Oddities in Ocean Shores

Dinosaurian Cyclist!

First off, I've adapted a hat I originally got for skiing for cycling. It works quite well. It may not be quite as stylish as a black balaclava, but it IS a higher visibility item for those dark mornings that have crept up upon us once again.

Secondly, not ALL of the oddities are due to yours truly. Seen in the local "wild" acreage was the "hut" shown below. I have no idea who put it up, or why, but it seemed pretty cool all the same...

Perhaps Indians Have Moved Back into Ocean Shores? Or Might the Yeti be Moving In?

 

Follow Up Report on Yetiness

Back here, in March, I made a report on the 20 minutes it really took to get across the basic points regarding safely operating in traffic in a vehicular manner. The cyclist, we'll call her "Linda A," has now been riding this way for better than a month. Following is her follow-up report, in her own words:

Okay, here is my report on a convert to vehicular bicycling. Is that what it is called? Anyway,

I notice that when I actually drive, er, I mean ride like a bonafide vehicle on my bike the cars actually move out of my way. I feel safer, kind of. I still have fears of getting rear-ended, but those are offset by no longer fearing getting broadsided by some car coming from my right out of a side street as I'm cycling in the glass and dirt-filled gutter, er, I mean bike lane.

I learned to ride my bike in the traditional ways, way back when Seattle was a sleepy town and traffic was reasonable. On the side of the road. What I've noticed since I've gone vehicular is that when I am actively doing it I am much more alert. When I slip into the other mode I kind of space out. In my younger days I actually rode into more than a few parked cars, and collided once with someone's car door as they opened it up on me while I was riding down University Way, along the side of course.

I have to relay one experience; the other day I was riding vehicular, fully occupying the lane and feeling much more on top of things when a truck passed me, and the passenger yelled something very nasty out the window at me. I didn't feel defensive or angry. I actually felt calm and in charge because I knew I was doing the right thing and following the rules. At the stop light I caught up with the truck, and then passed him later. The passenger never yelled anything more, and there was no incident. I think it was because they realized I was not a problem or threat -- simply trying to get somewhere just like them, and not taking that much longer either!

So, we will see as time progresses. But I love being able to make my left hand turns more easily, and I feel a lot less like I am in traffic limbo. I also have more control over avoiding potholes, and my tires will probably last longer not being in the bike lane where all the road grit and broken glass accumulates.

So that is it for now. I'll keep you posted. Thanks Steve, I think it really has helped.


Linda
 
SO, what's this about these collisions? HMM? I must say I admire the restraint "Linda A" showed in her experience with the truck. I'm working on dealing with rude drivers pleasantly (even THEY are my motorists), but the rare rude motorist still riles me up a bit, even though I KNOW the rude ones are outnumbered a thousand to one. Overall, I think this supports the hypothesis that cycling CAN be fun and safe! And yes, those tires WILL last longer. One of my Contis is now closing in on 5000miles.

BTW, Linda, I had a close call on Admiral Way in Seattle back in 1974. A car shot out of a driveway. Today, I'd have a lot more time to react and the motorist would be more likely to SEE me before darting out into the street.

Go Steady Yeti

I have done several posts in which I liken cyclists operating under vehicular principles to Yeti. Yeti are legendary creatures that nobody ever seems to get solid evidence on. The prints have cruddy casts, the movies are fuzzy. There have NEVER been Yeti bodies brought back for scientific examination. I, on the other hand, now have proof there is at least one wild Yeti in Tarrant County. What's more, I almost saw him get sideswiped by one of those white pickup trucks that some say cruise around, looking for cyclists to assault. Next time my wife wants to go shopping for granite, I will MOST CERTAINLY go along, because here is the Yeti's story.

We were coming back home, when my wife decided to take an alternate route due to some motorist crashes on Texas121. As a result, we were tootling along Northwest Highway through Grapevine when I saw a real, live Yeti. Below is my proof.

