Yesterday I witnessed an accident between a bicyclist and a pedestrian. I’m sure this has happened many times before but it got me thinking about some things.
This accident happened on a dedicated cycling path, really a road for bicycles going north towards Tai Po Market from where I work in Sha Tin. This is a quite busy cycling area with lots of people on it at all hours. As the only road going the same way is a freeway it is a really nicely thought out way to make the eastern New Territories somewhat bicycle friendly. But there is a sidewalk and a public park area just beside the path that accesses a causeway along the ocean where people fish or walk or look at the gorgeous view.
I was on my evening ride puttering along at about 25K an hour and was passed by a guy on a full race rig Cannondale road bike. He was in the drops. Pumping the big ring and passed me like I was standing still. I actually thought “My, God, if he doesn’t look where he’s going rather than stare at his front tire he’ll kill someone.” Well, about 3 or 4 minutes later I rounded a bend and saw him T-bone and old woman who had stepped out into the cycling lane. He just nailed her. I mean he knocker her across the other lane and into the bushes. She didn’t get up. He went over the bars and landed face first on the concrete ripping the front out of his team replica jersey.
I stopped to render some first aid. I called an ambulance for the old woman who was unconscious and asked the rider in Chinese if he was all right. He replied in English that he was not badly hurt and then started swearing at the old woman he’d just T-boned. Before the police could get there he picked his bike up and just zoomed off at 45K per hour again. I couldn’t help thinking “I hope your fork snaps” as he left. I then had to convince the police when they showed up that I was not the one who’d nailed the old woman.
Here are the questions I thought about on the rest of my commute home: Granted the old woman was where she shouldn’t have been but the rider was going way, way to fast for the conditions he was riding in and was, in my opinion, more to blame. Especially in his total lack of any compassion for the person he nearly killed. Part of riding safely is anticipation and he could have avoided this accident with a little less speed or a little more attention to the road in front of him. Indeed, most of the blame for this was his. I ride that track everyday almost and have never hit anyone. But there are lots of really unsafe riders on this path and even more pedestrians and joggers on it when they shouldn’t be. So, should cycling areas like this be patrolled by bicycle police to both keep pedestrians off them but also to ticket unsafe riders? What about a speed limit for bicycles on paths like this? Should riders be required to pass some sort of licensing test as do automobile drivers before they are allowed on the roads? What about an annual inspection of bicycles like autos have to go through to ensure they are safe and in good working order?
Lastly and this is the one that people are not going to like, Are full race road bikes safe to ride in a setting like this? I see these guys all the time with their head down, in the drops with no view of the road in front of the bike beyond about 18 inches. As the bars have continued to go lower over the past 15 years this problem gets worse. Has the: stiffer, lighter, more aero, and faster mantra created a generation of not only dangerous riders but bike designs that are so extreme that they cannot be safely ridden outside a rice? I don’t even think I could tilt my head back far enough to see down the road on a typical bike made in the last 5 years. You can’t drive a formula 1 racer on the street because they are unsafe in general traffic. Have full race road bikes reached the point where they are unsafe, at amost any speed around other bicycles and pedestrians? I am afraid, in many cases the answer may be yes. The question is what, if anything can be done about it?
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
Showing posts with label Bicycling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bicycling. Show all posts
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Long lost loves
In bicycle slang a rider's favorite bike is sometimes called his "True Love" and 30 years ago this week I bought a bicycle at the end of April that still qualifies as my true love. It was an odd bike for me at the time because I was an aspiring racer and it was a touring frame. However, I didn't have a car and needed a bike I could put racks on and use to carry groceries. The owner of the bicycle shop played in a 1950's rock band and needed a period instrument. I had an old Fender guitar and amp that I traded him for a used Dawes Galaxy Frame and $150.00 USD worth of wholesale parts. I'm sure the Guitar was worth more than that in terms of cash but I got the better end of that deal by miles and miles and miles of smiles.
