Don't Start Something You Can't Finish

Finally, a cycling-related post. It was a beautiful, sunny, near-windless, upper 60's day, so after raking leaves I hit the road. This is where I expect to get most of the fodder for this blog.

It seems that, at least once on every ride, I see something that makes me frown and shake my head. Maybe it's someone driving in the bike lane or doing a "third-gear stop" (Did you willfully disobey the big red octagonal sign, or are you merely not paying attention? Okay, maybe I rolled through it too, but I have to do more than point my right toe to get going again).

Sometimes, if that "something" happens quite close to me, that frown is followed by a shout and an exaggerated "WTF?" shrug.

If it's a motorist who ticks me off, I'm gonna let him have it. Of course, said motorist typically motors off without any meaningful exchange having taken place. On occasion, an inconvenience like traffic or a red traffic signal causes that motorist to sit still for long enough that I can have a chance to express myself. Today was one of those times.

I was going past Cherry Creek State Park on Dayton. To my left was Cherry Creek High School. In this area, Dayton is one lane plus a bike lane in each direction, with the two directions of traffic separated by a raised median. Approaching a gentle left curve, I can see a pickup pulling out of the school parking lot. Rather, he creeps out of the lot and sits blocking the opposite lane waiting for me to pass. It's the classic "politeness trap" in which a motorist thinks he's being courteous, but in reality he's putting himself in danger, and ultimately me too if a vehicle rounds the corner from the other direction and finds this F-150 stopped across his lane. I don't want to be anywhere in the vicinity while those two drivers sort out what to do. A cyclist is a much softer option for a driver to hit rather than T-boning (or being T-boned by) another vehicle.

In the end, no other vehicle comes along, but as I ride in front of the Ford, I give him The Shrug and ask him if he WANTS to be T-boned (with the hands making the "Time Out" signal). So, then the Ford pulls in behind me, and we come to a stop at the next traffic signal. He rolls down his passenger window and the exchange goes something like:

Me: "Come on! Why'd you stop in the intersection like that? You wanna get T-boned?"
Him: "Okay, next time I'll hit you."
Me: "No, I was way over in the bike lane; there was plenty of room! Either go or don't!"
Him: "I'm a cyclist too! I was giving you room."
Yes, the driver is wearing Lycra. He must've driven to the parking lot to start his ride.
Me, as the light turns green and he drives off: "Okay, thanks, I appreciate it."

At this point, I realize my point has been completely missed. What I'm trying to tell the guy is, if you can't complete your motion through an intersection right away, don't enter it in the first place! If you do, you're liable to get stuck in the middle of it and cause gridlock (at best) or get nailed (at worst). The one exception to this I can think of is waiting to make a left turn at a permissive signal ("left turn yield on green ball") while oncoming traffic is passing through the intersection. This puts you in a position to clear the intersection quicker at the end of the cycle or when there's a suitable gap in traffic.

Another good example of the politeness trap: Multi-lane road, say 2 lanes in each direction, traffic is backed up at a signal such that it almost blocks a driveway. Driver in the right lane stops short and waves out the driver waiting in the driveway. The idiot who accepts this invitation then pulls out and gets vaporized by the guy whizzing through in the left lane. D'oh.

Today's song: "Purgatory" by Assemblage 23

To Live and Drive in L.A.

I was in Los Angeles earlier this week to provide technical training to a large insurance company. I flew into Orange County so I could swing by our office in Santa Ana, but then had to drive way, way up north past Malibu.

Call me crazy, but I actually enjoy driving on the freeways in LA... At least, when the traffic is moving. I'm not there enough to know what the "normal" spots are for bad traffic, but when things are flowing, people seem to keep with the program. Yeah, there's the usual stupid maneuvering between lanes on the freeway, but in general people seem to pay at least some attention when you're shoulder-to-shoulder at high speed. I suppose it's because you never know when the next high-speed chase is going to zoom by.

Today's song: "1023 Intro" by Rotersand

Let it Snow!

I love Colorado weather... No, I'm not being sarcastic. Yesterday was a beautiful, sunny day with temperatures in the mid/upper 70's, and at the moment it's snowing and not expected to get above 35°.

What's to love about that? Well, first off it beats having the same damned thing day after day... I used to live in a place with one long, hot, humid season and one short, slightly-less-hot-and-humid season. Denver has four honest-to-God seasons, and sometimes they don't quite arrive in order. Secondly, we got a pretty good forecast of this change in the weather, so I got my butt outside yesterday and crammed as much as I could into the day. I went for a decent ride in the morning, went out with the family, then took the kart out to The Track at Centennial.



Wow, what a great session at the track. I didn't get out there until mid-afternoon, as is typical for me because I go when the kids are napping. It took a little while for me to get onto the track, as there were multiple groups of renters followed by a group of Kid Karts. While I was waiting, I drove a short distance in the pits and confirmed an engine repair I had just made was working... The previous session, my balance-shaft drive came out of sync, which made the engine vibrate horrifically. Now? Like buttah!

