Monday, 11 July 2011.
Last Friday was a drive day. You'd think it was a loss. But no, I drove across all the intersections with my commute over the bikeway. I had an amazing revelation: not one of the crossings was well-enough marked to make the crossing safe.
I had started my posting for the Thursday commute home as a well-modulated rant about the obstructions to viewing traffic from the bikeway or viewing cyclists from the approaching roadways. That was appropriate but also—at least now with the drive on Friday—off-target. So expect something more for the Thursday posting, still on its way.
Ride conditions
Temperature: 70 to 75°F at 07:15
Precipitation: none
Winds: calm
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves.
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 00:43:43 for 11.92 miles
Heart rate: 121 bpm HRave, 140 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 2 cyclists, 7 pedestrians, 2 dogs
Here is a playback of the ride.
Showing posts with label automobile. Show all posts
Showing posts with label automobile. Show all posts
11 July 2011
01 July 2011
Bike-commute day 47—to work
Friday, 1 July 2011.
What an experience today! I had stopped at the crossing of Linden Avenue and then entered the crossing, after I had seen a car at least 150 feet east—plenty of space for him to stop or even to allow my crossing with just a slow down. Instead, the car sped up—or perhaps just didn't slow down at all. I raised my hand to him, he continued. He pulled into the left lane for opposite-direction traffic, and I slowed to another stop before reaching the middle of the street, where he passed in front of me. His license plate: EIE 1916.
Further down the way, I saw Gladys walking alone today. Her neighbor Millie was holding a yard sale, and Ethel was helping her. I pulled out my camera and photographed her in the dappled light. Then along came Paul (Double-dog-Jason) trailing his two dogs. They wouldn't let him pause for a photo, but I tried to capture his passing. Pictures to come.
Much earlier in my commute, I had passed Gary and Amy going in the opposite direction, toward downtown. No pictures for them.
This morning I had lots of energy on the commute, especially in comparison to my commutes on Wednesday and Thursday. But three hours later, I was lacking the pump. So I've been replenishing my fluids since then, to improve my hydration.
Ride conditions
Temperature: 67 to 72°F at 07:35, 76 to 80°F at 09:35
Precipitation: none
Winds: calm
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves.
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 00:40:47 for 11.96 miles
Heart rate: 137 bpm HRave, 160 bpm* HRmax
Bikeway users: 13 cyclists, 8 pedestrians, 4 dogs
Here is a playback of the ride.
There is a series of HR spikes to 193 bpm around the crossing of Springfield Street and to 170 bpm at the crossing of extreme north Smithville. I've been checking other playbacks for similar data, to figure out what's happening.
What an experience today! I had stopped at the crossing of Linden Avenue and then entered the crossing, after I had seen a car at least 150 feet east—plenty of space for him to stop or even to allow my crossing with just a slow down. Instead, the car sped up—or perhaps just didn't slow down at all. I raised my hand to him, he continued. He pulled into the left lane for opposite-direction traffic, and I slowed to another stop before reaching the middle of the street, where he passed in front of me. His license plate: EIE 1916.
Further down the way, I saw Gladys walking alone today. Her neighbor Millie was holding a yard sale, and Ethel was helping her. I pulled out my camera and photographed her in the dappled light. Then along came Paul (Double-dog-Jason) trailing his two dogs. They wouldn't let him pause for a photo, but I tried to capture his passing. Pictures to come.
Much earlier in my commute, I had passed Gary and Amy going in the opposite direction, toward downtown. No pictures for them.
This morning I had lots of energy on the commute, especially in comparison to my commutes on Wednesday and Thursday. But three hours later, I was lacking the pump. So I've been replenishing my fluids since then, to improve my hydration.
Ride conditions
Temperature: 67 to 72°F at 07:35, 76 to 80°F at 09:35
Precipitation: none
Winds: calm
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves.
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 00:40:47 for 11.96 miles
Heart rate: 137 bpm HRave, 160 bpm* HRmax
Bikeway users: 13 cyclists, 8 pedestrians, 4 dogs
Here is a playback of the ride.
There is a series of HR spikes to 193 bpm around the crossing of Springfield Street and to 170 bpm at the crossing of extreme north Smithville. I've been checking other playbacks for similar data, to figure out what's happening.
02 June 2011
Bike-commute day 33—to gym and home
I got a reminder this afternoon on the unreliability of drivers. As I approached the bikeway crossing of Linden Avenue, a driver from the west graciously stopped for me. I slowed for the crossing, saluted a thanks to the driver, and then looked to the right. A driver was approaching from the east, obviously slowing. But not stopping, just slowing.
As she crossed in front of me, I saw inside the auto. The driver was busily fitting a supersize cup into the cup holder, oblivious of the marked crosswalk and the stopped vehicle in the approaching lane. Unaware that her slowing might have been understood as an invitation to cross in front of her.
The distracted driver is the greatest hazard presented to a cyclist who uses the roadways. And the cyclist who aims to use only the bikeways, since the bikeways intersect with roads, often at distances of less than a mile from one intersection to the next. The cellphone and texting are only the two more recent sources of distraction, joining many other sources that have been present almost as long as the automobile itself: lighting a cigarette, tuning the radio, opening and closing windows, conversing with a rider, eating and drinking at the wheel, responding to a nuisance insect, squinting from sun glare, daydreaming.
Ride conditions
Temperature: 77 to 81°F at 17:10
Precipitation: none, then a lot
Winds: calm to 5 mph from the northeast
Clothing: Skinsuit; ankle socks. Open-finger gloves.
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed-gear
Time: 00:58:03 for 15.82 miles
Heart rate: 123 bpm average, 142 bpm maximum
Bikeway users: 31 cyclists, 14 pedestrians, 3 dogs
Here is a playback of the ride.
