[speedgibson] Speed Gibson: $10 The Hard Way

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Posted by Speed Gibson:
$10 The Hard Way
http://speedgibson.powerblogs.com/posts/1217650549.shtml


   They say you never forget how to ride a bicycle. I find that you do
   have to reacquaint yourself with some of the fine points. I've been
   riding for eight consecutive days now, at least 6 miles a day. I like
   it, but I'm going to have to switch to a more comfortable (more
   padded) seat. I have no real idea what my range is yet, for posterior
   "fatigue" never lets me get past maybe 8 miles without a break.
   This past week, that was every night home from work and this morning,
   to work. That hadn't been my plan, but the bus's bike rack already had
   two on it. So rather than wheel it on board, I simply did the 5.5
   miles to work. All told, that saved me $10.00 in bus fare, meaning my
   first 40 trips after the October fare increase are paid for. It also
   avoids my share of the $6 billion dollar tax increase for light rail
   and other pork.
   I now remember things like lawn sprinklers and low hanging branches
   over the sidewalks. I also now remember why we electrical and
   mechanical engineering students used to rib the civil engineering
   students at the U. At the risk of sounding like a city planning
   bureaucrat, our roads aren't exactly bicycle friendly.
   Most concrete corners for example have the nice ramps, but on larger
   intersections, these often don't line up, absurdly so in some cases,
   i.e., with no obvious safety or terrain issue. You have to slow to
   wobbling speed to make the turns required without stopping, which
   would be foolish in a couple of cases where the angles don't give you
   a good look at the traffic. Often, a semaphore pole is in the way,
   too.
   Another surprising feature when the cuts do align is to find the walk
   button on the semaphore on the opposite side. It makes no difference
   to walkers, but what about motorized wheelchair users? It's just as
   inconvenient for them.
   Trails are nice, but need better signage as I posted previously. When
   you're surrounded by trees or along side railroad tracks below street
   grade, you can't see any landmarks to guide you and the sun is no help
   if it's overcast. Even their associated web site maps are surprisingly
   less helpful than they should be.
   That said, this is great fun and good exercise. All I need now is a
   good dose of global warming to extend the season well into November.