FLCC> one person's view of Tuesday night

[Sara Barker]

I would like to second what Nick and Glenn are saying here as this is very 
serious stuff and certainly not to be taken lightly. I have ridden with the 
Tuesday night group for many, many years now and have noticed that this 
year when warming up to the start, riders are not nearly as good at heeding 
the car back call. Often riders who are moved over have to shout several 
times and still people don't move. You can continue to carry on your 
conversation when riding back to front or pause for a second to let the car 
pass. We are becoming very unpopular with the public due to our behavior. 
Also I wanted to relay a story from a friend who raced on the B-dale course 
last week. He is new to our group and was ready to never come back after he 
yelled car back towards the finish, moved over, and no one else in the pack 
moved an iota. The car had to pass a large group that had completely taken 
over the lane of traffic with some riders right on the yellow line. This 
unsafe behavior is not only going to make us very unpopular with the 
driving public, but is also turning off new riders that we should instead 
be supporting in the community. I know our club does not condone this type 
of behavior and we should all take individual responsibility for our 
actions, even if at the very end of a race.

Not even a Tuesday night win should trump safety and the rules of the road. 
I for one want our tradition to continue so let's play it smart and safe, 
please.

Cheers,
Sara



At 04:53 PM 7/11/2007, Glenn Swan wrote:

> >Nick Robertson sent this observation of Tuesday night's ride/race.....  He
> >may not think he has the respect of everyone, but I know he deserves all
> >that and more.  I think I am glad to have missed this one, since I might
> >have blown a gasket and really reamed some people out.  I know that many
> >of the riders who show up for Tuesday nights aren't necessarily on this
> >listserve, so we will need to "educate" some of them before the next
> >outing.  We truly are lucky that over the years we have avoided most
> >serious accidents and traffic incidents, and we have read about the
> >experiences of enough other clubs who have been shut down or worse,
> >suffered accidents, injuries, or deaths during their weekly events. It is
> >up to all of us to instill a strong sense of responsibility in each and
> >every rider because we are responsible for our own safety, and both
> >directly and indirectly the safety of those who ride around us while we
> >race. Stupidity, carelessness, or just plain bad luck on the part of any
> >one of us can lead to the end of what is now an institution of about 25
> >years. It is up to each of us to protect it by being smart and aware of
> >our total situation while we race each week.  We must be better...
>
>
>
>
> >Riding last night was interesting to say the least.  I think I saw
> >more stupid riding last night that I ever have before.  I want to
> >send an email to the listserve, but don't have the necessary respect
> >of the field to have the message be received.  I think that we are
> >lucky that no one was hurt, killed, or that we weren't shut down by
> >the police.  There was almost no adherence to "car back" yells.
> >Several times while riding out to the start there were cars that
> >tried to pass just to find a car coming the other way, but had
> >nowhere to go because the group was filling the whole lane across.
> >Most of the way out, the whole lane was filled.
> >
> >But, the worst part was during the race.  The A's went out yellowbarn
> >and back up Irish settlement.  B's were doing something that had them
> >coming down midline.  After Irish settlement I was in a chase group
> >with Bill Erikson and John Compton.  The A's passed up the intersection
> >with midline and then the B's came out right before us.  A few B
> >stragglers never even checked to see us coming, I had to yell to get
> >them to not blow through the stop sign right into us.  If I had been
> >a car doing 55 or 60, that could have been bad for them.  But it gets
> >worse.  As we were approaching the Bs, I looked behind to see a
> >sheriff.  We yelled car back and I know that others in the field
> >heard us because they looked back, but did nothing.  For over a mile
> >the sheriff was behind trying to pass, but couldn't.  Bill and I were
> >both thinking this was the end of Tuesday night races.  Right in
> >front of the sheriff, people were going two wide over the yellow line
> >up one of the short steep hills!  So they were taking up over a lane
> >on a blind hill.  Finally the sheriff decides to try to pass, but
> >just as he/she does, an on coming car comes and the sheriff had to
> >turn their lights on to prevent a head on collision.  Finally the
> >sheriff was able to pass on the approach down to 79.  To my surprise
> >they passed and just kept going.  Maybe they had somewhere else to be
> >or maybe they were just letting this one slide.  Either way, we got
> >lucky I think.  I thought for sure the were going to stop the field
> >and put an end to things.
> >
> >Finally after the ordeal, I was able to get around the B's and get
> >back up with the A's.  On the way up to the observatory, people in
> >the A field were well on the left side of the road nearing both
> >crests.  I was sitting there watching this in disbelief.  If a car comes
> >over the top and there is no way there would be time to move.
> >
> >All in all, I was embarrassed to be out riding with the group.  I
> >know that this discussion seems to come up every year, but it never
> >seems to be taken seriously.  I am afraid of someone getting hurt or
> >killed at some point if nothing changes.
> >
> >
> >Nick
>
>
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