subject: _:node7e7a4940c397775acd8ef010afb015df
obj: "My friend Ramon H. from the Rio Grande Valley recently had a shock when a drunk driver plowed into several members of a group ride he was in. Two were banged up, and one went to a local hospital\u2019s ICU. Ironically, the group was riding in honor of another of their cycling circle who was killed a year ago \u2014 again, by a drunk driver.\nThe crash rattled Ramon, and he is reassessing his commitment to cycling.\n\u201CAt this point,\u201D he wrote me, \u201CI am not sure what the future holds for me as it pertains to pre-dawn cycling or road cycling in general.\u00A0 This event hit too close to home and emotions are very raw still.\u00A0 Not just for me, but for my wife as well.\u201D\nA lot of Ramon\u2019s riding is done on a trainer now.\nI have noticed an increase in traffic on roads I\u2019ve biked on for years. Until the shoulders were recently widened on one popular (but high speed limit) highway, I had stopped riding it. Too many cars going too fast. However, on our longer cycling routes into the country, I can\u2019t say motorists are any more of a threat than they have ever been.\nSo I was concerned when two members of my cycling club posted about one of their recent rides. Going down Cement Plant Road near Buda, Texas, a cement truck passed so close that it touched the arm of one rider, and left a disturbing cement dust print on his shoulder. Neither of the two was hurt, but we probably will confine our riding on that road to Sundays in the future.\nHowever, a heightened sense of danger on the roads is far from universal. Our guest poster, Don Blount, says he hasn\u2019t seen a problem.\n\u201CI have found drivers to be remarkably courteous, giving me plenty of space,\u201D he said. \u201CI could probably count on one hand the number of times I have been buzzed and most of those times will involve some knuckleheads in a pickup truck.\u201D\nDon surveyed members of his cycling club in California, and they had similar impressions.\n\n\u201CMotorists are pretty mellow in my experience.\u201D\n\u201CHaving lived and biked in the foothills since 1997, I see no real difference in the autos.\u201D\n\u201CI have not noticed a greater danger, \u00A0bad drivers are still bad and don\u2019t count on anyone giving you three feet clearance.\u201D\n\nOur other guest poster, Jeff Hemmel,\u00A0checks in from Florida: \u201CNot sure if I would say that it feels like things are getting worse, but there are definitely moments.\u201D Jeff says he\u2019s noticed more anger on the roads, as well as more disregard for traffic laws. So, he\u2019s adjusted some of his riding practices.\n\u201CI always ride with a very bright, Blackburn Flea blinking taillight day and night,\u201D he said. \u201CI\u2019m also really conscious of watching taillights, looking ahead to intersections, etc, to try and anticipate what might happen.\u201D\nJeff said it\u2019s up to the cyclist to be proactive. \u201CI think about what hours I\u2019m out there,\u201D he said. \u201CI pretty much stick to morning, and especially avoid later afternoon as kids are out of school, people are starting to go home from work, etc.\u201D\nFrankly, one of the reasons I\u2019ve started doing some mountain biking is that it gets me off the roads. If I hit a rock and do an endo \u2014 well, that\u2019s my fault.\nAnd even Ramon hasn\u2019t given up. \u201CI am not ready to stop cycling because I have seen the tremendous weight-management and stress-relief benefits it provides,\u201D he wrote. \u201CI have seen very positive changes from when I started back in 2009 to where we are today.\u00A0 Drivers have started to look out for us, and we have slowly started to instill a \u2018share the road\u2019 mentality.\u201D\nAnd Saturday, Ramon finished a 100-mile organized ride with his best time ever for a century.\nShare this:Share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)Like this:Like Loading..."@en-us