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Sharrow power boost

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Old 04-22-10 | 02:15 PM
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Sharrow power boost

Whenever I ride over a sharrow, I imagine getting a sort of turbo power boost, like in old arcade games, which sends me hurtling forward at double speed for 100 yards or so. Of course, it's only imaginary. But is there anyone else on this forum who specifically targets sharrows for this reason?
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Old 04-22-10 | 02:19 PM
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LOL, I will now.
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Old 04-22-10 | 02:23 PM
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That's what Sharrows are for. They put something on the asphalt that makes you go faster.

This is only the sharrows that look like the bike with two chevrons. The "bike-in-house" sharrows don't work.
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Old 04-22-10 | 02:55 PM
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Love the visual! Brilliant!

I'll have to start humming Mario Cart tunes to myself as I pass over the sharrows on my commute.
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Old 04-22-10 | 03:01 PM
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The arsenal of bananas, turtles, and rocket-bullets would be pretty nice too.
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Old 04-22-10 | 03:19 PM
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No ... but that's freaking awesome! I'm going to have to start going over the sharrows and paying attention to just how much they boost me.

So, are there different kinds? Mike Shoup saved me a lot of confusion and wasted effort by pointing out that it's only the ones with two chevrons. But do you get more of a boost if they're a certain color or something? Or, do some of them make your faster, and others allow you to chase the ghosts?
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Old 04-22-10 | 03:25 PM
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Hehehehehehe...... VRRRROOOOMMMMM!!

Now I'm gonna make vrooom noises whenever I ride on the sharrows. Thanks for the laughs!
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Old 04-22-10 | 03:43 PM
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mikeshoup: you're quite right, the "bike-in-house" sharrows are horrible aren't they. Obsviously the person who designed those sharrows had never ridden a bike. Or they had onyl ridden a bike in their house.

EKW & JB: of course it was Mariokart I was thinking of. A supply of turtles would certainly come in handy.

Seattle Forest: there's one near me on a nice wide boulevard at the bottom of a hill, and one of these days I'll hit it just right and get airborne.

cyclokitty: you should be making those noises anyway.
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Old 04-22-10 | 03:47 PM
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I LOL'd..

.. Then I really, really wished I lived somewhere with sharrows...

VROOM!
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Old 04-22-10 | 03:51 PM
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heh... I aim for utility/valve box lids...
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Old 04-23-10 | 08:53 AM
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Sharrow power boosts would be particularly nice on uphills (or crazy fun on downhills- weeeee!).

I like the idea of shells and banana peels. Oh the number of times that shooting a turtle shell at a car would have been oh so fun!
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Old 04-23-10 | 11:36 AM
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Wait til you start getting the blue E's that's when you know you're flying!
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Old 04-23-10 | 12:22 PM
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This really works! I was surprised to learn on my commute home, that riding over a sharrow sent me down the hill faster. Unfortunately there was a line of cars waiting to get on the freeway ( I don't actually go by the entrance, but the arterials sort of gather people toward it ) and I had to avoid them during one of my power boosts.

On the other hand, coming into work this morning, I really enjoyed the boost going up Roosevelt, which is a merciless hill.
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Old 04-23-10 | 01:09 PM
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In Toronto I try to avoid riding over them because they have been stupidly installed at the side of lanes that weren't wide enough for bike lanes (SO PUT THEM IN THE CENTER!) so if you actual ride over one a car at the far side of the left lane will probably brush your shoulder with its mirror.
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