The Wobbling Sprocket

In case you missed it, here is the vid of the camera car taking out several riders in the Tour de France. Crashing in the TdF frequently has nothing to do with the riding skill of the rider. It oftentimes is plain old luck….or bad luck. It can be another rider or an inattentive fan or, as in this case, a car.

Remarkably, everyone got back on their bikes.  The guy who flew into the barbed wire got 33 stitches. 

You only need a couple hints:

1) "Who Ya Gonna Call?" 

2) "Elwood Blues"

I'm talking none other than Mr. _________.

That's right, while I am eating "Rubber Biscuits" smothered in gravy at  Bike Virginia, Chantal, your Far and Away Cycling Head of Marketing is schmoozing with Dan Akroyd, making him an honorary "Friend" of Far and Away Cycling.

Chantal split from BVA early to help welcome Mr. Elwood Blues to the Canadian Embassy in Wash DC (he's from Ottawa).  It's hard to argue with that, especially when Elwood personally autographs the product of his current ventures (wine and Vodka) for you.  That's a nice "Crystal Skull" bottle of vodka  (my skull might be in jeopardy if I ever open one of these bottles by mistake).

I guess it would be kind of hard to open a skull shaped bottle by mistake....

Chantal reports that Dan A is very personable, witty and charming.  No surprise there.

In honor of the occasion, I am pulling out some personal favorites of mine (I wish Joliet Jake was still with us!).

"Who Ya Gonna Call?"

"Rubber Biscuits":

And finally…..Chantal with Mr. Akroyd.  Thanks Dan!  We wish you all the best.

Chantal with Mr. "Elwood Blues" aka Dan Akroyd

Everyone needs to give just a little.....

If you spend much time on the road (or on-line), you are well aware of the potential for disaster when it comes to pedestrians, bikes and vehicles all sharing the same right of way.  

There are situations where being more aggressive is actually safer (e.g., taking the entire lane when there is no shoulder), but my usual strategy is best described as staying out of harm's way.

I make no claims on being any better or worse when it comes to etiquette, but I generally try to abide by these:

1)  Don't squeeze past vehicles on the right at any speed other than maybe a crawl.   You are not expected to be there and it won't take much for an antsy driver to decide the shoulder looks pretty good. Drivers are generally looking for cars and cops, not bikes.  On top of that, it irritates drivers by forcing them to pass you twice.

2)  Don't unnecessarily block traffic by riding 2 or 3 abreast.  Chatting up a fellow rider is not a good enough reason to inconvenience cars that outweigh you by 30 times.

3)  If your entire group of riders can't make it through before that car in the distance gets to the intersection, wait.  Riders are like lemmings…one goes and they all go.  Do the guys behind you a real favor and don't force them to make a "go or be dropped" decision.  Try to wait until everyone can make it through.

4)  Say something when you are passing riders and pedestrians.  Otherwise you surprise the hell out of people.  "On your left", "on your right", whatever..especially if you are on a bike path.

5)  If you are riding in aero-bars on a bike path, you really need to rethink where you are attempting to time trial…and why.

6) If you are in a pace-line, ride at a constant speed, point out the holes and make sure people behind you know it if you are going to slow down…for anything. 

7) Yes, it's irritating to have someone drive behind you, but don't signal to cars behind you to pass.  Drivers need to make their own decision on when it's safe.  It may seem safe to you, but if it's Grandpa Jones in a 24 HP Volkswagen passing from behind and Parnelli Jones comes around the bend in front at 90 mph in a Porsche, do you really want to be responsible for the result?

Don't make obscene gestures.  If you feel someone intentionally endangers you, get a license plate number and file a report.  When something awful happens it will be there waiting for them.  

I will admit that I (with others) once raced after a car with the intention of ripping someone a new one after being intentionally run off the road.

The end result of that incident was a fellow rider spread-eagle on the hood of a cop car (tazer drawn).  It's a long story….but to make it short….we didn't manage to catch the car; what we did catch was the attention of a cop who said we violated some traffic laws while we were in our hot pursuit.  

That turned out to be pretty expensive for the biker/defendant member or our group.  He chose to claim innocence/extenuating circumstances in front of a judge…..unsuccessfully.  

If you have some rules/pet peeves of your own….let's hear them!