Sitting at work this morning, I'd like hot chocolate, doughnuts, a good book, and perhaps a blanket. The season change prompts my body to forget about going outside. I just want to eat pie and watch football for the next month.
I haven't had a chance to really hibernate yet, but I already feel like I'm packing on the pounds and getting sluggish. The scale says I'm up 2 pounds which is right in the normal fluctuation range, but I suspect if I give up any activity that number would skyrocket.
I'm mentally ready to start training for next year's marathon, although physically I'm working through some things. BUT I've got something up my sleeve that may just pull me out of this cacoon. More on that in the coming days...
October 19, 2010
October 18, 2010
Traffic Calming
Recently Councilman Richard Rush put everything on the line for 2nd Avenue Bike lanes. He makes some good arguments, and I agree with him on several accounts. I also disagree with some of his arguments, but that's not the tone I'd like to portray today. One phrase from his post is not well defined (in my opinion): Traffic Calming.
My wife was reading over my shoulder as I read his blog, and when she read this sentence:
...she asked in an incredulous tone, "Narrow lanes, bike lanes, and trees are calming?" Having read it as a regular person who drives on Spokane streets, she had internalized the sentence as it applies to her. Narrow lanes do not calm a driver's nerves.
I suppose trees may have a calming effect and bicycle lanes may or may not calm drivers' nerves, but narrow lanes definitely do not sooth the driver's soul. I explained to my wife that Councilman Rush was not talking about creating a serene environment in which drivers drift from one place to another. Rather, he was talking about slowing traffic down and perhaps reducing the number of cars on the road.
In order to achieve "traffic calming", outside influences are employed to positively affect the way traffic acts. Of course, we are giving human traits to an in-human item here. Traffic itself, cannot be calmed without affecting drivers - the soul of traffic.
In its worst light, traffic calming is physically changing things in order to force drivers to take more care, which then causes them to slow their cars down, and in the process weeds out those who can no longer stand the route.
From a planning and safety perspective, traffic calming is more than just a great thing. It is an essential tool.
From a political standpoint, it can go either way: Trees are great, and calm traffic is great. Raging traffic is bad. Moving people efficiently is good. Moving people by different modes of transportation is good. Meshing those modes of transportation is tricky. Safety is good.
Narrow lanes are difficult to swallow.
I applaud Councilman Rush for taking a solid stance. As seen on T.V. recently, that's kinda rare with the political types. I wonder what could calm that traffic?
My wife was reading over my shoulder as I read his blog, and when she read this sentence:
"Narrow travel lanes, bike lanes and street trees are traffic calming devices."
...she asked in an incredulous tone, "Narrow lanes, bike lanes, and trees are calming?" Having read it as a regular person who drives on Spokane streets, she had internalized the sentence as it applies to her. Narrow lanes do not calm a driver's nerves.
I suppose trees may have a calming effect and bicycle lanes may or may not calm drivers' nerves, but narrow lanes definitely do not sooth the driver's soul. I explained to my wife that Councilman Rush was not talking about creating a serene environment in which drivers drift from one place to another. Rather, he was talking about slowing traffic down and perhaps reducing the number of cars on the road.
In order to achieve "traffic calming", outside influences are employed to positively affect the way traffic acts. Of course, we are giving human traits to an in-human item here. Traffic itself, cannot be calmed without affecting drivers - the soul of traffic.
In its worst light, traffic calming is physically changing things in order to force drivers to take more care, which then causes them to slow their cars down, and in the process weeds out those who can no longer stand the route.
From a planning and safety perspective, traffic calming is more than just a great thing. It is an essential tool.
From a political standpoint, it can go either way: Trees are great, and calm traffic is great. Raging traffic is bad. Moving people efficiently is good. Moving people by different modes of transportation is good. Meshing those modes of transportation is tricky. Safety is good.
Narrow lanes are difficult to swallow.
I applaud Councilman Rush for taking a solid stance. As seen on T.V. recently, that's kinda rare with the political types. I wonder what could calm that traffic?
October 13, 2010
Weak Signals
Earlier this year I fell victim to the right hook of an SUV. That red SUV passed me and then turned right in front of me. No turn signals warned me, and consequently my first road bike was totaled.
This morning I approached a red light where several cars were queued up already. I was turning right at the intersection. The third car in line also had a right turn signal on. I generally will hang back of cars if there is a chance they might pull out around the line, but the pickup truck and trailer in front of that car was taking up space, so I decided it would be safe to pass that car on the right and make my turn.
Then the light turned green. Some quick calculations told me that there was time to make the pass. In fact, I expected to be even with the front of the truck by the time I hit the intersection. That would give the car plenty of time to register that I was ahead of him and that I was not going to hinder his plan in any way.
