Motorist-Hypocrites

The AAA is reporting that drivers text and yap on their phones, even though they know it's dangerous.

According to the AAA Traffic Safety Culture Index, 95% of drivers believe that clickey-clickin' on those tiny keyboards while driving is dangerous, but 35% of 'em do it anyway. 88% of drivers believe that talking on a cellphone while driving is dangerous, and 67% of 'em do it.

From the article: "Texting and cell phone use are not the only distractions in the car, but they are the major preventable ones that have drawn the attention of researchers, safety advocates, lawmakers and the general public. The threat is real, researchers say, because studies of cell phone records of crash-involved drivers suggest that using a cell phone while driving is associated with roughly a quadrupling of crash risk."

The NHTSA estimates that 16% of fatal crashes involve distracted driving. In Idaho, 60 people died in 2009 in distracted-driving accidents, yet Idaho is one of 16 states that don't have a texting- or phoning-while-driving law, despite public opinion favoring such laws. AAA-Idaho spokesman Dave Carlson: "When we reached out to Idahoans last February to hear about their experiences with drivers who text and use cell phones, we were overwhelmed by the responses supporting specific bans on cell phone use."

Frankly, I remain amazed that the auto insurance industry doesn't have graduated rates, or a discount for motorists who don't engage in such dangerous driving practices.

BikeSnobNYC on cyclists' supernatural powers

Awhile back, I commented on the book Bike Snob. I found the author to be very "well informed" as only practical experience can inform. I intend to share some favorite bits from time to time.

Here he describes how cycling transcends many of the annoyances suffered by other forms of commuting:

When you're stuck in your car on the highway because an accident or construction has suddenly transformed a twenty-five minute jaunt into a three-hour nightmare, or you've been sitting in a stopped subway train in a tunnel for half an hour after a particularly miserable day at work, you feel impotent - and nothing is more frustrating than impotence. These are the times when you attempt to bargain with the universe: "If you make this train move now, I swear I'll be a better person." Then you try to think of people worse off than you. "Well, at least I'm not in prison." But really you are in prison, and even worse, you don't deserve it. Eventually you might try the stuck-in-transit last resort: meditating until you attain enlightenment and transcend the material plane altogether. Unfortunately, it's the very rare traveler who can pull this one off.

But you'll almost never feel that maddening impotence on a bike (unless your saddle is adjusted improperly, causing crotchal numbness). Sure, you've got to travel by car, train, or bus sometimes, but the truth is that you can actually do it a lot less than you'd think. A bicycle can often make a trip that might take an hour take just a fraction of that hour. Or, even if the trip does take longer by bicycle, at least you've got almost total autonomy. You can pick your own route, you can make your own schedule, you can weave through traffic. And when you get to where you're going, you don't have to look for parking. On a bike, you're self-sufficient, and you're virtually immune to delays.

When it comes to commuting or running errands, your outlook changes considerably when you bookend your day with a little recreation. ... Being packed onto a subway or a bus or even stuck in your car in traffic makes you feel like cattle, and that's an awful way to feel. If you never want to feel like a cow again - physically or mentally - start riding your bike.

(Good stuff! Pages 51-52. The author can also be read on his blog. Oh - and I'm jealous! I want manufacturers and suppliers to send me stuff to use and review!)

Flat tire!

I finally got a flat tire! On September 26. Cause - undetermined. The hole was there, but no evidence as to what caused it.

My most recent flat was on June 6. 3 1/2 months and 2251 miles ago.

A testament to the tires I'm rolling on - Vittoria Randonneurs.

Last year, between June 6 and September 26 - 8 flats. 2009 - 6 flats. 2008 - 7 flats. Yep, the tires are the difference. (I know what you're thinkin'. This guy keeps track of his flat tires? What a freak! I'm just happy that they seem to be taking less of my attention lately! If I start only getting one flat every 3 or 4 months, I'll probably quit keeping track.)

Those tires are a little harder to mount than some others. And they may roll ever-so-slightly more harshly. But I've got a new undisputed-champion favorite tire.

Out-of-town ridin'

For several years I've dreamed of traveling to northern Idaho to ride the Coeur d'Alene Trail - 71 miles of paved rail-to-trail Nirvana. And early this year I penciled in the second week of September to finally make it happen. But alas - circumstances that have arisen have changed my plans. Next year we'll try again. (Early September is spoze to be the prime time, because the crowds have tapered off but perfect weather continues.)

So, to partially ease the pain, I instead took Thursday off, and rode a round-trip between Banks and Lowman. It's nothing spectacular, like the offering in northern Idaho, but it was pretty sweet. It, too, is another ride I've wanted to go on for years, and finally turned dream into reality.

