I was riding home last night after work, along the bike path between
two fenced-off sections of dog park. There were a couple of cyclists up
the path from me, for which a couple of dog owners were waiting at the
crossing gate.
When the cyclists passed by, the dog owner did not bother looking up for
more cyclists, and proceeded to open the gate and "release the hounds!"
I saw her holding the gate from a distance, but as with most
dog-owner-path-crossers, I figured she had seen me and was now
watching/talking to her pets, waiting for me to pass also, as I didn't
see her make any movements to open the gate, etc, after the previous
cyclists passed...
Just as I enter the roundabout/crossing, she opens the gate and 2 large,
hairy dogs immediately bolt blindly in front of me.
I slam on my brakes to avoid severing one of the pooches, and manage to
reduce my speed enough to avoid serious injury to the dogs, but because
my rear brake is significantly thinner than my front (replacement is
sitting on my desk... yyyyea, I know), I end up flying over my
handlebars and lying underneath the bike on the pavement!
Shoulder took the brunt of it (road rash and deep bruising), followed by
forearm (long scrapes), wrist, hip, and thigh.
As for the bike, my flight deck was scratched and turned inward a bit,
bar tape torn, some other scratches on the paint, and my rear wheel
dislodged (and un-trued).
The dog owner was very apologetic, "I didn't see you...", well, that's
because you didn't look, b*****.
I put my wheel back in place and rode home sore, pissed off, and
bleeding from 7 different places, but otherwise ok.
Could have been worse... at least I could still ride in today.
Pictures coming shortly.
Sometimes people make honest mistakes, but in Calgary people seem to get pissed either way! You don't say sorry and it's wrong, u say sorry and it's wrong...I'm an avid cyclist and just started commuting in this city. Just respect the slowest and anticipatenthe the worst! It's ok to slow down and maybe we can earn the respect for cycling rather than burning fuels to get to work.
ReplyDeleteYes, good points anon.
ReplyDeleteI certainly don't bear any resentment to that individual, and I believe she will probably never open the gate to release her dogs without double/triple checking for all bikes from now on, so perhaps some good came of it.
But my concern is more on the general lack of awareness of cycling in Calgary.
A pedestrian is injured by a cyclist, and immediately talk of pathway speed limit enforcement ensues. Anyone that has ever commuted to downtown Calgary has seen their share of dangerous or reckless behaviour on the part of a non-cyclist.
Last winter, while commuting to work, there are sections of the Bow River Pathway (south) that are just not plowed, so I took the backroads.
Among the numerous honks and agitated drivers, I had several drivers ride up close beside me and yell some form of traffic "advice."
Some people just really don't believe that bikes are vehicles too, and equally entitled to a section of the road. I mean, I'll do my best to stick to the shoulder when safe to do so, but that doesn't mean I'm relinquishing my rights to occupy a lane...