The Bicycling Thread

[Manhattan]

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Oh yeah I bike there recently and they moved the bike lane over so it could get confusing. I had to wait for a couple cars to illegally go because they looked confused too.

Side note: When you're waiting at those lanes do you look at the driver on your right to acknowledge that they see you? I do it all the time and I get roll eyes.

Maybe because I wink or I'm a minority :shrug:

There's a turning light for cars making a left onto 5th ave at that intersection but it confuses a lot of drivers who will frequently turn while the turning light is red because straight thru traffic is showing green. Try to either make eye contact or car in left turning lane is at complete stop. Sounds like in this collision the cyclist was heading north so he would've been coming head on towards cars making the left turn so he should've been more visible to the driver but the car made the turn while he was already in the middle of the intersection...not much you can do to avoid that unfortunately.

Another benefit of going slow thru intersections is you're moving at the speed/pace of a pedestrian which is easier for drivers to see and anticipate.

[mazdavirgin]

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Joining the prestige "Got in a bike/car accident" when a vehicle illegally turned from 5th st to 5th ave SW while I was on the bike lane heading north yesterday afternoon.
Came out with a broken collar bone so I may be out riding for the summer

Picked up the bike from the fire hall this morning and surprisingly the bike did well with the fork absorbing most of the impact.
Will bring it to a bike shop for inspection and estimates, hoping to see if wheels and frames are salvageable.
Bummer as this has been one of my favourite bikes so I hope replacing the fork is all I need to do to fix it.


Just trying to get the full collision report from the cops now so that I can contact the drivers insurance.

Collar bone isn't too bad. A couple months and you'll be back in tip top shape. I had severely sprained wrist from a car turning in front of me while I was in the bike lane and super manning over the car. That took far longer than my broken collar bone. The downtown bike lanes are a lot more hazardous than they are given credit...

As for insurance don't offer up to them how much it costs to repair your bike. Let them do the leg work they are not there to "help" you but to pay out as little as possible. In a lot of cases they default to writing the whole thing off. My bike was worth about 2k they just wrote it off, let me keep it and I turned around got it fixed for about 800$. They should also be covering all your physio/rehab. Document any wrecked clothing or other items as well as general road rash and whatnot. Take pictures of your injuries... They will be trying to pay you off a certain amount for "pain and suffering".

The insurance part can be a cluster. You'll be dealing with 3 different claims and possibly 3 different adjusters. It's a 100% on them and your own insurance company will want nothing to do with anything. Also if you need to take time off work due to the injury that's also something they can pay out.

Insurance wise this is not like a car accident where it's your insurance company versus theirs. This you versus their insurance company and they don't really have an interest in being 100% level and upfront on things. So don't treat this like a car accident. The only one looking out for you in this matter is you.

[Penguin_Racecar]

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Collar bone isn't too bad. A couple months and you'll be back in tip top shape. I had severely sprained wrist from a car turning in front of me while I was in the bike lane and super manning over the car. That took far longer than my broken collar bone. The downtown bike lanes are a lot more hazardous than they are given credit...

As for insurance don't offer up to them how much it costs to repair your bike. Let them do the leg work they are not there to "help" you but to pay out as little as possible. In a lot of cases they default to writing the whole thing off. My bike was worth about 2k they just wrote it off let me keep and I turned around got it fixed for about 800$. They should also be covering all your physio/rehab. Document any wrecked clothing or other items as well as general road rash and whatnot. They will be trying to pay you off a certain amount for "pain and suffering".

The insurance part can be a cluster. You'll be dealing with 3 different claims and possibly 3 different adjusters. It's a 100% on them and your own insurance company will want nothing to do with anything.

This. All very good advice if this is your first accident. They will try to close out the case with you as early as possible. Don't sign anything or take any payout until you're fully healed. As mentioned - physio/rehab is covered. You can also present a case for time off work or modified duty you may have needed. My wife was in a car accident (rear ended) a few years ago, and these recommendations came from a friend of hers who works for an insurance company. She ended up needing additional physio sessions due to prolonged shoulder and neck pain from the whiplash and successfully got those sessions covered (with prior approval) and was able to claim up to the soft tissue cap plus time needed away from work. Considering she didn't graduate physio til September (accident was in February) that seemed reasonable.

