Quote:
Originally Posted by jswirs
Same EXACT thing happened to me at a mail center, only I was riding my bicycle. The older woman in the vehicle would have run me over had I not taken evasive maneuvers.
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When I am on a bike, I only take back streets that have low traffic. I even look in the rearview mirror and come to a complete stop off the street on a driveway or CLOSE (but not on) someone's grass as the vehicles pass me . I know to serious bike rider's this would seem TOO extreme, but I think that some of the drivers of the cars and trucks are TOO extreme - they are TOO distracted, they speed, they have bad eyesight and reflexes. I also know that many bicyclists are HIT by cars very often in The Villages.
.........I know that the serious cyclist has decided that THEY have a right to their part of the road. I agree on a theoretical basis, but personally, until a bicycle is invented that has an IMPENETRABLE force field around it, I will use my strategy. I am retired and in no hurry and I can get just as much exercise in a swimming pool or jogging at a track or inside of a softball field. I use my bike merely to go from point A to point B as a change from going by car.
........When I lived in a western state, I often rode an off-the-road bicycle where I could completely avoid automobiles and see a lot of nature. I live in the northern section of The Villages and NOT near any multi-use path. So, I only take low-traveled streets. I understand that there are bike-only paths in the newer southern areas and that The Villages plans on widening the existing multi-use paths, but those don't benefit me.
......PS I would NEVER ride even CLOSE to a mail center because the vehicle drivers will be EXTRA distracted. It would not be worth the danger to me, personally.