pleasant surprise on my commute Monday morning.

earlier i had written to the council member and local NYPD responsible for a stretch of road in which there were routinely huge trucks double parked in the intersection, blocking the moving lane, the crosswalk, just everything. basically obstructing traffic flow, causing back up of cars for two blocks or so. anyhow, i was sent a note by 311 saying 'thanks for reporting that, we went to the scene and fixed it.'

on early Monday morning as i was passing that stretch of road again, i saw a traffic cop talking to a truck who had done that again - double parked in an intersection, obstructing both the moving lane and the crosswalk. i overheard her saying, "you can't double park here - both cars and pedestrians can't get by!..." and i just smiled.

a little safer on my route - FTW!

[MENTION=397406]snow_echo_NY[/MENTION], it's amazing that sometimes we can actually get through the bureaucracy here in NYC!

i was stunned. i'm not sure if it was me or what. but i was psyched. i should share this :)

I probably mentioned this before here, but maybe it bears repeating. In January, the MUP along the Hudson north of the George Washington Bridge was entirely covered in ice. It was totally treacherous, so very few people used it. I went to the city's 311 web site and reported it. They cleared it! Wow! They even sent me an email!

Sluggish this morning guess I was tired. Although did have a good head wind. Had to work a couple extra hours and even though it was cooler out felt hotter. But the wind actually stayed in the same direction for a tail wind! That rarely happens!

Even with our 311 in KCK they actually take care of what's reported. It's probably cheaper to take care of it versus a lawsuit if they don't.

I've found the cities have been very good at responding to calls or emails. While I've been getting around in my wheelchair there is/was a problem sidewalk let down in my area and I let them know it was dangerous and difficult to negotiate in a wheelchair. I used the cities new app for these sorts of things and they were on it the next day with a temporary fix to be later fully fixed.

I agree that it is easier to get on it than face legal action for negligence.

On my way home I did a better job of finding the single track along the MUP, which on my previous ride home I had lost for about a mile. The single track shortens my commute distance about 0.3 miles but increases the time by 15 minutes! There are two ascents I just can't make, too steep and rocky, and a couple of ruts where the pedals struck and I needed to paddle through. On the plus side it's in the shade once I'm on it. One section has a bunch of berms, but me and my bum ticker just don't have the power to burst up to the top of the ramps to get started on the flow. When I'm feeling better I need to try it.

Gosh, it's great to live here

Had nice fast, but hot commute yesterday morning. A tough, and hot ride home with a good head wind blowing. I finished out the week with a tad under 50 miles. A typhoon is coming, so no ride today and tomorrow, and the ten day forecast shows ever day rainy or rainy with thunderstorms. So far over half the days in July have been rainy.

The commute was a very nice though I did have an exchange of words with a person in a car. He was behind me on a two lane road coming into a three way stop. I was in the middle of the road as I was going to turn left. He was beeping to signify his being there. At the stop sign I stopped and then continued on my way. After he made his left turn he passed me on the left and said "you have to learn how to do that, I do not want to hit you lady". I said i had done it correctly. I am almost one hundred percent sure I had done that correctly. Am I correct, or is there a better way to handle a left turn?

i remember you telling me that! it def. is totally is worth repeating. 311 totally helps. i've filled out the pothole form. they eventually came and filled the potholes (not well tho, it's bumpy in that section, but at least it's not a scary pot hole).

you definitely did do it correctly i do this as well, i sometimes salmon up the wrong side of the road if there's a moment where i can use that lane, but usually i stay on the left and stick out my left arm to indicate i'm making a left turn. you could try that next time? i'm not sure it will help tho. drivers have whizzed by me, and others have given me clearance/berth/slow passing speed.

i think what also helps is bright blinking lights to increase visibility for motorists in the rear. for me, there's no way a motorist cannot see me. it's much too bright.

Absolutely beautiful! Sunny, dry morning with Temp at 54°F, light winds. I wish every morning was like this one.

Today I decided to go ahead with my long-planned metric century commute. I had planned to do it during the long days of June, but we had record-breaking heat for the entire month. The forecast today was calling for a significant break in the heat and humidity due to a cold front that supposedly moved through overnight, plus the winds were supposed to be blowing briskly out of the north, which would give me a tailwind much of the way to work. It must not have passed by yet because the temperatures and humidity were about the same this morning as they were yesterday, but I went ahead with my plan anyway. The wind finally kicked up as I was nearing downtown, but by that time I was dealing with crosswinds and headwinds. I ended up with 32.4 miles for the morning leg.

Hopefully the north winds will die down by the time of my afternoon commute, and the humidity levels are already starting to drop. So I should be able to bag my first metric commute if all goes to plan.

Did my typical Mon/Wed commute this week, but think I will skip the Friday commute because Saturday is our annual Kansas City to Des Moines 200-mile ride. It's a one day ride to Des Moines. Once there... we grab some dinner, have a few beers, spend the night, then catch the sag vehicles back to KC on Sunday morning. We have several wonderful support-crew wives that make this trip possible!

