DIY Bike Lane

The video above is for a prototype rolling bike lane generator that uses lasers to generate the lines. Looks promising but the video displays some horrible lane positioning which I believe comes from cyclist inferiority complex. Note how far into the door zone the rider is positioned around the two minute mark.

On Yer Bike!

Summer

As a cyclist I have numerous reasons for enjoying summer even in the south.  My main reason though is summer vacations.  Not mine, the vacations everyone else is taking.  Once Memorial Day passes there is a marked decline in motor traffic volume.  This was VERY true when I lived outside the District of Columbia and is appearing to hold true here in Greensboro, NC.  With the lighter traffic motorists generally become a bit more tolerant of delays (of course there are always exceptions) and are not inclined to "buzz" cyclists and make other less than safe manuvers to get around them.  Most of my mileage accrues during the early hours of the day when it is relatively cool so when I am finishing up I am mixing it up with other commuters like myself.  

BTW--If you want really quite roads, try riding at 3:30AM.  I had to do that last week for work, over a 8.5 mile route through the middle of Greensboro and through downtown I saw a grand total of four moving motor vehicles, none overtaking me.

Yehuda Moon Returns!

From the Yehuda Moon blog:

Yehuda Moon returns June 17, 2009. Dailies will run Monday through Saturday featuring Yehuda and the whole gang at the Kickstand. A fuller Sunday strip will run as well, featuring Joe King. More details shortly. 

I will likely fill in the blank dates if I find time along the way (and maybe even a few before the restart date).

On Yer Bike!

Just Say No--To Being a Bike Ninja

I really don't know what they are thinking. I'm talking about the cyclists that go out in low light and night conditions with no active or passive (read reflectors or reflective clothing) lighting. In Portland a bus driver has spoken up in a local paper about the improvements he has seen in the past year with cyclists lighting up for visibility.

Motorists are conditioned to look for large fast moving objects. To compete for limited attention span cyclists need to stand out and when light conditions diminish lights are the best way to get attention.

When twilight has passed in the evening then reflectors and reflective clothing become very effective as they perform a sort of "light judo" using the power of the motorized vehicle headlights to reflect back to the source. But don't be fooled into thinking reflectors alone will make you visible, they only work when a light source is aimed directly at them, a condition that might not occur until too late when rounding curves or approaching intersections.

On Yer Bike