cool WSDOT webpage

The Washington State Department of Transportation recently redid their
website, and they now have specific weather as well as traffic information
for certain locations. I was particularly pleased to see this one:

http://traffic.wsdot.wa.gov/i90/bridge/I-90.htm

This gives a view of the I-90 bridge, and depending on which way the
camera's facing, you also get a view of the bike lane. Personally, I
understand windspeed and direction information so much better when it's
graphically displayed. And I like the gust information, too. I can view this
before I ride to work, and make an informed decision if I would really just
rather hang up the bike on Mercer Island, or simply ride across the bridge.

I wonder if WSDOT knew how useful this information would be for cyclists.


--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
please substitute yahoo for mousepotato to reply
Home of the meditative cyclist:
http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm
Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

On Wed, 08 Dec 2004 01:03:23 GMT, "Claire Petersky"
wrote:

The Washington State Department of Transportation recently redid their
website, and they now have specific weather as well as traffic information
for certain locations. I was particularly pleased to see this one:

http://traffic.wsdot.wa.gov/i90/bridge/I-90.htm

This gives a view of the I-90 bridge, and depending on which way the
camera's facing, you also get a view of the bike lane. Personally, I
understand windspeed and direction information so much better when it's
graphically displayed. And I like the gust information, too. I can view this
before I ride to work, and make an informed decision if I would really just
rather hang up the bike on Mercer Island, or simply ride across the bridge.

I wonder if WSDOT knew how useful this information would be for cyclists.

Wow, very nice site. Hmm. 25 MPH wind and clearly raining. Stay in
bed.

Here on the other side of the USA (NYC) we're expecting a temperature
around 60 and wind gusts to 40 MPH. From the W/NW. That caused me some
grief going in this morning but should be smooth sailing going home. I
think that if I raise a sail I won't have to pedal. Have to watch
those cross-streets until I get out of Manhattan. You can really get
hit by a nasty wind and pushed into traffic.

"dgk" wrote in message
...

Wow, very nice site. Hmm. 25 MPH wind and clearly raining. Stay in
bed.

I didn't. I ran downstairs and pulled a pair of thermal tights and some
shorts out of the dryer.

It wasn't that bad at first, but after about three miles the wind kicked up
and so did the rain. I was riding right into it, so I had these little icy
needles pounding the bare flesh of my face. Since I was experiencing all
four of Dane J's Unpleasant Conditions (Dark, Wet, Cold and Windy), I
decided to hang it up after a couple more miles at the park and ride, and
leave the rest of the commute to Sound Transit.

The reward was the way home. It had warmed up to 50 degrees, it was sunny
and bright, and the sun hadn't gone down yet. It was still pretty windy --
gusts up to 30 mph, but now it was a tailwind, not a headwind.

Here on the other side of the USA (NYC) we're expecting a temperature
around 60 and wind gusts to 40 MPH. From the W/NW. That caused me some
grief going in this morning but should be smooth sailing going home. I
think that if I raise a sail I won't have to pedal.

Yes, exactly -- it felt like if I had had a spinnaker to unfurl, I could
have been blown home.

Have to watch
those cross-streets until I get out of Manhattan. You can really get
hit by a nasty wind and pushed into traffic.

Yes -- this is a real problem for me downtown, the worst of a windy day. I
think it's real scary, how the wind blows and stops around skyscrapers. I
could see why someone with a Manhattan commute would decide not to ride when
it's windy.


--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
please substitute yahoo for mousepotato to reply
Home of the meditative cyclist:
http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm
Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

On Wed, 08 Dec 2004 23:50:22 GMT, Claire Petersky
wrote:

"dgk" wrote in message
...

Wow, very nice site. Hmm. 25 MPH wind and clearly raining. Stay in
bed.

I didn't. I ran downstairs and pulled a pair of thermal tights and some
shorts out of the dryer.

It wasn't that bad at first, but after about three miles the wind kicked
up
and so did the rain. I was riding right into it, so I had these little
icy
needles pounding the bare flesh of my face. Since I was experiencing all
four of Dane J's Unpleasant Conditions (Dark, Wet, Cold and Windy), I
decided to hang it up after a couple more miles at the park and ride, and
leave the rest of the commute to Sound Transit.

The reward was the way home. It had warmed up to 50 degrees, it was sunny
and bright, and the sun hadn't gone down yet. It was still pretty windy
--
gusts up to 30 mph, but now it was a tailwind, not a headwind.

Here on the other side of the USA (NYC) we're expecting a temperature
around 60 and wind gusts to 40 MPH. From the W/NW. That caused me some
grief going in this morning but should be smooth sailing going home. I
think that if I raise a sail I won't have to pedal.

Yes, exactly -- it felt like if I had had a spinnaker to unfurl, I could
have been blown home.

Have to watch
those cross-streets until I get out of Manhattan. You can really get
hit by a nasty wind and pushed into traffic.

Yes -- this is a real problem for me downtown, the worst of a windy day.
I
think it's real scary, how the wind blows and stops around skyscrapers. I
could see why someone with a Manhattan commute would decide not to ride
when
it's windy.



