RIDE SMART!

Here’s a rundown of some safety tips and thoughts that have accumulated in my mind over the last several weeks of riding. If you have others, or if any of the issues below prompt discussion or argument, let me or your officers/ride leaders know and let’s talk about it. Thanks to Barry Carswell, Skip Baker, Gabe Denes, and Joey Mayhand for contributing to this discussion (whether they know they did or not).

--wade—
(acting ccc prez)

KEEP RIGHT! We are really fortunate to have so many miles of lonely roads to ride on Fort Benning… often with virtually NO traffic. But please remember they CAN have traffic at ANY time. I have too often seen riders all the way across both lanes, on blind curves or hillcrests. You never know when a fast-moving vehicle will appear. This works both ways. Vehicle-drivers on long hilly stretches of Sunshine or Buena Vista or Wildcat can fall into the same illusion… an open road with no obstructions. They may notice you too late, or not at all. Be careful.

WAIT FOR TRAFFIC TO CLEAR. Along the same lines, PLEASE be courteous to traffic ESPECIALLY on Fort Benning. I have too often witnessed riders pulling out in front of traffic, perhaps because they want to keep a paceline group together. Where the Riverwalk crosses Tenth Division Road (and riders usually turn right up the watertank hills) is an especially notorious place for this, as cyclists cut across the grass to merge into a traffic stream. This place has WAY too many near misses and accidents already, and if WE are the cause we could lose our privilege of riding on Fort Benning! Besides, cutting across the grass is illegal, discourteous, and dangerous, even if you’re not pulling out in front of traffic.

RESPECT AUTHORITY on Fort Benning. If an MP or security contractor tells you something you think is ridiculous, do what they say anyway, follow-up with authorities later. And BRING YOUR IDENTIFICATION. Again, lets not lose the privilege of biking Benning. New commanders are rotating in this fall. Lets keep our reputation clean.

A BRIDGE TOO FAR. Watch for expansion joints and other hazards on bridges! The bike-tire-sized slots on the Big Eddie Bridge over the Chattahoochee on Benning has caused more than one cycling injury, as did the “steel bridge” on Sunshine Road before it was replaced. Just got word that one of our former teammates now living in Atlanta went down due to a bridge expansion joint on a new bridge, and has 2 years of rehab ahead. Look out, go slow, and ride across slots with as much angle as you can.

A BRIDGE TOO FAR #2… We all know that the “new bridge” on the Riverwalk near the new infantry museum going on to Fort Benning, with the posts guarding either end, is pretty scary. When entering this bridge northbound (leaving Benning) you’re coming down a hill, into a blind curve, aiming for the gap between the post and the potentially-deadly bridge rail. If you have any speed at all, you have to take the “inside” (left of the post), and if an unseen oncoming rider happens to be almost-across the bridge when you do that, it won’t be pretty. So GO SLOW there (in both directions), but especially if you’re coming down the hill. Watch for oncoming riders and warn others if you see one.

BEWARE THE HEAT. Especially on a long-distance ride. Watch for signs (in you and in others) of heat exhaustion, heat stroke, or hyponatremia. Feeling woozy, nauseus, disoriented on a really hot day is a danger sign. Flushed skin and lack of sweating is especially dangerous. Look this stuff up on the internet and know the symptoms. And think hard about whether you should be winning sprints, attacking the leader, or pulling for miles on days when the temps are in the high 90s are worse.

SIGNAL WELL. But don’t assume that motorists know (or care) what your hand signals mean. Look to the front and rear and make sure you’re clear before turning across traffic lanes. I’ve seen near misses related to this recently on both Fort Benning and in Midland.

SIGNAL WELL #2. Use hand signals consistently and unambiguously. Pointing to the left or right should mean you’re gonna TURN. If there’s an obstacle to avoid on the road surface, point down at it. If there’s an obstacle to avoid on one side or another (a walker, a parked car, an overhanging tree), use the behind-the-back “wave” for following riders. If the group ahead is slowing down, give the open-hand-down and yell “SLOWING!” If there’s a car behind you, yell “CAR BACK” and get yourself single file. Open up gaps in a paceline.

PACELINES AND PELOTONS ARE DANGEOUS. Riding with a bunch of people close together? Try at ALL costs not to slam on brakes or make sudden moves! Ride straight and steady and predictably. If you’re not confident, stay in the back with a nice cushion of space between you and the last rider, and let folks rotating off the front get in front of you. There’s no shame in “sitting in.”

THE YOYO IN FRONT OF YOU… if a rider somewhere in front of you is struggling to stay in the paceline, a “yoyo” affect may develop. It may or may not be the fault of the rider you’re about to hit! But anyone can fix this simply by leaving a generous cushion between you and the next rider. For those behind you, try to maintain the smooth predictable speed or effort that isn’t happening in front of you! If you’re too exhausted to leave that cushion, and all you can do is hang on to the wheel in front of you, a foot or two away, you’re not gonna react well to the yoyo and someone is gonna go down. Leave a cushion for reaction time, or get out of the paceline! If the paceline is so fast that you just can’t hang on without being only inches away from the wheel in front of you, you probably shouldn’t be in it.

PULLING OFF THE FRONT… This is not for everybody, but a common signal in many clubs and rides, that CAN serve to avoid mishaps, is to slap your thigh twice before you pull off the front. Then pull out to your left smoothly without slowing down until you’re sure you’re clear and can drop back. If you point left as a signal that you’re pulling out, an inexperienced rider behind you might think you’re turning, and just follow your swerve and then run into you if you slow down. Inexperienced riders may also do this if you don’t signal at all. But be aware that experienced cyclists and elite/racing cyclists familiar with riding together often do not signal (taking a hand of the bars at high speeds can be dangerous, or can create an inadvertent slow-down and wheel-overlap), so if you’re the new guy or gal in an otherwise well-oiled paceline machine, don’t automatically follow someone who is veering off their line, unless they’ve signaled you about an obstacle or a turn.

FULL DISCLOSURE… I have been an inattentive DRIVER on Ft Benning, not noticing a cyclist standing on a roadside talking on a cellphone until almost too late. I’ve followed pacelines blindly, regardless of motorists who were already slowing down because the paceline had cut them off. I have used all kinds of hand signals for all manner of different things, or not signaled at all. I’ve slowed down unexpectedly when I saw something or someone interesting. I’ve hung on to back wheels “like a tick on a dawg” following every swerve or slowdown mindlessly regardless of what it might mean to those behind me. I have been the yoyo! I think we have all done this stuff at one time or another and if you’re new to cycling, you probably WILL do it. But try not to, and be the first to talk about it when you real