I commute to work on my bike - no problem

Kolaga Xiuhtecuhtli wrote in message ...
Five days a week - rain or shine - 7.5 miles each way - no problem.
I work at the University - parking stinks so three years ago I
moth-balled my car. I said to hell with sitting in traffic. Especially

during the next couple weeks when the students return and the
traffic will really ball up.

And if it rains, I take the bus. The bus stop is two miles from my
house. Sometimes I walk and sometimes my wife drops me off.
The bus has a rack for two bikes and it stops very close to my
office.

I don't change my clothes at work - no one complains and I don't
give a flip anyhow - I'm a back office computer programmer of
the mainframe vintage data processing variety.

I've got mostly bike lanes and sidewalks on my ride. My principal
obstacles are crossing two four lane heavy traffic streets and
one major intersection. I've always got to stay focused on the
cars around me - this is no sightseeing trip - but it's safe if I
do it right.

Get off the sidewalks, and beware counterflow bike lanes. Your two
greatest dangers when riding on the sidewalk a

1) collisions with pedestrians: they are slow-moving, unpredictable,
and can change direction (or not) unnervingly quickly. Any collision
you have with them in the sidewalk is *your* fault, as most
jurisdictions forbid the riding of bicycles on sidewalks.

2) Being struck by motor vehicles entering the main roadway. This is
a particular danger if you're on a sidewalk or bike lane that flows
counter to the regular flow of traffic. Cars entering at driveways
and side-streets onto the main road will look for oncoming *vehicular*
traffic in the main right-of-way, and, unless they see pedestrians
waiting, ignore anything else. You will be crunched from the side.

Take my word for it: if the cars won't yield to you, they sure as
hell will yield to the city bus that's running before you, and the
Escalade that's running behind you.

The crossings are less fun. On a four-lane road, turning left,
congestion is actually your *friend*--with all those cars stopped or
slowing, it's actually easier to make the lane change and establish
yourself in the proper turning lane. Light traffic on high-volume
roadways is a headache for cyclists, since it increases motor vehicle
speeds, thereby narrowing gaps (both space- and time-wise). This at
least has been my experience in London, since the advent of Congestion
Charging--less congestion, higher speeds, slightly more difficult lane
changing.

If you can't position yourself in the proper turning lane, there's no
shame in walking your bike across one part of the intersection and
continuing your ride on the proper lane in the next one.

Oh, and one more thing: Stay alert, don't take any unnecessary risks
with narrow spaces. Even a little nudge can hurt....

-Luigi

the road rash and bruises are healing up nicely!

I've got some beautiful Greenway trail on my way into Indiana University-Purdue
University at Indianapolis, where I am a part-time instructor. It's a scenic
ride along the river all the way to campus.

It's a bit far from my house to do the daily commute. But I put my bike on a
bike rack and drive to a golf course along the Greenway trail about 5 miles
from campus. I leave the car and bike the rest of the way in.

It's a great trip. The only traffic problems I encounter are when I get on
campus.

The ride along the river isn't so hot at night, though. The bugs are terrible.

David

On Fri, 15 Aug 2003 12:13:22 +0000 (UTC), Dan Cosley tapped this on a keyboard:

I don't change my clothes at work - no one complains and I don't
give a flip anyhow - I'm a back office computer programmer...

I do this sometimes, but the U rec center is near my building and
a shower feels good.

I work in a petrochemical Laboratory. Almost everything there stinks
more than I ever could.


--

QUIPd 1.02: (79 of 653)
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##2097 #'Mandrake Linux.'

In article , Johann S. wrote:

I work in a petrochemical Laboratory. Almost everything there stinks
more than I ever could.

Lucky you... I guess.

-- Dan

--
Dan Cosley * http://www.cs.umn.edu/~cosley/)
GroupLens Research Lab, Univ of MN (http://movielens.umn.edu/ * 612.624.8372)
*** Just a foot soldier in the Army of Truth ***