SWBKRUN -CLOSED DUE TO TRAINING (Page 109)

No racing for me!

Biggest safety things for me are 1) not riding in areas where rush hour traffic is in full force, 2) not riding into the sunrise or sunset since that seems to blind drivers even more and 3) wearing a flashing light on the back of my jersey even in the daylight.  This year I am also using a sideview mirror on my helmet.  I look like a dork, but a safe a one!

good luck racing peeps!  racing second tri of the season, sprint over at the university of south carolina (the real usc... HA!).  i would have never considered a pool swim but two weeks ago i swam in the 50m pool at the university of georgia.  most fun i've had in a pool in a long time.  wide lanes deep water... awesome!  this week its a 500m swim, 10 mile (3 lap) bike. 5k.  now garmin or hrm or any of the bullsh+t... just go baby!

i haven't ridden on a road except during a race in over two years.  no worth it, to me.

No racing here.

With the nice weather I am getting outside on the bike.  Sounds funny, but I prefer to ride on our busy/main roads.  The backroads are strange.  They usually don't have a bike lane, but if they do it starts and stops without any reasoning.  I find that very dangerous as I am sure drivers are not expecting you to dart in and out of the lane as you lose the bike lane. 

I have been thinking about the mirror like Suzy.    

Fixed that for you

No racing for me this weekend.  We have a full day team meeting / pictures / and category separated ride on Saturday. It should be a fun day.  Good luck to all the racing peeps .......  REPRESENT!!!

Safety on the road is a constant battle.  I try to avoid heavy traffic times, stay on roads that usually have lots of riders on them so vehicles are hopefully more aware, always wear a rear blinky light, try not to ride into the sun, ride like nobody can see me, etc.  I have also had some issues so far this year on a couple of group rides where other riders just aren't being courteous or safe.  I usually just try to avoid being around those that act that way, but am actually thinking of no longer riding with one group due to some, what I consider serious, issues on the last ride.  After all, I have got two girls I want to be able to walk down the aisle someday!     

On Wisconsin!  

Edited because I CANNOT spell!  and yes, it irritates me!

No racing for me this week.   Trying to get my girls to go camping... we'll see how that goes 

Riding outside:  I've been thinking about this a lot lately, since I now live in a more densely populated area.   I plan to seek out some more lighter traffic areas/neighborhoods to ride thru.   As other have said, I have a red blinky light on my seat bag and keep my head on a swivel.  NO music or headphones.

I do have a safe and long out and back spot that I drive to, that I hit occasionally but the road surface is pretty rough, it wears on you.

now that the "dumb canadian" part has been covered...   i don't.  isn't it obvious? 

100% trainer since IM.  long rides (4+ hour)for IMTX and some for IMFL will be on a rails to trails deal we have here. 

I like the mirror idea, I have a cool mirror on my road bike that I put in place of the little handlebar plug thing-a-ma-bob...but that won't work for my tri-bike.  Suzy, have Paul take a pic of you wearing it and post it, please! Purty please. 

That'll be problematic until I buy a new one.  I took it off for IM and then we moved.  It could be anywhere!  I wear mine on my helmet on the side.  Ask SJ to take a picture of his.  He's the one who got me to wear one.  I could never hear traffic coming up behind me and this definitely alerts me to the morons in the F150s planning to do a brush by.

I'm with John. I mostly ride the trainer for convenience and safety. The roads here are narrow with high speed limits and no shoulders, and there are loose dogs out there in farm country. Also, early morning workouts don't work for me so riding the trainer lets me fit workouts in at night after the kids go to bed. When I do ride outside, it's on well-used, familiar routes.

No racing for me! Good luck at your sprint, John! And good luck to anyone else who is racing!

My bike kind of frightens me, but I can't imagine riding the trainer all year long.  I ride on the trainer so that I can ride outside later.  It's almost that time around here.  I'm kind of nervous about heading out right now though, as there is a lot of gravel still on the roads from the winter.

As for safety, I always tell somebody where I'm going.  I always carry a cell phone, and id.  I am planning on getting a road id, but haven't yet.  I also know how to change a flat and have the tools to do it.  A minor thing, but saves me from getting stranded for something I could easily deal with myself.

