Donga wrote:
>
> Paulie-AU wrote:
> > Duracell Bunny Wrote:
> > > And nothing that I've seen in the news about it. Hope she's recovering
> > > nicely.
> > I'll second that - poor girl.
> >
> > Personally I'm reluctant to ride in big bunches because I really don't
> > believe "safety in numbers" applies when cycling. Too many accidents
> > happen on bunch rides and I'm not prepared to be involved.
> >
> > Lotte
> >
> >
> > --
> > Paulie-AU
> Well, I wasn't there, so I shouldnt assume. Still, here goes. Like Adam
> says, it's a dodgy bend - downhill, fast, off-camber, with a steel
> plate - nasty even in dry. I've gone down there hundreds of times with
> and without bunches and you don't need a bunch to make a problem
> happen. If you have a young rider who misses the corner so far she's
> into the third lane over, it could simply have been lack of skill. No
> need to invoke a bunch hoodoo, except that as a father, I'm trying to
> skill up my son with few other riders, before taking him into a bigger
> bunch.
>
> Donga
But Lotte's point is valid - huge bunches work well on
closed roads, but they tend to become problematic where
there's traffic lights (Coro Dr) OR egos OR novices that
aren't adequately introduced. Some of the bunches will pass
a small group with no call on approach, some of the bunches
cut corners (e.g. from Anita St onto Diane St) and some of
them don't stop on orange, giving the guys in the back the
option of running a red light or saying ta-ta to the bunch.
On the river ride, anything over 20 riders I'm staying the
hell away from. I think 6-10 is a perfect bunch size for
river ride, wynnum ride, etc - easy to control and
communicate but big enough to have a good presence for
driver awareness.
Tam