Sunday, September 17, 2006

Redlight - Greenlight

It is an easy concept. Nothing too hard to grasp, no higher math or deep moral dilemmas. One light is red, the other is green and in-between is a tricky yellow one. We are talking about a traffic light if you haven’t caught on yet. If you really are clueless at this point please lock yourself inside your house and never come out again.

Lets talk physics. I have no college degree and am mostly clueless but if a 7000 pound Suburban, going 20 MPH, hits a cyclist going any speed what so ever, the cyclist is jello. So, stick with me here this is tough to grasp, If a cyclist runs a red light and a vehicle hits him, it's bummer Batman.

Bummer Batman? how retro flippant. Dead is dead, there really is no cure. One rider today said there was a cure, eternal life. Wonderful, who’s going to explain that to his kids? Not even God suffers fools.

Let’s readdress the redlight greenlight issue. Red means stop and Green means go. Did I actually have to say that? Apparently yes. Some people are still unclear on the concept. Yellow we will save for a different discourse but the red and green are fundamentally very clear. Green means look both ways to make sure some yahoo is not running the red light and go man go. Red means stop, cars are allowed to whack your ass, open season, drivers get out of jail free.

There are times when you can run a redlight. Whoa! What’s this? A paradox? Sometimes a light will not be tripped by a bike. Buying a steel frame will usually cure this but otherwise coming to a full stop, waiting to see if the light changes, checking for a total absence of traffic, and then rolling through cautiously will work. If there is a group everyone should come to a stop and proceed through the light as a group, or even better just grab a gel pack, have a sip and consider it a feed zone. Someone could be a good chap and go over and push the pedestrian crossing button.

Now for the crux of the issue. There is a fundamental difference between a training ride and a race. A race is held on a full to semi-closed course with a relaxation of traffic laws and the presence of Traffic Officers. A training ride is on open roads, subject to the full spectrum of traffic laws and more importantly, just a scrimmage, a game with the prize going not to the first finisher, but to the best rider. So you are the first one to the light, itÂ’s red, and everyone catches up. Big deal, rest up in the back and attack again later. In fact form a group and practice team skills. You win by showing an ability to benefit the team, or from consistency week after week.

The bottom line? Car impacts cyclist, bad. Cyclist goes through green light car not there. Cyclist goes through redlight ouch! Dead is dead, only those you leave behind suffer. Cyclists are killed everyday while riding smart. Why be stupid?

Ride safe people, it’s better to be dropped than dead.

Saturday, September 16, 2006

Road Trip Part 1

I just got back from a trip to one of my favorite places, Oregon. It is one of the most wonderful places on the planet, in summer. Winters in Oregon are a little hard to take since it rains and/or is grey from October to May. I have been told that our current climate change has dried up the winters somewhat but they still sell T-shirts that say “I fell off my bike and drowned” I had a great time visiting old friends and meeting new ones. This trip should give me topics to write about for a while. Some wags would question what a trip to Oregon has to do with cycling in South Texas but if you can’t see the connection you need to push your helmet back a little to ease up on the blindness.

I did not take a bike with me on this trip. I borrowed a couple when I was in Eugene. The first was a town bike that was way too big for me. I did provide me with a much appreciated source of transportation. Eugene has a network of bike paths and bike only trails that make riding across town a snap even if you are an out of towner. I went for a ride with the friend who built my racing bike, Dwan Shepard. The CoMotion factory is out of town a little ways, about nine miles or so from where I was staying. I had a nice little ride over in the morning and most of it was along a little creek. (It was a fetid little swampy thing but it was summer.) Dwan let me ride a bike from out of the showroom and we had a pleasant ride out through rolling hills. The hills alone would have made the ride a treat but the tall trees and greenery were like candy. Dwan and the crew at CoMotion make bikes that are a delight to ride but I will discuss bikes later.

Portland was our next stop. I did no riding there but feasted on the fixed gear scene, Sacha White’s Vanilla bikes and funky little bike shops. Nancy (my wife) and I climbed the stairs in SW Portland. Imagine 200 or more stairs, they are hard to count due to the echoing thump from inside your chest after the first 100 or so, zig zagging up a hill so steep the houses are supported by telephone poles on the “air” side and only the doorstep touches the hill. Bicycles are not the only thing to incinerate your quads. The most amazing statistic in Portland is the 12,000 daily trips over the four bridges open to cyclists. Do not attempt to adjust your set, that was 12,000 daily trips.
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