Threat Assessment

Approaching River and Falls Road

On my brick ride the other day, I got to thinking about cycling. I was riding around the noon hour on a beautiful Sunday in September. I live in Montgomery County, MD... a very urbanized area. Sometimes, my mind can wander and I was riding on Randolph Road and realized I wasn't paying attention to the road for about 90 seconds. This is not good and actually can be very dangerous.

Typically, on a bike ride, I am constantly doing a threat assessment. Approaching an intersection, lots of data needs to be processed. Is the light red, yellow or green? How many cars are around me? Are there pedestrians? Is there anyone pulling out of the driveway? I even look at drivers and make assessments based on what I see. Someone with a bike on their bike rack is viewed as a friendly. A mom in a minivan with kids and out of state plates is eyed warily as they may get distracted or not be used to driving while there are cyclists around.

And, that's a whole 'nother thing. When riding with a group, it can be very hairy. I float towards the rear or try to ride off the front so I can minimize how much information I need to process. Conditions of the road are another thing. I was on a ride a couple weekends ago when three guys all hit the same pothole. When you're moving fast, even hitting bumps in the road can be a disaster waiting to happen.

Anyway, I thought I'd post about this because I did drift off mentally the other day. I have to remain vigilant at all times. Recently, a DC Tri guy who was training for Ironman Florida wrecked on his bike and broke his clavicle. His Ironman dream is over... for this year (Tuan will be back, though... I'm certain of it!).

I was reminded of a scene from "The Terminator". That's kind of what it looks like to me, sometimes.


"And it absolutely will not stop, ever..."

-- TJ