On Monday, October 30, 2017 at 3:53:11 PM UTC-7, Joerg wrote:
On 2017-10-29 17:09, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 10/29/2017 12:02 PM, wrote:
On Friday, October 27, 2017 at 6:04:58 PM UTC-7, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 10/27/2017 8:42 PM, John B. wrote:
On Fri, 27 Oct 2017 08:06:33 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

On Friday, October 27, 2017 at 1:24:49 AM UTC-7, John B. wrote:
On Thu, 26 Oct 2017 13:37:00 -0400, Radey Shouman
wrote:

Joerg writes:

On 2017-10-24 17:21, John B. wrote:
On Tue, 24 Oct 2017 11:47:12 -0700, Joerg

wrote:

[ ... ]

The reason can be summed up in one word: Rain :-)

But last Sunday I started out my "weekend" ride in the rain. It
had
been raining nearly all night and the roads had a lot of water
on them
- note we have been having floods here in Bangkok lately - but it
appeared that the rain was ending so off I went.

Unfortunately my weather forecasting facility wasn't working
very well
and I rode 20 Km of a 30 Km ride in light rain and flooded
roads in
many places. I was splashing through water in some places and cars
were splashing through (and splashing me) in others.

Of course, Sunday is much lighter traffic then on work days but
still,
Bangkok is rated as one of the cities with the most chaotic
traffic
in the world, and I did have to stop suddenly several time, on
flooded
roads with wet wheels and brakes.

My brakes worked just as they do in the dry. Back brake stops me
somewhat slowly and front brake stops rather suddenly, both brakes
together provides best stopping. No long wait after grabbing a
brake
lever although I did think of you with your stopping problems
and I
have the feeling that the brake lever pressure might be a tiny bit
more to stop in the rain but if it was it was so little that it
couldn't be quantified.

But of course I am using quality brake pads. Why it costs me
US$12.12
a wheel just for pads alone.... but they do last a year or more.


It seems Californian rain and Thai rain aren't the same. When it
rains
heavily and I have to do a surprise emergency stop after not having
used the brakes for a while there is 1-2sec of nada, absolutely
nothing. It makes no difference whatsoever whether I use $17
high-falutin Koolstop rain-rated pads or $4 Clarks pads. The
experience of other riders around here and in this NG is similar.

I don't understand the difference myself. When it's really raining,
meaning there's a continuous film of water on the road and a rooster
tail shooting forward off the front tire, I ride like a little
old lady,
because of the delay in braking. Especially when it's dark, and
leaves
and other blown down crap cover the road.

I suspect that may be the secret. I've never been "doored", perhaps
because if I have to ride past a line of parked cars where a door
might be opened I either slow down or ride further enough away that a
door wouldn't hit me.

Here the bike lane can be so narrow that the car door on a two-door
totally covers the lane and there's no place to dodge because
passing cars will spot that and not let you out.

If the choice is to run into a car door or be run over by a car then I
think I'd get off and walk.

In practice, at least in my experience, the actual choice is between the
_risk_ of getting hit by an opening door, and the _risk_ of a
motorist
deliberately running me over from behind.

In my experience, the latter risk is almost zero. Consider, we're almost
certainly talking about a place where there are witnesses, because the
situation requires people parking, getting out of their cars, opposing
traffic that would prevent the guy behind from changing lanes, etc.
There just aren't that many psychopaths who would risk prison terms by
deliberately running you over, especially because it would slow them
down.

On the other hand, the person doing the dooring doesn't have to be a
psychopath. He just has to be inattentive. There are lots and lots of
those people.

Now, for corroboration: I have definitely had situations where a door
popped open, and I would have been doored if I had been riding within
reach. But while I've occasionally (but rarely) had motorists honk or
yell when I claim a lane, I've never had one run me over.

And let's remember that dooring can be fatal. If the door snags your
right handlebar, the bike whips to the right and you are instantaneously
thrown to the left, directly into the path of the cars you were so
worried about.

Where would these witnesses come from? The cars that simply continued
driving?

I don't know, Tom, but let me repeat: I've had some motorists act
displeased when I've ridden at lane center. I've never had one run me
over. I've never known another cyclist who had that happen.


I knew two personally who have been hit from behind. They survived but
one lost a kidney and the other had a ruptured spleen. Then there was
the woman here who got rear-ended in the right lane at high speed. Died.
Numerous others down in the valley, including an off-duty police officer
who was catapulted off his road bike and died.


It doesn't pay to be timid. Man up.


Why take the risk when there are alternatives such as this?

https://goo.gl/maps/XJk1gMRC2eA2

A bike lane plus segregated bike path plus bicycle bridge, all
seamlessly connecting to the Folsom bike path system and the American
River bike trail. Plus a lot of parks. That area is a cyclists paradise.
During rush hour it gets quite busy.

So what you're saying is that the percentage of bicyclists deaths can be changed from nearly nothing to nothing?