By
muzak, July 28, 2006
I'm a friendly biker when not driving my CE and that gives me a sixth sense. I'm cut off on my bike constantly and those of you with bikes know what I'm talking about.
I've noticed though..I don't think I've ever been cut off or seen an idiot who was driving a Corolla or even a Camry for that matter. Maybe when people get behind the wheel of something as precious as a Toyota they tend to take better care of their investment.
I hope I'm a better driver than a bike rider. Last Sunday, I took an evening ride to cool off after doing some yard work. It had been raining hard earlier that day. I encountered some mud on a side street I was riding on, and thought twice about riding thru it. However, it looked like a thin layer that had dried, so I tried it. Well, it turned out to be thick and the consistency of peanut butter. I slowed down considerably, but still lost control and got thrown off, spraining my left wrist, and getting a bad poke in the ribs with the handlebar. Also scraped the heck out of my left knee, but didn't hurt it otherwise. I've been off work all week with these injuries, had numerous doctor's visits, multiple X-rays, and more to come tomorrow.
So, as bad a bike rider as I proved to be, I hope I do better driving my Corolla. Until last Sunday, I would have said "yes," but now I'm not so sure. I can only hope that I am.
But what happened to the bike?
Maybe when people get behind the wheel of something as precious as a Toyota they tend to take better care of their investment.
Nope, I've known people and had family that could afford to drive much finer automobiles than a Toyota and didn't care a wit about their cars. BMWs, Mercedes Benz, Porsche, Audi, Lexus, Infiniti, Volvo, etc. are the types of cars I'm talking about. They got trashed just like you see less well healed people trash Fords and Chevrolets. The reason most of them looked so bad: small accidents like backing into another car, hitting a garbage can. Others looked really bad because they were involved in major accidents that would have been avoided had they not been driving like a jack-###### at the time. It has nothing to do with whether you're driving a 14K Corolla or a 144K SL600, and it has nothing to do with whether you can afford a 144K car and are driving a 14K one. What it has to do with is this: There are two types of people in the world, people who value their possessions and those who don't. Those who do will drive cautiously and respectfully and those who don't will drive like a bat out of hell.
But what happened to the bike?
OK, keep in mind this is a "real" bike -- a velociped, a pushbike, the kind you pedal. Not a motorcycle. I don't have one of those -- yet. My bicycle is a Breezer Uptown 8 (www.breezerbikes.com). Anyway, it was a low-speed crash, the bike wasn't damaged, just the handlebar slightly knocked askew and lots of mud in the tires, pedals, handlebars, all the usual ground contact points when a bike falls. After I got up, I was able to ride home at around 5 MPH, whereupon, in spite of my injuries, I got out the hose and washed all that mud off the bike. If I had allowed it to harden up, I'd have had to disassemble the bike to get rid of it all.
Bikeman982
There is only two kinds of bike riders - "Those that have been down, and those that are going down".
I should know - I have taught motorcycle riding for 6 years for the USAF and also the state of CA.
I have also been a long-distance bicyclist.
I did 4280 miles on my bicycle the last year I was serious about it.
I used to do a lot of century rides and also a couple of double century every year.
Not quite a Greg Lemond (I did ride a charity ride with him in S.F. once), Lance Armstrong or even Floyd Landis!
I won't say I'm a good driver....nor will I say I'm a bad driver...I'm a human driver. I'm fallible.
I've had my moments, but as this is my first post-college car, I'm just very cautious w/my insurance rate, my age and all that against me...
Plus I don't like to drive long distances. I'm all for public transportation. (Too bad Columbus OH doesn't seem to have any convenient public transportation).
I recently purchased my Trek bike...who knew bikes now are similar in level to cars....
I got a mid-level commuter bike (pedal pusher). Hopefully I will save some money by riding my bike wherever I can, but it's hard to ride a bike when cars think they have right of way...all the way...
I've had a few close calls...
Happy Bike riding!
Bikeman982
I won't say I'm a good driver....nor will I say I'm a bad driver...I'm a human driver. I'm fallible.The limitations on bicycles are how much you have to carry - a car can handle more.I've had my moments, but as this is my first post-college car, I'm just very cautious w/my insurance rate, my age and all that against me...
Plus I don't like to drive long distances. I'm all for public transportation. (Too bad Columbus OH doesn't seem to have any convenient public transportation).
I recently purchased my Trek bike...who knew bikes now are similar in level to cars....
I got a mid-level commuter bike (pedal pusher). Hopefully I will save some money by riding my bike wherever I can, but it's hard to ride a bike when cars think they have right of way...all the way...
I've had a few close calls...
Happy Bike riding!
The limitations on bicycles are how much you have to carry - a car can handle more.I won't say I'm a good driver....nor will I say I'm a bad driver...I'm a human driver. I'm fallible.