Sure enough, I passed the car, and evened up with the front fenders of the truck. I began to turn...and so did the truck! Without signaling, he was now turning right into me! To my fortune, there was enough room and time for me to simply turn sharper and not get squished. The driver of the truck must have seen me, as he paused briefly. No harm done, we all continued on our way. The truck and the car both passed me and then I kept up as we descended Nemesis Hill.
At the next light the truck was turning left. As he stopped at the red light I looked very closely at his tail lights. The trailer he was pulling had round, red tail-lights that barely fluttered on and off. The lights on his truck were hardly better. I guess it's possible that he did have his signal on at the top of the hill. Gotta watch out for those weak signals!
This morning I approached a red light where several cars were queued up already. I was turning right at the intersection. The third car in line also had a right turn signal on. I generally will hang back of cars if there is a chance they might pull out around the line, but the pickup truck and trailer in front of that car was taking up space, so I decided it would be safe to pass that car on the right and make my turn.
Then the light turned green. Some quick calculations told me that there was time to make the pass. In fact, I expected to be even with the front of the truck by the time I hit the intersection. That would give the car plenty of time to register that I was ahead of him and that I was not going to hinder his plan in any way.
Sure enough, I passed the car, and evened up with the front fenders of the truck. I began to turn...and so did the truck! Without signaling, he was now turning right into me! To my fortune, there was enough room and time for me to simply turn sharper and not get squished. The driver of the truck must have seen me, as he paused briefly. No harm done, we all continued on our way. The truck and the car both passed me and then I kept up as we descended Nemesis Hill.
At the next light the truck was turning left. As he stopped at the red light I looked very closely at his tail lights. The trailer he was pulling had round, red tail-lights that barely fluttered on and off. The lights on his truck were hardly better. I guess it's possible that he did have his signal on at the top of the hill. Gotta watch out for those weak signals!
October 12, 2010
Light Watchers
I'm a light watcher. At every intersection I watch the light. When I'm stopped I watch the opposing green light until it turns yellow. Upon yellow, I wait a brief second before I begin clicking back into my pedal and starting out. This way, about 75% of the time I'm actually clipped in by the time I get the green light, and regardless of my clip-status, I am almost always the first to cross the intersection.
By first, I don't mean first bicycle...I mean first vehicle. Amazingly, I sometimes even enter the crosswalk on the opposite side of the intersection before the traffic moving the other direction exits that crosswalk. That generally happens when the driver going the other direction is not paying attention (read "texting").
This morning I came up to a red light alongside a white car. The driver of the car was acting very much like he was also a light watcher. As the light turned yellow he began to creep forward...as if he had taken his foot off of the brake. I was creeping forward also as I clicked into my pedal. As soon as the green light flashed we were off to the races! I managed to efficiently clip in, and thus had maximum acceleration on my side. Poor fella. I whooped him. Of course, he caught up with me by the next intersection. He would have passed me too if he didn't have to turn there.
I know it's a very short distance drag, but I rarely get beat. I'm pretty proud of that. I can count on it unless my competition is on a motorcycle. Sports cars are funny competition. These drivers are good at hitting the gas, but because they have excessive power on their side, they generally have under-developed light watching skills. I love beating them over the roar of their engines.
The question that plagues me is whether or not any of these people are actually in the game?
By first, I don't mean first bicycle...I mean first vehicle. Amazingly, I sometimes even enter the crosswalk on the opposite side of the intersection before the traffic moving the other direction exits that crosswalk. That generally happens when the driver going the other direction is not paying attention (read "texting").
This morning I came up to a red light alongside a white car. The driver of the car was acting very much like he was also a light watcher. As the light turned yellow he began to creep forward...as if he had taken his foot off of the brake. I was creeping forward also as I clicked into my pedal. As soon as the green light flashed we were off to the races! I managed to efficiently clip in, and thus had maximum acceleration on my side. Poor fella. I whooped him. Of course, he caught up with me by the next intersection. He would have passed me too if he didn't have to turn there.
I know it's a very short distance drag, but I rarely get beat. I'm pretty proud of that. I can count on it unless my competition is on a motorcycle. Sports cars are funny competition. These drivers are good at hitting the gas, but because they have excessive power on their side, they generally have under-developed light watching skills. I love beating them over the roar of their engines.
The question that plagues me is whether or not any of these people are actually in the game?
October 11, 2010
Street Sweep
Clean roads are definitely cool. Except when they're not. Like when the temperature is approaching cold and I turn onto a street that was swept that morning before I arrived. And the water from the street sweeper is still thick on the surface of the street. And the water clings to my tires long enough to gain vertical acceleration. And when that cold water forms droplets that spray me in the face on the coldest-yet morning of the season.
But I was happy that I didn't have to worry about glass in the road. Cause I just had to repair a tube on Saturday. Yeah, clean roads are cool.
But I was happy that I didn't have to worry about glass in the road. Cause I just had to repair a tube on Saturday. Yeah, clean roads are cool.
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