by Ethan Johnson
August 29, 2008

This is a follow up to my recent rant about my route to the gym by bicycle. The thrust of the complaint concerns "having" to take alternate routes to get there rather than bike on the side of the road (without amenities like designated bike lanes or shoulders). Well, I decided the other day to put on the Big Kid Pants™ and try my luck on the scary road. I'm obviously alive to tell the tale.

When I take the long, arduous route to the gym, it takes about 30 minutes each way for a 10.5-mile round trip (exactly and approximately). When I made the fateful decision to hop onto the side of the road and take my chances, with the "out" of switching back over to the sidewalk if it was too scary-dangerous, my commute actually took about 5 minutes longer round-trip. But, I think this was because I took an alternate back route home after biking up the main street.

Today, I gave it another go, starting off on the back streets and bike paths, and making my way to the street that leads directly to the gym. And today, like the other day, traffic was light enough at 9:00AM that I managed to make the trek without any drama. No side-swiping, no near misses, no shouted insults, nothing. Many times traffic had moved to the adjacent lane well behind me and simply slid over after passing. No big deal.

So while I was feeling plucky, I turned right onto another high-traffic road and ran an errand on my way home. Unfortunately, the northbound cross street is a lonnnnng uphill incline, followed by a brief downhill jaunt, followed by an even lonnnnnger uphill incline. Worse, when I turned onto the road that takes me home, I had to keep going uphill until hitting a comfortable downward slope for the remainder of the trip. I was cruising so fast (relatively speaking) that I had the bike cranked up to the max (7th gear, full resistance), I topped out at about 23 mph. Not bad. The highest recorded speed on my bike is 26 mph. It's a comfortable, safe 26. No worries about hitting pea gravel or taking a header over the handlebars.

In the end, I cranked out 10.5 miles in 47 minutes. Holy crap.

I wouldn't have done this had I not researched the [marbles] out of Texas state law. The law states clearly that if I'm biking, I must bike on the scary streets unless it's demonstrably unsafe to do so. I had a police car pass by during my return voyage, and I figure that was a good test of the law, and the car went on its way without comment.

The biggest scare, such as it was, came on my first attempt when a car decided to not swing out slightly to cut me a wide berth, and opted to share the lane. My calculations were correct, all praise be to the Physics and-a the Math. If it had been an SUV, that could have been a bit too real for me.

Of course, I've gotta be me, and provide the following Executive Bullet Points:

• Know the law, but don't assume everyone else does. As I saw somewhere (sorry, no supporting link), what was the worst thing to happen when a bicycle t-boned an SUV? I dare say the cyclist got the worst of that, albeit more favorable than the reverse combination.
• Know your limits. If I really couldn't hold my own in real live auto traffic (at 39), I wouldn't. Being wrong on a main street is not the same as being wrong on a bike path. Bad things can happen there too, but on the whole I'd rather wide out into grass than in front of approaching 45 mph traffic. Oh, work on your abdominal muscles. Big time.
• Bike with confidence. It's one thing to have haters on the road, full of road rage about anything and everything, but I believe that motorists were reasonably comfortable sharing the road with me (at an admittedly sleepy time of day, traffic-wise) because I stayed focused on what I was doing and not "biking scared". If you can't bike with confidence on the street with other cars, don't.
• Stay hydrated. Biking on the sidewalks and being aggressive may be expedient and fun, but stoplights are a great time to suck down some water. That pavement gets hot around here.
• Take a class. There are "bicycle riding 101" courses around, perhaps even in your neighborhood. Despite my initial forays into road commuting, I really need to take one of those classes. Think of it this way: You took driver's ed to drive a car, so take biker's ed before really going gonzo on the road commutes. I'm pretty tame compared to most hardcore bikers. I intend to maintain that level of skittishness until I take the 2-day course next month.
• Be prepared. At the very least, bring your wallet, a cell phone, and a bike lock. If you have to call someone for a ride home because your bike blew a flat or some other emergency (such as plain not having it in you to get home by bike) you can stash the bike somewhere until you can come back for it by car. DO NOT hop on the bike "naked" thinking 10 miles is no big deal. It is when you're at the farthest point and your bike is wrapped around a tree. It takes two seconds to bring ID, cash, a phone, and a bike lock. Three seconds, if you flop a helmet on your head while preparing to pedal out.
• See, hear, and be seen and heard. I wear "fluoro" clothing when I bike. Especially now that I have been dabbling with road commuting. Check for sales at the sporting goods stores. DO NOT spend $50 on a single article of fluoro clothing. I got mine for $20 on sale. I don't wear headphones while biking so I can hear the doppler effect of approaching traffic. I'm getting acclimated to the point of hearing vehicles that are blocks away and unseen. Speaking specifically in terms of road traffic, you're not legally allowed to wear headphones while driving a motor vehicle, so if you want to be treated like "traffic", act like it. Save the iPod or whatever for the truly recreational stuff. And please, for the love of all that is chain-driven, call out to people when you're passing from behind. Or use your "dinger" (bell) if equipped. Remember, you don't have metal around you, and while the law is often on your side, that's small comfort when you're dead. Biking in traffic is all about risk mitigation. Get there alive, huh?

I never thought I'd be able to navigate the mean streets of Plano by bike, and I can't say I really have yet, but it's certainly thrilling and convenient. And "eco"! What's not to like? Okay, besides the gnat clouds? WTF?! Gack, koff... <EM>