Lightning Strike

Yesterday I got to test out Boltmeter - the iPad app I wrote about last week. For a situation such as that above, I counsel caution. Golf ball sized hail was coming down and most DFW flights were cancelled until hail inspections could be conducted. Unfortunately, Boltmeter doesn't track tornadoes. We were all told to move deeper into the terminal.

Beyond Fair Weather Cycling

I'm not entirely sure why, but over the last year, a resolve has taken hold to "expand the envelope" and ride safely and more or less comfortably in all weather. In other words, to move well beyond fair weather cycling and to be confident and safe in all conditions. In my v3 commute, I have even been able to develop workable and safe routes that work when it gets very foggy.

One condition has never been comfortable, that being thunderstorms; and lightning in particular. That would not be a problem if I were home in Western Washington. Lightning is rare there. It would not be a problem if I were mainly riding recreationally as I could always wait for the storm to blow over. But commuting is unique in that most people are expected to be at work by a specified time. Me included.

I realize that a cyclist is not usually the most convenient current path compared to nearby trees, houses, phone poles and such, but "usually" is kind of like "usually, you won't get bit by a rattlesnake" or "usually that gun is unloaded."

Perhaps, however, prompted by a tip, I may have "gotten an app for that." It is called "Boltmeter." As you can see in the photo, there is no lightning within 30 miles of me here in Quebec (I'm on a visit).

I'm hoping that, combined with good weather apps such as "Weatherbug," tha added information will make the morning trip to work less hit or miss (both literally and figuratively). Afternoon lightning is less chancy. My dear wife is very understanding if I call to let her know I'm going to wait things out. She probably will offer to give me a ride, but to accept would not be consistent with moving beyond fair weather cycling. It never really occurred to me before, but I find the notion of a cell phone as a useful cycling safety aid to be both tantalizing and somewhat ironic.

Free Right Turn FAIL and an Observation

My Course in Red, The Motorist in Green. The Motorist Had the Green Light

Today, I startled a motorist. I didn't mean to, and I'd HATE to think that I might be the subject of a post such as "Fear" like Andy Cline wrote at Carbon Trace. Still, it was a wake up for both the motorist and myself. Both for different reasons. Let me set the situation:
I was headed north on Bellaire Drive in Hurst, Texas, and elected to turn right on to Pipeline Road rather than either continuing north on Bellaire beyond Pipeline or cutting through the parking lot (I FEAR Rantwick's mom). At the red light, I waited for several oncoming cars to pass that were headed east along Pipeline with their green light.

Finally, one last car, a blue Honda Element, entered the intersection.

As I sometimes do, when the motorist appears to have finally and irrevokeably committed, I begin my turn, moving forward and beginning to apply power. It's the same principle I use in the Land Rover when I begin to accelerate prior to a merge, except on a bike I'm a lot slower and narrower. One might justly criticize me for this, and I wouldn't argue, but it is something that probably the majority of vehicle operators do every day. I just happened to be on my wife's bike today.

Well, the Honda driver saw me start forward, got confused by this, and honked and braked. Crimeny! Now, what do I do? Rather than continue my acceleration and run INTO the Honda, I braked - the driver, realizing she had the right of way and there was no real danger of collision, then proceeded forward. Her wake up was that a situation might arise at any moment and it really isn't a good idea to chat on the cell phone while driving.

I had a wake up as well. After the event, I realized the following:

• Never begin a free right turn acceleration until there is absolutely no doubt that a motorist cannot suddenly hit the brakes and make things all crazy
• It is possible for a motorist to be chatting on her cell phone and hit the horn at the same time, though I'm still not sure how she keeps going straight in such a situation since I think there is a period when there is no human contact with the steering wheel
• Sometimes, trying to do two things at the same time (driving and chatting on the phone), makes a motorist overcautious and prone to flighty reactions rather than inconsiderate. THIS was the wake up for me. It had not previously occurred to me that motoring and cell phone chatting might actually sometimes make things SAFER for the cyclists that share the roads with these motorists.

By the way, there was no real danger at any point in this event. The motorist never came closer than about six feet from my front wheel and I needed to take no evasive maneuver other than a bit of front brake application. The MOTORIST, however, was scared silly, and I imagine her cell phone minutes will drop for a couple of days. OTOH, she probably cursed crazy bicycle riders today.

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!

Cell Phones Can Really Make Your Ride Pass Faster

One of the more difficult traffic lights for me to trigger when riding has historically been the one, described here, at the intersection of Church Street and Highway 26, in Colleyville. It's triggered by video detection cameras, and I often have to use the middle lane to get sensed, just as described in that post. Last week, even that failed me, so I decided that biking and cell phone chatting go hand in hand like wine and cheese. After FINALLY getting across the intersection, I whipped over to the curb and speed dialed the first number on the list in the photo. The very nice man explained that Colleyville doesn't own that signal, but he'd be happy to relay my complaint to TXDOT (the owners of Hwy 26) so they could fix it. He collected added details and I figured maybe I'd be able to tell the difference and maybe not.

Well, somebody appears to have done SOMETHING because now this is one of the easiest traffic lights to trigger along my route. It's gotten so nice that on the way home, I triggered it all by myself before I even had to stop and the same thing happened on the way in to work. I could learn to like those video cameras and it's good to see the Colleyville Public Works guys getting their State brethren to fix things. I almost feel guilty for my lame humor about the sign being the name of the traffic engineer. I'm feeling very "Civil" today (pun intended). Next time I feel especially daring, I may take the chance of staying in the right lane just to see if the traffic light triggers from there. While I'm at it, I may add some more city traffic department numbers to my list, in case I encounter a rogue traffic signal during a recreational ride.

Who says these cell phones are bad? I didn't even run into anything as I talked, though I was certainly highly distracted. As compensation, I was careful not to walk in any direction. After all, I have been known to fall over while just standing in one spot when I have skis on. Hmm, do ya think if I called, they could fix bad weather, too?