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Old April 12th 21, 01:13 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
AMuzi
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Posts: 13,447
Default Safety inflation

On 4/11/2021 6:40 PM, jbeattie wrote:
On Sunday, April 11, 2021 at 3:43:39 PM UTC-7, AMuzi wrote:
On 4/11/2021 5:13 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 4/11/2021 5:09 PM, Lou Holtman wrote:
Op zondag 11 april 2021 om 20:51:04 UTC+2 schreef Frank
Krygowski:
On 4/11/2021 11:23 AM, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
On Sunday, April 11, 2021 at 10:59:20 a.m. UTC-4, Frank
Krygowski wrote:

We've long since passed that point with helmet shaming,
at least in the
U.S., Australia and New Zealand. Riding with a cycling
cap or no cap at
all was once plenty safe, but now draws finger wagging,
taunts and
lectures from intolerant people, even ones who should
be allies. It's an
example of "safety inflation."

In fact, there are many who think it's better to never
ride a bike, than
to ride one without a helmet. That's flagrantly stupid
and contrary to
all research I've been able to find. We don't need to
duplicate that
stupidity with DRLs, no matter how much some may love
the gimmickry.

--
- Frank Krygowski

Funny, in all my years of riding without a helmet, I've
never been told that I should be wearing one.
That amazes me. IIRC, you live in Ontario, where a
mandatory helmet law
for adult cyclists was barely avoided. (One of the
leaders of the
successful opposition was a man who used to post here
frequently.)

There is no statewide MHL here in Ohio for kids or
adults. But I've been
yelled at by passing motorists, including one who was
blaring her horn
and yelling at me to ride on a sidewalk. I had a car of
young girls
deliberately brush-pass me then slow way down as one
yelled "Wear your
F*** helmet!" I had a bicyclist cuss me out long and loud
for not
wearing one. And I've had many milder "Where's your
helmet?" remarks
delivered in scolding tones, from everyone from fellow
club members to
pedestrians on the sidewalk.


Move! Get out of that 'hell hole'. Rode alone today and
according to my 'helmet wear algorithm' I didn't wear a
helmet. No one yelled or honked at me. It was cold for the
time of the year (5C) but it was a pleasant ride after a
rainy day yesterday.

We just now got back from a ride for groceries. Nobody
yelled, which is normal. But as I've said, unlike Sir, it
has happened to me many times over the years, and not just
here. I was yelled at in a Portland suburb. (I was also
yelled at to "get in a bike lane" there, on a street that
had none.) Idiots abound. We don't need to give them more
ammunition.

Regarding bicycling, this is the opposite of a hell hole. As
I've said, we have hundreds of pleasant, small country roads
to explore. On Friday's ride with a friend from the other
side of town, I chose the route; but about halfway through
the ride I said "I forget where that little road goes. Do
you mind if we explore?" Nobody did, so we poked around for
an extra 5 or 10 miles on roads with almost zero traffic. I
did eventually have to check the GPS to refresh my memory;
but it was a perfect cycling day, with beautiful skies and
trilling toads serenading us the whole way.


People yell at you in Portland because you just don't fit in.
Next time try a little arson of Federal property, they'll
take you for a local:

https://nypost.com/2021/04/11/portla...lent-protests/

(Safety note: Wear a Che Guevara or Biden or BLM (CCP) tee
shirt as protection from indictment)


These dopes are being rounded up slowly -- often out of state. We have protest tourists. https://www.wfyi.org/news/articles/i...tland-protests

And the protesters are not even on the radar from a cycling standpoint. IMO, the right-thinking conservative PU drivers are worse than all of the Antifa hooligans put together. Poor Frank got yelled at and told to get in a bike lane. Riding way out in Clackamas, Yamhill and Washington counties, I've had much more dire encounters with MAGA idiots with Trump flags and bumper stickers -- for just riding on a f****** road.

-- Jay Beattie.





'Take the lane' is generally good advice and I, like you,
generally do. Not always but generally, yes.

Still and all, bad things happen to good people with some
regularity:

https://ktla.com/news/local-news/fam...d-moped-rider/

There's no general rule for the actual world as we find it.


--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971


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