I’m starting this thread for the new RAGBRAI riders with some tips not in the Ride Right handbook we can offer them (and all of us) on staying safe this year. It seemed like there were more than the usual amount of crashes last year and an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of bandages.
Here’s my first tips:
Watchout out for the center of the road cracks!! In many of the roads there’s a seam between the left and right side. Many times it’s large enough to catch your tire and flip you like a pancake. I’ve seen a lot of people messed up by this. Don’t cross these gradually, or at all if you’re not sure. They’ll fill these many times with tar, but in the hot sun the tar gets soft, so you get a false sense of security. Then you’re tire sinks in and you go flying. So watch out for those seams!
The other one (but less deadly in my opinion) are the rumblers. For those of you who don’t know what that is, it’s those rumble strips you run over on your car on rural roads as you approach stops. People will point at the ground to point these out or yell “rumblers” so you’ll know they’re coming. Just move to the side if there’s not another bike next to you, or slow down and go over them but with a firm grip on the handlebars. Most people will shift to the other side of the road to avoid them. Just watch for other bikers before doing so.
A pace line is a group of riders riding in line to help break the wind and generally move along faster. It’s okay, but generally a bad idea if a) you’ve never ridden in a pace line before, or b) you haven’t ridden with the people in this pace line before. Lots of wrecks happen in pace lines due to the closeness of the bikes (less time to stop or avoid), the fact that you generally ride faster or due to lack of communication. One major rule of pace line safety is DON’T CROSS TIRES! Meaning, don’t let your front tire get past the rear tire of the person in front of you. I saw this last year with a line I was in and backed off, and sure as h e c k a mile later the line piled up when wheels touched. RAGBRAI is not a good place to learn to ride a pace line.
Let’s be careful out there!! I’d love to see a lot more bored ambulance drivers this year.
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Stay right except when passing. There are always faster riders coming up from behind you.
Think when there are hills. No need to downshift to your lowest gear a 1/2 mile before you get to the hill. Learn to shift and then start downshifting when your cadence drops on the uphill portion.
When you stop get completely off the road.
Announce when getting back on the road after a stop in a loud voice so people know your intentions.
don’t make upredictable moves. such as suddenly swerving to the other side of the road because you see a friend stopped over there.
Pacelines on RAGBRAI equal “Stranger Danger”!!!!!! Center crack; last year I came up on a scene of a young woman who had gotten her wheel caught in one of those cracks. For about 10 ft, you could see where she dug the sand up out of the crack. Medics were taking care of her on the side of the road. Not the way you want to meed the medics!!!!
The always ride on the right issue is a tough one. I’m a mid-speed rider so I end up in the middle of the road most of the day. Usually just right of the center line. The only way I know of is to just keep yelling “on your left” until people move over. Regrettably there are some who are to stubborn or ignorant to know to move over, but it seems those are the rare few.
As a first itme rider, I promise to do my best, but the biggest crowd I’ve ridden in is when two dogs were chasing me down the road. I’ve been reading forum threads for a couple of months now and have an idea of what I’m supposed to do. Now, all I have to do is put it into prctice while riding with 10,000+ of my new best friends.
I get tired of saying “on your left”. That’s why I talk to people to let them know I’m there. I have a whistle around my neck and sometimes even a Kazoo, just to make noise. When I get really bored, I might sing my Barry Manilow medley. I use the name plate that RAGBRAI sent to let people know my name and my state. It’s a good way to start a conversation. It’s all about letting other riders know where I am!!!
Even though I’m in my mid-40’s now, my dear old Ma still worries about her boy. She’s decided to start watching the Tour de France this year, somehow thinking that it shares some similarities to my upcoming week in the corn. Bad idea! All the crazy crashes and mangled bodies along the side of the rode these past few days have left her in a near panic! Hopefully no press vehicles will plow any of us into a barbed-wire fence.
-Does anyone else have any suggestions as to how to hand this situation?
I say “on your right since you’re riding left”. Pitty the fool who makes a comment back to me. Right lane open, no waiting…
As a suggestion I’ll say communicate what you are doing. “Bike on”, “bike off”, “slowing”, “stopping”. Several of the wrecks I saw last year was a rider pulling out onto the road without saying anything, while the road wasn’t clear. Make sure to turn your head or check your mirror before changing lanes, so you don’t pull out in front of faster traffic.
holy cows that tour crash was nuts. my wife was not real pumped about that veiwing either.
1. If people are safely passing you on the right, you are guilty of not “riding right”
2. Be particularly careful when pulling off the road on the left. Left side vendor stops are always chaotic and dangerous
3. Don’t wear bike shorts with transparent white, yellow, or lace panels. They always cause a traffic back up!
please don’t follow rule #3 at destination towns.
Hey Mich….this Buckeye from NTX will buy you a beer if you’ll sing your Manilow Montage as you pass me! Hearing on your left over and over gives me a complex!
For those new to riding …you will drop a water bottle or something else. DON’T slam on the brakes to stop and get what ever it is. Look around and move to the right. Yell out that you’re slowing and going right. Saw a person at Chicago’s L.A.T.E ride this weekend hit the brakes hard when their water bottle was knock lose due to a pot hole. No one crashed but people just missed the fool. That ride had approx 9000 people for a 25 mile ride starting at 1am Sunday morning. It was a mass start in 4 waves. Wow! talk about close riding.
If people are slow and in the middle of the road, sometimes you need to pass on the right. A simple “On your right!” will suffice, no further editorializing is needed or helpful.