Bike to work day! (Safely)

7 minutes into the documentary "Pedal" you get to meet Skeletor. "Masters of the universe." 10 years on the road on a bicycle has taught Skeletor some important lessons, and I've stolen one of his affectations for my own. Sometimes I'll notice someone not paying particularly close attention near or on the trail (either children or stroller moms gabbing..) and the best thing to do rather than braking suddenly (which can be very dangerous) is to shout so they'll hear you.  Shouting is not typically socially acceptable, which has people ringing bells. Bells are equally annoying and surprising though, and I used to loathe having to use mine. But Skeletor has it figured out. He cheers - "Hip.. Hip!" This technique will immediately turn heads, and often illicit a smile. The cadence and sharp syllables also help people judge distance and speed just from the sound.

Tomorrow is bike to work day. It's important for cars and bikes to be safe everyday, but this is a good occasion to redouble our efforts.

First, for the drivers:

Ever feel your heart pumping when you see a police officer? This is a bad sign. You should imagine in your head that every car you see is a police car, and every bike you see is a cop on two wheels. When you drive around paying that kind of respect to everyone, you'll feel less stressed (IMHO). When someone else is aggressive, that's their problem, don't let them make it your problem.

Cyclists have a right to the road too, and you're in a car and with physical superiority. Don't confuse that with actual superiority. You're both trying to get somewhere. It seems crazy. I used to think they should be on the sidewalk. After experiencing the jump of pedestrians as you pass (often towards you, paradoxically), or having cars ignore you as you cross intersections and almost run you down to make a right turn, you'll see the light.

When you see me signal that I'm about to make a left turn, do not gun your engine to cross the double yellow and pass me on the left. This happened today. If a policeman had been around it would have meant a very big fine for the driver, and if they'd misjudged oncoming traffic it could have been bad for everyone. If I hadn't been paying careful attention it could have been bad for me, and the driver could easily loose their license over such a aggressive action if they hit a pedestrian.

If you see a cyclist has fallen in the road, you must stop for them. Ask if they need help. Even if they look ok, wait until they are back up before passing them by, otherwise someone behind you might not see them. Sometimes cyclists who 'clip in' to their pedals will fall (in a slow-mo tip over kind of way), and you might be tempted to laugh and continue. They are less visible to other drivers, and you have a civic responsibility to make sure they get back up, even if everyone has a laugh.

Why do some of you want to race me when the light turns green? Recently I was "outmatched" by a motorcycle who popped a wheelie giving it so much gas in order to beat me through the intersection. I'm not fast, you have an engine and shouldn't be intimidated that I can accelerate so quickly from a dead stop.

For the cyclists:

We should return the favor of the social contract with drivers by not causing what I call "intersection stampedes". This is when someone sees a break in traffic and decides to make a break for it. Other cyclists and pedestrians see this, and assume the signal has changed. The auditory warning beeps (for deaf people?) might help with this some, but humans are herd animals, and that's difficult to overcome. It's an incredibly dangerous situation to cause. If there's lots of people, just chill. Usually this causes the drivers to have to wait when they would normally be able to go, and that's annoying. So cut it out.

Treat the cars as though they have more of a right to the road then you do when you're not already in the road. When you ride in a lane, signal even if they aren't close, and take up enough of the lane so that everyone sees you rather than skulking in between parked cars. Most drivers do really well with this, as long as you're not needlessly keeping them from passing.

Do not pass slower cyclists during a head on "merge". This happened to me recently, and I got a sing-songy condescending "On your left" by someone who saw my look of surprise. Not 100 feet down the path they dismounted and sat down on a bench. Wow. You're so fast.

Lane splitting, especially at intersections is a controversial subject. Sometimes it's okay I think. Usually it isn't. If you want drivers to treat you as a legit road entity and pay you heed, you have to act like one, even if that means you're a few cars away from the intersection. I only lane split if the road is very wide or there's a designated bike lane for that purpose. Sitting in traffic is a good opportunity to smile at drivers anyway. If you can accelerate quickly at the green, they'll give you all the space you need. Don't make them pass you again and again just because you want to be at the front of the intersections.

Adjust your seat height, probably higher.  It's amazing to me how many people I see sitting low in their seat. If you only bike to work tomorrow, and your last bike was purchased by your parents when you were a teenager, this is likely to be you. People grow into their bikes and never get refit, then buy new bikes and keep the seat where they were used to having it. Look at skeletor's knee extensors. You won't engage those unless you can almost straighten your leg at the bottom of the pedal stroke.

Finally, keep an eye on the rear-view mirrors you pass for faces! Drivers will look before taking off, but they won't look very hard before opening their door to get out. This is a verb: dooring (to door) a cyclist means opening your door into the cycling lane (there is always a cycling lane, even if it's not marked!) Unfortunately, the dooring law did not pass in VA recently. Bummer!

Stay safe out there kids!

PS: I forgot all about the Krebs Cycle in my last post. This is where muscle directly burns VLDLs or free fatty acids or protein, not just glucose. Very interesting stuff.  I suppose there is some truth behind the PE teacher's flogging the "fat burning zone" I can admit when I'm wrong.

UPDATE: On the ride in today I saw angry drivers shouting obscenities at each other. Know that when this happens the cyclists are smirking at each other with a superiority complex. Another cyclist passed me during a head-on merge, and then silently tried to pass a woman and dog that were clearly moving erratically. He fell off the trail. As the saying goes: takes all kinds.