Monday traffic report

Brrr, but it was chilly this morning.

My employer doesn’t give me Presidents Day off, but the Federal holiday means light traffic and (unusually these days) a seat on the bus.

Unusually light traffic apparently gave the driver of a blue PG&E truck permission to drive like a maniac down my street this morning. He easily roared passed me at highway speed (55+ MPH) on a 35 MPH arterial, and he was looong gone before I could get a glimpse of his truck number. Ah well.

Dramatically higher gas prices means significantly more bus and train riders on mass transit, resulting in standing room only for the Santa Cruz to San Jose bus ride. I managed to find a seat today because of the light traffic, but I was still surprised to see a nearly full bus.

After Diridon station, Mitch and I biked through the HP Pavilion where we saw several large red trucks unloading equipment for P!NK’s show tonight in San Jose. She and her husband Carey Hart are known to be avid cyclists. Maybe I saw them riding this morning.

After we hopped on the Guadalupe River Trail, Mitch and I took the back way along the east bank of the river, aka the Hobo Highway. The city or the Water District had repaired the fences a couple of weeks ago, but somebody has cut the fences again to give access. Mitch was disappointed to find much of the graffiti painted on the Guadalupe Expressway retaining walls has been removed. The homeless camps have also been obliterated, and additional fencing has been installed on the riverbank to hinder future access.

At the office, I discovered some confusion among a few colleages who take Caltrain and connect to the office using a corporate shuttle bus. Caltrain is operating on a modified President’s Day schedule, but the shuttle bus operator didn’t bother to check for a holiday schedule. Oops.


Around the bike web

Byron of Bike Hugger writes about fat bikes for WIRED Magazine. See here for behind the scenes and more photos.

We’re not really sure what happened, but piecing together the bits and pieces from police dispatches, Ted and I believe a bike patrol officer who was directing traffic on Zoo Drive, Los Angeles was hit by a gray, tan or brown van and dragged onto the Ventura Freeway as the driver fled the scene.

South Australia police remind Robert Pattinson of the state’s helmet law.

A bike air purifier for Beijing Bikers.


Sarah Goodyear for Atlantic Cities: Experienced Based Bike Maps.

New York cyclists bracing for the worst after the end of Bloomberg’s term as Mayor.

US DOT Request for Comments on redesigning the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices.

Bikes for the Rest of Us: Viva Strada

Ride Boldly: Biking or walking to school makes you smarter.

Human Transit shares a video from Pinellas County, Florida on the empty bus myth.


Weather!

Bay Area bike commuters: You can expect rain on Tuesday, but the rest of the week should be clear.

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