
The other rule of riding a bike WITH the traffic might me debatable as suggested… but WALKING with your back to oncoming cars? A death wish.
 
I’ve ridden probably 50,000 cumulative miles on the road (mostly in rural NC) and can think of few things more terrifying than playing chicken with cars head on.

I stopped riding on the road in 2018 shortly after my son was born though. Had never really had an issue in 15 years of riding on the road, but had some really close calls that spring and summer. Invariably the driver would be looking at their phone. Since then I’ve stuck to the mountain bike trails.
 
Chicken trucks would literally blow you off the road into the ditch when they came up behind you if you tried to ride with traffic. There was zero paved right of way in the country in those days.
 
donbosco said:
IMG_7996.jpeg

In rural #DeepChatham County NC, if you didn’t ride facing traffic you didn’t have a chance.
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If you ride facing traffic, there better be a shoulder or something. Your speed is added to the car's speed meaning cars will come upon you far more quickly than they expect.

IMO it is a problem even with runners but a far bigger problem for a bicycle.
 
When I first moved to where I live now, I loved hopping on my bicycle and getting good rides in on the country roads south of me. Those roads were practically deserted. But over time, the area south of me got so developed, I felt like I was risking my life just to get in a ride. I finally decided to switch to walking. Now I exclusively walk on sidewalks or trails in county/state/national parks. Now I just have to look out for bicycles careening down the path towards me from the front or the rear.
 
I usually ride 1,000-3,000 miles/yr, mostly on country roads. Always WITH traffic. I have a Garmin Varia taillight with radar, so I get alerts when cars are behind me. I'm trying to talk my family into upgrading me to the version with the video camera built in so they have evidence for a wrongful death suit.

I prefer riding on rail trails, but not many where I live. I'll drive 2 hours to ride all day then drive 2 hours home when I have time. I would love to hop on a trail and do a 25-mile 1 1/2-hour ride after work, but have to do that on the road.

Drivers are more aggressive now. trump has given people permission to be assholes. 5,000 pound pickup vs 20 pound bike. Not good odds.
 
I’m not riding a bicycle on a road with cars driven by people constantly on their phones. I will ride on a greenway, but I won’t ride anywhere I have share lanes with cars. Fuck that. Cars and bikes don’t mix and if you’re on a bike, whose fault the accident was is of little consequence to the dead guy.
 
I love riding a bike in cities with dedicated (and protected) bike paths. My favorite? Rio de Janeiro...right next to the beach.
 
In Rio? Not many, but I made sure to turn away from scanning the beach every now and then. The tiny Brazilian bikini is not an exaggeration.
 
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