How to defend against being clipped

[climbarock]

So as most fo you know, some dumbass kid crossed the line on the Los Gatos trail and clipped my bars. I went down pretty hard.

So how do you defend against that? any techniques? like try to go head-on since the kid has less mass, or try to kick him, I don't know, any tips?

for the record, I have no problems running down a 10 year old if he's crossing onto my side. I just want to make sure I don't go down like that again, skin heals, but if I got some expensive shit in my bag, I need to protect it.

[benitosan]

the best technique is to ride defensively.  i ALWAYS assume that the kid, adult, dumbass pedestrian, fellow biker, rollerblader, dogwalker, etc is going to do the opposite of what i'm going to guess, so might as well prepare for the worst and stop?  if you are on a public bike/run/walking trail, assume that you're gonna encounter this.  when you come across this situation next time, just basically get ready to stop, cuz they're probably not going to.  people that use these trails (esp on the weekends) just don't know protocol and courtesy, so don't assume that they are going to do the right thing...  hope you're ok man!

[climbarock]

Thanks.

I was already as far right as I can, and we weren't even going fast. Alvin and I were going slow waiting for the main group to come up. I just didn't think the kid would cut so far to his left.

The parents are lucky I wasn't on my road bike. If that was my baby hitting the ground, that kid would've had a pair of cleats in his face. then again, if I was on my road bike, I would've wore a helmet. and there probably wouldn't be a bump on my head right now.

[Thermite]

How did the parents react to their kid's fuck up?

[Citify]

Damn Man! Glad to hear you made it out of that ok. Your rashes looked pretty good though.

[wes m.]

I'm on that trail everyday. I'm so frustrated that I tell people to get the hell out of my way. If I'm coming behind them I usually say "on the left" then give them a second to react before passing. If they are coming at me I say "get in your lane" loudly with a serious tone. If a kid or dog crosses the yellow line I tell the adult to keep them in line. Sadly, you need to be outright rude sometimes. I'll stare someone back into their lane too, never underestimate the power of the crazy eye. Most importantly, assume that the other guy will hit you and be mindful of where you can swerve off the trail. Helmets help too.

[benitosan]

no need to be rude.  if it is a "public" trail, they have every right to be there as you do.
just because people don't know how to ride a bike, or adhere to rules of the road, only means that you have to be
more vigilant and careful.  i'm rude sometimes too, but i realize that its a no-win situation and i just deal with it.
if you are riding fixed/brakeless, or just plain fast, maybe you should just stick to the roads and battle w/ the cars instead...

[climbarock]

I don't remember, I was sooo pissed, I didn't even want to talk to them. the mom came over to help me up, all I remember was when I was checking to make sure my camera was ok, I heard the mom go something like "oh shit, his camera was in there" in chinese.

I hate Chinese people and thought it was better for me to just go the other way. I don't need to go to jail, I have 2 years of probation left. Hitting a kid or his dad wouldn't help me.

[Citify]

Good job with the anger management Jin. Its not worth it.

[the_kal]

Damn dude.. that sucks.. I hope you are OK.

On avoiding getting clipped.. I remember when I was taking the Motorcycle Safety Foundation class the instructors keep telling us that if we have to crash it's better to do a low slide as opposite a high slide. I'm not sure if this can be applied to bikes. But I would image its a lot safer if you slide with the bike instead of flipping over the bars.  I don't know how to make it happen tho.

Now that I'm thinking. Maybe its better to replace my front brake with rear brakes so I can do low slides.