Fears while paddling or on canoe trips

[yknpdlr]

Many years ago I had to go to a training program lasting a month in California. i packed up my bicycle and had it shipped out with me. While riding on a semi-rural road a car overtook me and the next thing I knew a full beer can hit me sqarely in my left kidney. I kept on riding but squinting from the shock and pain prevented me from seeing the license plate of the speeding car. Luckily I had no lasting effects other than to avoid riding there again.

 

[PaddlingPitt]

Reminds me of that last scene in the movie Easy Rider.

 

[GDahl]

Tketcham and Erica,
Yes, I share your fears about the 2 legged critters. Stopped solo canoeing on midwest rivers 20 years ago, due to 2 legged concerns (mostly drunk and out of control boaters).
Hopefully this isn't a problem on wilderness rivers these days?

 

[MichaelMerry]

I live in the Midwest and understand this concern. We aren’t fans of the heat and subsequently do our river paddling in the shoulder seasons. The “cold” does a solid job of eliminating the riff raff.

We do like to beat the heat by sea kayaking on the Great Lakes at the height of summer. Unfortunately, we’ve had a couple of run ins. We tend to go far out into the lake and, once out there, there is so much space that we really don’t encounter people. Where we have issues are near the launches. I hate to stereotype, but our issues have been with jet skiers who don’t seem to have an understanding of the rules of the water. They often get too close. We will remind them. On one occasion a jet skier got belligerent with my wife. The belligerent jet skier was shocked at the speed at which I could cover some water in my sea kayaking as I followed him to the ramp. He could not apologize loudly or often enough as I hopped out of my kayak and ran to his trailer with smoke coming out my nostrils brandishing my paddle.

These people scare me- and they have a tendency to turn me into a person I’m not often proud of.

 

[Gamma1214]

...they have a tendency to turn me into a person I’m not often proud of.

I wouldn't lose any sleep over something like that. "Old ways are the best ways" and disrespecting someone's wife or kids falls into the FAFO category as far as I'm concerned.

 

[tketcham]

While riding on a semi-rural road a car overtook me and the next thing I knew a full beer can hit me sqarely in my left kidney

Ouch! I never had a full beer can thrown at me but I've had other debris tossed at me. I've had idiots driving diesel pickup trucks slow down next to me and then stomp it, spewing a thick, black cloud of semi-burnt diesel in my path. Wish I could have responded by tossing a smoke bomb into the cab.*

* Added: I wouldn't actually throw a smoke bomb into a pickup truck (even if deserved) but I like to believe in karma.

 

[jdeerfoot]

I used to enjoy long distance rides on my bike but have ceased to go for the last 8-10 years - too many distracted and rude drivers. We had a similar incident to what tketcham experienced. While in a pace line on a rural highway, the driver of a tri-axle dump truck passed us and slowed down positioning his truck so he could emit heavy black diesel smoke over us. We could see him laughing in his rear mirrors. At the time, several of my riding partners were police officers. So my buddy Joe while on duty started pulling over dump trucks of the company operating the truck that harassed us. Since these drivers were paid by the load he detained them long enough to impact their earnings for the day. He was a big believer in pay back.

 

[Odyssey]

I've had brush-offs and close calls over the years. A school bus once nearly took my head off on an empty rural road; I ducked just in time to have the big mirror pass overhead, the front fender brush my hip. There've been a few other criminally stupid driver incidents.
Strangely, during the pandemic, the few drivers on the roads were exceedingly gracious and well behaved. Since then however the odd angry 2 tonne snowflake has grumbled past. I hug the paved shoulder edge and tuck tight. And try to look insignificant and nonthreatening.
Does it ever occur to drivers that cyclists such as myself are in fact 4 wheeled drivers the other 98% of the time? There is no them and us.

 

[Woodpuppy]

Does it ever occur to drivers that cyclists such as myself are in fact 4 wheeled drivers the other 98% of the time? There is no them and us.

Of course not. Those people are selfish and... low quality in general. People are never more their authentic selves than when they’re driving. So I would say there is very much, them and us.

 

[Alan Gage]

I started cycling a couple years ago. Nice rural blacktop roads with light traffic all around me. The few vehicles I encountered were courteous and gave me plenty of clearance and many slowed down to pass. Then one day a car went flying past at full speed and didn't move into the other lane at all. I don't know if they knew I was there or not but it sure was a wakeup call as to how easily something could happen. It took me a couple weeks to relax again whenever I heard a vehicle approaching from behind.

Alan

 

[dramey]

Motor vehicle drivers today has multiple distractions in the vehicles today with radios with multiple menus instead of buttons and knobs, navigation screens, cell phones, etc. Not making excuses for them, but that is the world we live in today.

 

[yknpdlr]

What are the chances? No matter whether I am driving my car, or riding my bicycle on a narrow rural road, not much wider than single lane. Havent seen another vehicle traveling in either direction for miles. Juat as I approach a narrow bridge, thee's an oncoming vehicle, likely a big truck, all three meeting at the same point on the bridge. What are the friggin' chances??

 

[PortageW/Cerberus]

Reminds me of this one from my neighborhood a few years ago:
Road rage against roller skiiers

 

[Woodpuppy]

Glad they had presence of mind and called it in. That guy should just lose his license.

 

[PortageW/Cerberus]

Glad they had presence of mind and called it in. That guy should just lose his license.

I agree. I suspect that (unfortunately) this case got lots of extra attention because one of the victims was a female gold-medalist olympian...a regular person & the perp might have not been prosecuted.