Hello sweet friends. I will define my interpretation of a "bike snob" in a just a few. Over the past few weeks, Josh and I have been doing a lot of biking together. I've been training hard and I always enjoy when we get to spend time together. He's so patient with me and always tries to encourage me even though I am SLOW.
This past week Josh ran into a car while biking. He was coming down a hill 30+ mph (I told him I was thankful I wasn't with him, he said we wouldn't have been going as fast as he was;)) when a car pulled out in a blind curve and his handle bars ran into the driver's door. His helmet hit the top of the car, he flipped over on his back, slid down the back of the car and landed in a gravel driveway. He suffered from two fractured ribs, a bruised lung, road rash on his left shoulder, cuts and bruising as well as a big gash on his right leg. Luckily, he COMPLETELY
blacked out. He doesn't remember putting on his brakes, or coming in contact with the car. All he remembers is lying on his back and he heard a muffled voice say, "I'm so sorry, don't move." I was so humbled when the man who he collided with called the hospital to make sure he was okay.
I am not writing this post out of anger, I want to make people aware of cyclists. He wasn't ran off the rode or ran over, he was simply caught in a curve at the wrong time and place. This accident could have happened to anyone, not matter how cautious you are.
First off, according to North Carolina laws, bicycles are legally defined as vehicles
. You can find more information about this here. In all honesty when I read this, I had to re-read it because to me, I do not consider myself to be operating a vehicle when I take my bike for a spin on a NC road. I do it for fitness, not as a way of transportation
. It is true that there are people that ride a bike as their main source of transportation and it is important to keep them safe. :)
Now for what you have ALL been waiting for, here is my definition of a "bike snob". To me, a person who is bike snob dislikes people who operate a bike while they are behind the wheel of a vehicle. YES, I do admit that I have been a bike snob. I have been inpatient
with cyclists while I am operating my vehicle. After all, cyclist average a speed that is sometimes nearly (or less) than half what a car can average. I get even more angry at people who don't wear a helmet while biking. If Josh didn't wear a helmet, he would have been seriously injured and possibly killed, due to brain damage.
Here are a few tips when you are operating your vehicle and what to do when you come across a cyclist. After all, riding a bike on a road filled with motor vehicles is very different than riding in a park or driveway.
Tip #1: Do NOT honk your horn at a person riding a bike. I cannot tell you how many times I have been honked at and then hear words of profanity yelled out the window. When someone honks at me, my first instinct is that something is wrong or they mean to say "watch out", but in all actuality they are trying to say, GET OFF THE ROAD. Remember, bicycles are defined as a vehicle and have a right to be on the road.
Tip #2: Pass with care. There is nothing more frightening than being blown off the road by a car that I could literally
reach my hand out and touch. When passing a cyclist, it is important there isn't a car coming in the other direction and you give the cyclist enough space. A few weeks ago, on a curvy up hill a HUGE truck waited a LONG time to pass me. They wanted to make sure they had enough room to pass with care. Vehicles are allowed to pass a cyclist on a double yellow line. Vehicles MUST give the cyclist at least four feet or it is considered reckless driving.
Tip #3: DO NOT if all possible pull out in front of a cyclist. Yes, I have thought,"I'll pull in front of this guy so I don't get stuck behind him." There is nothing more scary than slamming on your brakes on a bike in fear of hitting a car!
Tips #4: This goes along with #3: Do not pass a cyclist and then slam on your brakes to make a stop. Yes, this has happened
to me. We could CLEARLY see a stop sign and then all of a sudden ZOOOOM a huge truck speeds pass to beat us to the stop sign and then slams on their brakes. I had few cuss words to yell at that truck, but refrained because that leads us to... --->> #5
Tip #5: Be kind. Yes kind. I am a firm believer in "kill 'em with kindness". Don't shy away from waving after you pass a cyclist. Even though you might be a bike snob, kindness can go ALONGGG way. :)
I hope this post made you chuckle, open your eyes and made you think about keeping cyclists safe on the road. After all, the cyclist you pass, cuss at, or are kind to is a son, daughter, mother, father, etc., and deserves to have a equal opportunity to fitness and transportation.
<3
Josh read my previous post and got so excited he wanted to write his own. Ok, not really, BUT he is going to share his recovery process with you.
So here it goes...
The first thing I will admit to you is that the hospital wasn't as bad as it seemed. I was greatly blessed with great friends and family and of course ample food. It felt like a good time to connect to people and a nice break, from the rush of life.
That all ended once I was discharged from the hospital. I found myself with plenty of homework to do. On the Sunday after I was discharged from the hospital, my dad drove me to college for two days before Thanksgiving. I enjoyed having my dad at college. He got to see my classes, professors and friends.
Over Thanksgiving break, I spent almost all of my time studying and writing papers in our reclining chair. After Thanksgiving break, I drove our family car back to college. I finished the semester working on school work for almost 12 hours a day. I remember the feeling of not knowing if I was going to get everything done, and wishing there was more time in the day, but somehow diligence and hard work pays off, when you have faith in God. That semester, I not only learned about myself, I did exceedingly well in school.
