This Flock ride took us to the BikeFest kickoff party. I'd missed out on last year's party and was anxious to go, but this new venue was grungy and dilapidated in comparison with the venue in years past. There was also no Bike Beauty Pageant, no silent auctions either. The drinks were cheap and the food was a mediocre pizza, so I decided to pack it in early and head home because I'm not much for dancing and I'm a one-drink-girl.
Marko and Geoff were able to accompany me and show me a new way to get to the apt from Bloomfield. Awesome.
The route I take from work to home is fairly conflict-free when it comes to impatient motorists. The exception is a short, narrow bridge at 28th St with a blind bend at each end. you cannot see oncoming traffic at each of the bends, so passing is dangerous. I've learned to control the lane at each of the bends. I can ride to the right on the approach where there's enough room for cars to pass and I deliberately slow and allow the line of cars to pass where it's safe and then when they've passed, I move to the center of the lane around the bend to prevent any cars behind me from doing something stupid like trying to pass with oncoming cars around a blind turn.
Most of the time, I have luck and don't have cars right behind me the whole way, getting impatient while I ascend the hill. I'll also allow them to pass when it's safe to on the bridge. The video below is of a line of cars that got impatient with me.
Sorry for adding those 18 seconds to your trip!
Since when is it safe to pass someone on a bridge across a double yellow line, sheesh!
ReplyDeleteI do have issues with Shareroads.. they are a lazy way for cities to deal with the lack of bike lanes. There are a few places here in my city "Ottawa" where there is a sudden Share Road symbol on the road but the zone is a 80km! So ya, I slow everyone down... my top pedal speed is 30km and that's me pushing hard. So people honk, whip past me (way to close) nearly causing me to crash at times. I've even been hit by a mirror or two. I avoid the area like the plague but sometimes I can't...
ReplyDelete" I've even been hit by a mirror or two." Wha? Jebus, Mike! That's a hit and run! Please tell me you've called the police! Thankfully, this bridge is a 40 kmph (25 MPH) zone and a climbing bike lane up most of the hill, so there aren't too many close passes.
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