Over the past year, I have replaced my primary means of transportation. I have gone from strictly relying on my status of being bipedal, to relying on the bi-pedals of my bicycle. With this change in transportation scheme come a fair number of excitements and sometimes excruciating difficulties, and it is upon these facts that I intend to write. I'll point out the fact that I stated that it is purely my intent of remaining on this topic, for those of you who have read my posts in the past would know that "pointed" is hardly a descriptor to be used in description of my rambling writings.
The first topic that comes to mind when I think of "what I've learned while riding a bike" would definitely be how grateful I am for the fact that my bike is a road bike and not a mountain bike. This gratitude appeared as a result of the comparative ease with which I was riding home from class in the HPER E building on the University of Utah campus...the relative ease in comparison with those of my pseudo colleagues who were riding far inferior "mountain" bikes. I credit this ease to the significantly smaller coefficient of kinetic friction caused by the differing materials and patterns present in the respective tires.
Okay, enough of that pretentious writing. I was simply trying to make a point of how annoying it is reading something written by someone who pretends to have a large vocabulary. Now, let's get to the real stuff I wanted to talk about.
While riding a bike, I have discovered that there are very different levels of skill in regards to walking. Seriously though. I have never realized in the past, how difficult it can be for someone to walk in a straight line. I sincerely wish that this difficulty could be blamed on intoxication, but given the fact that people tend to suffer from it at as early as 7:20 in the morning, I either think the problem is with walking itself, or some people really need to cut back.
Let me illustrate an example. I don't mean illustrate as in drawing a picture...bad things would happen if I even attempted that feat. In fact, I'm convinced an orphan dies every time I try to draw something. So, I will merely try to paint a picture with words. Because I know words.
So I'm riding home from class (pretty much entirely downhill), and as I approach someone who is walking in the same direction as me, I make adjustments on the path of my ride as not to hit them...naturally. Then, out of some subconscious desire to be severely injured, the person takes a step to the side, impeding my already-adjusted course. I have to then correct again, and I have to ride off on the grass to avoid the straight line-challenged individual (I know....of all the terrible things that could happen to someone on a road bike, riding on the grass is basically the worst option.)
I have discovered that, more often than not, the person who makes the poor decision of suddenly changing lanes on the sidewalk is playing with their phone. So what is it that causes our internal compass to go all awry when we're looking at an object we often hold way too close to our faces? I think discovering that may be my calling in life.
The other scenario occurs when I'm quickly approaching someone from one direction, and they are walking perpendicular to my path. The person sees the rapidity of my approach, and a sudden sense of uncontrollable fear grips them, and they freeze. Now, mind you, I have determined that my path will not hit them if they proceed at their current rate of travel. So, when they freeze, all of a sudden the variables of my mental calculations have changed, and my solution is no longer valid. This causes a required swerve on my part, and, once again, I end up on the grass.
So, why am I taking the time to write this out. I intend this simply as a public service announcement to those of you who find yourself walking in areas where bicyclers share the lanes of travel.
1)Pick a target at eye level and a reasonable distance, and walk towards it. It's the same principle that they teach in driver's ed (even though you'd think that walking would be that much easier to handle since you've been doing it so much longer than driving.) Don't suddenly change lanes...you never know what's approaching from behind (unless you hear someone yelling "STOP THAT MAN." In which case, I would recommend you do all the "lane changing" that you desire.
2)If you see a biker coming in your direction, don't fear...we won't hit you. If we do, you'll just get insurance money. It's really a win-win situation, so let's overcome that fear. What do you say, patcha?
Share the sidewalks!
