Sunday Drivers

Bike 2: 237.6; 18.6

It was a short ride, but included several hills, some quite steep and/or long, including: Daywalt Road; Blank Road from 116 to Peterson; Orchard Station Road from Roblar to top of hill; Hessel Road from Turner to Fairbanks (fire station); and Lone Pine from 116 to Bloomfield.

Got a flat tire, luckily within a mile of home. I walked the bike home, couldn't find obvious nails or thorns, and refilled the tire. It'll probably be flat again shortly, but just in case. Funny, I bought a spare tube, what? four days ago?

On 116 near town, a woman in a dark blue Mercedes crossed the line to get nearer to me I guess. Not really close, but let's say two feet. This is a case where I was entirely off the road, on a ten-foot-wide shoulder. Then, I saw her do the same to another cyclist ahead of me. WtF?!? Granted, cyclists can be annoying--I've been annoyed by them when driving in MY car, especially on a narrow but wide-enough road where they might be riding two abreast when we could all coexist and get on with our lives if they were single file--but I've never heard of a cyclist killing anyone with their vehicle, which is basically what this woman came quite close to doing, twice.

I've noticed a couple of things, though, while out riding on a more "road-oriented" bike, that I might share, and if anyone's reading this who is prone to getting pissed at cyclists...

The shoulder is not always as smooth, clear of debris, and safe for riding as the road proper. Especially at any speed over 20, and/or in alternating light and shade, two-wheelers can't always trust that there will be no nasty surprises on the shoulder. Among other things, that's where motorists toss their bottles and mislay a lot of vehicle parts.

The edge of the road is often much more bumpy than the center: Ruts tend to form on the right edge, from vehicle wheels, water runoff, whatever. It seems like 9 out of 10 potholes are on that right edge.

It looks wider from a car than from a bike: Handlebars are 12-18 inches wide--that's my functional width (NOT the 1.5" of my tire!). A two-foot-wide shoulder only gives me six inches of wobble room. Don't necessarily expect a cyclist to manage to keep within that range, especially going uphill where one does tend to go a bit more side-to-side from pulling/pushing to make it up the hill.

Momentum Is Currency: If I can manage to keep the momentum from a good downhill, I can often maintain some speed going up the next one. It can mean the difference between cruising over the next hill at 13-15mph in high gear vs. gearing way down and laboring up the hill at 5mph. At the bottom of a long hill, I will hit the brakes out of consideration and safety every time, but man am I grateful when you don't make me do that!

The Momentum Thing also comes into play at stop signs and traffic signals. Certain online-news commenters claim to find it unconscionable that cyclists don't always come to a full stop at intersections. I notice that most cars don't fully stop at stop signs--in fact I count on it when I'm on my bike. But the dynamic on a bicycle is very different: You can hear a lot better (assuming you're not one of those morons listening to an MP3 player or similar); you can usually see a lot better; and you're approaching the stop at a slower speed to begin, with so you have more time to evaluate the intersection as you approach. Coming to a full stop on a bike also means COMPLETE loss of momentum. For me, at least, it usually means I have to get off the seat and pedals, and start from zero again when ready to go, which requires a LOT more work than slowing down, even slowing to less than 1 mph.

A last thing (for now) to consider: I don't think any cyclist WANTS to be in your way. I'd rather be off the road entirely, on a bike path, but the bike paths are incomplete, and they don't always go where we need or want to go. When I travel the roads, I will often go miles out of my way to avoid shoulderless hills, badly potted pavement, blind curves. When I know a car is behind me, I try to pedal a little faster if it means I can get out of their way sooner. When a car purposely goes left into another lane to pass me, I am always grateful (though I don't usually wave because I doubt you're looking for that even if you could see it, and I'm usually in a place where it's best to keep both hands on the grips). But know that I AM grateful for every concession you make as a ped or driver, as I'm trying to work that space between the two. Thanks!