It's 34 miles in each direction. Lowman is roughly 1000 feet higher than Banks. And there's a higher "summit" in between the two. But frankly, it's not a grueling ride by any stretch. The shoulders are generally adequate, and there are few places with really tight "blind" curves. I wouldn't recommend it on a busy weekend day, but it was pretty nice on a Thursday.

It's probably been 15 years since I last rode 68 miles in a day. The first half was cake. And the second half was tolerable... but by the time I was 20 miles or so from the finish, I was counting down the miles and looking forward to the finish line. It took a little over 5 hours of "saddle time" and about 6.5 hours on the clock.

The day was mercifully cool; in fact, precipitation sputtered a bit as I started the return leg... but just enough to be refreshing.

The thing I really noticed was how quiet it was. Sound always seems to carry in the forest, and in retrospect I believe it's an illusion... it just seems to carry because there's so much less background noise.

With friends like these...

I was riding up the street this afternoon when a gal in a white convertible pulled out from a stop sign, into my path. It happens frequently enough that I always try to anticipate, and as I slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting her, I also yelled out the customary "HEY!!!" - my horn substitute.

She slammed on her brakes - right in my path (as is frequently the case) - and I was able to change directions and pull around the front of her car.

Then she said something that kinda caught me off guard: "I didn't see you. I'm a bicyclist too!"

What? Am I somehow spoze to feel better about almost getting slammed into, if the person doing the slamming rides a bike from time to time?

Actually it distresses me if a fellow cyclist is so careless when driving. I was right where I should be on the roadway. I was wearing my hi-viz reflective vest. What else can I do?

Hopefully she rides more responsibly than she drives... or she wouldn't last long. (But on the other hand, if she bicycles irresponsibly, it's still highly unlikely she'll kill anybody. And careless motorists kill innocents all the time.)

(NOTE: When I post a comment like this, it's with mixed emotions. This is not in keeping with my mission of being an advocate for bicycling. But it is the reality of being a cyclist. Riding defensively and expecting the unexpected is a matter of survival. And every time I avoid an accident, I demonstrate that survival isn't so far-fetched.)

Optical illusion

The days are getting shorter; lately as I ride in to the office the sun is very low on the eastern horizon and a lot of headlights are in use.* (Sigh. I like when the days are getting longer...)

This morning as I rode in the bike lane toward downtown, I saw a cyclist up ahead, in the bike lane. He had a steady-glowing red light. I assumed it to be a taillight, but was baffled because it seemed to be closing distance on me. And sure enough, by the time we were a block or so apart, I figured out what I was looking at. It was an adult male cyclist, wearing a helmet, riding up the wrong side of the street... with a red light clipped to the visor on the front of his helmet. We crossed, me in the bike lane, he in the parking area between the bike lane and the curb. (Sigh again...)

* I haven't started using the lights again yet, under normal circumstances. (Bob T swears by using lights all the time, even in the daytime... and there's doubtlessly some wisdom in that. Motorcycles are mandated to have always-going headlights because it enhances visibility and thus safety. I really oughtta switch to rechargeable batteries and go that route. But that's a different topic.)

Car free? Not quite.

I've stated before that it would be difficult to function without at least occasional access to a motor vehicle. Most of us have the need to haul big stuff occasionally, and/or travel with passengers or as a passenger, and/or go on longer out-of-town trips.

When the Tour de Fat comes to town once a year, they challenge a participant to abandon the car and ride a bike exclusively (or at least mostly exclusively) for a year... and that participant gets the bike! This year there was a bit of a dust-up when Josh Gross of the Boise Weekly accused last year's cyclist convert - Lisa Brady - of breaking the rules. She defended herself quite well, and pointed out that car transportation isn't expressly prohibited. Hmmmm... various interpretations. The whole cantankerous debate can be seen HERE.

I decided to keep track of my own car-transportation ways for 12 months.

Over the course of a year - September 2010 thru August 2011 - I kept a journal of my car trips, both as a driver and as a passenger. And in that time I traveled by motor vehicle 50 times. (I may have omitted a trip or two from the journal, but that's my best effort to keep an accurate record.)
- Three of those were out-of-town family excursions - to the Oregon Coast, McCall, and Sumpter, Oregon.
- 20 were local trips, and I was a passenger.
- 23 were local trips when I drove and had passengers.
- One trip was to take the car for an emissions inspection. (Why me?!!?)
- Ten or so trips were to procure and transport large and/or heavy stuff. Three trips were to get Craigslist bicycles! One for the granddaughter, one for my son, and one for myself.
- I only went car-trippin' 2 times in April, and again in July.