I ride mainly on country roads.  There isn't much traffic, but it's not totally deserted.  There's also a fair number of cyclists that ride those routes, as they are part of the 70.3 course around here.  Another part of the course is much busier, but wide shoulders.  I didn't ride it last year because there was construction on it all summer, but we'll see this year.

I feel like it would be safer to ride with other people, at least some of the time, but it just hasn't worked schedule-wise so far.

No racing here and I probably won't transition outside until the beginning of May.   For the most part, I stick to my known set of courses that are light on traffic.   Always, always assume that the folks in the cars don't see you and that anything can happen.   The one driving habit that really bugs me is what I call "wind up turns".   People swerve left a little (sometimes as much as a couple of feet) in order to make the turn to the right....unnecessary and dangerous.

Damn I am jealous.

yet too cheap to upgrade from my trusted 305

Hope everyone is doing AWESOME.

I have been stupid busy with work lately and the weather here has been insanely warm so I have been putting in some good quick spring bike ride miles here. Got done work early and went down to Windsor across from Detroit for a large group ride tonight. Squeezed in an easy 50km bike ride with group.

Early season I am busy focusing on some scuba diving and hoping to balance this year. So less 5-10km races and most of my races will be late in the season.

Hope everyone has a great weekend. As per the norm I am working  Booooo

I'm doing the Mooloolaba Triathlon on Sunday - it's an ITU Olympic distance race so lots of international athletes and glamour!

The German triathlon team were swimming in the lane next to me on Tuesday, made me feel like I was swimming in slow-motion...!

As far as keeping safe on the roads, I always have a flashing red rear light either on me or the bike, try to go out early and don't trust any car to have seen me. 

I actually find cycling in town to be safer if I go out later in the day, I think it's because the cars are slower and I can make myself more visible. Busy traffic on open roads scares me, I've heard of too many people being taken out by someone changing radio stations or answering their phone whilst doing 100!

No racing for me.  I don't ride on roads.  I stick the aforementioned paved rails to trails deal which happens to pass right across the street from where I work.  It runs 60 miles through northwest Georgia and another 30 or so into Alabama, and is off limits to motorized vehicles. 

Good luck to John, David & anyone else who may be racing this weekend!

Sounds like an awesome race! Good luck and have fun, David!

He Deb and anyone else....I bought a new Road ID yesterday (ther rubber wristband) and got this free code for my friends:

Coupon Number: ThanksSuzanne13116136

Up to 25 people can use it so order yours today!

I stick to low traveled roads I'm familiar with and bike at times when I know there will be low traffic or the rail trail if I'm on Cape Cod.  I also tend to stick to the trainer on weekdays when I'd either have to bike when it was dark or during prime commuting hrs.

I'll do anything I can to ride outside vs the trainer.  As far as safety goes my biggest issue is stupid drivers who don't like cyclist.  I ride more rural roads but that means lots of redneck boys and people pulling boats.   People either don't care or intentionally buzz cyclists around here so there isn't much you can do.  Personally I've been spit at, hit by side mirrors, had cars pulling boats and trailers make right turns in front of me where i literally left brake skid marks and  hit their trailers.  Sadly those kind of incidents can't be prevented with mirrors or reflective lights.  The main thing I do to stay safe is promote cylist education and ride responsibly.  Unfortunately we have several group rides that have the "own the road" mentality and I think drivers then take it out on the solo riders. 

Oooh, cool! My RoadID needs an update since Dave has a new job and cell phone number, and this is the kick in the pants I need to order, when I have a few minutes!! Ack!

I ride inside and outside. Lots of cyclists around here and I usually use routes that have a fair number of riders on them. I assume every car is driven by a texting, drunk, teenaged idiot and act accordingly. I also try to wear bright colors. Love to ride with friends whenever I can. But I do lots of trainer rides when roads are wet, temps are cold, or whatever. Not doing IM means inside rides are less daunting, IMO.

I've got a big day tomorrow, my wife's gone away for a conference and I've got to get the kids down to Mooloolaba by 6:30am for their triathlon then rack my bike, meet some friends, sort out a mini pump, vote in the state election - compulsory to vote here - get my hair cut, take the kids to meet their friends at the movies, walk the dog, put new elasticated laces in my new Kinvara's, go for a BBQ then get to bed early ready for my tri on Sunday!

There's going to be 6000 triathletes competing this weekend and the weathers looking fantastic, apparently Macca's competing!