Friend hit by a car ...

[Noob]

He is expected to be ok, he had his helmet on and messenger bag with spare clothes... the car needs a hood / windshield.... and ROOF !

[Fenlason]

ow.. I hope he recovers ok...

[eaglesdare]

how horrible.

[Noob]

[Woodbutcher]

Holy Cr@p, how fast was that car going? That is some serious damage. Your friend is lucky to be alive. Hope he makes a full recovery. We just went through this last year. A friend, an avid bike rider, was t-boned by a car. The helmet saved his life. A week in intensive care, 2 weeks in a regular room and then therapy. His biggest concern, was what happened to his shoes and where was his bike!

Prayers for your friend.

[Fenlason]

Yeah that looks like a serious ouchy.....

[Noob]

Yeah it looks bad, but all the docs said hell be fine, they are keeping him fora couple days... just incase ?

[Oldragbaggers]

For many years I wore my helmet religiously. But then sometime in the past couple of years I started relaxing and often don't put it on if I am just riding around my neighborhood. I guess 35+ years with no accidents has given me some kind of false sense of security. I'll be a good girl now and wear my helmet all the time. I truly hope your friend makes a full and speedy recovery.

[Verna]

I figure if I wear my helmet then I'm protecting my best asset ;>}

I hope your friend heals well.

[Fenlason]

I was going to say I have always worn a helmet.. but when I started riding.. they didn't exist

I don't get on a bike now without a helmet, glasses, and gloves. Having destroyed a few helmets.. I am pretty sure I would not be here had I not been wearing them.

This thread has gotten me to reflect back. In 40+ years of riding. I have been fairly lucky on the road. I have had no significant vehicle impacts. I have been only "hit" by two vehicles. One.. riding down the road.. and a UPS truck was in the process of passing me, he was directly beside me.. and then started turning right, into a stores parking lot. I put my hand on the side of the truck and he steered me into the lot with him. Fortunetely I am pretty comfortable on the bike. I had a talk with him. He clearly had no idea I was there. I was sort of calm.. a little shaky maybe.. hopefully it woke him up a little. He seemed a little freaked about it.

Another.. just a couple of years ago on a group ride. I had a car try to pull out from a stop sign.. when I was still right in front of him.. and I had other bikes following me. It was a very open and visible area.. he had fully stopped. His mind had to have been somewhere else. Again I put my hand on the hood.. and he pushed me further out in the road. I had a little talk with him.. not as calm that time.

[Fenlason]

I have had a few more acts of aggression taken at me. The more common is having things thrown at you. Thinks like bottles and cans. Firecrackers more than a few times.. some have been closer than others. Going down a good sized hill I had a car pull upside and used a spray bottle to spray something in my face. Fortunately I had glasses on or It would have been more serious. People don't realize how fast a fit cyclist can go on a bike.. Perhaps a fit angry cyclist is even faster.. Because of the spray on my glasses I did not get a plate number.. I did chase them quite a ways.. [we had been heading into a town] I did go to the Police station.. who took it serious.. we both road around town to try and maybe find them.. to no luck.

A couple of years ago. I got hit by a water balloon from a moving car. I was doing maybe 20.. they between 40 and 50. I was hit from behind.. had no idea it was coming. Fortunately it hit me lower on the body. It hit the back of my calf. [higher up it might have taken me down] This was a small group of racers.. we took chase. We were on a main road heading out of town.. so we did not have much hope of catching them.. but at the least it scares them a moment..and it burns off the adrenaline we have. Although in this case.. we saw the car pull off into a dead end road.. the very road where we had started our ride from. We "blocked" off the road.. and called the police. Got em.

[eaglesdare]

speaking of helmets...i too have gotten relaxed about putting mine on when riding the horse. i believe its from that false sense of security also. i am going to go back to wearing my helmet also. i haven't been on the road riding, so i am not too worried about hitting cars, but riding in the woods, i suppose a tree or rock could do some damage.

[Oldragbaggers]

Wow, Glen. Those are some pretty harrowing experiences. I have not experienced having anyone throw anything at me, nor have I actually ever been hit although I have narrowly avoided it a few times from people pulling out in front of me or just getting too close. I do often experience people trying to scare me for fun though. Either pulling right up beside me and screaming at the top of their lungs, or getting right up on my tail and blowing their horns. I did have a guy ride up behind me on his bike and slap my bottom and ride off (he obviously figured he could ride faster than me, and he was right). Then there's always the dogs....have had my ankles and calves nipped at a number of times.