I don't know how a 1970's Dawes was fitted out at the factory. I honestly have no idea. I built my frame up with a chromed double-butted fork, a TA Cyclo-Touriste crank with what was then called "Alpine" gearing and today would be called a "Compact double" That means a 34/50 tooth chain ring set and a 13-28 6 speed freewheel. Suntour VX-Road derailleurs, bar-end shifters and hubs rounded out the drive train. The bike sat on wide Ambrosio tubular rims that I doubt could be found today but then neither could the 32 mm wide silk corded touring tubulars. The obligatory Brooks B-17 saddle, SR stem and Randoneur bars plus Dia Compe Centerpull brakes rounded out the basic bike. A rear rack and Silca pump along with Campagnolo pedals and toe clips finished it off. After I rode the bike about a month I stripped it back down to the bare frame and had the frame repainted a metallic brown and the Nervar lugs outlined with yellow pin stripes, new decals were applied and the whole thing clear coated. All-in-all I spent about $200.00 more on the bike than the credit given to me by the shop. A $350.00 bike back then was the rough equivalent of a $1000.00 bike today so it was nice bike.
But the cost was a bargain. This bike was just special. The long wheelbase and slack angles provided an amazing ride especially when combined with the comfortable Brooks saddle and wide tubular tires. It just seemed to float. With a rear rack, fenders and generator light the bike weighed only about 27 pounds which is lighter than many Mountain Bikes today.
I sold my Japanese made racer that summer and the next racing bike I purchased was from Italy. But, it was the Dawes that I would choose to ride. Yes, it steered like a barge. No, touring bikes don't climb hills well. But it was stable, tracked true, insanely comfortable and magnificently versatile. What it lost in going up the hills it more than made up for in descending the other side. Plus, the fancy lugs and pin striping made it gorgeous. I loved this bike.
I have had my current bike for 9 years since 2000 but I bet I rode that Dawes more in a month than I've ever ridden my Battaglin. The Battaglin is a Triathlon frame. Even though I've refitted it with flat bars, a tall stem and triple crank it is still a triathlon bike. It accelerates fast. Turns on a dime. Is really fun in a lot of ways but it rides like a jackhammer and has tires so narrow that if I am not careful fall into the slots of Hong Kong storm drains. Because I've developed some problems with my ankles I can no longer do the Triathlon thing. I would like to ride more and not so much for exercise as pleasure. Since my job is right beside the long bike trail that runs up to Tai Po I could but it is just so hard to make myself get out. I need a bike I want to ride. A bike I don't have to think about, that I can trust not so much with my health and safety as with my enjoyment.
I have been hording bike components for several months. I don't like a lot of the more modern stuff. Bicycle components since about 1995 have too many gears, are too ugly, not repairable and look like cheap plastic even though they cost like they are made of gold. I've managed over the last several months to collect an almost complete NOS Suntour XC-Pro drive train except for a set of Ringle hubs. I'm planning to build a new bike and relegate the Battaglin to the wind trainer. This new bike will have wide enough tires to not fall in to a storm drain grate. Be geared low enough for a middle-aged guy to enjoy riding, be able to mount a rack as well as fenders if I want while running 32 mm wide tires and do all sorts of things I currently cannot do with my retired Triathlon bike.
It will probably be a (Growl, curse, grumble, mutter) Mountain bike frame which means ugly, designed for 650C wheels and a suspension fork with an aluminum frame. I wish it could be another Dawes Galaxy. I don't think I can afford one of those frames on my school librarian salary even if they were available in Hong Kong. They're welded now anyway so I couldn't have that great pin striping around the fancy lugs. But even a welded Dawes would be a Dawes.
Shortly before I got married in 1986 I was run off the road by a gravel truck. I landed on a concrete culvert and while I was not hurt the crash separated the rear triangle of my Dawes from the main frame. My wife allowed me to buy a Cannondale touring frame as a wedding present. I rode that until we moved to Hong Kong in 1990. It was a great bike. It wasn't my Dawes. Nothing else will be. Nothing else will ever come close.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who still misses his first true love.
I don't know how a 1970's Dawes was fitted out at the factory. I honestly have no idea. I built my frame up with a chromed double-butted fork, a TA Cyclo-Touriste crank with what was then called "Alpine" gearing and today would be called a "Compact double" That means a 34/50 tooth chain ring set and a 13-28 6 speed freewheel. Suntour VX-Road derailleurs, bar-end shifters and hubs rounded out the drive train. The bike sat on wide Ambrosio tubular rims that I doubt could be found today but then neither could the 32 mm wide silk corded touring tubulars. The obligatory Brooks B-17 saddle, SR stem and Randoneur bars plus Dia Compe Centerpull brakes rounded out the basic bike. A rear rack and Silca pump along with Campagnolo pedals and toe clips finished it off. After I rode the bike about a month I stripped it back down to the bare frame and had the frame repainted a metallic brown and the Nervar lugs outlined with yellow pin stripes, new decals were applied and the whole thing clear coated. All-in-all I spent about $200.00 more on the bike than the credit given to me by the shop. A $350.00 bike back then was the rough equivalent of a $1000.00 bike today so it was nice bike.