+1 to speaking up. Several years ago I had a conversation with our city's bike and pedestrian coordinator. I met him because I'm a regular "complainer" about things like trail conditions especially during the winter (snow and ice clearing). I do it most often on Twitter. He "knew" me from my posts and I was apologetic for being a pest - he said I was seen as quite the opposite (except DPW who is often the target of my wrath). As a general rule, people don't speak out so public works departments don't know - if they don't know they can't make changes. Since we're in the minority and they want to address these issues before the lawsuit we generally get pretty good response. I have to say it's pretty satisfying! Now, if there was just an office of rain management who would take my calls.

A little cooler everyday this week. Since I woke up early I just left for work early and took another route. Stopped by one of KC's many water fountains for a break. Had a beer last night to relax a bit and it's amazing how much it helped. May have to start doing that more often in this heat!

The only gray area here is when to take the lane. When I'm coming up to a left turn, I try to look back early enough to see if it is safe to take the lane or if I should wait for a car to go by before moving to the middle. And just the act of me looking back is usually enough for that car to realize that I'm looking for an opening. They usually slow down at that point and let me make my left, especially if they are going straight as that way they don't have to go around me.

I thoroughly enjoyed the ride home yesterday. It is amazing how wonder 85F with a slight breeze feels versus 95F and no breeze. I checked a friends mail for him while he is out of town and stopped by a local bike store and had a great ride home.

This morning got up, rode 14 miles in 53 minutes, and got into the office early so I have time for for a decent lunch Friday. :)

looks like it will be another NIckel week of riding. As I was riding this morning, I was trying to remember the last time I drove to work. Turns out it July 3rd. Kinda feel like I am wasting money paying for parking.

it was nice and cool this AM ! such a nice change from the last couple of weeks. like brisk and chilly.

yesterday, i took the lane on my way home b/c some guy had his passenger door open in the bikelane and he was standing in it clearing out something. the taxi behind me (who was far at the time i overtook the lane) started honking at me

i went back to the bike lane and yelled, "don't honk!" - that's a huge pet peeve of mine. motorists who honk or lean on their horn when hello! i'm a cyclist. that is scary for me! a simple horn tap is all that's needed if she was not sure i saw her. but she knows i saw her as i looked back and signaled. anyhow...

as she passed she said, "thank you" when i had moved over back to the bike lane.

later we were all stopped at the light and i pulled up to her saying, "hey next time don't honk. i purposely took the lane because that guy had his car door open in the bike lane while he was standing in it." she apologized and said she didn't see it until we had passed that's why she said "thank you" - i mentioned it's worth waiting to see the whole picture before honking b/c it's really quite loud for us. she responded with "bicyclists usually just take the lane and won't let us pass" - i told her i'm not that person and we're not all like that.

the light turned and we were on our way.

sigh. i hope i convinced her. yeesh.

I had a valuable lesson this morning. On my normal route to work, there is a riverfront trail which I take for about 2 miles. The stretch I normally take is all either crushed limestone or (in a couple of places) pavement. Today I decided to alter my route. The only section of this route I hadn't ridden before was 6 miles of the river trail. About a mile after my normal stretch, the surface becomes packed dirt. In some sections further on, there are 20' wide mud puddles spanning from forest edge to forest edge. Then the roots started being in the path. Then rocks sticking up all over the trail. On the plus side, I saw several deer, one of which would not move from right next to the trail, even though it saw me coming. I wound up passing within 2 feet. Scary at the time, but pretty neat. Overall, the trail wound up adding well over an hour to my trip to work. It would have been a fun ride on a mountain bike instead of my commuter, and if I had time to enjoy it when I wasn't trying to get to work. The lesson was to never rely on a route for your commute when you haven't previewed it.

I also for the first time ever did the slow motion tip over when my foot would not release from the pedal at a stop light.

I had looked originally looked back and there were no cars. When I am riding this road in the morning I have about maybe five cars go by. It is not a heavy traffic area at the time I ride. I guess I could have moved over to the side and let him pass but if I had done that he would have been in the stop sign when I arrived and then that becomes more confusing for most folks. I am not good at guessing distance but he was only behind me for maybe two house lots. I just want to make sure I am doing it correctly as I would hate to think i am doing it right to find out otherwise.

Thank-you it is good to know that I am doing it correctly. I would hate to be doing it wrong thinking I am correct.

I did signal I was turning left with my left arm. I also use a red rear blinkie, but I know he could see me as he beeped at me. This is a heavy traffic road any other time of day except at the early morning hour that I ride, so I do not feel comfortable crossing the line and going up the wrong side. You never know what may happen when you turn your head.

One more awesome single track commute this morning - this afternoon will likely be retrieved by SWMBO to ferry me to the car at the body shop. It's been great but my sit bones are used up. It's definitely easier in the to-work direction - the two steep hills are fun descents, and the only serious uphill can be done on pavement. It's making me wish I had a better bike to do it with, but putting knobbies back on this one would be a good start. And taking off the kickstand and bell, one of which is a hazard and the other of which rings when going over rocks!

Awesome! New aluminum wheels for the roadbike, that new hub silence and smoothness... fantastic! Also slightly wider tires at lower pressure. More smoothness!!! However, my 1st time trying tubeless airing them up last night and even this morning was not enough. Airing them up before I left got me here, and I will air them up again before leaving.