Over Christmas break, I started rehab. In the first week I went to a check-up in Asheville. The doctor recommended that I try a low impact cardio exercise, such as stationary biking. It was funny to me because that was my favorite thing to do and he had no idea. After the appointment I went straight to my house and got on the stationary bike downstairs. I thought to myself, I will spend a nice casual hour on the bike and will feel great about my recovery process. After 30 minutes, I was in deep pain. My lungs hurt, my legs felt like jello and my side felt like a knife had stabbed me. I took a shower and changed my bandage. After looking at all the blood, I thought to myself, this isn't going to be as easy as imagined.
I spent the rest of that week, twice a day on my bike, trying to build up to an hour of easy spinning. The following week, my father and I would go to the race track and I would sit in his draft as he pulled me in circles around the same small circumference. On Christmas Eve, my father took my to the race track and we rode thirty miles for the first time in about two months. I was able to do some pulling and he reassured me this would be the turning point in my recovery. If I hadn't of collapsed my lung, by this point in the year, I would hope to be building a strong endurance base, which consisted of 100 miles without stopping.
On Christmas day, we usually drive to Virginia to visit my family. Unfortunately we had a flat tire and my father hurt his back changing it. We stayed home and it was the first Christmas day I got to spend with Christin. I missed my family, but I greatly enjoyed seeing Christin on Christmas day. I continued riding the trainer, putting a few intervals into the one hour ride, that were short and unimpressive.
The last week of my Christmas break, my father and I rode from Hendersonville to Spartanburg and up Caesar's Head. I was worried about the ride, because I had not done a ride that long and my father did most of the work on the way out. On the way back towards Asheville, we caught a group of strong riders and my father said to try to keep up with them on the climb. I not only kept up with them, but out climbed most the riders in the group. I thought to myself, where did this come from. Two days ago I could barely stay in the draft of my father and today I was climbing like I had never been injured. The next day, I have a check up with my doctor. He could not believe the improvement I had made. He said I was months ahead of schedule and asked if I have been riding a bike like he had suggested. I told him the day before I did sixty miles and felt better than I did in months.
I returned to Catawba College to finish out my senior year. I continued to ride long miles on the road, and then one weekend Ryan Jenkins asked me to do an organized ride with him. I did the ride and felt extremely horrible throughout the first 20 miles. I got dropped from the lead group and then from the second group and the third. It gets worst. As the fourth group past me, I thought to myself 'this not only hurts, it is embarrassing'. I was stuck in what is called, no man's land for the rest of the ride. This is the position where you are in between groups and you ride by yourself for a very long time. I finished the 65 mile ride, making Ryan wait about 45 minutes for me. I was discouraged, but I kept up my training and continued to see improvements.
The next weekend, Christin came to visit me and Ryan asked me to go on another ride with him. I felt bad for leaving Christin alone, but she encouraged me to continue training. I accepted Ryan's invitation on one condition: that it would not be a 100 mile ride as he had planned, and I could turn back with a group of riders at mile marker 60. Of course this did not happen and I ended up riding 103 miles. To my extreme delight, I was vastly improved from the previous week. Although it was difficult, I stayed with the group and I was able to ride competitively.
I went home for my final check-up and the doctor told me that I was completely healed. The only restrictions remaining were not to attempt weight training for another couple months. That weekend, was the start of the spring classics in Greenville, SC. The series was a shocking reminder that I was injured earlier in the season. Throughout the rest of the spring, I continued to struggle in races. I continually placed lower than expected and at some points, I thought about transitioning into triathlons. My expectations were high and maybe a bit unreasonable. I had never been the type of person that wanted the easy thing.
In May, I graduated from Catawba College. My parents, brother, Christin, Nanny, Aunt Rae, and cousin attended my graduation. We had a cookout afterwards, where Ryan and Charlie attended. As I drove back to Asheville, I was greatly saddened to be leaving a place that I called home for four years.
The summer is where my real training started. I concentrated on biking speed, already missing out on most of my endurance. I still was questioning, whether I had what it takes to be a good cyclist, or if I should use my athletic strengths in another way. My father and I started participating in a Wednesday night race called "The Ring of Fire." The race was on the track in Asheville and I would do the 4/5 and 3/4 race every Wednesday. Initially, my father would lead me out for sprints and I was competitive in the 4/5 placing in most races. One week, I had felt sick for most of the day, but my training had been good and I did not want to miss out on an opportunity to race with my dad. Christin was able to attend the race as she does most of the time. Overall, I felt bad, I raced average and without my father's help, it would have been a disaster. He lead me out and because of his hard work, I won my first bike race ever. I had no more questions about cycling to anything else. It was extra special having Christin there and being able to dedicate my recovery to family and friends.
I put in the work to recover. I was competitive in races again and even won a few. It would be easy and boastful to say that I did this and now look at me. I am a great cyclist and I can do great thing, but without the support from family and friends this process would have been much different. At points I questioned myself, I was not strong enough to stand up, and I could not even ride a bike for thirty minutes. All the credit should not be acclaimed to my greatness, but to the greatness of God and how he heals those in need. I have special people in my life that lifted my up and helped my off a bike when I was hurting, and God placed those people in my life for a certain reason.
I want to thank all those who believed in me, worried about me, and prayed for me. God works in ways that man cannot understand, and I know now that I am better for going through this road to recovery than I was before.
-Josh
