Dan on Bike

… the old biking lady.

I saw her today on the sidewalk, waiting for a bus to turn left. The driver was stopped, and had beeped the horn to indicate that she should cross the street, but she decided to wait and waved him on.

Her bike looked to be about 40 years old – an old Schwinn with a basket and huge fenders. She looked to be almost twice as old – late 60s or early 70s.

She was on the sidewalk and on the wrong side of the road, but I still give her kudos for riding at her age.

After the bus turned left, she crossed in the crosswalk and continued down the sidewalk.

… the West Lafayette wheelchair guy.

I’ve seen him around every summer for the past five years I’ve lived and worked here. He looks to be in his late 50’s – barrel chested with a bit of a gut – gray hair in a buzz cut – missing a leg.

He seems to be piloting his wheelchair around town and campus for exercise. I’ve seen him going up hill, down hill, around the Union, across the Parkway, all over.

He must do 20-30 miles a week. I wonder what he could do with one of those racing wheelchairs one sees at marathons.

I was feeling pretty calm this morning, until I read an article linked to by Cycle Dog. In this Opinion column in the DCist, the author discusses his right to all of the privileges of an automobile on the roads, and his right to ignore all of the laws governing the operation of automobiles when his mood dictates. This is followed by many, mostly angry comments.

I’ll say up front that I have run a few stop signs and red lights in my day. However, I don’t feel that I was right to do so, and I do it much less now than I used to. (I still have trouble at intersections where the lights are controlled by sensors. It seems that I don’t trigger them, so after a while, I just go.)

If we want bicycles to be accepted as rightful users of the road, we have to follow all of the rules AND be cautious and courteous at all times. It only takes one self-absorbed rider to give the wrong impression that the rest of us have to live with. (And the bike delivery boys from Jimmy John’s are pissing off enough drivers for all of us!)

My favorite quote from the comments is:

My question is, how should drivers react to someone on a bike who wants to take up a whole lane, but is going 10mph down say Key Bridge or Wisconsin Ave during rush hour?

I’d like to direct the commenter to this post.

I took a ride up to the Evil Empire to get trash bags and food for supper. As usual, I took the long way. The weather was perfect.

So, I’m sitting at a red light, and there is no traffic coming in any direction for quite a while (close to 45 seconds!), and there’s no way my bike is going to trigger the light change sensor, so I decide to make a left on red. Why is it that just then an SUV comes barreling around the curve?

Miles Ridden: 13.8

Surfing around today, I came upon the BikingToronto site and his 8 Secrets to Cycling in Traffic. The first 5 are published so far, and they are rules that every cyclist should follow.

BONUS: As I wandered through the site, I found that BT had linked to me earlier. Thanks, Joe!

The weather man was reporting much rain today, so I didn’t think much about riding. As the morning went on, the sun came out and the menacing blob of green and yellow on the radar had dissipated. I went to the hardware store and bought some cleaning supplies: brush, sponges, and bucket.

You all remember my dirty bike from January. Well, I finally cleaned it today. Under all of that mud and grime is a pretty nice bike. Although, it is starting to show its age with a fair number of scratches and paint marks (from the pole in the garage where it leans).

Anyway, as the weather still looked good at 3:00, I stopped at the bike shop for some new pedals. I broke the right pedal about 2 years ago, and I’m just now fixing it. Regular maintenance just isn’t my thing! The new ones are normal sized BMX, not the big platforms I had before.

Still no rain at 3:45, so I decided to hit the road.

I started out on the Wabash Avenue Route with a quick detour up and down the Tippecanoe County Parking Garage. The view was pretty nice.

View from the Garage
After crossing the river, I abandoned the route and instead wheeled over to the Wabash 9 Theatre where my wife was about to pick up my son after a movie. While I was inside fetching him, a couple of skateboard boys purposefully knocked over my bike. My wife jumped out and yelled at them. When she told me about it, I pointed at them saying “Those guys?” They must have seen me, because they were long gone or hiding when I rounded the corner looking for them.

Upside Down Cake on the Avenue
I took State Street up the hill and through campus, and on home on Newman Road.

Miles Ridden: 13.6

I’ve seen several blog posts lately spouting the benefits of commuting by bike, including one using reverse psychology, but it’s tough to get too fired up about it when the weather is so crappy.

Those in the warmer climates are already getting back into the season, while those of us in Indiana wait for the cold, wind, and rain to stop. Just the rain is enough to stop me, but any two out of that list is killer.

Today, I had to walk to and from the parking garage several times, and I got wet despite the umbrella. There’s no way I could use the bike during or after a rain storm and still pull off my middle manager look at work. If I dressed down or was able to pack my work clothes in a pannier I’d be fine. I’m thinking of converting a cabinet in my office to a small clothes closet. All of the office furniture is new in my building, so the powers may get a little upset.

Anyway, I hope conditions improve soon.

It’s pretty quiet here at the DanOnBike blog, since the weather seems to be keeping me indoors. However, I’m not totally away from biking since I’m planning for the upcoming season.

I’m going to take the bike in this week for a spring tune-up to take care of some ongoing problems. This may be the year where I get a new cassette. Also, the back wheel has a wobble in it.

Since Indiana will be observing Daylight Saving Time for the first time in over 30 years, and my morning rides will be darker than years past, I’m looking at some new equipment. Today I ordered a set of Electrodynamic Bikelights from Reelight in Denmark. The cost was 43,95€€ (I have no idea what that is in US dollars.) I’ll give a review once they are installed.

Next on the list is a reflective vest.

Checkout Stormcrowe’s Article. I’m feeling very smug about my commuting, and I probably won’t ride to work for another two weeks!

Miles Ridden: 18.3
Total this Year: 114.0

It may sound lame, but it’s 18.3 more miles than I did last Feb.

Plus, it’s March now, so the season is about to start. I’m more than ready! (Mentally, anyway. I need to get the bike to the shop for a Spring tune-up.)