As she crossed in front of me, I saw inside the auto. The driver was busily fitting a supersize cup into the cup holder, oblivious of the marked crosswalk and the stopped vehicle in the approaching lane. Unaware that her slowing might have been understood as an invitation to cross in front of her.
The distracted driver is the greatest hazard presented to a cyclist who uses the roadways. And the cyclist who aims to use only the bikeways, since the bikeways intersect with roads, often at distances of less than a mile from one intersection to the next. The cellphone and texting are only the two more recent sources of distraction, joining many other sources that have been present almost as long as the automobile itself: lighting a cigarette, tuning the radio, opening and closing windows, conversing with a rider, eating and drinking at the wheel, responding to a nuisance insect, squinting from sun glare, daydreaming.
Ride conditions
Temperature: 77 to 81°F at 17:10
Precipitation: none, then a lot
Winds: calm to 5 mph from the northeast
Clothing: Skinsuit; ankle socks. Open-finger gloves.
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed-gear
Time: 00:58:03 for 15.82 miles
Heart rate: 123 bpm average, 142 bpm maximum
Bikeway users: 31 cyclists, 14 pedestrians, 3 dogs
Here is a playback of the ride.
31 March 2011
Bike commute day 10, to work
As I rose to the top of the banks above the Mad River, which stretches from the Findlay Street bridge to the firemen's training yards at McFadden Avenue, I saw a white van on the adjacent stretch of Monument Avenue. His window was open, despite the below-freezing temperatures; his hand was up to his ear, indicating a split attention between driving and using his cellphone. I called out, "Get off the phone" loud enough that he glanced over at me. I smiled, which along with my nose was probably the only visible part of my face shrouded in a full-head stocking cap and smoked glasses. He nodded, smiled, and then resumed his phone conversation.
It doesn't bother me greatly when as much as 25 yards separate the bikeway from the roadway, but inattentive drivers can be a real hazard on my route along residential streets in the first tenth of my commute and at the ten crossings once I've joined the bikeway. The Ohio legislature is due any day to vote on whether texting while driving is allowed or outlawed, which is outlawed in 30 states; but the legislature missed the mark many years ago in making it against the law to use a hand-held cellphone while driving, which is outlawed in eight states.
Of course, it is inattention of any sort that contributes to auto accidents ...and collisions with cyclists. If it were possible, could legislatures outlaw these activities while driving, which I have seen as a cause for a swerve or drift in a car's position in the road?
Temperature: 29°F at 07:30, 29 to 33°F at 09:15
Precipitation: none
Winds: none
Clothing: Top with 4 layers (Lycra longsleeve undershirt, skinsuit, arm warmers, poly fleece vest, Lycra-wool jacket); Bottom with 2 layer (skinsuit, quilted tights); ankle socks. Quilted gloves. (Comfortable; toes and fingers began to notice cold. Light sweating in chest & back.)
Bike: Trek 850
Time: 0:50:00 (approx.) for 11.86 miles
Bikeway users: 1 pedestrians, 6 deer, 1 cat
08:12—departing from home.
08:24—passing the zig-zag up from the Mad River Bikeway.
08:36—passing the west gate to Eastwood Park.
08:48—passing the trestle remains at Linden.
09:02—arriving at work.
 |
| Bikeway (magenta) above the Mad River from the Findlay Street bridge to the firemen's training yards March 2005 photo from Google Earth |
It doesn't bother me greatly when as much as 25 yards separate the bikeway from the roadway, but inattentive drivers can be a real hazard on my route along residential streets in the first tenth of my commute and at the ten crossings once I've joined the bikeway. The Ohio legislature is due any day to vote on whether texting while driving is allowed or outlawed, which is outlawed in 30 states; but the legislature missed the mark many years ago in making it against the law to use a hand-held cellphone while driving, which is outlawed in eight states.
Of course, it is inattention of any sort that contributes to auto accidents ...and collisions with cyclists. If it were possible, could legislatures outlaw these activities while driving, which I have seen as a cause for a swerve or drift in a car's position in the road?
- Lighting a cigarette
- Eating
- Tuning the radio
- Changing a CD
- Reading the newspaper
- Consulting a map
- Writing notes
- Changing clothes
- Talking animatedly
- Reprimanding a child in the back seat
- Reacting to spilled coffee in the lap
Temperature: 29°F at 07:30, 29 to 33°F at 09:15
Precipitation: none
Winds: none
Clothing: Top with 4 layers (Lycra longsleeve undershirt, skinsuit, arm warmers, poly fleece vest, Lycra-wool jacket); Bottom with 2 layer (skinsuit, quilted tights); ankle socks. Quilted gloves. (Comfortable; toes and fingers began to notice cold. Light sweating in chest & back.)
Bike: Trek 850
Time: 0:50:00 (approx.) for 11.86 miles
Bikeway users: 1 pedestrians, 6 deer, 1 cat
08:12—departing from home.
08:24—passing the zig-zag up from the Mad River Bikeway.
08:36—passing the west gate to Eastwood Park.
08:48—passing the trestle remains at Linden.
09:02—arriving at work.
16 March 2011
Bicycling and state traffic laws
The Los Angeles Police Department offers training in safe bicycling to its officers, and now the video is available on YouTube. The primary thrust of the video is the way traffic laws in California (and almost all other states) apply equally to automobiles and bicycles.
The organization of the video is fitted for classroom use: a short presentation of a unified concept of traffic law is followed by a set of multiple-choice questions. And its strength is that the video waits for the incorrect answers to be corrected before continuing to the next concept.
The organization of the video is fitted for classroom use: a short presentation of a unified concept of traffic law is followed by a set of multiple-choice questions. And its strength is that the video waits for the incorrect answers to be corrected before continuing to the next concept.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)