Fooled ya! Actually, my REAL proof is below. While he was not quite riding in "the line of sweetness," he was definitely riding fairly assertively. I think we made him a little nervous when my wife slowed down and shifted into his lane behind him so I could get proof that wild Yeti DO exist, but we tried not to alarm him unduly. He was an older guy, but not anyone I recognized. It definitely was NOT Chandra or Doohickie.

The photo is the only one I took. Had I known what would happen next, I would have switched the iPhone to video mode.

"That car is going to hit him" my wife screamed at me. Actually, it was a white pickup. And it really DID pass him in a manner that would have concerned me had I been the rider,  though it was not really quite such a close call as my wife imagined it would be at the time. You see, vehicular principles are somewhat akin to lion taming. You, as the operator of the bike, are directing your motorists, because they mostly don't know how to behave around cyclists any more than YOU would know how to properly behave around lions. However, if you do the wrong thing, they may very well bite something off you are fond of off. Then you'd become the subject of newspaper "accident" articles in which people will say it served you right. This cyclist made a BAD mistake, and almost paid a high price for it. He tried to be "nice." It is a mistake that many have criticized Reed Bates for NOT making. Sometime, not long after we passed him, the white pickup in the photo below came up behind him. Unlike MOST of the traffic, the pickup driver wasn't paying enough attention to what was going on, and he got boxed in behind the cyclist. The cyclist, in a misguided attempt to be courteous, moved right. The driver took that as a signal to pass without a lane change. Look at that lane and tell me a cyclist and a full size pickup can coexist peacefully in it. Well, even the pickup driver realized the folly of THAT notion before impact actually occurred, and he did a straddle pass that got him beyond the cyclist. He then got a little spooked by me taking pictures of his vehicle in all its glory, and slowed down a whole bunch after I got my shot of him; exiting the road shortly thereafter.

Lesson observed - if "taking the lane," go steady when someone comes up behind you. Hence this post's title. That pickup would have simply changed lanes and my post would have been much briefer. If you are going to ride off to the right all the time (near that fog line), at least you have not sent contradictory messages to following motorists, and they have more time to decide whether to risk sideswiping you or not. That added time adds to your safety compared to sending the WRONG message too late. I was lucky. My wife saw all this and she now knows better why I would NOT alter course in a similar situation. That pickup wound up partially changing lanes anyway, but with a lot of unnecessary drama. Everyone concerned would have been better off had the cyclist gone steady so that the pickup driver could decide early that a lane change was mandatory. Instead, the cyclist almost got bit. Sometimes, granite shopping is very educational, and it reconfirms THE LAND ROVER RULE...

Looks Like a Sideswipe Weekend - Sigh

Ed S requested references about sideswipes. Coincidentally I almost saw a cyclist, operating vehicularly, get sideswiped today. As my regular reader of this blog will probably know, I refer to vehicular cyclists as "Yeti" and Yeti sightings are rare around Tarrant County. For Rantwick's benefit, I'll note that I have photographic proof. What's more, for a few others' benefit, the motorist in question was driving a WHITE PICKUP and I got a photo of THAT as well. I'm not ready to post either of these, but it sure looks like a theme has been chosen FOR me. I was originally planning to relate some of the results of sharrow research I did while up in Seattle, but it'll have to wait. Besides, sharrows seem to be a tender topic at the moment anyway.

Regardless, here are a couple of links for Ed S to start digging into. I have NOT done the digging I'd need to do to make my own post on the subject, but be assured I WILL. PM Summer may or may not decide to make his own post on the subject. I, for one, would read it with great interest but that is entirely up to him.

http://www.tfhrc.gov/safety/pedbike/ctanbike/ctanbike.htm

This study looks very interesting REGARDLESS of what it really says about sideswipes. I recommend digging through it, even though I've only gotten a quick look myself.