If you really want to be all weather but look a little silly buy a
motorcycle
type full face helmet and put the plastic on the front. I have seen a few
other
hard core riders do this, including one 12 year old who insisted that WAS
his
real helmet. I found a compromise that works well for keeping my eyes from
tearing at the cold wind, a swimming face shield with one piece of plastic
in front. Works well with my glasses but it has a huge dork factor. It is
better than not going out, I just try to get out in the back woods area
before I am seen.

--
Bill (?) Baka

Bill Baka wrote:

I found a compromise that works well for keeping my eyes from
tearing at the cold wind, a swimming face shield with one piece of plastic
in front.

You really should post a picture of you riding like this. It fits so
well with all the wacky crap you're always saying.

Rich

"Rich" wrote in message
...
Bill Baka wrote:

I found a compromise that works well for keeping my eyes from
tearing at the cold wind, a swimming face shield with one piece of
plastic
in front.

You really should post a picture of you riding like this. It fits so
well with all the wacky crap you're always saying.

I'm convinced that Bill Baka is the anti-Fabrizio. The clue is in the name,
"Baka", which means "dummy" or "idiot" in Japanese. Too many of us have
fallen for him not for it to be true.


--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
please substitute yahoo for mousepotato to reply
Home of the meditative cyclist:
http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm
Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

On Thu, 09 Dec 2004 05:13:35 GMT, "Claire Petersky"
wrote:

"Rich" wrote in message
...
Bill Baka wrote:

I found a compromise that works well for keeping my eyes from
tearing at the cold wind, a swimming face shield with one piece of
plastic
in front.

You really should post a picture of you riding like this. It fits so
well with all the wacky crap you're always saying.

I'm convinced that Bill Baka is the anti-Fabrizio. The clue is in the name,
"Baka", which means "dummy" or "idiot" in Japanese. Too many of us have
fallen for him not for it to be true.

What do you mean 'fallen for him', or is that a cycling joke?

jj

Claire Petersky wrote:
I'm convinced that Bill Baka is the anti-Fabrizio. The clue is in the name,
"Baka", which means "dummy" or "idiot" in Japanese. Too many of us have
fallen for him not for it to be true.

uh-oh.

his email address shows up in google groups back in 1996 (and
1997) posting in various ham radio groups, sci.med.nutrition .. and most
tellingly in rec.motorcycles where we find this tidbit:

: Newsgroups: rec.motorcycles
: From:
: Date: 1997/11/19
: Subject: How many times have you fallen off your bike ?

: What did you learn from the experience ?
:
: 1. Â* Careful in the wet.
: 2. Â* Careful on gravel.
: 3. Â* Careful in turns.
: 4. Â* Careful in the cold.

: If you haven't fallen off at least once, you haven't been riding enough!!!
: I have fallen off at a turn signal on a patch of oil left by a junker, in
: front of a rush hour crowd a 2 MPH.
:
: I have fallen off turning and hitting a small patch of gravel, in front of
: a bunch of outlaw friends, major embarrassment at 5 MPH.
:
: I have fallen off at 25 MPH making a right handed super lean turn on a city
: street. Ruined a friends brand new jacket.
:
: I have fallen off, er over, at 80 MPH after hitting an unannounced speed
: bump. Serious road rash and 2 weeks off work. Biker Brothers took me to
: the hospital for many stitches and no broken bones. Bicentennial day,
: July 4, 1976.
:
: I have fallen off trying to get across a field of mud, did three 360's
: before I fell and hurt my pride. Wife almost fell off laughing, which
: didn't help.
:
: Fall and learn. I must be masochistic or crazy. Give me a bike with a
: 200 MPH speedo and I'll see if it's real. Live hard, die old with lots
: of stories.

which reads as bill to me. then he drops off the face of usenet until
april of 2004 when he pops up in rec.bicycles.misc. guess he got bored of
ham radios. but he wasn't particuliarly, umm, "wacky" on the amateur radio
groups where he did post a fair bit. didn't like japanese radios much, tho.
--
david reuteler

Another workday shot to hell. Thanks a lot, Claire!!!

I like the view of SR 520. Can't wait to see it after dawn.

The site also has ferry cams, for those who want to gloat about the
l-o-n-g lines of cars they'll pass on two wheels.

--Karen M.

On 09 Dec 2004 06:54:03 GMT, David Reuteler wrote:



which reads as bill to me. then he drops off the face of usenet until
april of 2004 when he pops up in rec.bicycles.misc. guess he got bored of
ham radios. but he wasn't particuliarly, umm, "wacky" on the amateur radio
groups where he did post a fair bit. didn't like japanese radios much, tho.

"Ham" radios;-) In and of itself, that isn't funny, but when you add
little bill to it, I had to smile and I must admit, I laughed out
loud.
I think he is real, well, I think he exists. As to his exploits???

Did you find any threads, where he happens to brag about how many
times he has hit his head, on concrete or other equally hard surfaces?
That might help explain some things. I think it is quite possible that
little bill is brain damaged.


Life is Good!
Jeff