For all victories, there must come some defeats. Very disappointing result yesterday in Asheville in a car/bicycle crash trial. Jurors told us they sympathized with the driver, who pulled out of a parking lot right in front of the cyclist, because “it’s so hard to see cyclists.” In the end they found the driver negligent, but also found the cyclist negligent, which in North Carolina means he gets no recovery. Another casualty of North Carolina’s ridiculously unfair contributory negligence law. This experience reminds us that the general public (ie. jurors) will always hold cyclists to a higher level of care than they will drivers. We need to stay constantly vigilant to protect both our safety AND our rights. Please stay safe out there.