[D'z Nutz]

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Side note: When you're waiting at those lanes do you look at the driver on your right to acknowledge that they see you? I do it all the time and I get roll eyes.

Whenever I'm riding on the road and I'm coming up on an intersection, I always try and make eye contact with the driver now. Remember how we used to bitch about front tinted windows? This would be a good reason why I'd be against them. So many times I'm riding and I can't tell if the driver is aware I'm on the road and have the right of way because I can't see them.

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As for insurance don't offer up to them how much it costs to repair your bike. Let them do the leg work they are not there to "help" you but to pay out as little as possible. In a lot of cases they default to writing the whole thing off. My bike was worth about 2k they just wrote it off, let me keep it and I turned around got it fixed for about 800$. They should also be covering all your physio/rehab. Document any wrecked clothing or other items as well as general road rash and whatnot. Take pictures of your injuries... They will be trying to pay you off a certain amount for "pain and suffering".

The insurance part can be a cluster. You'll be dealing with 3 different claims and possibly 3 different adjusters. It's a 100% on them and your own insurance company will want nothing to do with anything. Also if you need to take time off work due to the injury that's also something they can pay out.

Insurance wise this is not like a car accident where it's your insurance company versus theirs. This you versus their insurance company and they don't really have an interest in being 100% level and upfront on things. So don't treat this like a car accident. The only one looking out for you in this matter is you.

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This. All very good advice if this is your first accident. They will try to close out the case with you as early as possible. Don't sign anything or take any payout until you're fully healed. As mentioned - physio/rehab is covered. You can also present a case for time off work or modified duty you may have needed. My wife was in a car accident (rear ended) a few years ago, and these recommendations came from a friend of hers who works for an insurance company. She ended up needing additional physio sessions due to prolonged shoulder and neck pain from the whiplash and successfully got those sessions covered (with prior approval) and was able to claim up to the soft tissue cap plus time needed away from work. Considering she didn't graduate physio til September (accident was in February) that seemed reasonable.

This is all great advice. I've already talked to Earl about this, but want to add in case anyone else experiences this:

- You have 2 years from the accident to settle. Do not settle until the end and you are sure you are fully healed or as healed as possible. Once you sign off on it, they've washed their hands of you.

- Do some research on what you should expect in terms of settlement. There are actually websites where you can check off your injury and the extent of damages and they will spit out a ballpark of what you can expect to receive. For obvious reasons, look for Canadian/Albertan based ones.

- Injury lawyers take 1/3 of your settlement, so only consider hiring one if you're getting seriously lowballed and screwed around with.

- Document everything. If you've got a headache or you're in pain, make notes of the days and times and duration and how you're feeling, etc. Take lots of pictures of injuries, scratches, bruising, etc. I even took pics of my x-rays and submitted them to the insurance company.

- Keep receipts for everything you're spending because of the injury. Not just the obvious stuff like medication and injury supplies, but also things like bus tickets/taxi/uber/etc that you need to take to get around because you can't drive. Parking during hospital visits. If you need to hire babysitters and cleaners to help around the house because you can't, be sure to let the insurance company know this too. When I got in my accident, they let me know they have money allocated for those sort of things. But I'm too stubborn to ask for help so I manned through everything and did it myself and they ended up giving me that money on top of my settlement totally didn't expect that.

- In addition to keep track of days you're taking off work, keep track of hours you have to take off to go to doctor's appointments, physio, etc. They'll cover you on those lost wages.

- re: replacing your bike, yeah in my case the insurance adjuster said they replace like-for-like and don't bother with fixing parts. There was no like-for-like for my bike and the closest equivalent was almost double what I paid and I wasn't going to settle with a lesser one so I got a pretty sweet upgrade. They didn't let me keep the bike, but they let me buy it back at a reduced price which was pretty fair.

- and like @mazdavirgin said, document everything that's wrecked. Clothing, electronics, etc. Don't forget you should be getting a new helmet after a crash. Make them pay for that replacement.

