Dan on Bike

West Lafayette isn’t a bad place to ride a bike, but not because of a useful and ubiquitous bike lane system.

For some people, the lack of separate lanes for bikes means they don’t ride – or they use the sidewalks. This is unfortunate, because the city has light traffic on all but a few main thoroughfares, and most auto drivers act properly around those of us on bikes. Still, when bike lanes are removed, safe ridership will drop.

I’ve complained before about the lanes on Salisbury, Lindberg, and northern Grant streets before. Sure, they are painted there, but they are also used for parking, as sidewalks (on Lindberg), and for trash and brush to be picked up. I would rather just take the lane than have to swerve in and out to avoid the many obstacles. For many that I see, the sidewalks once again become the path of choice.

Stumped
(circa April, 2008)

With the repaving of SR26 through Lafayette and West Lafayette, the result has been that the bike lanes on State, Sheetz, and Wood streets were not repainted. It is hard to say why. Was it a conscious decision by the state or city? Not likely. Instead, were lanes just not considered by the engineers? Probably.

No Bike Lane

Another option is that the folks that painted the lines just forgot them. That crew did a pretty poor job overall, with copious spray paint sloppily marking where things should go and what my son calls an ‘messy job’ of applying the paint. Take a look at the arrows on Wood St at Grant for an example.

Sloppy Paint Job

These guys also mispainted turn lane lines in both of the intersections where two lanes turn in the same direction. The errant lines at Wood and Chauncey were crudely covered over and corrected, and I hope the same is done at Northwestern and State.

But I digress … what will it take to return the lanes to these near campus streets? Perhaps when the city takes ownership next year, they will rethink bike traffic. I hope so.

Chances for me to ride have been hard to come by lately, so when I had time, weather, and mood all on my side, I jumped on the bike!

Well, actually I had to find my pump and inflate the tires first.  It has been a few weeks since I last rode.

I’ve been eyeing the fresh concrete of the new US 231 bypass for a while.  It is always fun to ride a new road without the bother of motorized traffic, and my route took me to the south end of the bypass near the Branigan bridge.

Only about half a mile is paved so far, so this trip was cut short.  I’ll try again in the few weeks, or maybe attack from the SR26 crossing and head south.

The plan for this highway includes a separate bike lane/trail, but there is no sign of it so far. We’ll see.

Both weather and schedule lined up to allow another three days of bike commuting last week.  Low winds, seasonable temps, and light traffic made these rides quite enjoyable.  However, by the ride home on Thursday, I was feeling it a little in my knee.  Think I need to take things a little easier.

On Friday, I tried for a 4th day in a row when I visited the car wash/oil change place across town.  The goal was to drop off the truck and ride the bike downtown to one of my favorite coffee shops in Lafayette, K.Dee’s Coffee.  However, the crew said the whole thing should only take half an hour, so my bike spent that time leaning against some bushes while my truck got the works.

Video of a ride around Lafayette, IN from GreatLafayette.com.  Shaky camera work not for the squeamish.

http://www.greatlafayette.com/2012/05/golly-did-i-tell-you-about-rain-barrels.html

I am very lucky that many of my rides pass through the campus of Purdue University. The grounds staff do a stellar job of keeping things ship shape.

Also, the students, staff, and visitors give great opportunities for people watching.

Today’s ride to Greyhouse Coffee was both scenic and relaxing, topping off a solid week of riding. I was able to fit in three consecutive days of commuting, plus this Sunday ride. My ailing left knee was a little stiff on Thursday, but feeling fine after this morning’s outing.

The US231 relocation effort moves forward, with the roadway beginning to take shape.  It is tough to see in the photo below, but the little green spec in the middle is a fellow rider checking out the progress. That may be me next weekend.

It has been almost a month since my knee injury. I got back on the bike Friday when my wife misplaced her car key and took my truck to work.  I rode in again today, and the knee pain seems to be gone.

Riding home along Harrison Street, I pondered the apparent bike lane being installed on the north side of the street. It parallels the roadway for three blocks, up to the roundabout at the intersection with Martin Jischke Street. Then, it just stops.

I can’t think of a good way for a bike lane to be integrated with a roundabout because of the fact that autos don’t normally stop. However, this plan seems to be especially awkward for cyclists. Basically, they are dumped at a crosswalk, where I guess they are expected to dismount and cross as a pedestrian.  Since riding on sidewalks is discouraged, there doesn’t seem to be another option.

I don’t like using separated lanes, because of the danger at street and driveway crossings, plus I’m not happy with the second class road user vibe that they impart.

You likely will not see me using this lane.

My wife and I were lucky enough to take a quick trip to New Orleans last week.  On our vacation blog I wrote about the bicycles I saw while there.

Remember last year, when I also posted about NOLA cycling?

Normal commute today, but three days in a row of riding to work has taken its toll on my knees.  In fact, I had a tough time walking down the stairs at lunch time.

After talking with my wife, I decided to take her up on the offer of a ride home.  Had to drive back later to pick up my bike (couldn’t leave it outside on the rack all night).

Got a better look of the new roundabout at the intersection of Harrison, Jischke, and Nimitz.  there is still much landscaping and sidewalk work to do, but the roadway is already in action.

On the north side of Harrison, I saw what may become about a block of mulit-use path between the roadway and the sidewalk.  If I am correct, I wonder what will happen where the path meets the roundabout.  It seems that local planners and engineers don’t really think about the places where paths and roads intersect – probably the most dangerous portion.  Although, every place where the path crosses a driveway or entrance is sketchy as well.  A couple of reasons why I usually prefer the vehicular cycling approach.

My left turn from SR26 to Newman Road is a difficult part of my commute home.  I usually ride on the shoulder of the highway (pictured right) until I get to the intersection if I can’t merge left earlier.  Then, I am likely to end up waiting on the side of the road for a chance to dart across.  However, lately I’ve been using the temporary bypass built for the construction zone (pictured left).  Since it isn’t in use by autos and trucks, it is fairly safe for me.  But with the same problem trying to turn left from the highway, I instead end up waiting in the church’s driveway.

Another problem with this approach is that on the other end I have to merge back onto Newman Rd.  Today, after checking the highway traffic for turn signals and seeing none, I rode onto the road, only to be honked at by a startled motorist who had neglected to use his signal.  Not sure who was at fault there, but I’m only going to accept part of the blame for this near-accident.  (I hate the term “near-miss”).

Since I had a building dedication to attend today, I dressed up a little more than usual – slacks, dress shirt, argyle sweater vest, shiny black shoes, and my brown plaid cap. I was the best dressed bike commuter this AM!

Coming home, I decided to use Harrison street to see how the construction was coming along. I had no idea that the roundabout at Harrison and Jischke was open for traffic. Roundabouts and bikes seem to work pretty well together, so I will use that route more often.

As I turned west onto the highway, the headwinds made themselves known, but I pedaled through. Once I started the hill on Newman Rd, a car a little ways back honked at me. As the car caught up, I heard a lady whooping and hollering out her window. Turns out it was just my wife saying hi.