In honour of Sir Dan (RIP) I have Defender scheduled every riding day of the month of February - including multiple times on some days - for a total of 32 Defenses. I am making this announcement neither to brag nor boast (many riders are stronger and ride much more difficult challenges than this), instead I am doing this 1) as part of the MTP (for accountability and encouragement), 2) to genuinely honour the memory of Sir Dan, and 3) to increase awareness for bike rider road safety.
One of the reasons I primarily ride inside is due to the danger of riding on the roads. In Las Vegas we have lost too many riders on the road including 5 (some were members of my triathlon club) killed in a highly-publicized crash 2 years ago, and a co-worker who was killed in a crash just a handful of months ago. Cyclists have just as much a right to the road as anyone else and shouldn’t have to fear for their safety every time they get on a bike. Any cyclist that takes to the road should be able to safely return to their family.
So, without further ado, here is my schedule for the month of February.
I saw Cobbler followed by Defender and thought, wow that is crazy. Then I saw Kitchen Sink followed by Defender and thought, there is something wonderfully wrong with this guy! Good luck!!
Awesome Sir, nothing but respect. I too lost a friend several years back to a speeding driver. Jon was way to accomplished a rider to put himself in harms way. After a very lengthy investigation the driver was charged. I was always taught, it’s not IF you will get hit, it is WHEN you WILL get hit.
Well, I was planning to do Defender first, but you know… maybe I will do it second.
There isn’t really much logic to it no matter how I look at it, so it may be a last minute decision. Lol.
Edit: But thinking about it now, I’ll probably do Defender first because that’s the one workout I have to get done, regardless. But doing Kitchen Sink after? Well… that will be, how do you say… interesting?
Goodness gracious Sir, that’s one heck of an undertaking and in honour of Sir Dan, I salate you and wish you the very best in this endeavour.
Agreed with the rest above, cyclists deserve the space on the road as much as other road users too but unfortunately a lot of other road users think otherwise.
This should be on billboards everywhere and should be drilled in at the start of EVERY class session in drivers instruction, not one, not two, every class session of instruction. As someone who in the not too distant past had the fleeting thought of “if I don’t get up off that pavement and out of the way the minute I’m done colliding with that turning 2 ton object who clearly doesn’t see me, I will never see my family again”, I can honestly say I hope no one EVER has to have that thought while riding.
My heart goes out to every family who has lost someone to a terrible tragedy between car and cyclist.
Sadly most drivers, most Americans, probably most people in areas where motor vehicles are in much use at all, drive as if they only have to look well enough that they would notice another motor vehicle, and only in time to at least usually not hit it very hard, and anything else they didn’t see while plowing ahead anyway is just “an accident.” The law as applied anyway, generally seems to agree. Never mind the ones they do see. That’s a whole other rant. Be safe.
I’ve ruined many conversations by getting on a soap box on this topic. And will continue to do so in future.
This book summarises the issues quite nicely: Movement: how to take back our streets and transform our lives by Thalia Verkade and Marco te Brömmelstroet. They’re documenting the struggle in the Netherlands (of all places)
I drive a car, ride motorbikes and cycle but it never ceases to amaze me to see the impatience and aggressiveness of many car drivers who think they own the road and who pull out in front of you or cut you up. Here in the UK recently we had a revision of our Highway code that gives higher priority on our roads to the slowest moving person. So, pedestrians first, horses, cyclists (yes you can ride two abreast even though car drivers hate it!) , motorcyclists etc Not that you would know it. Using an excuse “I didn’t see you” when you are lit up like a Christmas tree isn’t good enough!!
I have always thought that drivers ed should include a few hours on a bicycle in traffic. First hand experience being a fragile thing in a big, fast, and distracted world is a great teacher.
It was a special edition Las Vegas Triathlon club jersey sold the beginning of the 2021 season to honor the LV5 that were killed in the crash on Dec 20, 2020. All club proceeds went to set up a scholarship fund for club members and their families.