But the cost was a bargain. This bike was just special. The long wheelbase and slack angles provided an amazing ride especially when combined with the comfortable Brooks saddle and wide tubular tires. It just seemed to float. With a rear rack, fenders and generator light the bike weighed only about 27 pounds which is lighter than many Mountain Bikes today.
I sold my Japanese made racer that summer and the next racing bike I purchased was from Italy. But, it was the Dawes that I would choose to ride. Yes, it steered like a barge. No, touring bikes don't climb hills well. But it was stable, tracked true, insanely comfortable and magnificently versatile. What it lost in going up the hills it more than made up for in descending the other side. Plus, the fancy lugs and pin striping made it gorgeous. I loved this bike.
I have had my current bike for 9 years since 2000 but I bet I rode that Dawes more in a month than I've ever ridden my Battaglin. The Battaglin is a Triathlon frame. Even though I've refitted it with flat bars, a tall stem and triple crank it is still a triathlon bike. It accelerates fast. Turns on a dime. Is really fun in a lot of ways but it rides like a jackhammer and has tires so narrow that if I am not careful fall into the slots of Hong Kong storm drains. Because I've developed some problems with my ankles I can no longer do the Triathlon thing. I would like to ride more and not so much for exercise as pleasure. Since my job is right beside the long bike trail that runs up to Tai Po I could but it is just so hard to make myself get out. I need a bike I want to ride. A bike I don't have to think about, that I can trust not so much with my health and safety as with my enjoyment.
I have been hording bike components for several months. I don't like a lot of the more modern stuff. Bicycle components since about 1995 have too many gears, are too ugly, not repairable and look like cheap plastic even though they cost like they are made of gold. I've managed over the last several months to collect an almost complete NOS Suntour XC-Pro drive train except for a set of Ringle hubs. I'm planning to build a new bike and relegate the Battaglin to the wind trainer. This new bike will have wide enough tires to not fall in to a storm drain grate. Be geared low enough for a middle-aged guy to enjoy riding, be able to mount a rack as well as fenders if I want while running 32 mm wide tires and do all sorts of things I currently cannot do with my retired Triathlon bike.
It will probably be a (Growl, curse, grumble, mutter) Mountain bike frame which means ugly, designed for 650C wheels and a suspension fork with an aluminum frame. I wish it could be another Dawes Galaxy. I don't think I can afford one of those frames on my school librarian salary even if they were available in Hong Kong. They're welded now anyway so I couldn't have that great pin striping around the fancy lugs. But even a welded Dawes would be a Dawes.
Shortly before I got married in 1986 I was run off the road by a gravel truck. I landed on a concrete culvert and while I was not hurt the crash separated the rear triangle of my Dawes from the main frame. My wife allowed me to buy a Cannondale touring frame as a wedding present. I rode that until we moved to Hong Kong in 1990. It was a great bike. It wasn't my Dawes. Nothing else will be. Nothing else will ever come close.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who still misses his first true love.
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Confessions of a Retrogrouch
Sometimes it is good to know you aren't alone.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Retrogrouch Blogger
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Retrogrouch Blogger
Friday, August 18, 2006
Is My Bicycle Worth More Than My Life?
Last November a cyclist was killed during the bicycling section of the Hong Kong Triathlon series by a Mini-Bus driver who was driving recklessly. I find it amazing that the roads were closed to private cars but open to these hellishly bad drivers. What a dangerous situation. What was worse I was at the race. It could have been me who was hit.
Yesterday the driver of the mini-bus who was speeding, by some reports talking on his cell-phone and in the wrong lane while passing around a blind curve was sentenced to 5 months in jail. His license was revoked for two years.
What an absolute travesty
What a farce
What kind of idiots does Hong Kong allow to become judges?
