So it's a beautiful sunny day and you decide to go for a bike ride. Because it's bright and sunny, you think that it is the safest time to ride. Think again ... other than riding in the dark, which is the least safe time of the day, a bright sunny ride along a country road (in this case, I will use 4th Line as an example, since I have no other choice as I live off 4th Line, so I need to ride it no matter where my destination happens to be)
The shadows are the problem. Add a little wind and those shadows move, adding yet another layer of complexity to what you actually see on the road ahead of you. Now put on your sunglasses and gets even more complicated ! In this example, you are also heading downhill, so speed is also a problem.
Photo one ... what a cyclist sees down the road (or rather what the camera sees, since those shadows are actually moving !) I can't replicate what we actually do see due to the movement, but as a cyclist you understand.
Photo 2 ... two metres away you finally can make out the pot hole, but that is too late to pull out into the middle of the road, so you slam on the brakes and you try to skirt around it.
Photo 3 ... 1 metre away and yes, there it is !
Why am posting this in Spaces ? Because I know several cyclists who have crashed (myself included) in the past few years, not being able to see the road properly, riding our local roads. As most other vehicles on the road are cars or trucks and to them a pothole may just be an annoyance (although I dropped into a 15cm deep hole two years ago with my car and it cost $2000.00 to be repaired) but while on my bike, I dropped into a longitudinal crack catching my front wheel and sustained some very bad injuries. The difference is the cyclist can be hurt, or worse, but a car, perhaps only a flat tire.
Be aware of road conditions, ride accordingly, be careful ! However, part of the reason we ride is to enjoy the great outdoors, the exercise, the views, the wind, the sun, etc. Looking straight ahead and down at the road, is not what we want to do on a Sunday ride. I wish I could tell you some great rides, but every year, rides that were once fantastic, no longer are so, as those roads have deteriorated over the years.
I can say the Prince Township portion of 2nd Line, to Gros Cap, is smooth, and in the east towards Echo Bay, but a ride of any length inside of the City boundaries ????
If you know some great road routes within the City, please post the route here, as we all want to know !
So it's a beautiful sunny day and you decide to go for a bike ride. Because it's bright and sunny, you think that it is the safest time to ride. Think again ... other than riding in the dark, which is the least safe time of the day, a bright sunny ride along a country road (in this case, I will use 4th Line as an example, since I have no other choice as I live off 4th Line, so I need to ride it no matter where my destination happens to be)
The shadows are the problem. Add a little wind and those shadows move, adding yet another layer of complexity to what you actually see on the road ahead of you. Now put on your sunglasses and gets even more complicated ! In this example, you are also heading downhill, so speed is also a problem.
Photo one ... what a cyclist sees down the road (or rather what the camera sees, since those shadows are actually moving !) I can't replicate what we actually do see due to the movement, but as a cyclist you understand.
Photo 2 ... two metres away you finally can make out the pot hole, but that is too late to pull out into the middle of the road, so you slam on the brakes and you try to skirt around it.
Photo 3 ... 1 metre away and yes, there it is !
Why am posting this in Spaces ? Because I know several cyclists who have crashed (myself included) in the past few years, not being able to see the road properly, riding our local roads. As most other vehicles on the road are cars or trucks and to them a pothole may just be an annoyance (although I dropped into a 15cm deep hole two years ago with my car and it cost $2000.00 to be repaired) but while on my bike, I dropped into a longitudinal crack catching my front wheel and sustained some very bad injuries. The difference is the cyclist can be hurt, or worse, but a car, perhaps only a flat tire.
Be aware of road conditions, ride accordingly, be careful ! However, part of the reason we ride is to enjoy the great outdoors, the exercise, the views, the wind, the sun, etc. Looking straight ahead and down at the road, is not what we want to do on a Sunday ride. I wish I could tell you some great rides, but every year, rides that were once fantastic, no longer are so, as those roads have deteriorated over the years.
I can say the Prince Township portion of 2nd Line, to Gros Cap, is smooth, and in the east towards Echo Bay, but a ride of any length inside of the City boundaries ????
If you know some great road routes within the City, please post the route here, as we all want to know !