Month: June 2011

Look That Up In Your Funk & Wagnall’s

Biking VikingJune 22, 2011Leave a Comment
trike
Veery eenteresting...

One of the earliest memories I have of my first bike was when we moved from Chicago to Santa Cruz in 1972. It was a Kermit The Frog green Stingray with jungle bars, a banana seat and a sissy bar jacked up to the max. Depending on the day, you might find Amos Otis, Gates Brown or Mickey Lolich  in the spokes, clipped on to the fender with clothespins.

The big Mayflower truck was parked in the front yard, and instructions were to pack everything in and allow me to ride my bike up the ramp to seal the deal. This would be the second biggest bike fail of my young life, the first being the clipping of Bob Gibson and Al Kaline to my fender for motorcycle sound effects.

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Posted In colorado | commuting | illinois | santa cruz

Here’s Your Sign

Biking VikingJune 21, 201114 Comments on Here’s Your Sign

There are several routes available to and from work on my daily ride, and it has come to my attention that more and more (not like dandelions in Spring) Share The Road signs are going up, appropriately in areas where there is a wider lane, but no designated bike lane.

I do not believe this changes the behavior of most motorists, it merely gives us something to point to in case we are involved in a collision with a car. Ride like you belong on the road, and use care when taking more of the lane than you should (potholes, roadkill, hazards of any sort). Blinkies on your backpack or messenger bag also help.

Does anyone anywhere else see positive improvements to their commuting/riding experience?

Posted In colorado | commuting | safety | traffic

Non Sequitur

Biking VikingJune 20, 201114 Comments on Non Sequitur

Maybe it’s just me, but the following story just does not compute. This incident occurred last June on one of my more oft-used commuting routes. A cyclist would either need to be asleep or drunk for this to happen. Where else besides Jackass or Wipeout can someone plow full speed into a stationary object and get paid for it? The bike lane is about eight feet wide and traffic is really light.

I feel it is okay for me to question every aspect of this decision as I have experience on the route. Bike lanes are for bikes, sure, but every so often there are exceptions. This is one of those exceptions. I just don’t understand.

I want to make it clear that as a cyclist, I look out for my own, but there needs to be a level of honesty here.

Here is a picture of Centennial for some context.

Posted In accident | colorado | commuting