Due To Technical Difficulties...

...this blog post has been modified from its original form.

Oh I had a good post planned! There is a catch-22 situation in town, and I captured it by digital photographs- and I had a serendipitous encounter with scofflaw cyclists, capturing automobile/bicycle conflicts as they scraped along the curb face...

But alas, I inadvertently deleted the files simultaneously from my hard drive and my camera. (What tha...?!) I won't be doing that again, and I am (Once again!) mourning the truism that education is always expensive!

So, a blog about odds and ends!

RANTWICK IS RIGHT

Please provide us with good roads. I prefer chip-seal over this.

 

Yes, the dreaded parallel cracks! This is a way too common phenomena of the roads around here. Our ground heaves and contracts as we change from wet season to dry. High clay content of the soil or some such thing. I have heard various theories from the natives, but the why isn't really the issue. The hazard is the issue!

 

I will not ride on this particular road at night. It is one of the compromises I have to make because I have chosen to travel with "to be seen by" lights rather than "lights to see by".

These cracks tend to appear running down the right tire track, but they are found anywhere at all some of the time. Most of them are not this wide, and this is admittedly the most extreme example I have come across locally.

But it is a beauty!

MY BIKE EATS STANDING UP!

 

I have never been hassled for bringing my bicycle in with me to eat at this Taco Bell. In fact, there is only one fast food restaurant that has ever objected! The key to taking your bike with you is to just do it as though that is how it is done.

For fourteen months or so, I have done all of my grocery shopping at Ennis Wal-Mart. (That is the old style of their name. They are now Walmart) I take my bike with me, and nine out of ten times there are no objections. Occasionally, a greeter will say; "Hey, you can't bring that in here!" It is always after I am three or four steps past them! I just say, "Sure I can! Watch!"

TOWNIE BIKES

I have noticed a few folks do not take their bicycles into Wal-Mart and "lock" them outside. After looking more closely at them, I wonder why they even bother locking them. That sounds really snobbish, I know. What do you think?

 
 
 

When I first thought to photograph these, I was thinking along the lines of PM's How Not To Lock Your Bike tutorials, but then I noticed the shape the bikes were in.

FOR HIM, BICYCLING IS DANGEROUS

There is another one that is in even poorer shape. When I looked at it closely, it had been reduced from a ten-speed to a single-speed from inoperable dérailleurs, and both caliper brakes were inoperable due to missing brake pads! No photos though. (Rats!) I met to owner the other night. I was surprised to see him locking up his "bicycle" when I was leaving the store.

I thought to myself; "Self, that guy not only has one gear and no brakes, he is a nighttime ninja! Yikes!" So I dug out a blinky light with batteries that I carry for just this sort of thing and gave it to him. We'll have to see if he uses it.

READER'S QUESTIONS

Perhaps one of my reader's questions is interesting to the other person who visits my blog. Or perhaps not. But if you don't ask how will you ever know? (I know there are more than two people who visit this blog, but only if I include my Mom.)

So finally, SteveA asked about a water bottle I am using with dog repellent, specifically, "Where did I get it?"

I received it as a promotional gift at either the 2007 Tour D'Italia or the first annual Head For The Hills Bike Rally. Both were very well organized and challenging. Rally riders are commonly asked by non-cyclists; "Why would you ride your bike 65 miles?"

The answer, of course, is: "Because it was the longest ride they offered!"

Coming Back At You

Or, "Reflections On Being Seen At Night"

 

Texas requires:

"SAFETY EQUIPMENT. sec. 551.104 ...(b) A person may not operate a bicycle at nighttime unless the bicycle is equipped with:

(1) a lamp on the front of the bicycle that emits a white light visible from a distance of at least 500 feet in front of the bicycle; and
(2) on the rear of the bicycle:
(A) a red reflector that is:
(i) of a type approved by the department; and
(ii) visible when directly in front of lawful upper beams of motor vehicle headlamps from all distances from 50 to 300 feet to the rear of the bicycle; or
(B) a lamp that emits a red light visible from a distance of 500 feet to the rear of the bicycle."

So where do I go to find out what reflectors are "approved by the department"?

So do either of my bicycles comply with the law? My single-speed above or my main ride below?

