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stoufivttesuntribunem saturday may 26 20073 stouffvilles peter mcquillan is a triathlete training for the ontario summer season and an ironman competition in florida this fall in his plea for cooperation on the roads the 19year competitor admits to not always being a perfect cyclist cyclists drivers must give and take when sharing the road by peter mcquillan it happened just east of stouffville on a normal ly quiet stretch of coun try road riding my bicycle west on webb road 100 metres before the stop sign at durham 30 1 passed a van that was slowing for the stop sign i checked for traffic blew through the stop sign and headed south on durham 30 at approximately 40 kmh the driver of the van head ed in my direction apparent ly he was agitated watching me ignore the stop sign the van caught me and passed within centimetres of at more than 40 kmh before the driv er slammed on his brakes to avoid crashing into the back of the van or ending up in the ditch i passed on the left forcing me between oncoming traffic and the van i narrowly missed a head- on collision but the adven ture did not stop there the van approached me from behind again passed me and again the driver slammed on the binders i performed the same manoeuvre however this time he opened his door forc ing me to take a wider line into oncoming traffic i weaved missed the door and the oncoming traffic and make a hard turn on to stouf fvilles main street the van continued south on durham 30 ending my experience this is an extreme exam ple of poor rider and driver judgment this is not safe rid ing i should have stopped at the stop sign my near life- ending experience should never have occurred we are fortunate to live in an area where residents can safely enjoy riding their bicy cles on beautiful paved coun try roads riders and drivers need to tips for the road honk if when approaching a group of cyclists from behind lightly toot your horn pace line cyclists take turns at the front of a pack cutting through the wind too much riding three and four abreast is not proper cycling coexist on our roads follow ing some sort of safety eti quette the number of triathletes and cyclists using our roads is increasing you are seeing more cyclists riding in packs small groups and solo drivers should be aware poor road conditions can cause cyclists to swerve when they least expect it when a driver is approaching a rider or group of riders from behind the driver should lightly hit the horn informing the riders he is about to passthis will allow the riders a chance to move to the right side of the road making it easier for the vehi cle to pass when passing riders try to allow a minimum of one metre between the vehicle right mirror and the rider cyclists riding in a group of three or more usually form a pace line why the biggest obstacle for a cyclist to overcome is wind resistance when cyclists form a pace line the front rider pushes into the wind giving the riders behind a break by reducing the wind resistance by 30 per cent the riders behind can rest before taking a turn at the front a line is fluid with the front rider dropping to the back of when he or she gets tired this is why cyclists may need to use a third of a lane pace lines allow cyclists of different fitness levels to keep together by sharing the work load of pushing into the wind to take advantage of the rider at the front of the line riders behind have to ride very closely together if a riders front wheel touches the rear wheel of the cyclist in front the rider behind will crash a light tap on the horn wont startle the riders driver should also know it is difficult to hear vehicles approaching from the rear due to wind and other noise when the riders hear the horn the proper etiquette for cyclists is to ride single file passing a pace line is sometime safer for the driver than passing solo or dual rid ers because riders in a pace line are usually more experi enced and comfortable with vehicles passing on the left typically a solo rider on a hilly road is difficult to see he may drift toward the centre line when drinking water or look back after hearing traffic approaching cyclists should only ride in a double pace line taking up half the road on roads that are lightly travelled riding three and four abreast is not acceptable bike etiquette drivers and cyclists can coexist safely on our beauti ful country roads with a little give and take we can all enjoy the beau tiful york region outdoors stouffville resident peter mcquil lan who helped start a local triathlon program has trained on york regions roads for seven years he also repairs bicycles for fellow triathletes and local children for more information go to ripl0racingcom love your look and feel the confidence laser hair removal safe effective permanent cellumte reduction using advanced rf technology see our website for city tvs feature photofacial microdermabrasion and advanced skin care special until the end of may book any advanced skin 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