Ride into work for Friday, 07 October
I don't know if it was the weather or the impending holiday, but today was attack of the muppets.
* Crossing Quinpool from Oxford I have to be in the left hand lane to get onto Pepperell Street immediately after. Muppet number 1 decided he was going to be in the same lane as me after crossing Quinpool; obviously he didn't see my two flashing lights, my solid rear light, the reflective tape on my backpack, the reflective tape on my bike, and my 15W headlights, and ended up forcing me into the lefthand lane into oncoming traffic. I think perhaps a subtly palmed emergency hammer beating on the side window might communicate how dangerously the driver is behaving.
* Coming to the end of Studley Avenue (that really is its name) to turn onto Oakland Road I was signalling left when an SUV on Oakland Road approaching from the right decided to turn left onto Studley without indicating, and also without any lane control, cutting the corner so much I don't think he was anywhere near his side of the road. The problem with this is I was on the lefthand side of the road indicating left, fortunately he saw me at the last minute (possibly me braking so hard my back wheel came off the ground might have made him notice something awry) and stopped and looked at me with a "what, me?" expression. I waved him around and gave him a slow clap.
* Turning off Point Pleasant Drive (a steep downhill) onto Young Avenue I had a jogger jogging straight towards me in the middle of the lane. Obviously the sidewalk is only for pedestrians, and joggers don't go on the sidewalk because they're not... oh.
* Joining in the fun was the usual woman who "power walks" on Young Avenue. Today she was particularly impressive; on the grey road in the fog, she was wearing dark grey sweatpants, dark grey top and a grey cap, and decided to walk out from behind an SUV without stopping to look for oncoming traffic. I don't mind pedestrians looking to commit suicide, but I'd rather the didn't do it in front of me; if she continues doing this into winter I would be unsurprised if I ended up riding into her, since she likes to camouflage herself like a piece of road.
Still, at least the CBC lockout seems to be over, which means I won't have motorists deciding to use their horn to show their support, nor will there be locked out employees loitering by the side of the road or sidewalk, which means my horn will be taking as a warning sign as opposed to a sign of support, leading to said employees to wave at me when I'd rather they just get out of the road...
Distance logged: 16.595km
Time: 41:06
Average speed: 24.3km/hr
Max speed: 60.2km/hr
Temperature: 17C, foggy
Cumulative distance: 5564.673km
* Crossing Quinpool from Oxford I have to be in the left hand lane to get onto Pepperell Street immediately after. Muppet number 1 decided he was going to be in the same lane as me after crossing Quinpool; obviously he didn't see my two flashing lights, my solid rear light, the reflective tape on my backpack, the reflective tape on my bike, and my 15W headlights, and ended up forcing me into the lefthand lane into oncoming traffic. I think perhaps a subtly palmed emergency hammer beating on the side window might communicate how dangerously the driver is behaving.
* Coming to the end of Studley Avenue (that really is its name) to turn onto Oakland Road I was signalling left when an SUV on Oakland Road approaching from the right decided to turn left onto Studley without indicating, and also without any lane control, cutting the corner so much I don't think he was anywhere near his side of the road. The problem with this is I was on the lefthand side of the road indicating left, fortunately he saw me at the last minute (possibly me braking so hard my back wheel came off the ground might have made him notice something awry) and stopped and looked at me with a "what, me?" expression. I waved him around and gave him a slow clap.
* Turning off Point Pleasant Drive (a steep downhill) onto Young Avenue I had a jogger jogging straight towards me in the middle of the lane. Obviously the sidewalk is only for pedestrians, and joggers don't go on the sidewalk because they're not... oh.
* Joining in the fun was the usual woman who "power walks" on Young Avenue. Today she was particularly impressive; on the grey road in the fog, she was wearing dark grey sweatpants, dark grey top and a grey cap, and decided to walk out from behind an SUV without stopping to look for oncoming traffic. I don't mind pedestrians looking to commit suicide, but I'd rather the didn't do it in front of me; if she continues doing this into winter I would be unsurprised if I ended up riding into her, since she likes to camouflage herself like a piece of road.
Still, at least the CBC lockout seems to be over, which means I won't have motorists deciding to use their horn to show their support, nor will there be locked out employees loitering by the side of the road or sidewalk, which means my horn will be taking as a warning sign as opposed to a sign of support, leading to said employees to wave at me when I'd rather they just get out of the road...
Distance logged: 16.595km
Time: 41:06
Average speed: 24.3km/hr
Max speed: 60.2km/hr
Temperature: 17C, foggy
Cumulative distance: 5564.673km
posted by steve at 10/07/2005 09:36:00 am
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