[Novalug] Sad news

Bonnie Dalzell bdalzell@qis.net
Wed Jul 10 16:52:41 EDT 2013


sad news indeed

bikes and autos do not mix well. a person on a bike is entirely too 
vulnerable even if wearing a helmet.

in our area there is really no ride able shoulders on the rural roads which 
makes cycling hazardous even if automobile drivers are paying attention.

For example if it is a uphill road with curves it really is not safe for a 
car to pass because the driver cannot see far enough ahead and the cyclist 
cannot ride on the shoulder to allow passing. I always wait until I can 
safely pass a cyclist but cars behind me will rush past both me and 
the cyclist. This may even be a bigger hazard so sometimes I just 
pull over and wait however long I think it is going to be for the cyclist 
to get to the part of the road with good visibility so I can safely pass.

Our rural area has lots of hills with twisty roads. In theory a lovely 
area to cycle except for the dangerous lack of shoulders. sometimes the 
road drops of 4 to 6 inches IMMEDIATELY to the right of the white line 
painted on the asphalt. I damaged the front suspension of my van one day 
when a stupid truck was coming down the road towards me partially on my 
side of the road and I had to pull off the pavement to avoid a collision 
and dropped the right front wheel into one of these drop off situations. 
That sort of edge is of course very dangerous for a cyclist.

most drivers are not going to be willing to drive at 10 or 11 mph until "a 
safe to pass on the hill section" is reached.

motor cycles are also very pretty dangerous for the rider if there is an 
accident but at least they can travel at the same speed as automobile 
traffic.

north of us there are a lot of Amish with horse drawn carriages but 
those counties do put wide enough shoulders on the roads so cars can pass. 
Good area to cycle.

however our county saves money on paving by not having shoulders on rural 
roads.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                        Bonnie Dalzell, MA
mail:PO box 9767 Baldwin, MD, USA 21013  |  EMAIL:bdalzell@qis.net
shipping address:5100 Hydes Rd 21082 (Hydes Post Office closed Jan 2012)
Freelance anatomist, vertebrate paleontologist, writer, illustrator, dog
breeder, computer nerd & iconoclast... Borzoi info at www.borzois.com.
HOME www.batw.net    ART bdalzellart.batw.net  BUSINESS www.boardingatwedge.com




More information about the Novalug mailing list