I've had my moments, but as this is my first post-college car, I'm just very cautious w/my insurance rate, my age and all that against me...
Plus I don't like to drive long distances. I'm all for public transportation. (Too bad Columbus OH doesn't seem to have any convenient public transportation).
I recently purchased my Trek bike...who knew bikes now are similar in level to cars....
I got a mid-level commuter bike (pedal pusher). Hopefully I will save some money by riding my bike wherever I can, but it's hard to ride a bike when cars think they have right of way...all the way...
I've had a few close calls...
Happy Bike riding!
Anyone who has been in the armed forces, and has served anywhere in the Pacific Theater, has seen how much a bicycle can carry. When I was in Korea, I used to see bicycles stacked with bags of rice, cases of beer, bundles of firewood, pots and pans, just about anything you can think of. In a lot off these cases, the bicycle was simply pushed along by it's "rider" rather than him riding on it, probably so he could load more stuff on it!
Obviously, you can only carry so much on a bicycle that you intend to also be riding yourself, but with the right sort of baskets, bags, and panniers, you can probably carry most of a week's grocery shopping home with you on a bicycle. I don't do that myself, however.
Ok, so this has nothing to do with Corollas, but it's interesting anyway. Bicycles..I have one myself but don't ride it much. As for cars thinking they have the right of way, that does happen and isn't right.....in some cases. If I was to follow 100 cyclists for a day I guarantee that 99 of them would break enough rules of the road to loose their licence if they did it in a car. Those 99 never signal, always ride across crosswalks..usually on the wrong side of the road. I rarely ever see any stop at a stop sign or red light. Having a cop in the family has proved that cyclists can be pulled over. When done so, most of them say "you can't do anything to me, I'm on a bicycle". Little do they know the law.
Ok, so this has nothing to do with Corollas, but it's interesting anyway. Bicycles..I have one myself but don't ride it much. As for cars thinking they have the right of way, that does happen and isn't right.....in some cases. If I was to follow 100 cyclists for a day I guarantee that 99 of them would break enough rules of the road to loose their licence if they did it in a car. Those 99 never signal, always ride across crosswalks..usually on the wrong side of the road. I rarely ever see any stop at a stop sign or red light. Having a cop in the family has proved that cyclists can be pulled over. When done so, most of them say "you can't do anything to me, I'm on a bicycle". Little do they know the law.
Bycycles are unamerican, first of all , they don't pollute, they don't burn gas and
they are good for your health, definately unamerican.
I have not ever ridden any two-wheeled vehicle successfully. Hence I keep to four.....
As for driving well I am a male with 6 yrs of experience driving. I would say that I am nowhere near perfect. I am impatient with other road users and traffic signals, I have difficulty concentrating whilst driving (I suffer from anxiety), my observation could be better and whilst I mostly try not to speed, I could be more obidient of traffic law. I have not caused a traffic accident on a public road. I had a few parking scrapes earlier on but now am a much more crafeful parker. Last weekend I successfully paralell parked for the first time on a public road (since my test). In addition, I had a few near misses earlier on; these stemmed from failing to observe traffic, then not yielding right of way.
I actually notice that its the 'common' cars that are beat up more. Prestige owners may have more dings, but they are more likely to also get it fixed.
Bikeman982
Try doing that overloading on a bicycle on any street and see how far you get before someone knocks you to the ground.The limitations on bicycles are how much you have to carry - a car can handle more.I won't say I'm a good driver....nor will I say I'm a bad driver...I'm a human driver. I'm fallible.
I've had my moments, but as this is my first post-college car, I'm just very cautious w/my insurance rate, my age and all that against me...
Plus I don't like to drive long distances. I'm all for public transportation. (Too bad Columbus OH doesn't seem to have any convenient public transportation).
I recently purchased my Trek bike...who knew bikes now are similar in level to cars....
I got a mid-level commuter bike (pedal pusher). Hopefully I will save some money by riding my bike wherever I can, but it's hard to ride a bike when cars think they have right of way...all the way...
I've had a few close calls...
Happy Bike riding!
Anyone who has been in the armed forces, and has served anywhere in the Pacific Theater, has seen how much a bicycle can carry. When I was in Korea, I used to see bicycles stacked with bags of rice, cases of beer, bundles of firewood, pots and pans, just about anything you can think of. In a lot off these cases, the bicycle was simply pushed along by it's "rider" rather than him riding on it, probably so he could load more stuff on it!
Obviously, you can only carry so much on a bicycle that you intend to also be riding yourself, but with the right sort of baskets, bags, and panniers, you can probably carry most of a week's grocery shopping home with you on a bicycle. I don't do that myself, however.
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