I'm not suggesting you should milk the insurance company, but you should be aware what you are covered for.

[Manhattan]

Jesus has every cyclist/commuter been hit by a car before?

[taemo]

thanks everyone for the tip and suggestions on what to do next, waiting for the drivers insurance to call me next but for the time being I'm documenting all my injuries right now and keeping record of all receipts.
looks like this will be a long process with the insurance but yeah not going to sign anything until I'm fully healed.

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Jesus has every cyclist/commuter been hit by a car before?

hopefully not common for all cyclists and hope it doesn't happen to anyone else.

thinking back though, all major injuries I've had growing up has all been while on a bike so i guess it is a love/hate relationship with bikes haha

[Penguin_Racecar]

I've never been hit by a car, fortunately. I thought about bike commuting, but there are many shitty intersections and an industrial area I don't feel comfortable riding. Also makes for junk training miles, so I start work early in order to have time to ride after work, in an area where I enjoy riding.

[suntan]

I was hit by a car when I was about 14. Got some really good air. I somehow managed to break nothing.

[Brent.ff]

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I was hit by a car when I was about 14. Got some really good air. I somehow managed to break nothing.

ha so did I... we were bendy at 14

[jampack]

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Joining the prestige "Got in a bike/car accident" when a vehicle illegally turned from 5th st to 5th ave SW while I was on the bike lane heading north yesterday afternoon.
Came out with a broken collar bone so I may be out riding for the summer

Picked up the bike from the fire hall this morning and surprisingly the bike did well with the fork absorbing most of the impact.
Will bring it to a bike shop for inspection and estimates, hoping to see if wheels and frames are salvageable.
Bummer as this has been one of my favourite bikes so I hope replacing the fork is all I need to do to fix it.


Just trying to get the full collision report from the cops now so that I can contact the drivers insurance.

I'm so sorry to hear that @taemo . Accidents like this will always be our fear as cyclists when we are out there. Hoping for your speedy recovery.

[flipstah]

What kind of footwear do you all use when the commute is rainy like this past week? I've been soaked.

Thankfully Goretex jacket + Wetskins made the journey tolerable.

[taemo]

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What kind of footwear do you all use when the commute is rainy like this past week? I've been soaked.

Thankfully Goretex jacket + Wetskins made the journey tolerable.

I use beater shoes and socks as guaranteed they will get wet. then would just change in the office

[flipstah]

Okay just as I thought. Same deal with me. Thanks!

I don't commute via bike often hence my noob questions

[suntan]

I have Goretex shoes.

[Penguin_Racecar]

I am a pansy and plan my rides to hit as nice of weather as possible. For winter I have neoprene shoe covers. For summer - if I get wet so be it. If there is a chance of crap weather, I'll wear merino. I bring extra socks when bikepacking so I can swap for dry socks for the next day.

[CLiVE]

Shimano highlighter yellow waterproof shoe covers, and old school bread bags over my socks. Keeps it toasty and dry........Never cotton socks unless you want cold feet.

[flipstah]

What’s a good route to bike for training on cadence and average speed?

@ercchrny agrees I’m turtle at 18kph average according to Strava and I agree

Also that hill up on Foothills Hospital from Memorial Dr killed me. I had to walk when I was so close to the crosswalk signal up on the top. Shame ran through veins

[ercchry]

If you ask the guy I saw yesterday riding... the SW ring road is the perfect place to ride

...what a fucking nut

Just do a reservoir lap, then try and do it faster the next time. Repeat!

[Aaaaaron]

I like the WID path to Chestermere to work on cadence. It’s flat and about 30km one way from downtown. A few sections of the path is beat up from tree roots.

[taemo]

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What’s a good route to bike for training on cadence and average speed?

@ercchrny agrees I’m turtle at 18kph average according to Strava and I agree

Also that hill up on Foothills Hospital from Memorial Dr killed me. I had to walk when I was so close to the crosswalk signal up on the top. Shame ran through veins

nice flat area (east of Calgary) would be a good place to train for cadence/speed or put trainer/roller in your place.

but IMO you just need to ride more and build your overall stamina and strenght.
oh and get a light and aero bike