Not on my scheduled Cruiser ride, but one of our riders went down today. :'(
Debbie Funderburk took a hard fall. From related info I received from our member rider Sergio Messina. They were at Dog Beach going south 9:30 AM. Passing a van with the rear door open at about 15 MPH... when suddenly a dog jumped out of the van right into Debbie's front tire. Unavoidable...she took a hard spill and crashed! >:(
Broken Clavicle, three broken ribs, punctured lung and some bruises... that is the bad news. Good news - she will heal and have a full recovery with no permanent damage. Was taken to Scripps Memorial Hospital and will be released tomorrow - Sunday, Sept 6th.
Lets all send well wishes her way for comfort from pain and a speedy recovery.
~Peg
Sounds like yesterday was a rough day for NCCC. I hit some uneven payment in a bike lane in Rancho Bernardo and got thrown into the traffic lane at 20 MPH. Lucky for me my leg took most of the impact and no cars were behind me. So I just have a busted up bike and a swollen knee. Hopefully Debbie can have a quick recovery.
wishing you both a speedy recovery!
Sorry to hear of your accident as well Will... Sending well wishes your way.
Heal up quick Debbie and Will. I assume the dog was OK.
Riding southbound along Dog Beach is a known place for problems. Years a ago a motorist moved into the bike lane and stopped short. There was a group descending the hill at a clip that barely missed a pile up. My tire locked up and slid putting a hole right through it.
To avoid these type of issues try not to let paint think for you. The engineering design here is atrocious and we have tried to get the city to change it. So far not much luck. It is not recommended to put bike lanes on descents. Especially DOOR ZONE bike lanes. Yes, a car door might open and a dog might jump out. Or you could get hit by the door or by another cyclists swerving around one.
You are not required to use a bike lane that is unsafe, has obstacles, is in a door zone , when you are going the speed of traffic, when there is a right turn or driveway or when you are making a left turn.
It's a good idea to never use the bike lane on this descent. Two travel lanes are merging down to one lane at this point. You can just use the full travel lane until you pass the parking and then enter the bike lane to go over the bridge. Motorists can pass you in the number 1 lane.
A similar situation exists on coast highway northbound in Encinitas on the descent to Encinitas Blvd. It is not smart to use that bike lane. There are many driveways where motorists are pulling in and out of the lot. There is also a right turn only lane at the intersection and cyclists will need to cross merge from the right edge to the through lane while motorist are merging the opposite way. The safe way to ride it is just to stay in the full travel lane until you are through the intersection. Then enter the bike lane to climb the hill.