Funny how cycling changes how I look at driving.
05-11-08, 06:59 PM
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Funny how cycling changes how I look at driving.
OK, so me & the Boys play down at San Gregorio every month - gosh how many times have I made this driven in 7 or 8 years? I don't know... lots.
I always see cyclists going up and down the highway; it's such a great stretch of riding road.
So, I've done it myself 2 or 3 times, including a nice 38 miler last weekend where I rode all the way down to the General Store, itself -and first- and back on up again.
Today, we had a "Store" gig and I couldn't help but notice -I mean literally notice- all the scenery, the little details and all the beauty along the coast.
Normally in a car, I just buzz along, ignorant of everything outside of the "cocoon"
I was just so much more aware of it today, having lived it up close and personal so recently.
Anyone else drive an area they've cycled in and noticed it more for having been there on a bike?
It was really nice... then, last weekend was totally overcast and today was sunny... maybe that's all it was?
I always see cyclists going up and down the highway; it's such a great stretch of riding road.
So, I've done it myself 2 or 3 times, including a nice 38 miler last weekend where I rode all the way down to the General Store, itself -and first- and back on up again.
Today, we had a "Store" gig and I couldn't help but notice -I mean literally notice- all the scenery, the little details and all the beauty along the coast.
Normally in a car, I just buzz along, ignorant of everything outside of the "cocoon"
I was just so much more aware of it today, having lived it up close and personal so recently.
Anyone else drive an area they've cycled in and noticed it more for having been there on a bike?
It was really nice... then, last weekend was totally overcast and today was sunny... maybe that's all it was?
05-11-08, 08:20 PM
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I'm completely with you on effects of riding on driving. I've also noticed that my in town speeds are lower and I'm in less of a rush to pass slower vehicles on the highway. Life at 15 or 16 miles an hour (or a bit faster for some here) is better.
05-11-08, 10:29 PM
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When I drive on a road, I'm always checking out the shoulder to see if it's safe for riding.
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05-12-08, 05:21 AM
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I frequently think about how wherever it is I'm driving would be like to bike. Tends to widen your horizons a tad.
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05-12-08, 06:07 AM
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Unfortunately my driving is becoming more like I ride........drafting behind others, shouting "on your left" as I pass, easing through intersections.........at least that is what my wife tells me.
05-12-08, 06:46 AM
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since I am mechanical minded sometimes I catch myself looking at the side of the road to see if there is anything 'usefull' that I can pick up. But for the most part I am watching where I am going and enjoying the scenery..................peace
05-12-08, 07:04 AM
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I did exactly this on Saturday. My riding partner and I rode to the top of Emigration Canyon. I've driven that route many times, and I've ridden all over this valley, but never rode up there. I noticed things I'd never seen before - hippie houses, silly pseudo-French McMansions, stunning views, little hidden canyons, rock slides, the creek, deer, coyotes, snakes, a small boy aimlessly throwing rocks at a cliff face. I noticed how big this place is. The drivers that gunned past us, in the steady parade of SUVs and Japanese econo-boxes, seemed to be hermetically sealed in plastic containers, and looked either angry or pathetic. On the way down, bucking a 10+ MPH headwind, I tried not to think about going 30-35 MPH around banked curves, balanced on 4 square inches of rubber, over nasty looking cracked chip seal...
05-12-08, 08:34 AM
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My driving experience makes me a safer cyclist, and my cycling experience definitely makes me a much better motorist.
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"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
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05-12-08, 09:17 AM
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Same here. I'm much more concious of cyclists when I'm driving, and when riding, I pay more attention to what I'm doing to avoid being the cause of anything nasty.
And like everyone else, I notice a lot more things when I ride than when I'm driving.
05-12-08, 09:27 AM
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oh my yes....life can be so fast especially during work hours....time spent on the bike is almost as if it doesn't count against your natural life span. Its Zen time. At any speed.
05-12-08, 10:13 AM
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It works both ways for me. Like Mojo, when I'm driving I'm always checking out the shoulder to see if the road is bikeable. I also recently drove out to Tomales after biking there a couple of weeks prior and impressed the heck out of myself (and my wife..oh yeah!), as in "wow--I rode up THAT!?!".
05-12-08, 11:58 AM
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Just continually amazed at how much more I see when I am on two wheels. Even as a passenger in a car, you miss so much.
05-12-08, 12:15 PM
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You see so much walking that you missed when pedaling
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05-12-08, 03:05 PM
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I look at every inch of road to see how rideable it is. I also look at everything else out there in a whole different way. Now, I look at houses, lawns, trees, and you name it. I appreciate the things I see more from biking. The fact that I'm looking at other things while driving is not always a good thing. Of coarse I have to check out every bike I see too.
05-12-08, 03:15 PM
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As many of you know, I rode coast-to-coast last year about this time of the year. After arriving in FL from San Diego, I rented a car and my wife and I drove back home to Utah, following some of the same roads across FL, AL, MS, TX, etc. WOW, what a different experience. The bicycle experience was so much better for many reasons, including what's been expressed above. The "people experience" was also totally different. People were so friendly and interested in visiting as I came through on my bike. In the car, it was pretty much fill 'er up and move on...
