Poor old man

gabriel959
gabriel959 Posts: 4,227
edited June 2009 in Commuting chat
I was coming back from work last night when "Bang" ... what a crash!

Basically I was going on a cycle path, one I have done more than a hundred times that goes past a tesco's. There is a slight bend and a bush that cover a small, not very used path, between a Tesco store and the cycle path itself.

There was no one else apart from me (so I thought!) and was going and my usual 15/16mph on these kind of cycle paths.

But... but a poor old man with a dutch bike came out of the small path onto the main one. Due to the blind spot I didn't see him so we crashed onto each other. Surprisingly he was in a better state physically than me. My left arm hurts and my neck had a few grazes and wounds. I also had a couple of bruises on my leg plus quite a nasty cut on my left arm near the wrist, the old man nothing!!!

My question is, his handlebars were completely bent and his front wheel was completely bent too. Really weird as my Giant SCR2 was almost fine. He is going to need new components and was feeling a bit bad but as he said not anyone's fault, is that bloody blind spot. Lesson for next time, careful with that bend and go really slowly!
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Comments

  • Eau Rouge
    Eau Rouge Posts: 1,118
    gabriel959 wrote:
    going and my usual 15/16mph on these kind of cycle paths.

    Lesson for next time, careful with that bend and go really slowly!

    Those things are usually (and by the sound of it here) designed for "Pedestrians on Bikes" doing less than 10mph. At 15mph you'd be safer, and everyone else would be safer, on the road.
  • gb155
    gb155 Posts: 2,048
    Eau Rouge wrote:
    gabriel959 wrote:
    going and my usual 15/16mph on these kind of cycle paths.

    Lesson for next time, careful with that bend and go really slowly!

    Those things are usually (and by the sound of it here) designed for "Pedestrians on Bikes" doing less than 10mph. At 15mph you'd be safer, and everyone else would be safer, on the road.

    Agreed, I have seen some cycle paths where anything about 10mph is just asking for it, Its a crazy person who designs these.
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  • prj45
    prj45 Posts: 2,208
    gb155 wrote:
    Agreed, I have seen some cycle paths where anything about 10mph is just asking for it, Its a crazy person who designs these.

    Equally crazy are people who ride at speeds that mean they can't stop in the distance they can see to be clear..
  • gb155
    gb155 Posts: 2,048
    prj45 wrote:
    gb155 wrote:
    Agreed, I have seen some cycle paths where anything about 10mph is just asking for it, Its a crazy person who designs these.

    Equally crazy are people who ride at speeds that mean they can't stop in the distance they can see to be clear..

    Thats why me and my fat ass use only the road and disk brakes :D:D:D:D:D
    On a Mission to lose 20 stone..Get My Life Back

    December 2007 - 39 Stone 05 Lbs

    July 2011 - 13 Stone 12 Lbs - Cycled 17851 Miles

    http://39stonecyclist.com
    Now the hard work starts.
  • redvee
    redvee Posts: 11,922
    There is a tight bend on the Bristol - Bath cyclepath that I always slow down for, a quick left-right but totally blind both ways. Never had any close calls there yet but time will come.
    I've added a signature to prove it is still possible.
  • gabriel959
    gabriel959 Posts: 4,227
    Eau Rouge wrote:
    gabriel959 wrote:
    going and my usual 15/16mph on these kind of cycle paths.

    Lesson for next time, careful with that bend and go really slowly!

    Those things are usually (and by the sound of it here) designed for "Pedestrians on Bikes" doing less than 10mph. At 15mph you'd be safer, and everyone else would be safer, on the road.

    I go on the road 95% of the time to be honest but that cycle path saves me around 5 minutes on my commute (even at a slower speed) that if I go on the road. The thing is even if I had been doing 10 mph I would have hit him still :(
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  • AllTheGear
    AllTheGear Posts: 248
    Then you need to be doing 5mph at that point?
    ... and no idea ...

    FCN: 3
  • gabriel959
    gabriel959 Posts: 4,227
    AllTheGear wrote:
    Then you need to be doing 5mph at that point?

    yes, that is what I mean, I need to go real slow, even 5mph is probably a crash though, such is that blind spot. He should have looked more carefully too :)

    It is a shame that I might have to hit the road instead as some cycling paths in cambridge are so cleverly done that can save you loads of time by using them.
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    Commuting / Winter rides - Jamis Renegade Expert
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  • AllTheGear
    AllTheGear Posts: 248
    gabriel959 wrote:
    ... It is a shame that I might have to hit the road instead as some cycling paths in cambridge are so cleverly done that can save you loads of time by using them.

    But not so clever if they are only safe at walking pace.

    I'm not in Cambridge itself but out in a village, and they paint a bike / give way markings on the pavement here and call it a cycle lane. But the 'give way' markers are right before blind driveways etc. so you pretty much have to keep stopping. I use the road.

    It's one of those things - the council can claim they have added cycle lanes, when in reality they aren't safe enough so people use the road.
    ... and no idea ...

    FCN: 3