Considering that the bicycles ridden by triathletes can cost upwards of HKD $60,000 it is possible that the mini-bus driver will lose less money in lost wages than the man he MURDERED had invested in his bicycle.
I realize that putting the human sack of shit driver in one of Hong Kong's cushy prisons isn't going to bring the man he killed back. But, it might make other drivers think a little before they pass around blind curves and engage in all the other incredibly dangerous stunts that they pull in traffic.
The human sack of shit judge commented upon how the driver was actually a man of good character and showed true remorse and all the other tripe and swill that judges who lose sight of the victim and the damage done to the victims families spout as excuses for their cowardice in not handing down a just and equitable judgment.
If this driver was a man of good character he would not have been in the wrong lane, speeding or illegaly passing on a blind curve. He would have been concerned enough about the people in his bus and on the bicycles around him that he would not have taken the deliberate actions that caused this accident.
What this judge has actually just done is allow mini-bus drivers to run over cyclist and pedestrians at will. After all, even if they kill someone the worst they'll get is five months in a minimum security lockup.
Conversely, anyone wishing to murder someone simply needs to run over them while driving a mini-bus.
Can any other conclusion be drawn from this verdict?
I think that as of today, as a pedestrian, cyclist and concerned citizen I am going to refuse to ride a mini-bus. They are dangerous; often poorly maintained, at times overloaded and the drivers negligent of basic traffic laws such as speed limits, traffic lights and stop signs. They should outlawed. Just get them off the streets.
The judge who handed this decision down should be impeached. Indeed, if he/she/it is indicative of all the judges in Hong Kong then they should all be replaced.
I'm sorry, if this is justice in Hong Kong then Hong Kong is not a civilized place. If the judge that handed down this decision believes he was being civil, just or enlightened he/she/it should think again.
Cretins, Philistines, Dunciads in robes - It doesn't take much intelligence to see that in this case, justice was not served. It wasn't even thought about.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who believes in the Idea of Just Punishment More than the Hong Kong Judges
Yesterday the driver of the mini-bus who was speeding, by some reports talking on his cell-phone and in the wrong lane while passing around a blind curve was sentenced to 5 months in jail. His license was revoked for two years.
What an absolute travesty
What a farce
What kind of idiots does Hong Kong allow to become judges?
Considering that the bicycles ridden by triathletes can cost upwards of HKD $60,000 it is possible that the mini-bus driver will lose less money in lost wages than the man he MURDERED had invested in his bicycle.
I realize that putting the human sack of shit driver in one of Hong Kong's cushy prisons isn't going to bring the man he killed back. But, it might make other drivers think a little before they pass around blind curves and engage in all the other incredibly dangerous stunts that they pull in traffic.
The human sack of shit judge commented upon how the driver was actually a man of good character and showed true remorse and all the other tripe and swill that judges who lose sight of the victim and the damage done to the victims families spout as excuses for their cowardice in not handing down a just and equitable judgment.
If this driver was a man of good character he would not have been in the wrong lane, speeding or illegaly passing on a blind curve. He would have been concerned enough about the people in his bus and on the bicycles around him that he would not have taken the deliberate actions that caused this accident.
What this judge has actually just done is allow mini-bus drivers to run over cyclist and pedestrians at will. After all, even if they kill someone the worst they'll get is five months in a minimum security lockup.
Conversely, anyone wishing to murder someone simply needs to run over them while driving a mini-bus.
Can any other conclusion be drawn from this verdict?
I think that as of today, as a pedestrian, cyclist and concerned citizen I am going to refuse to ride a mini-bus. They are dangerous; often poorly maintained, at times overloaded and the drivers negligent of basic traffic laws such as speed limits, traffic lights and stop signs. They should outlawed. Just get them off the streets.
The judge who handed this decision down should be impeached. Indeed, if he/she/it is indicative of all the judges in Hong Kong then they should all be replaced.
I'm sorry, if this is justice in Hong Kong then Hong Kong is not a civilized place. If the judge that handed down this decision believes he was being civil, just or enlightened he/she/it should think again.
Cretins, Philistines, Dunciads in robes - It doesn't take much intelligence to see that in this case, justice was not served. It wasn't even thought about.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who believes in the Idea of Just Punishment More than the Hong Kong Judges
Sunday, October 09, 2005
Rats! Or possibly "I'm da man" or maybe what a narrow escape!
