tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1062890745642836867.comments2008-10-15T09:34:23.815-05:00Go Bikes, Go!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1062890745642836867.post-3454031145053989482008-10-15T09:34:00.000-05:002008-10-15T09:34:00.000-05:00I got a ticket for running a stop sign on a bike l...I got a ticket for running a stop sign on a bike last year.<BR/><BR/>I was riding through a local subdivision. Very low traffic. It was a Tuesday morning after everyone had already left for work or school. I see a police officer sitting a ways back from the corner of a three-way stop with his motorcycle.<BR/><BR/>It was then I did was I always do at that specific intersection. I verified there were no cars coming. I dropped from 15 miles an hour to below four miles an hour; about as slow as I can go without unclipping. I gave the cop a little 'good morning; how ya doing wave' without taking my hands off the bars. Then, I rolled through the intersection.<BR/><BR/>He hit his siren. [Woop, woop: that's the sound of the police]. I just about got whiplash to see what I missed and what car was going to run me over. There was no one else around. So, I turned around and pulled in next to him. He then told me I ran the stop sign.<BR/><BR/>I was stunned. Honestly, stunned. Maybe because he was a motorcycle cop, he was a fellow two-wheeler and pulling my leg, right? No such luck.<BR/><BR/>For the seven or eight minutes I was on the side of the road getting my ticket, a car didn't pass through the intersection. I'm all about 'if you break the law, no matter how stupid the law, you should pay the price' but this even rubbed me the wrong way.<BR/><BR/>I always stop for lights. If the light doesn't turn, I'll proceed through the red after stopping.<BR/><BR/>One of the (not-so) local bike shops will give you 50% off anything in the shop (one item only) if you present them with an actual citation while you were on a bike. They then post your citation on the wall. It's great way to get people into the shop and reinforces the idea that bikes are vehicles. Most of the tickets are for failure to stop or yield but there are a few speeding tickets (23 in a 15 mph school zone, for example).<BR/><BR/>Cheers, MattAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1062890745642836867.post-58701890071779491762008-10-13T11:58:00.000-05:002008-10-13T11:58:00.000-05:00Yes! I saw the proposed legislation in CA for the...Yes! I saw the proposed legislation in CA for the yield at a stop sign and stop at a red light. That definitely sounds like a prudent change.<BR/>One thing I heard about, although not directly applicable here, is that in rural Holland, there are 4-way intersections with NO signs of any kind. Thus each person must stop and evaluate the situation individually. It has led to more caution at intersections. I do not imagine it would be workable here in the good ol' US of A but fun to think about!S. Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01293182589443700212noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1062890745642836867.post-83358577187236405822008-10-13T08:14:00.000-05:002008-10-13T08:14:00.000-05:00Thanks for the link, Scott. I agree with what you ...Thanks for the link, Scott. I agree with what you said. I have found that if I stop at a light (which I nearly always do), and I see the cross lights changing, I will go ahead and clip in, and as long as cars are coming to a stop, I will go ahead and start into the intersection. That seems to tell the cars behind me that I am concerned about the flow of traffic, and do not intend to slow them down on purpose. <BR/>Waiting on the light can put the cyclist in danger--I have been passed by cars in the intersection many times. Most recently, I policeman was sitting there watching as three cars sped past me in the middle of an intersection--clearly an illegal move. <BR/>I recently read where San Francisco is considering legislation that would allow cyclists to treat four-way stops as yield signs, and to treat red lights as four way stops. Good plan. Tulsa is preparing now to rebuild four lighted intersections, all of them along popular bicycle commuting routes. The new traffic lights will all be equipped with motion sensors that detect cyclists. Progress.jasonkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15286051485290549551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1062890745642836867.post-76133694937798416012008-10-09T15:47:00.000-05:002008-10-09T15:47:00.000-05:00I am here in New Orleans, which is hot and humid s...I am here in New Orleans, which is hot and humid still. I am originally from Minnesota, which is a whole other ballgame.<BR/>It is nice to have a figure to quote for bike MPGs. Plus, food tastes better than gasoline...S. Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01293182589443700212noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1062890745642836867.post-24621606396256140282008-10-09T11:21:00.000-05:002008-10-09T11:21:00.000-05:00My bicycle gets 517 miles per gallon.A gallon of g...<B>My bicycle gets 517 miles per gallon.</B><BR/><BR/>A gallon of gas has 31,000 calories of energy, give or take. To figure out how many miles per gallon you get on your bike, first figure out how many calories you are burning on your bike. Then, take that number and divide it into 31,000.<BR/><BR/>I burn 60 calories a mile when pulling my son in his bike trailer. 31,000 divided by 60 is about 517 miles per gallon. Keep that in mind the next time that your way-too-proud-of-himeself coworker talks about his Toyota Prius.<BR/><BR/>For more fuzzy math and <A HREF="http://www.palmbeachbiketours.com/2008/06/23/calories-burned-while-pulling-a-bike-trailer/" REL="nofollow">the relationship between your bike, calories and gasoline</A> check out my dissertation on the subject.<BR/><BR/>In another couple weeks, it'll be cool enough down here (South Florida) to start biking to work again. This morning, it was only 82 degrees when I left for work at 8:15 am. Once we drop below 80, I can make it the three miles to work without smelling like a dead horse.<BR/><BR/>Cheers,<BR/>MattAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1062890745642836867.post-39998704034106772972008-10-09T08:09:00.000-05:002008-10-09T08:09:00.000-05:00M is for Minnesota. I suppose the terrain doesn't...M is for Minnesota. I suppose the terrain doesn't give it away..<BR/>Thanks for posting on the water-bottle, makes blogging easier to have all this info floating out there in the aether.<BR/>Thanks for the comment,<BR/><BR/>ScottS. Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01293182589443700212noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1062890745642836867.post-31716225529207353952008-10-08T15:01:00.000-05:002008-10-08T15:01:00.000-05:00I'm glad you found the insulated water bottle stor...I'm glad you found the insulated water bottle story. That took an inordinate amount of time for what amounted to an obvious conclusion. Duh: insulated water bottles keep water cooler longer.<BR/><BR/>Good luck on your new bike blog.<BR/><BR/>Is the 'M' in BAM Missouri or Minnesota? (Or, possibly, Mississippi.) I flipped through the pictures but couldn't figure out in which state you were riding.<BR/><BR/>Cheers,<BR/>Matt of Palm Beach Bike ToursAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com