 

If my front light is operating, and my Planet Bike Super Flash (PBSF) tail-light is not, then only my single-speed would be legal, as I have no red reflectors on the back of my main bike, though I do have a red patch of reflective tape on my helmet. This is assuming that my reflective tape would meet the approval of "the department".

Legalities aside, is the minimum lawful requirements adequate? What can be done to maximize nighttime visibility? What is reasonable? What are the compromises I have made and why?

For all practical purposes, reflectors are helpful to be seen by overtaking and oncoming traffic only, and leave you invisible to cross traffic vehicles. Reflectors, by their nature, "send back" to the source a portion of the light that falls on it. Different reflectors and reflective tape are better at this than others. There are a lot of sites dedicated to the question of which one is better, and for what purpose, with side by side pictures and stats and on, and on, and on... It is a guy thing. I am going to cut through all that static for you and talk about the stuff that works with cycling, so you don't have to plow through considerations for aviation, railroads, marine use, trucking, chemical exposure and on, and on, and on...

Rigid plastic reflectors, of the type that came on the bike when it was sold to you, in general do a better job of returning light to it's source than tapes. (Absolute brightness) But absolute brightness is just a part of the equation. There is also perceived brightness.

A reflective surface will always be have a greater perceived brightness the greater it's area. Thus a reflector of a greater absolute brightness can seem to be "dimmer" than an inferior reflector if the inferior's reflective surface area is a lot bigger.

This leads me to the conclusion that the minimum legal requirements of a red reflector to the rear is inadequate for the task of being seen at night. A positive light source is necessary to be seen from the side or from an angle. You can trust me on this: reflectors only work when headlamps fall on them, and it is a surprisingly narrow angle of observability. The more frequent hazard to a cyclist is from crossing traffic, and a cyclist's reflectors are invisible to them. For a brief, but clear explanation, see John Schubert's essay on it. To find source data and a rant about it, this is the best!

I have discarded the notion of using rigid reflectors, as they are small and I dislike hanging hardware on my bicycle. The best reflective tape for our purposes is DOT/NHTSA 49CFR571.108 and SOLAS (Save Our Lives At Sea) rated tapes. SOLAS tape reflects about the same as DOT tape, and tends to be more durable, but DOT tape is easier to find. Both are spendy.

So you can see that I have gone for "area" in applying reflective tape!

 

 

 

 

When it comes to lights, there are basically three categories. Lights to "see by", lights to "be seen by" and inadequate. Lights to "see by" are so costly I have chosen to get lights to "be seen" instead. And since that is my goal, to stand out on the road, I run my positive light sources on "blink" mode. My tail light, as mentioned before is a PBSF, and my headlights are Cateye HL-EL135. While looking for the model number, I noticed their Uno which according to them is a bit brighter and lighter. (Whoo hoo! But it will require more frequent battery changes.) They will likely replace my present ones when they need to be replaced.

On my multi-speed bicycle, I have slung the light underneath the handlebars for aesthetic reasons, but it is not designed to operate that way. To prevent the battery cover from coming off (I ride on fairly rough roads) and another mount failure, I have employed a rather inelegant "electrical tape solution".

 

 

Because I am car-free, I can expect to travel after dark. So I want to have lights on my bikes at all times, and I carry spare batteries. I don't run them in the daytime beause, after all, I ride in the left third of the lane!

I am careful at night to ride on familiar roads, avoiding roads with known hazards. This is an operational compromise for not running with lights to "see by". My single-speed is expected to be pressed into service on foul weather trips, and it has more area for tape to be mounted because of its fenders. I also put both spoke reflectors on the front wheel. As Steve pointed out, not likely to be of much help, what can I say? (ChipSeal shrugs)

However, I will dispute his contention that I have put reflective tape "on the sides" of my bike. Reflective tape has the ability to reflect back to its source even when struck from a very high angle. Here are two pictures, taken with low sun, at an approximate angle displayed to overtaking and opposing traffic.

 

 

Oh, and one last thing, sometimes tape has uses beyond reflective duties! I ride on gravel roads with some frequency, and carbon fiber is allergic to dings. I have put reflective tape on the underside of my down-tube to protect it from pebbles and stones thrown up from my wheels.

 

Have a Seat

One of the recent upgrades to my single-speed was to replace the standard seat with a Specialized Toupe Gel saddle. This was also one of the upgrades I did when I bought my Giant, so I have standardized my saddles. This has increased my comfort on my single-speed.

