Comments on: Rage

By: T.

T. — Wed, 21 Dec 2005 16:41:25 +0000

My God, what a story. I, too, have two weeks away from work (HS teacher), and I have decided that I will finally begin riding my Diamondback Outlook, won in a charity silent auction for about $100 a couple of months ago. I admire your gumption to just put it all out there as you began. I can’t even imagine riding 3 miles, let alone 30! There’s so much to learn…I’ll probably ghost around here for a while to try to pick up some tips.Thanks!T.

By: Fat Cyclist

Fat Cyclist — Wed, 21 Dec 2005 16:33:38 +0000

rocky – man, you’re just mean. why are you so mean?brett – i should do a post on close wildlife encounters of the third kind. i expect cyclists would have lotsa stories to tell. thanks for the idea!

By: Unknown

Unknown — Wed, 21 Dec 2005 16:17:21 +0000

Fatty–I think that I DIDN’T miss the point. If you were more handsome, then the old guy might not have made you bust out your Spidey skills because you would have been more noticible. Me for instance–I never have to dodge cars. Goblin that you are, you best continue to work on those handling skills.

By: Unknown

Unknown — Wed, 21 Dec 2005 12:57:08 +0000

Fatty – good moves – hitting a car hurts at those speeds (speaking from experience). In terms of running things over, I also hit a squirrel – first ride out on my Bianchi Virata (may it rest in peace). I didn’t need to go back and see if it needed to be put out of its misery – the rear wheel went clearly over the spine and a loud snap occurred. I also have blender-ized a bird. Commuting to work in the early 90s, a bird flew right through my front wheel. Well, actually it flew right into my wheel – it kinda flung out in parts and feathers from the other side. I knew bikes were dangerous for the people riding them (primarily from other vehicles), but I never did realize how much PETA would hate them if they read this. :-) I’ve also nearly hit a deer. I was going uphill on my commute home, head down as I was working hard, and I saw a set of hooves go racing across my front wheel. It took a bit for me to continue pedaling and I was suddenly MUCH more aware of my surroundings! You know, all of this happened in Boulder – maybe the animals there have some kind of problem….

By: Fat Cyclist

Fat Cyclist — Wed, 21 Dec 2005 08:16:35 +0000

insquares – knowing this, if i ever find myself in a position where i’m for sure going to die when i crash into a car, i will do my utmost to at least cause as much damage as possible to the car itself.stormcrowe – i wonder if one could use that cardinal rule to one’s advantage? such as in using one’s bike as a getaway vehicle in a bank robbery, for example?al – i’ve never tried bunny-hopping on my fixie, and can’t imagine doing it, since i always bunny-hop while coasting, with the pedals at 9 and 3 o’clock. way i see it, you handled the situation in the nicest way you could.caloi – after reading today’s post, my wife had a long talk about road riding with me. i’ve had friends whose wives have forced them to sell their road bikes after traffic encounters (hi dug, hi rick). i don’t think i earn many "ok to ride" points by telling these stories, but if i didn’t tell this story today, i would have had to write the "gross things about biking" entry i’ve been considering for a couple weeks now. and you know, there really are a number of gross things about biking.keepYerBag – you’re correct, up to a point. you need to factor in exaggeration, though. i make it sound like my fitness loss is worse than it is, and like my escape was narrower than it was.argentius – if i had unclipped and grabbed the grampamobile, my cranks would’ve come around and busted my shins, right?keebob – actually, when she found out how much dug’s helmet cost, she downgraded her offer and said she’d pay half. no, i’m not making that up.the_cosh – once i ran over a moose. cut it right in half.dougW – i looked at that post: you actually snapped your bike in half. that’s incredible.

By: Doug

Doug — Tue, 20 Dec 2005 23:39:03 +0000

West Lake Sammamish Parkway can be quite dangerous. I got nailed there last year myself:http://dwelzel.blogspot.com/2005/02/unthinkable.html

By: pete

pete — Tue, 20 Dec 2005 23:20:08 +0000

Fatty, you are an incredibly skilled cyclist who… Hang on, what is this crap?Seriously though, those are some pretty smooth moves, Ex-Lax!Al – I once ran over a squirrel. Much like a skateboarder in many respects, but with a nicer tail. To my eternal shame, I couldn’t bring myself to go back and check if I needed to put it out of its misery.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Tue, 20 Dec 2005 22:58:18 +0000

Reminds me of the day dug came back to work with road rash covering his entire body. At least the soccermom who ran him down offered to buy a new helmet. Buickdude only offered a wave, eh?

By: Tyler

Tyler — Tue, 20 Dec 2005 22:55:36 +0000

It might have been pretty badass if you had either done a 90-degree SKID-turn, or unclipped and somehow grabbed onto the grampamobile’s mirror and been pulled alongside him while yelling or something.*emoticon implying sarcastic amusement*Nice work. Fixies = good.

By: Unknown

Unknown — Tue, 20 Dec 2005 22:09:41 +0000

A few days ago you were lamenting your loss of conditioning, but you must be doing fine to pull off a move like that. The outcome could have been much worse had you not been riding daily. Enjoy your vacation, and remember: After tomorrow the days start getting longer!