Bfing

[Hawkeye]

While riding my bike last night I saw a guy running/walking his dog barefoot. I thought it was pretty cool and would have stopped to chat with him about Bfing and VFFs (the path has lot of dog poo on it. Why people don't pick up after their dogs when the city provides bags annoys me more than anything.... ) but I wanted to beat the setting sun so I didn't stop.

On another note, it's been a couple of months since I've been in my cycling shoes, and when I first put them on I thought they were too small/narrow. After the ride I came to the conclusion that they weren't small, just restrictive compared to my VFFs which I've been wearing regularly. 

[toastergirl]

I've got a pair of Louis Ganeau triathlon specific cycling shoes - which I find rather roomy in the toe area.  They are also meant to be worn without socks - which is great (I never ride with socks in the warm months) - since I find socks to restrict my toes.  I've worn them since being in VFF's for a while and they are still comfortable to me.  they are also rather vented so they are light in weight, but also not real good for cooler weather riding.  Got a good tip from my bike shop regarding cold weather riding - they use duct tape to tape over the meshy/vented parts of their shoes!! LOL! gotta love duct tape!

what makes them tri specific shoes?  there is only one velcro strap, and its facing inward, so that you can put your shoes on/off while they are still clipped on the pedals (thus saving time in transitions - it easier/faster to run barefoot than in cycling shoes)  they are also meant to be worn w/o socks - since it takes time to put on socks.

grr....why don't people pick up their dog poo!?!?!     It seems to be ok in my area - although people just let their dogs poo in people's yards and not pick it up either.  I've stepped in poo in my own yard, and I don't own a dog...   

cool that you saw another barefooter!!! maybe you'll see him again....

[Hawkeye]

My shimano M086L are nice, I just wasn't used to shoes, espeically with a stiff sole. I can wiggle my toes and I like the rubber tread because I don't enjoy slipping on a rocky trail when carrying my bike. I've seen the louis garneau shoes and I think I know which tri-shoe you're talking about, although I don't like white shoes because they get dirty easily. LG has nice stuff too, but I didn't care for their MTB shoes and I'm not a roadie, although cyclocross kind of interests me, although I probably couldn't carry my bike with my bum shoulder.

I'd like to get into road riding, but there's no safe place to do it. I live in a very unfriendly bike city and cyclists/runner keep getting hit and killed by inattentive drivers, who don't even get tickets for killing people! 

A truck hit a tandem bike when he veered into the 8 ft. shoulder and dragged the bike for 200 yards before stopping! No charges were filed, but now a little 7 year old girl is an orphan. At least the truck stopped, but there are a lot of hit and runs here too. In short, it's too dangerous to be riding on the road here, even in a car.

[toastergirl]

OMG! that's just awful!!  and that makes me angry and sad....    that poor little girl...and the person that got drug by that truck!!  if you hit a pedestrian with your car you'd be charged with involuntay vehicular homicide.  what's up with the discrimination against cyclists!?!? 

I was hit by a car on my bike back in August and luckily I am ok.  Nothing broken...but I do have to say it was the scariest thing that ever happened to me - the moment before it got hit and then flying through the air not knowing what what going to happened when I landed. 

BTW...the driver was not issued a summons in my accident either.      he was pulling out of his driveway and "didn't see me" - he had some rather large overgrown bushes at the end of his driveway that probably occluded his view.  or else (this happens all the time to me) that he underestimated how fast I was going (down hill I can be going as fast as a car) and thought that he could "beat me" and make his turn but then realized that he wasn't going to and stopped in the middle of the road.  well...at that point I had 4 choices....1) crossing the yellow line and vering into oncoming traffic to go around him 2) veer around the other side of the car and probably wind up going through a window 3) dumping the bike and sliding across the pavement and possibly sliding under the car 4) hit the hood/front bumper and hope for the best.  I picked option 4....up and over the hood.  the hood dampened my impact, as I think i dented it! and then landed on the pavement, on the other side of the car after flipping through the air. 

[Hawkeye]

I'm glad you're ok.

Drivers don't get tickets here for hitting pedestrians either. The driver will only get a ticket if they're under the influence, that's it. Inattentive driving, texting, etc. is consider an accident since it's too hard to prove in court blah blah blah. Two college girls got hit in a crosswalk and the suv driver wasn't cited becasue they said they were blinded by the sun. A little 4yr old boy got hit while holding his mother's hand crossing the street in front of his school and the driver didn't get a ticket. San Antonio isn't safe.

ok, angry ranting over.

[shapeshifter]

sadly i've talked to truckers who openly admit that it's an unwritten rule that if they should have an accident... there would be fewer problems if there were no living victims. i'm guessing it all comes down to insurance claims.

