Bicycles and the people riding them

Bicycles are not the problem ....as a whole, none of them go out on the road by themselves, but some of the people riding them are less than experienced.

We all know (or should know) the rules for driving a car apply to people "driving" a bicycle and yet ....
  - do you see ALL bicyclists stopping for STOP signs? 
  - do you see them stopping or even slowing down for people in crosswalks?

I don't know about you, but I have a great desire to keep living and I know if I, as a bicyclist, have a run-in with a motor vehicle (no matter how small), I AM going to lose!  Apparently not all people know this.

Just the thought of running into or being run into causes my body to throb.

I've had several dumb accidents while riding a bicycle .... like the first time I rode a bike with hand operated brakes.  (Note:  Bicycles have not always had these kind of brakes.  Originally brakes were operated with your feet ... by pushing the pedals backwards, instead of forward.)  I was pulling into my driveway - remembered my feet no longer stopped my bike and clamped hard on the left hand brake!  The next thing that happened is I flew over the handle bars and saw the tail pipe of my car looming before my face.  I was still grasping the handle bars of the bike.  There must have been enough drag to pull me back just enough to keep the tail pipe from impaling my face; however, my legs were skinned - from my ankles to my knees.

This happened on a Sunday, so you know I looked positively professional when I went to work the next day.  A week or so later, I realized I'd done something very bad to one knee.

Anyway, I digress .....

If I were riding on the open road (I only ride around my sub-division where there is a lot of grass to land on.) I would be sure to learn and practice the rules of the road.

Bicycles DON'T have the right of way automatically.
Bicycles ARE NOT supposed to be riding on the pedestrian walk way
Bicycles ARE NOT supposed to wind in and out of cars waiting at a traffic light

Remember an old saying when riding your bicycle - The life you save may be your own.


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