THE SLOBBER
(Titled 'The Slobber' because that's the collective noun for 'The Daily Dribble')
2.
Sometimes we all need a little reminder....
from Cylingtips.blog ;
A couple of weeks ago the Cycliquette seed was planted and some great conversation ensued. Several incoming links appeared from dozens of other websites calling their readers for ideas and discussion. It was a record day of comments - most of them extremely productive.
I've thoroughly read through the comments and have come up with a shortlist of things that we as cyclists need to clean up in order to co-exist with motorists so that we're respected on the roads. As it stands right now there are too many of us (myself included) who ride in massive bunches, abuse our rights, and act like a bunch of hoons. I know most of us think that it's someone else who acts like a jerk in the bunch rides, but we need to be mindful of our own actions as well.
If we conduct ourselves this way we negate the progress that organisations like the Amy Gillett Foundation have made. We're only hurting ourselves.
Here's a shortlist of the top actions that YOU put forward to address the problem between cyclists and motorists.
COOL - Showing some courtesy and acknowledgment to motorists. It costs nothing to give a smile or a wave to someone who slowed down or showed some respect for you. You're on a public road and not in a race. Use the same social etiquette that the rest of society uses.
UNCOOL - Swarming cars stopped at a red light when in a bunch ride. Stay left and behind the vehicles. Use discretion when riding alone or in small groups in heavy traffic. Sometimes its reasonable to pass slow moving traffic if you're consistently traveling faster.
UNCOOL - Using the opportunity of stopping at traffic lights to regain your position at the front of a bunch. This ends up blocking multiple lanes while getting around the forward riders.
COOL - Riding 2 abreast. This is preferred but not always possible when passing other groups. If passing, at the very least, keep inside the white line. EVEN if it means losing your position in your bunch, drift back and keep inside the your lane. Shoulder check and look for cars when overtaking.
UNCOOL - Treating our bunch rides like races. We're not in a closed arena. There is no need for a bunch sprint to go all over the road at the end of a ride. Yeah it's fun, but that's what Sunday crits are for. Leave your ego at home and show what you've got in a real race.
COOL - Having the balls to tell your mates when they do a bonehead move. The more the higher level riders speak up, the more others will speak up with you. 88% of you reading are expert to advanced level cyclists. Use your position of influence to promote change.
UNCOOL - Running red lights, on your own at 4 in the morning is uncool but rolling through as a bunch is downright dangerous.
This was a popular one in the comments but it doesn't necessarily involve our relationship with motorists:
COOL - Leaving your iPod at home on busy roads. For your own safety and the others in the bunch. You primarily use 2 senses on the road - your vision and your hearing.
1.
This snippet from Lance Armstrong's book "It's not about the bike";
PAIN IS TEMPORARY. IT MAY LAST A MINUTE,
or it may last an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit however, it lasts forever. That surrender, even the smallest act of giving up, stays with me. So when I feel like quitting, I ask myself, which would I rather live with? Facing up to that question, and finding a way to go on, is the real reward, better than any trophy, as I would learn all over again in the 2000 season.
By now you've figured out I'm into pain. Why? Because it's self-revelatory, that's why. There is a point in every race when a rider encounters his real opponent and understands that it's himself.