That’s good advice.

Drive your video game.

Huh?

I don’t drive a car very often. But my family does own one. And now we own a new one because the old one died.

So that’s a picture of the new one — a 2010 Toyota Prius.

It’s like driving a video game. It doesn’t have a stick-shift. It has a joystick. I’m not kidding. And the display is located in the center of the dash — speed, gauges, etc.– rather than in front of the driver. That way the passenger may enjoy the game of driving, too. You can display all kinds of distracting information. And the owner’s manual actually suggests that to get the best gas mileage you should keep an eye on a particular display to keep a status bar within a particular range.

Like I said, video game

Should one play video games while driving a car?

I’m glad we have it — not because I want a car, but because if you must have one (and in the USA we often “must”) I think it’s best to have one that’s easier on the enviornment and the pocketbook.

No car, BTW, is green. No car is easy on the environment. Some are easier than others, but all are black.

I drove it home from Chillicothe yesterday — about four hours away. Car buying has changed. I really wasn’t involved except at the end to nod approval. My wife decided what she wanted, used cars.com to find it, then we went to get it.

When will I drive it next? Hmmmmm… Perhaps soon because, like a video game, there’s a lot to learn about how this thing works. And, also game like, it was a bit confusing at first. Our conversation upon taking it for a test drive.

Wife: Is it on?

Me: I don’t know.

Wife: How do you tell?

Me: Beats me.

Wife: That light says “ready.”

Me: Cool. Put it into gear, and let’s go. Use the joy stick.

Wife: Is it in gear?

Me: I don’t know.

Wife: ‘D’ is highlighted.

Me: Hit the gas.

We pwned it!

Technorati Tags: crazy drivers

I mean, really … other people? They’re just objects in the road. Something to get around. And if they piss you off, then scare them or put them in danger.

Here’s what a road bully pulled on me this morning. He didn’t realize, however, that wasn’t scared of him.

(Click for larger image)

That’s the intersection of National and Grand. I pass through this intersection everyday following the route indicated by the red line. While it might look scary, this intersection is easily traversed even by novices. All it takes is a basic understanding of how traffic works and the bicyclist’s role in it.

Since I head west through the  intersection, I position myself to command the right-hand through lane. There’s a long sight-line to my rear, so car drivers may easily decide if they want to pull in behind a bicyclist or not. If not, they simply take the left-hand through lane. This reasonable, adult behavior works like a charm the vast majority of the time.

Then you have the bullies — their numbers are quite low, but their behavior can be disconcerting.

So this guy pulls in behind me at the light instead of taking the left lane. His behavior tells me that he’s comfortable with the fact that I won’t be traveling the speed limit through this intersection.

There were five cars to my left, and all of them passed me easily as we passed through the intersection (red line). The guy behind me stayed behind me until we reached the turn-out. Then he gunned the engine and passed me on the right using the turn-out despite the left lane being entirely clear (yellow line).

What an asshole.

Now, I have enough experience on the road that I was merely angered by his behavior, i.e. taking a chance with other people’s lives. But such a stunt is exactly the kind of thing that could frighten a novice off the road for good. And that really makes me angry.

Technorati Tags: bicycle advocacy, bicycle safety, crazy drivers, cycling

• Beware Springfield! There are outlaw nuns on the loose! Had a car full of them run the 4-way stop at Cherry and Hammons right in front of me this morning. What traffic laws would Mother Teresa ignore?
• STAR Team member Rick Scarlet and I are working on holding a CyclingSavvy class (possibly a weekend in September) for lady bicyclists. I’m working on getting a female CSI to co-teach the class (two have agreed — one from St.L. and one from FL — so it’s now a matter of scheduling). If you’re a female bicyclist who would like to learn how to ride confidently in traffic, please contact me. Read this success story: I Am No Road Warrior. Very cool! [Note: Taking the weekend class would then allow an interested bicyclist to take the CyclingSavvy instructor training. We could use more bicycle educators in Springfield. Please think about it.]
• I have published my last honk report. These posts have served their 2-fold purpose: 1) To demonstrate how rare such occurrences are for me (attributed to my lane positioning and rule following), and 2) To come to some understanding about why people honk (most seem to be merely territorial hoots).
• There are a lot more people riding bicycles around downtown. We need to do updated traffic counts. The change seems to me to be significant since I moved here seven years ago. I arrived downtown this morning at 8:00 to find the bicycle corral nearly full.
• I do believe I have overcome my anger at stupid automobile drivers — you know, the rare few who do dumb stuff that puts you in danger (danger that proper bicycle driving largely mitigates). I’m looking at you, you car-full of stop-sign running nuns! Man, I prefer being mellow out there. Now I have to work on my consternation (not anger) with “challenged” bicyclists — you know, the road salmon, the unlighted night riders, the serial red-light runners, the serial red-light runners that pass me on the right when I’m stopped at a traffic light… it’s a long list.
• Been riding my Kona Bike a lot lately — mostly as my going-downtown bicycle. The darn thing is a fun ride I’m also happy that all my bicycles now have internal gear hubs. The Bike is described as “super Rasta.” I have no idea what that means, but it sounds cool
• Hot. Geez. Hot outside. Good grief it’s hot…
• Seriously. Will someone please step up and start a Springfield Cycling Chic blog? I’ll help set it up. I’ll even host it. I’ll even help take pictures. Please!

Technorati Tags: bicycle advocacy, bicycle culture, bicycle education, crazy drivers, cycling

Imagine me doing the superior dance and chanting:

It’s working, it’s working, all this stuff we’re doing is working!

The second thing I saw was easy to catch:

Uh… WTH?

The young lady driving this thing apparently felt entitled to park on the corral to make her dash into the Mudhouse for coffee a bit more convenient. Never mind that a motorcyclist might have come by looking for a place to park (and they have been parking there!).

This sense of entitlement isn’t just a car-driven phenomenon. It’s pervasive in our culture. Makes one wish that the golden rule held more sway.

Technorati Tags: bicycle culture, car culture, crazy drivers, cycling

First, it came shortly after the last one. Usually honks are spaced many weeks apart making them very rare occurrences. Second, this honk was my first one downtown.

I was riding on Walnut headed east toward campus. I had just crossed Jefferson. A short way ahead a truck was parallel parking, so I slowed a bit to be sure he was secure before passing him. Oh, and I was positioned was dead center in the late because Walnut downtown is narrow with a 20 mph speed limit.

After passing the truck, a woman in a small red car passes me with more than 100 yards to go to the light at Kimbrough. No on-coming traffic. And she honks.

I smiled at her as she passed, and she flipped me off! Wow. And she had a small child in the front seat, too.

Then came another first: The light caught her at Kimbrough, so I was able to speak to her. She was in the left-turn lane; I pulled along side. Her passenger window was slightly cracked. The conversation went roughly this way:

Me: Why did you honk at me?

Her: Why don’t you ride on the sidewalk?

Me: Because it’s illegal downtown and dangerous. Missouri law defines this [points to bicycle] as a legal vehicle. I belong in the road.

Her: Geez. [waves hand dismissively]

And then the light turns and she’s gone. Something learned? Hmmmmm…

Technorati Tags: crazy drivers