Once I finally got out on the track, I settled in nicely, but for a few laps was having carburetor flooding issues. I started driving with the throttle partly open in the corners, and it cleared itself up... Must've had some debris in the carb float valve. After that, my last few laps were reasonably consistent, and on the very last hot lap I finally broke a minute... 0:59.93! That was close. I've done a 58.7 before, and if anything I'm driving many corners much better now than I was back then, but my tires are just about worn out. Time to learn to change them.

This will be the first of many, many plugs for karting... If you have a track in your area that offers rentals, go try it out! It's an awesome way to experience handling a vehicle at the limit. We just don't get many (or any) chances to do that in everyday driving, at least not legally. I can actually feel my eyes opening wider as I barrel towards some of the higher-speed corners, where missing your turn-in point by a foot or two can have dire consequences, or at least ruin your time for that lap. It's truly an immersive experience.

Karting also teaches smoothness that translates well into everyday driving. For example, your braking will improve once you learn how to find the limit of adhesion with only rear-axle braking. Lock it up, and you're spinning quickly. People seem to think they don't need to worry about braking technique with ABS. Those are the same people who will one day embrace a car that drives itself, thereby freeing them to read the paper while commuting. The thought throws me into despair.

I'll have much, much more to say about karting. For now, enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Today's song: "Universal Mind" by Liquid Tension Experiment

TGIF

Yesterday's post was lame. Lame, lame, lame. Did I mention I was learning this on the fly? I'd best get my house in order before I start publicizing this site. My hope is to talk avout vehicle encounters, maybe discuss some situations people haven't seen or thought much about, and NOT to impugn the other party (hopefully, the Reader can draw similar conclusions), but indicate what I did (or should've done) to increase my odds of survival.

So, with that out of the way, it's time for the weekend. I hope to take the kart (see photo) out to The Track At Centennial, but that would have to be on Saturday before the forecast snow arrives Sunday. Saturday will be busy, Sunday will be lazy at best.

Adventure in Salt Lake City

I took a day trip to SLC on business today. 90-minute delay on the outbound flight, 30-minute delay on the return. Still, quicker than driving from Denver, and you can sleep or read en route.

What I've noticed in SLC and Las Vegas are the ubiquitous jacked-up pickup trucks. When I tell people in those cities that these aren't nearly as common in Colorado, they're amazed. Sure, ground clearance is desirable in the snow and way off the beaten path, but taking an already-tall, full-sized 4x4 and lifting it another 6+ inches is waaay over the top. Put dubs on, and that truck will never hit the really rough stuff. Look, it's a free country, and we can all drive what we want, but I wouldn't want to lug around that extra height all the freaking time. (Photo from extremeconversions.com)

What brings this up is that I watched a mildly-lifted pickup with cargo dangling out of the bed slowly, but deliberately, drift across 3 traffic lanes in the classic "I'm in the far left lane but need to turn right NOW" maneuver. I saw it coming, and I lifted just enough to let him in. We got on the freeway, and at that point I saw he maybe had 5 psi in his left-rear tire. So, here we have a guy who (1) couldn't care less about being in the proper lane, (2) doesn't care whether his load makes it to his destination with him, and (3) either doesn't see or chooses to ignore a basically flat tire ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE. This, folks, is a driver who just doesn't care.

I've wasted precious moments pondering whether such people are aware of their lack of awareness. Regardless, the more distance between me and a driver like that, the better. The trick is, you can't always see them coming.

Tonight's song: "View From a Stairway" by Deepsky

Maiden post; regarding the inspiration for starting a blog.

I am a cyclist. I am other things as well, but for now, for the purposes of this blog, I am one of the Lycra-clad, shaved-legged, uber-snob community of road racers (see photo). Really, that's not a fair characterization of the community, but it's certainly a common perception for reasons I will discuss another time.

I entered my first race in the Fall of 1988 as a high-school senior, and won through sheer dumb luck. It's a good thing, too, because crossing the line with arms raised really lit my fire. Victories have been few and far between since then, but it's been an interesting ride... Some years, I've logged more miles on the saddle than behind the wheel. I reached Category 2 in 1997, then quickly returned to my rightful place as a Cat 3. I've seen the agony and the ecstasy of bike racing, and I have the trophies and scars to prove it.

In all my years of riding, which I reckon amounts to 90,000 miles or so, I've seen some interesting things. By "interesting," of course, I mean "astounding in audacity or stupidity," and nowhere can one be more audacious or stupid, with more immediate and devastating effect, than while operating a motor vehicle. The cyclist's best defense against loss of life or limb, as the blog's title suggests, is Situational Awareness, which is something else I'll discuss another time, but for now suffice it to say I cleverly worked it into the blog title.

The premeditated purpose of this blog is to share my Stories of the Road and Observations of Life In General, and How Nice It Would Be If Everyone Just Woke The Heck Up. I'm sure to diverge from that because, hey, it's my blog. Leave comments if you want; I'm not moderating them (yet). I'm learning this whole blog business as I go along.

Today's Song: "Quicksand Effect" by Lost Signal.