But when taking pictures last weekend for Beginning Bicycle Commuting, I noticed that there was some wear showing on my older saddle. That is to say, wear other than that suffered in crashes!

Here are side-to-side photos of the older saddle and the new one for comparison. Well, above and below then...

 
 

You can see that the rails and seatpost clamp show wear. The helpful markings on the rails are completely worn off, as is some of the paint, and the seat-bag is also showing wear.

Here is a different angle so that you can see some of the damage wrought by crashes:

 

The trailing "wing" on the left has lost the plastic covering accent, and the right side one has had some of the silver paint worn off of it.

I have found this saddle to be quite comfortable for me. A good guide for finding stuff that works is to look to racing. They need stuff that is light, durable and can be used for hours at a time. If the components they use don't work well, they are altered or replaced. That is why they use drop handle bars, for a variety of hand positions to use on extended rides. They use seats that fit human physiology and fit your "sit bones" rather than using loads of padding, or leather saddles that have to be "broken in". It has to either enhance comfort or speed.

But as a guide, it breaks down in some areas. For example, professional racing restricts frame design, and so in many ways deprives us from possibly better designs. (Recumbent.) Retail bicycle manufacturers are generally unable to market innovative designs successfully if the design isn't "validated" in the consumers mind, generally meaning racing. But it is easy to see in other areas that racing inspired innovation has been very beneficial to the transportational cyclist. (Helmet design.)

I point this out because I have sensed that many non-racing cyclists see racing oriented gear as elitist or impractical. Some of the racers trade-offs are not of value to an urban cyclist. For instance, racers will accept a much harsher ride in trade for lower rolling resistance. But one lesson casual cyclists could benefit from racing is that tread patterns are unnecessary for street bikes! Cycling specific clothing (Lycra) is universal in racing and deserves another look by those who are rejecting it for style reasons alone.

As my saddle wear demonstrates, there is a lot friction going on, but I was completely unaware of it. I am thankful for that, and I attribute my lack of abrasions to the clothing I choose to wear.

Steve, that white patch on the top of the top-tube is a route list taped onto the frame. (Your welcome.)

Responding to Steve

Handle-bars. Both of my bikes have goofy handle-bars.

As can be seen in my previous post, the Red-line has "mustache" style bars. This was standard issue for the 2007 model year, and it lent the bike a unique profile. It apparently met with limited success, because they went with different bars in 2008.

It was a good decision on their part, I think. These bars do offer about three hand positions, but the overall drop from seat height to bar height is too much for me.

When I was a youthful bicycle racer in 1976-1981, I had a six inch drop, and I was comfortable with it. As you can see of my Giant, that drop is just right for me now, but not nearly as big as my Red-line

I will be on the look-out for a yard sale bike so that I can get a handle-bar like PM favors for my Red-line. (I don't think I am man enough for a basket though!) This bike is my spare and wet weather bike. I crash on it when it is wet because I don't slow down enough. A more upright position could be a big benefit for me if it helps me slow down a bit.

I have "customized" the bars on my Giant. I never use the drops. So I cut them off. It turns out I could have removed another half inch or so with out a problem, and I may yet do so. They are long enough for my fingers to rest while "on the hoods" without touching the edge of the bar end. I haven't yet decided if I am going to use that extra bar space to mount my cyclometer or not.

What is harder to notice is the extra material used when wrapping the bars. I have used strips of inner tubes to make the round bar more flat. That is, to provide a wider, flatter surface to rest my hands on.

The handle-bar that that most desire is no longer being manufactured. A Cinelli track bar #65. The bar began it's curve two inches or so from the stem in a long graceful arc. Not only did it look cool with brake handles, it provided six distinct and comfortable hand positions- perfect for long hours of saddle time!



Road bars provide multiple hand positions, which is helpful on long rides to keep your hands from hurting. I do all my braking with my hands on the top of the hoods, and so I have adjusted my brakes on the loose side for better leverage. No doubt Steve has a dozen more questions about all this, and I will answer them as he (or anyone else) asks them in the comments.

Room to Share?

Is this a wide enough lane to share side by side with overtaking traffic?

If the wrongheaded "vulnerable user" law gets passed here in Texas, this vehicle will be in violation of it if he passes me in either direction while I am riding in my normal lane position.