I broke a chain on my bicycle today at the triathlon.
In 20+ years of competitive riding this was the first time I've ever broken a chain.
I was upset because I had trained hard and the teammate who swam had set a personal record and beat everybody else out of the water by (no fake) 10 minutes. I was slamming up the first hill of the bicycle portion at pace that surprised me. My chain snapped at the top of the first hill about 10 minutes into the 40 kilometer ride.
One of the rules of triathlon, as far as I can tell is that you are responsible for your own equipment. There is not a mechanic in a van to do emergency repairs. I was not carrying a chain tool. So, my goose was cooked and my team could not finish.
I was really upset. I picked my bicycle up and threw it across the road. I looked very hard for a dog to kick and, not finding one available, began yelling at a photographer and demanding that he stop taking pictures of me.
After about three minutes of venting I walked across the road, picked up my bike and coasted back down the hill to the start area and was forced to abandon the race.
There are several reasons why the chain would snap like that.
It could be that I have simply become strong enough to break it with the force of my pedal strokes. (Fat chance)
It could be that the chain was defective
It could be that the chain was installed improperly
Though it was probably my bike's immune system rejecting the new chain. I ride an Italian bicycle (Battaglin) that has Italian Components (Campagnolo) I had just installed a Shimano (Japanese) chain.
Yeah, that's it, blame it on the bike!
Breaking a chain could have been a a good thing. There was a horrific accident on the course caused by an inexperienced rider getting a plastic bag caught in his wheel while riding as fast as he could down a hill. This guy caused a huge problem and several people were injured one quite seriously and several very high dollar bicycles were destroyed.
I am not a good hill climber. I am a good descender. It comes with age. You learn how to ride. You learn how to handle your bike and you learn to stay within your limits. I set my bike up to descend well and be moderately fast on the flats. I grind up the hills. If I'd been in this race I would have possibly been one of the riders coming down the hill at 70 -100 kph. It might have been me in the hospital with a broken neck.
Maybe I've had a narrow escape.
I still wish I'd finished the race. I might have won.
Until next time
Fai-Mao
The Frustrated Triathlete
In 20+ years of competitive riding this was the first time I've ever broken a chain.
I was upset because I had trained hard and the teammate who swam had set a personal record and beat everybody else out of the water by (no fake) 10 minutes. I was slamming up the first hill of the bicycle portion at pace that surprised me. My chain snapped at the top of the first hill about 10 minutes into the 40 kilometer ride.
One of the rules of triathlon, as far as I can tell is that you are responsible for your own equipment. There is not a mechanic in a van to do emergency repairs. I was not carrying a chain tool. So, my goose was cooked and my team could not finish.
I was really upset. I picked my bicycle up and threw it across the road. I looked very hard for a dog to kick and, not finding one available, began yelling at a photographer and demanding that he stop taking pictures of me.
After about three minutes of venting I walked across the road, picked up my bike and coasted back down the hill to the start area and was forced to abandon the race.
There are several reasons why the chain would snap like that.
It could be that I have simply become strong enough to break it with the force of my pedal strokes. (Fat chance)
It could be that the chain was defective
It could be that the chain was installed improperly
Though it was probably my bike's immune system rejecting the new chain. I ride an Italian bicycle (Battaglin) that has Italian Components (Campagnolo) I had just installed a Shimano (Japanese) chain.
Yeah, that's it, blame it on the bike!
Breaking a chain could have been a a good thing. There was a horrific accident on the course caused by an inexperienced rider getting a plastic bag caught in his wheel while riding as fast as he could down a hill. This guy caused a huge problem and several people were injured one quite seriously and several very high dollar bicycles were destroyed.
I am not a good hill climber. I am a good descender. It comes with age. You learn how to ride. You learn how to handle your bike and you learn to stay within your limits. I set my bike up to descend well and be moderately fast on the flats. I grind up the hills. If I'd been in this race I would have possibly been one of the riders coming down the hill at 70 -100 kph. It might have been me in the hospital with a broken neck.
Maybe I've had a narrow escape.
I still wish I'd finished the race. I might have won.
Until next time
Fai-Mao
The Frustrated Triathlete
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