The most frightening thing that ever happened though was being chased down at night (I used to commute to work by bike and I worked the night shift) by a guy who was stark naked, built like Tarzan and obviously high on something that really gave him a burst of speed and strength. I fortunately had dog repellant with me so I just started spraying in his direction and it slowed him down enough for me to put some good distance between us. I was working for the police at the time so there was a whole squad looking for him for most of the night, but his crazy a-word was never found. At least not that night.

I guess the bottom line is that bicycling can be dangerous, for any number of reasons, from vehicles, road hazards, territorial animals, and people who just plain would like to do you harm for the fun of it. For me, this thread was a wake up call. I have gotten much to casual with my riding lately. Not only has the necessity of wearing my helmet been reaffirmed, but after hearing other stories and thinking back over my own past experiences it has been a great reminder that, as fun as cycling is, and as much as I would love to relax and just feel the wind and sun on my face without a care in the world, you really MUST remain vigilant at all times, and for God's sake WEAR YOUR SAFETY GEAR!!

[legojenn]

I don't ride my bike as much as I used to now that I live in the suburbs...and it shows unfortunately, but when I lived in the city, I biked everywhere. I feared commercial vehicles like taxis, delivery drivers and buses more than dazed commuters. I got a mirror in the back from a cab trying to pass someone on the right; was passed by a bus, then it cut me of into a curb and have won a few 'door prizes'. I feel as uncomfortable riding without a helmet as I would be driving without a seat belt. Biking is dangerous enough when you follow the rules, but I cringe when I see bikers ride with headphones on, run red lights, zig-zag through traffic, ride in blind spots drive on sidewalks. I'm surprised more cyclists aren't hurt.

[Fenlason]

Wow, Glen. Those are some pretty harrowing experiences. I have not experienced having anyone throw anything at me, nor have I actually ever been hit although I have narrowly avoided it a few times from people pulling out in front of me or just getting too close. I do often experience people trying to scare me for fun though. Either pulling right up beside me and screaming at the top of their lungs, or getting right up on my tail and blowing their horns. I did have a guy ride up behind me on his bike and slap my bottom and ride off (he obviously figured he could ride faster than me, and he was right). Then there's always the dogs....have had my ankles and calves nipped at a number of times.

The most frightening thing that ever happened though was being chased down at night (I used to commute to work by bike and I worked the night shift) by a guy who was stark naked, built like Tarzan and obviously high on something that really gave him a burst of speed and strength. I fortunately had dog repellant with me so I just started spraying in his direction and it slowed him down enough for me to put some good distance between us. I was working for the police at the time so there was a whole squad looking for him for most of the night, but his crazy a-word was never found. At least not that night.

I guess the bottom line is that bicycling can be dangerous, for any number of reasons, from vehicles, road hazards, territorial animals, and people who just plain would like to do you harm for the fun of it. For me, this thread was a wake up call. I have gotten much to casual with my riding lately. Not only has the necessity of wearing my helmet been reaffirmed, but after hearing other stories and thinking back over my own past experiences it has been a great reminder that, as fun as cycling is, and as much as I would love to relax and just feel the wind and sun on my face without a care in the world, you really MUST remain vigilant at all times, and for God's sake WEAR YOUR SAFETY GEAR!!

I think you might have me beat in the wow! department.. I have never had my bottom slapped [darn it] [I am not trying to make light of your experience with that] The naked Tarzan sounds real scary.

I have had a few things happen.. [I am sure there have been a lot of others] I do ride a lot.. 40 or so years.. many days of the year.. and often many miles. I have also had a lot of really good experiences.

I am not fearful riding...one has to be alert.. and to ride defensively.. but you have to be confident, to ride sort of strongly and assertively.. kind of own your space if you will.

Some of my scariest things.... not really dangerous but just one of those things that scare the crap out of you.. You are riding along nice and peaceful like.. and a pickup truck is passing you... and they happen to have a dog in the back.. and the blasted dog waits until he is right beside you to start barking ... very loudly at you... you don't have a clue they are there.. and then all of a sudden.. they are about 3 feet away.. at head level...