Hi all - I participated in the Flyer yesterday. The weather was FAR better than last year. There were a lot of great interactions that I had along the way. I didn't come out with any new cycling friends but had some good conversation while riding and af lunch afterwards.
There were several incidents yesterday, that I personally experienced or witnessed, that were worrisome. I know these cannot be fixed as there are MANY riders departing at about the same time. Not everyone knows how to ride in a crowded field. Not everyone is respectful of others. The only way I can think of spreading out the riders a bit more with such a large field is to have four start times, one for each route. My opinion is that there were too many riders bunched up early on that impacted my feeling of safety on the ride.
At mile 3, there was a rider in the ditch. I don't know how the rider got there but there was an ambulance. This is never a good sight but something that can happen. As we were slowing down (with a lot of shouts of "SLOWING"), someone hit my rear wheel. We both stayed upright and he apologized but it should not have happened.
A little while later, as we were coming down a hill with a left-hand curve, there was another rider on the ground. Someone was about 15-20' up the road yelling at us to move over or slow down. I did not crash but it was close. I was able to slow down enough and had enough space to move to the left to avoid the incident.
There were many occasions where people wouldn't alert me (or others around me) that they were passing on the left. More than once, my shoulder was nearly brushed with no warning whatsoever.
Overall, the ride was good and I will likely ride again next year. If it rains like last year, I'm staying home!
Thanks to all the volunteers and ride ambassadors for the help.