Comment by mathieuh | Hacker News Reader

Comment by mathieuh | Hacker News Reader

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The idea of riding a motorbike terrifies me. I cycle regularly for fun and exercise, I do about 45 km at an average speed of about 30 km/h, and I have a couple of near misses every time I go out.

Whether it's someone opening their door on me, someone pulling out in front of me (either because they haven't seen me or they don't realise how fast you can go on a bike), or someone passing me so close I'd be able to rap on their window, or a myriad of other reasons.

I'm fully lit up day and night, I have high vis socks, reflective shoes, reflective strips on my bibs and jersey, I have a rear radar, my front light at full beam is as bright as a car headlight on main beam, and I cycle about a metre out from the kerb. Not sure what else I can do.

Having all those same issues, plus travelling at a much greater speed? No thanks.

Not judging people who enjoy motorcycles, I've bombed down a country lane which I know well (has no turn offs, good surface) at 80 km/h on my bike so I can well understand the thrill being on a motorbike must give you. I would just never get on one myself.

It’s not about the thrill for everyone. As a motorcyclist myself, I scorn many of the bicyclists I see out on back country roads full of blind corners and hills without a shoulder. In my opinion, it is not safe to have large speed differentials in traffic because it erodes trust in the road and other traffic. If you enjoy two wheels as much as I do, you’ll perfectly enjoy motorcycling without the rush – you’re only as fast as you want to go but at least you’ll always be managing the speed limit. I appreciate in other regions there are minimum speed limits, and I’ve heard personal stories about getting ticketed for riding a bicycle slowly on a fast road.

Just to be clear, it's not all about the thrill for me either, it's just when I was bombing that hill with nothing but two wheels between me and being smeared across the road I realised what it might feel like to have the power of a motorcycle under you.

I ride safely, I'm not swerving between cars at traffic lights or squeezing through gaps.

In the UK, where I live, there are very few roads cyclists aren't allowed on, basically motorways (70 mph speed limit). Regardless I use a route-planning app called Komoot that uses cycle-specific data and heat maps to give you the safest route.

We have national laws that say drivers must treat bicycles as if they were a car and leave them space as such etc., not that it actually happens in practice.

"a rear radar" On a road bicycle? What is this device?

https://buy.garmin.com/en-GB/GB/p/698001

Basically you connect it to your bike computer and it puts a little line along the side, cars appear as dots on the line and move along it as they get closer to you and your computer emits audible beeps when it detects a car. Has a different, more urgent beep when it detects a large vehicle like a lorry or a bus, or if a vehicle is travelling at a high speed relative to you.

Highly recommend it, haven't had any false negatives (obviously I still look over my shoulder, it's just nice to know a car's coming from a distance away and if they're going very fast).

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