A second source, without a specific link, from Keri Caffrey of CommuteOrlando:

Overtaking crash breakdown from Mighk's Orlando crash study:
Fault — Overtaking crash type — Number of crashes — % of all bike v car crashes in 2003-4
Motorist — Lost Control — 1 — 1.3%
Motorist — Misjudged Space (sideswipe) — 20 — 25.6% (1 was in a bike lane, rest were in narrow lanes)
Motorist — Unknown (not enough info) — 4 — 5.1%
 
My apologies to Ed S - there is enough smoke here that I'm pretty sure there's a fire, but I have not had the time to actually view the fire for myself yet. Speaking of which, I would GREATLY appreciate Ed S emailing me with details of what he finds. It will make my own investigation go quicker. It is difficult for me to predict how high quality the data will be and how well it will relate to rural cycling where the roads and intersections are few, as are the alternate routes.

Genuine Article?

Yesterday, we had an expedition zooming all over Ellis County in a hunt for Yeti. Nothing. There were not even any reports received by the Ennis PD.

Rantwick, on the other hand, despite having the capabilities to manufacture a Yeti video out of nothing more than electronic scraps, may have seen one - and even made a recording! Certainly, it's at least a "half breed." Had I not seen the last ten seconds, and also noticed some odd "haze" that occasionally appeared around Rantwick's quarry, even that skepticism might have vanished. On the other hand, I get somewhat paranoid myself when a motorist passes me for the fifth or sixth time.

More on Yeti, and this Drawing, Here

There's a little added twist to Rantwick's video. Frozen landscapes such as Canada are legendary for their reputed large populations of things like the Abominable Snowman. Rantwick is very clever, but is even he clever enough to add the twist of the cyclist pulling over with everyone else when an ambulance passes by? You can't make stuff like that up, can you?

Of course, this WAS Ontario, so it might have been just a badly disoriented Quebecois. Unfortuntately, there was no audio so we'll never know if he was babbling in French.

I imagine that, while he's momentarily consumed by his scientific researches, Rantwick will eventually succumb to adding soundtracks and cute artwork that will have all of us tremendously amused. Still, Banting and Best were from Canada, too. Dr Rantwick, I presume?

Yeti Are Like Chupacabras

The problem with Yeti is that they usually turn out similar to Chupacabra sightings. Chupacabras are another semi-mythical creature that are often sighted in Texas. Invariably, such sightings and occasional carcasses turn out to be mangy coyotes or hairless raccoons.

Just moments ago, I thought we might have seen a Yeti. Here's the exchange:

• Daughter Erin at 5:38PM (only 10 minutes ago): Just saw a yeti
• Me: Get video or pictures!
• Me: We need proof.
• Daughter Erin: Well unfortunately he was on the sidewalk
• Me: Yeti don't do sidewalks
• Daughter Erin: Well ones on foot do
• Me: Stop and get evidence. We'll be famous!
• Daughter Erin: I need one of those cop video cameras mounted on my dash.

POSTSCRIPT: Daughter Erin just came in. It's 5:55PM. She told me it was a REAL Yeti, as in the furry kind. It was on Cheek Sparger Road, a road I ride every day on my bike commute. No bike was involved. She elaborated, noting he (we can't be sure of the gender) had tennis shoes on, was waving at cars as they drove by, and was headed in the general direction of Wal Mart. In common with other Yeti, some cars were honking as they went by. This sighting has some real credibility, though this Yeti, as in other cases, vanished before the camera could be brought into play. After all, Yeti are seen MUCH more often than true cyclaris vehicularis most places.

MORE POSTSCRIPT: Daughter Erin DID get a photo, but because it was poor, she DELETED IT!!!!!!!! Photoshop can do wonders to bring these things back. Crimeny, we had evidence that got deleted. Oh well, it wasn't the kind of Yeti we're really looking for on this blog anyway...

Fort Worth Police

Westport Parkway, where the encounter occurred,
Near Fort Worth Alliance Airport

This week, the commute was seeming a little too ordinary. Other than a potential near-death experience yesterday, nothing much had happened. As I left work this afternoon, I was considering talking about the down side of sloppy turn signals (it's called setting a good example) or "the Motorcycle Meter," but instead something unprecedented happened. I encountered Fort Worth Police on Westport - again. I wrote about the first episode here. To put it briefly, back in May, I got pulled over, lectured, and told about imaginary laws by a Fort Worth Policeman. I'm still waiting to get my phone complaint returned. Well, today I had another encounter. Maybe. I'll come back to that.

