Encouragement, Education & Advocacy for Bicycling in the Real World
Most of the day was in the classroom, but we spent 3 hours on bikes. I have 4 pages of notes, but I’m wiped out, so a real post will wait. Here are some iPhone photos from today…
The class will travel on the road in groups, so they learn to ride in a pace line. Continue reading →
Join the CommuteOrlando gang this Saturday at 12pm, February 13th. Our meet up will happen at PetSmart on Colonial and Maguire. For those who elect, or may need to drive, we suggest parking at the Cady Way Trailhead
Children are welcome. Ride details and suggested routes to the ride start can be found here
Keri is on an important project this week so email me and I will help plan a route to ride to join us.
Don’t have a pet and just want to ride? Come on! We roll out at 12:30pm! See you there!
I have an exciting opportunity this week. I’ll be sitting in on a Law Enforcement Bicycle Association training class at OPD. I’m looking forward to learning more about how law enforcement officers use bikes to do their work. I hope I’ll learn a few bike handling skills I never thought of before, too.
I’ll report when I can.
“Yer gonna get run over.” Says the average person (including many cyclists) in any discussion about riding in the lane on a high speed road.
In honor of our favorite jailbirds, Mighk and I decided to head out on a little myth-busting excursion yesterday. Instead of the usual cyclist-chasing-cyclist, we did some motorist-view video. I mounted a 110° lens on the seat post of Mighk’s mountain bike and a 70° lens on my Jetta’s rear view mirror.
I was pleased that somebody is doing something, but then I read that line and I wonder what they are doing.
Law-enforcement officers throughout Orange County are conducting targeted traffic details today at locations that have a high rate of pedestrian and bicyclist accidents.
The enforcement is intended to bring a heightened awareness to both drivers and pedestrians. The focus is on three age groups: elementary, high school and young adult/college students.
Some of the intersections that are being targeted: University Boulevard at Forsyth Road; Orange Center Boulevard at Ohio Avenue; and Orange Center Boulevard at John Young Parkway. Continue reading →
This has become a frequent sight on Lakemont Avenue on trash day. The waste management workers are placing some cans in the middle of the bike lane after emptying them into the truck. I’ve stopped and removed several cans from the bike lane each time. Since this is clearly a pattern and not a random occurrence, I sent the following letter to the City of Winter Park: Continue reading →
Semoran Blvd & University in Orange County
The last two years have brought unprecedented change to the nation and to Central Florida. The financial crisis virtually dried up credit. This caused the housing bubble to burst putting Florida’s housing industry sales into free fall. Unemployment, foreclosures and out-migration rippled through the economy. And for the first time since the end of World War II, Florida’s population declined. Oil and gasoline prices fluctuated wildly causing drivers to cut back driving, stop buying gas guzzling trucks and SUVs, and created long waiting lists for fuel sipping hybrids. Continue reading →
Orange Ave – cars track far left, staying clear of the door zone
So, I’m looking at all this traffic footage and something occurs to me. Motorists give other cars considerably more than three feet when they pass. Obviously, lane widths offer plenty of buffer when they are passing moving vehicles in adjacent lanes. But they give extra clearance when passing cars that are slowing to turn in a wide lane, too. They also don’t drive in the door zone of parked cars (even when there’s no bike lane there to provide them a safety buffer from car doors) Check out the tire tracks on a narrow road like Central. The left one is next to the center line, the right one is 3-4 feet from the parked cars (as far as they can get). In the photo above, the tracks are even farther from the parking on Orange, which has much wider lanes.
So I have two questions. Continue reading →
The Judge Mirandizes us as a group, then brings us forward one at a time to hear our plea, and the setting of a bond, etc. Those of us waiting are close enough to hear most of what is said.
When I approach his raised dais, he opens a folder, and then looks up in surprise. He says, “Are they serious? Operating a bicycle on the roadway?” Continue reading →
I don’t know much about video cameras. I’ve never owned a camcorder. So please take this post as my observations, not expert advice. My adventures in bike video and video editing began in October 2008 when Brian DeSousa came to Orlando. Continue reading →