[toastergirl]

OMG....that's just insane!  I am not sure how it is here but i am pretty sure that its vehicular manslauter (involuntary) if you kill someone with your car.  Don't know about the bike thing though.  My cousin had a bike accident many years ago and he was actuially issued a summons as the cyclist....said that he was riding carelessly or something.  crazy.  

we should rename this post..."angry ranting about driving laws"...LOL!

as for me...I am SO incredibly lucky to have not been hurt worse than I was.  i think its considered a "no fault" accident, at least for the medical portion.  get this...my medical bills, are covered through my own auto insurance.  yup...you got it right...I wasn't in my car.  Its state law in NJ that if you are involved in an accident in NJ, in a vehicle or not (this applies to runners, pedistrians, cyclists....etc) medical befits are under "no fault".  So, luckly I carry a limited medical benefit option on my auto insurance, or else i'd be responsible for all my medical bills.  Yup...welcome to NJ! With my policy, I am responsible for 20% of my bills, after a $250 deductible.  Which I then have to pay, then ask for re-imbursement from the drivers auto insurance.  Lots of leg work for me....and the driver who is at fault - does nothing.

ok....i'll step off my soap box now....my angry ranting is done now too!

[iain]

I've just been in a bike-car collision this Tuesday.

I was going out of the driveway of the university building while a car was exiting a carpark. Car didn't see me and the bumper hit my right leg and rear wheel (both a bit bent). I was wearing KSOs incidentally.

An ambulance came, got x-rayed, I cracked my fibula, got a cast. Thanks to the British national health service I don't have to worry about health insurance. I really do appreciate what we have, even if we have overpriced VFFs

I actually do know the driver, so I'm getting lifts from a guilty-feeling friend! I do appreciate the lifts, life is much more awkward with crutches. So no more VFFs for my right foot, my toes are scrunched up in a cast, i'll ask for more toe space for my next cast.

Moral of story, always have bike lights, even if it's not quite dark. And always assume drivers can't see you.

[shapeshifter]

sorry to hear about that iain... heal up fast.

[Hawkeye]

I'm glad you're ok iain. I guess you're taking a break from running then.

Lights are important at night, but most of these bike accidents are in broad daylight and no adverse weather.

Speaking of lights, I really like it when runners wear lights at night. It helps us bikers see you and not hit you. I almost hit a few dog walkers, but I could just make out something moving. I have a blinky light for running and it was only $12. People walking their dogs are the worst at night because they don't have lights and their dogs don't either. They also let their dogs run on those retractable leashes and don't control them and I almost always hit them, but I have problems with groups of walkers anyway on shared paths. It's not easy being a cyclist.  

[Rana]

Speaking of lights, I really like it when runners wear lights at night.

I really don't understand why so many people don't.  I have a reflective harness-vest thing, and a blinking light.  Good for both running and biking.

Frequently I see people wearing all-black outfits walking along - or, worse, crossing - roads at night and it always freaks me out a bit.  Accidents waiting to happen, they are.

[Rana]

Oh, iain.  That's going to turn into one hell of a bruise.

Glad you're alive, though.

Also - that's not quite the photo one wants to see of someone in their VFFs!

[iain]

Oh, iain.  That's going to turn into one hell of a bruise.

Glad you're alive, though.

Also - that's not quite the photo one wants to see of someone in their VFFs!

Not the best advertisement , Thanks for the support.

[toastergirl]

Iain...glad to hear that you are ok!! Broken leg will heal - thankfully it wasn't worse and that you don't have any head injuries or internal organ damage either.  I can't see the pic for some reason - but I can imagne the bruises...I know what my back looked like from hitting the hood of the car.   

Its scary - my acciednt happened in broad daylight - between 2 or 3 in the afternoon, on a clear summer day.  the driver was just not paying attention.  I always assume that drivers don't see me (unless I get eye contact and a signal from the driver that they see me) and that they are always going to do something stupid.  I wear lights (i have a blinky one on top of my helmet) and usually wear bright colored clothing.  I was even riding in a group the day of my accident.  one cyclist had went down the hill just in front of me - then there was someone (it happened to be my finace) behind me riding.  Don't know how he missed 2 cyclists!?!?  I saw him start to inch out, so i started slowing down and looked for my way out - then he committed to going in to the turn - then "OH...#$#$%$%#% @#$@$#$^^ @%^#^!!!! (insert various explatives) he's not stopping!!! @#$#$% $%@%$%$!!!! (insert a few more here too.....) 

I wear the most obnoxious things I can find....I had a day glow yellow long sleeved running top (made by Brooks...they make tightst and wind breakers too) and white running tights and bright pink gloves.  I looked like a 5 yr old dressed me.  plus my blue camo VFF's....can't wait for the bikilas (sp??) to come out so i can have bright colored shoes too!!!

[orlin03]

This time of year, I'm always wearing my pumkin orange running top with the little reflector-stripings whenever it's close to getting dark. On my bike- my main mode of transportation- I'm running three lights in the rain, on cloudy days, or in the dark-: 1 front, one rear, and one annoying blinker stowed in my backpack pocket. I've been hit four times this year, and narrowly missed getting clobbered a few more times. The worst though is when I almost hit runners or bikers who aren't wearing the proper colors. Two nights ago, I almost hit a black man on a black bike dressed in black head on because he was going the wrong way on a one way street (This is not meant to offend anyone, but the fact that the rider was entirely dark made it impossible to see him until the last minute). I actually brushed the side of the car that was traveling next to me to avoid him! Please, dress bright!