After the encounter, I had another interesting encounter. Possibly with a Yeti (an affectionate nickname for another possibly imaginary species, the vehicular cyclist), though it was impossible to know for sure. However, the guy was stopped in a good lane position, at a stoplight, and ON AN XTRACYCLE. This was in Keller. I didn't know Xtracycles were even LEGAL in Keller. It was the first Xtracycle I've ever seen outside of photographs. THIS was such a big surprise that the rest of the ride home more or less passed as an anticlimax. Crimeny, an Xtracycle. Some days, the whole commute passes without seeing a single bike, much less an XTRACYCLE.

Oh, yes. It was a nice day, too. Sunny and warm, with nice tail winds on the way home. Since I didn't get any shots of the really interesting stuff, here's a shot of one of the roads I went down, since the obligatory sunset shot looked pretty dorky.

One of the quieter roads on the way home, at sunset

Oh, almost forgot about the Police encounter. Well, to get back to that story, I was innocently riding up Westport Parkway in the "line of sweetness," which on that road could just as well be called "the line of survival," when coming towards me, along with all the busses and trucks, was a cyclist. Actually, the first westbound cyclist I've ever seen on that road. I always get a little nervous whenever I see a cyclist coming towards me on a two-lane road, and even more so if that cyclist is riding close to the edge of the road (a straddle pass of him could easily hit me head-on). However, none of the cars behind him seemed inclined to pass. When I got up close, I saw why. It appeared that the cyclist was a Bike Policeman, complete with full uniform. Look at the picture on top and it's representative of the population density where I saw him and he was just about where the "X" is placed. There's a buffalo pasture off to the right of the picture. Anyway, he didn't seem perturbed at seeing me control my lane and we both waved as we passed. It seemed a bizarre place for Bike Police, out in the fields. I suppose he might have been a security guard going to work or back home, but it sure LOOKED like a FW Police Uniform. Traffic was heavy enough that I wasn't going to chase him down and demand his credentials. Anyway, he rode nothing like the policeman in the CommuteOrlando video. If someone had honked at him, I would have pulled off the road just to see what happened. Maybe I could have gotten a video of my very own!

Bobby Waits for the Yeti Now

Statue of Grefriars Bobby, Facing
George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, Scotland
Praktica Film Camera, May 1986

Once, in Edinburgh, Scotland, there was a little Skye Terrier that went by the name of "Bobby." For the TRUE story of Bobby, click here, here, and many other places, including at least two movies. This is the story of Bobby's statue after it was erected.

You see, Bobby, to all appearances a statue, was fond of watching Yeti (cyclaris vehicularis) cyclists ride by. He longed to be alive again and run after them, nipping at their heels and trying not to get caught in their spokes.

Over the years, he became devoted to the Yeti that passed by, guarding them against harm. It seemed much more sensible to watch over them, than to face towards Greyfriars Kirk, where the master of his true life predecessor was buried.

Alas, in his new role, the people of the city did not fully respect him. They turned off his fountain in 1957, and threw empty beer cans at him as may be seen in the photo. Still, he kept at it, protecting a passing Yeti seen in the photo (remember, traffic in Scotland drives on the wrong side of the road, perhaps explaining why Scottish Salmon are famous around the world, but that would be another story)

As the years passed, the city grew more respectful towards the Bobby statue, naming pubs after him and cleaning him up. They added plaques and the usual historical stuff. They also decided to make Edinburgh "Bicycle Friendly" by adding infrastructure such as bike lanes. Unfortunately, as sometimes happens, the infrastructure was decided on by people that didn't ride bikes, and that didn't know about the Warrington Cycle Campaign. In Britain, as in the US, the city fathers tried to keep cars from crashing into each other, which made things even worse for all but the motorists, and even made them more irritable. Nowadays, Bobby's road looks like the photo below. The Yeti have all left, but Bobby still loyally waits, hoping they'll return some day. Some say that when the Yeti return, Bobby will come to life. But of course that'd be bad for tourism, though it might make for a good reality show...

