Tag: Biking

Right turners

Bicyclist in Portland are blessed with an abundance of bicycle lanes on our city streets. Bike lanes, however, come with their own set of problems. One of these is the right turning motorist.

The right turning motorist (RTM) often does not appear to be aware or considerate of the bike lane. Thus, the RTM does not check the bike lane before executing his right turn. The most careless will turn right into you even when you are directly in view (i.e. adjacent or in front of their hood), but that doesn’t happen often. The more common occurrence is the driver who executes the turn just as you are passing him. This is often called the “right hook”.

This morning I was riding downhill on Lloyd Blvd towards Grand Avenue. Almost everytime I take this route, I get caught by the very long traffic light at Grand because Grand has more traffic than Lloyd. Also, once it turns green, the light changes to red rather quickly.

As I rounded the curve and the light came into view, the light changed to green. Not wanting to miss the light and have to wait through a full cycle, I accelerated down the hill as fast as I could. Cars filled both lanes and were stacked up about 8 deep. As I approached each car, I checked for their right turn signal as well as the subtle drift to the left that often presages the right turn. Several cars drifted into the bike lane, but I forgave them because there is a curve there. As I neared the intersection, the light was still green and the car beside also started to drift into the bike lane. Just as I got up to her rear door, the turn signal came on about a half second after she started the right turn. Normally I would give the trunk a slap to let her know I was there, but this time I only had time to slam on the brakes and yell, “HEY!” She did turn around and I shook my fist at her as I whizzed through the intersection, still mindful of the light.

Just another day as a bike commuter.

Vital Statistics

The road home tonight was wet. Very wet. It was pouring when I rolled my bike out of the office and into the brightly lit darkness of downtown Portland. I raced the seven blocks down Stark Street to the Max Station on Front where I waited and hoped for the Blue Line. Red Line to Airport. Damn. Instead of a five minute downhill ride, I was looking at twenty minutes possibly against some vicious east wind out of the Gorge.

Thankfully, the wind was out of the south but the rain pummeled me the whole way home. When I cut across the Fred Meyer parking lot, there was a water puddle so large that it had waves rippling through it. At that moment I looked up at the sky to see that each drop of rain was clearly visible in the street lights of the parking lot. Torrential.

I stripped down to my shorts when I got home and everything went in the wash and then the dryer. Warm, dry clothes feel so good after a good soaking.

Bike odometer: 5653 miles
Current reading: Just A Geek by Wil Wheaton
Recent listening: New Roman Times/Camper Van Beethoven, Coverville, Blame The Vain/Dwight Yoakam, Yo-Yo Ma Plays Ennio Morricone
Recent viewing: The Colbert Report, CSI: Miami, Countdown with Keith Olberman
Recent playing: Falling Sand Game
Most Important To Do: Call DirecTV to get satellite dish fixed

Vital Statistics

A fitting combination, I thought.

Today was my first day back on my bike for about a month. The ride to the Max was smooth and dry but I had to wait 20 minutes for the photographer from the Oregonian. Caught the Red Line home which means a longer ride than I like at night and the wind was blowing very strongly from the Gorge. I couldn’t get much over 10 mph most of the way and was very tired when I got home. Listened to The Carter Family on the way to work and Kindred Spirits coming home. A fitting combination, I thought.

Bike odometer: 5631 miles
Current reading: Just A Geek by Wil Wheaton
Recent listening: The Carter Family, Kindred Spirits: A Tribute to Johnny Cash, Imagine/John Lennon
Recent viewing: Medium, CNN/MSNBC coverage of the mining accident, Fiesta Bowl
Recent playing: Falling Sand Game