In any new activity we seek to learn, there’s four phases of learning that take place before true competence is achieved.
The Phases are:-
- Phase I – Unconscious Incompetence
- Phase II – Conscious Incompetence
- Phase III – Conscious Competence
- Phase IV – Unconscious Competence
If we relate that to cycling – specifically – bunch riding or solo training, there’s a certain amount of repetition needed between phase’s one and four before you’re can competently stay upright on the bike.
An example of these phases in cycling terms might be:-
- Phase I – First bunch ride ever, sit off the back of the bunch, where do they go? How fast? Don’t crash into anyone.
- Phase II – A few bunch rides done, people yelling at me because I’m all over the place. Need to stay off my brakes etc.
- Phase III – Rolling turns at the front with the big boys now, make sure I don’t pull too hard or surge and annoy people.
- Phase IV – Rolling turns, braking steady, calling out potential dangers, thinking about food and the holidays COFFEEE! (thanks @blackthugcat)
Which brings me closer to my point.
In Melbourne, we have a road along the coast called Beach Road. It’s roughly thirty kilometers in length and a fantastic ride along the coast. Cyclists frequent this ride in their thousands on weekends. It seems every two minutes a bunch of twenty – fifty riders comes past.
There’s been some recent discussion amongst local councils to ban parking along this road on weekends – I suppose to reduce incidents involving parked cars and cyclists.
This week, Bayside council rejected this idea, I discovered after reading Wades post.
From the Bayside Leader article, I found the following statement interesting:-
“Sandringham Hospital emergency department director Dr James Taylor said the hospital treated about 200 cycling accident victims each year, with about 20 per cent of serious crashes caused by hitting parked cars or open doors”
That’s a lot of people crashing into parked cars.
My first thought was – If you’re riding solo and you hit a parked car – you need to ask the paramedic for a mirror – and take a good hard look at yourself.
After thinking about it from a beginners perspective though, I figured that the environment is quite hostile for beginner cyclists and most are completely oblivious to all of the dangers that we’re exposed to.
I take for granted the 1-2 metre gap I leave between me and every parked car I pass.
I do this subconsciously.
This is from years of consciously leaving enough room for a door to suddenly fling open. I’m always prepared for the unexpected by leaving this gap.
I follow cyclists regularly who pass parked cars so closely, they almost tap the side mirror on the way through. What happens if someone suddenly opens a door whilst they’re hooting along at 40k/hr?
Just yesterday I watched as an ambulance carted off a cyclist on Beach Road. She left a surprisingly large pool of blood on the road and although I didn’t witness the crash, there was a parked car at the scene.
My three tips for reducing this risk.
- Always look for humans inside a parked car. Chances are they’ll get out at some stage. Leave a large gap – Always.
- When riding in bunches, don’t be scared to use your voice. This is very important. Warn others of parked cars.
- Always ride with your head up and forward. Fixing brakes or playing with your speedo should not be done in the bunch.
If you do these three things regularly, you will definitely spend less time in the emergency ward of your local hospital.
Safe riding this weekend.
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