Click on picture for larger version from Google Street

PS: Yes, I THOUGHT of calling this post "Return of the Yeti." That title, however, seemed a little too much for even such as Rantwick, eh?

Where I Ride and Why

A long time ago, in a blog far away, in a post about riding in a Texas traffic lane less than 14 feet wide, I noted that as long as I rode AT LEAST as far left as the right-hand tire track, motorists ALWAYS altered course and gave me good clearance. ChipSeal, in his blog, suggests the superior place to ride is in the LEFT tire track, though he never actually addresses my own favored lane position. He noted it was a bit rougher in many places in the exact center of the lane.

Absent particular situations such as Boulevards, covered here, I rarely ride in the above lane positions. Instead, I ride in "the line of sweetness." In the "honk project," I refer to it as the "LC" position. Specifically, it's at the far right side of the Left-hand tire track. More or less. This is not rocket science.

Why do I prefer riding LC? Besides smooth pavement, it's very simple. It derives from "The Land Rover Rule." When I drive the Land Rover, my eyes align directly with the LC position. Seeing and reacting to a cyclist IN that position requires me to have no peripheral vision whatsoever. Should I (IN the Land Rover, of course), be texting, or putting on makeup, or simply daydreaming, LC is the position I am MOST likely to notice. At night, I'd see the annoying cyclist a full mile back. By the time I'm a half mile back, there will be no doubt I need to make a full lane change to pass the guy. UNLIKE the full left tire track, there will be no temptation to pass on the right, and it'll be easy to give him lots of clearance without running off the road on the LH side. I don't know about YOU, but I see a LOT of motorists chatting on their cell phones. I don't know about YOU, but I think the safe place to ride is where such people are likely to see and react to me early, not where the guy in the video below rides. It calls into question my previous assertion about the safety of that RH tire track. While all motorists may alter course, some alter course less that they should.

540hvs from Bikesafer on Vimeo.

LC also accrues benefits when it comes to the more serious hazard of crossing traffic. In a more visibile position, a motorist crossing my path is much more likely to notice me when I'm where I'd be if I were driving the Land Rover. This pays dividends repeatedly, most recently on one of my last commutes of 2009, when a motorist, ahead and to my right, began to pull from a side street to make a left turn. Had I been further right, it could have turned into a close call - or worse. As it was, a simple yell from me alerted the motorist and, with extra space and time, we all avoided any unpleasantness or need for evasive maneuvers. I don't want close calls on my bike. Not ever. An occasional fall due to loss of traction might be tolerable, but nothing more serious than that.

There is also advantage with oncoming traffic. When I ride down the narrow two-lane roads around here, I occasionally encounter spandex mafia types riding the other way down the fog line. Often, they're trailed by a line of cars. I find these encounters stressful. The first thing in my mind is that if a motorist decides to pass that spandex guy, I'm at risk of death via a head-on because of the durn gutter bunny. In this situation, the advantage of LC is subtle, but very real. If I were riding at the right fog line, or even in the RH tire track, the oncoming motorists are MUCH more likely to pass, despite my oncoming presence. If I ride FURTHER LEFT, the motorists would not see me as easily as in the LC position, and I'd still be in trouble if they tried a straddle pass around the gutter bunny. Uncertainty is not something you should inflict upon the motorists YOU share the road with.

Anyway, that's where I ride, and why. So there. It seems to work, so I wonder why I have never seen anyone else (as in NEVER) along my commute route riding the same way. Mostly, I see people riding in the "cyclist pit of doom" position. My kids, here, claim I'm not completely alone, but there are a lot of people that believe in the Yeti. Few have seen one. Really, however, mostly this is a finer point (it really ISN'T rocket science!), because, unless you fall into the "Cyclist Pit of Doom," cycling really IS pretty fun and safe, despite what some might try to make us believe.