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Siskiyou Velo

Southern Oregon's Premier Cycling Club

No Collisions/Falls/Crashes on Club Rides in 2015

by Gary Shaff on Feb, 13 2015

Now is the time to think about safety. Not after you or someone you are riding with falls, collides with another object, or otherwise crashes. To highlight the importance of member safety, the Club’s Board adopted a goal of “no collisions, falls, or crashes on Club rides in 2015. A lofty goal but it can be achieved if everyone concentrates on safety, avoids risks, and encourages others to do the same.

The Board’s goal for 2015 is all about safety. Most cycle crashes occur because someone had a momentary lapse; either because of distraction or over-confidence. You can’t be responsible for the other guy but ensuring you are doing everything possible to avoid a crash, fall, or collision can make a huge difference.

No one goes out on their bike with the intention of crashing. Yet, we don’t always adhere to the highest standards of safety. Sometimes we get careless and that is when they happen. We don’t do an ABC quick check before starting, we drift up onto someone else’s rear wheel, we ride too close to the road edge, take a corner too fast, don’t slow down or stop when we should, fail to adhere to the “rules of the road,” don’t announce our intention to pass or slow down, fail to “clip-out” before stopping, among dozens more. These are all avoidable outcomes.

In 2014 there were way too many crashes, falls, and collisions. Let’s all do our part to make 2015 collision, fall, and crash free. We’ve made it 44 days into 2015 without a reported collision, fall, or crash on Club rides. Let’s keep it going.

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