The version of the law being considered by the Texas legislators says this:

(b) An operator of a motor vehicle passing a vulnerable road user operating on a highway or street shall:

(1) vacate the lane in which the vulnerable road user is located if the highway has two or more marked lanes running in the same direction; or
(2) pass the vulnerable road user at a safe distance.

(c) For the purposes of Subsection (b)(2), the operator is presumed to have failed to comply with Subsection (b)(2) if the distance between the operator ’s vehicle and the vulnerable road user is less than:

(1) three feet if the operator ’s vehicle is a passenger car or light truck; or
(2) six feet if the operator ’s vehicle is a truck other than a light truck or a commercial motor vehicle as defined by Section 522.003.

522.003 DEFINITIONS.

(5) "Commercial motor vehicle" means a motor vehicle or

combination of motor vehicles used to transport passengers or
property that:

(B) has a gross vehicle weight rating of 26,001 or more pounds;

On this road, the one I must ride a minimum of two miles on to get to or from my home, this vehicle cannot comply with this proposed law unless I am crowding the fog line- which I never do! If I am centered in my lane, or as I normally position myself, in the left tire track, this vehicle cannot overtake me lawfully, and it could be argued, he would break the law if he passes me going the other way!

There are other problems with the proposed law, but I will address them one at a time in a later post. Until then, Godspeed to all!

On y'er right!

Sec. 545.057. PASSING TO THE RIGHT.

(a) An operator may pass to the right of another vehicle only if conditions permit safely passing to the right and:

(1) the vehicle being passed is making or about to make a left turn; and
(2) the operator is:

(A) on a highway having unobstructed pavement not occupied by parked vehicles and sufficient width for two or more lines of moving vehicles in each direction; or
(B) on a one-way street or on a roadway having traffic restricted to one direction of movement and the roadway is free from obstructions and wide enough for two or more lines of moving vehicles.

(b) An operator may not pass to the right by leaving the main traveled portion of a roadway except as provided by Section 545.058

Sec. 545.058. DRIVING ON IMPROVED SHOULDER.

(a) An operator may drive on an improved shoulder to the right of the main traveled portion of a roadway if that operation is necessary and may be done safely, but only:

(1) to stop, stand, or park;
(2) to accelerate before entering the main traveled lane of traffic;
(3) to decelerate before making a right turn;
(4) to pass another vehicle that is slowing or stopped on the main traveled portion of the highway, disabled, or preparing to make a left turn;
(5) to allow another vehicle traveling faster to pass;
(6) as permitted or required by an official traffic-control device; or
(7) to avoid a collision.

(b) Omitted by author for brevity and because it does not apply to our discussion. Look it up if you don't believe me!

(c) A limitation in this section on driving on an improved shoulder does not apply to:

(1) an authorized emergency vehicle responding to a call;
(2) a police patrol; or
(3) a bicycle.

Well, there you have it. There is a very narrow set of conditions that allow passing on the right in Texas. Outside of meeting those conditions, it is illegal to to pass any vehicle operator to the right! Essentially, the only time you can pass on the right is when the vehicle you are overtaking is preparing to turn left.

Furthermore, it is against the law to to use the shoulder to pass a slower vehicle, except under the same conditions as those that allow passing on the right.

On the vast majority of my travels, I am on multi-lane roads or two lane roads without an improved shoulder. As none of these roads have lane widths over 14 feet wide, I ride my bicycle in the left tire track of the right-most through lane. Overtaking vehicles pass me with little or no delay.

But sometimes I ride on two lane roadways (One lane for each direction of travel) that have improved shoulders. About one out of five Texans elect to pass me on the right shoulder, sometimes when they have no impedance to passing me legally on the left. What's with that?

In fact, I have had two motorists pass me on the right when there was no shoulder at all, with two of their wheels about four feet into the verge. (Another woman attempted to pass me on the right but failed when she nearly hit a mailbox before falling back in behind me.) There is no provision in the law for this maneuver. Sec. 545.057 says "On a highway having... sufficient width for two or more lines of moving vehicles in each direction" or on an "improved shoulder". (Sec. 541.302(6) "Improved shoulder" means a paved shoulder.)

It would seem that there are numerically more scofflaw motorists than there are scofflaw bicyclists. There seems to be a lot of driver's license holders that could use a refresher on the laws governing overtaking slower vehicles. For your convenience I have posted those sections of the law above.

ChipSeal