I had a chance to get out of the house a bit early the other day, and rode up to Four Corners, the gateway to Mt Tamalpais, Stinson, Muir Woods and Mill Valley. The last few times I did this in the am I did it on a fixed-gear, so it took longer, and was more brutal, particularly the way back down. Last time I rode it it was on the way up Tam, on the road bike…

So this time, doing it on the Cinelli ‘Rogue’ it was a marked difference from my fixed endeavors: being able to pace the climb, and more importantly, FAR more importantly, I could descend safely. The way down, especially when you hit Molina Street, is treacherous: it’s a steep winder, with pocked road conditions, and in a busy residential area chockablock with SUVs darting in and out of the road to take kids to school. I really can’t descend it fixed. I get to a certain spot and half to desperately wind the bike down, and find a way to go perpendicular so I can dismount on the high side of the street. I’m pretty sure I’d kill myself if I took it all the way down. I end up walking it for about 100ft and then remount. On the road bike, of course, the road conditions and traffic remain problematic, but at least I can stop the damn thing.

A few glamor shots from this ride:

REAL tough place to live, Mill Valley…
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[posted by TLTC's Ironlung]
custom bar ends by yours truly. METAL AS FUCK.

on friday, i received and gave out of the box FIRST IMPRESSIONS on my new deda crononero lowrider bullhorn bars. you can see my whole rationale for wanting to try bulls in the link provided, so i won’t go into it here. rather, i’ll give my first actual on-the-road impressions.

straight away, you need to take three things into consideration. one, this is the first time i’ve ever used bullhorns, ever. two, i positioned them on install as i thought they should be, but with no real idea of what would be a good final position — it was just guesswork. and three, when i tried them yesterday on a picnic ride to glorious golden gate park, i was loaded down HEAVY — a tool bag on my waist and about 50 pounds of food, wine, blankets, cutlery, games and so forth stuffed into my messenger bag. so EVERYTHING i did was 50 pounds harder. however, that being the case, here you go.

climbing, so far, is a fucking DREAM on these bars. granted, i didn’t take any major hills, but the ones i did were easier by far than they ever were on my road drops, whether in the faux-hood position (i had no hoods on my road bars, remember), or down in the drops. i mean, it fucking RULES. i’ll have a better idea of the true climbing nature of these bars when i go home tonight and take my big climbing route, but honestly, i fucking LOVE them so far. because they drop 70mm from the stem and they reach out further than hoods would be on drops, i get this perfect climbing position — not too high and not too low. so that’s a HUGE win.

cruising, on the other hand, is taking some getting used to. it is incredibly difficult to find a comfortable position on these bars for just rolling down the street. it’s not a function of bullhorns in general, it’s a function of these in specific. because they have a 70mm drop from stem to flat, and because along that drop the bar itself flattens out for a wider resting position, i had a lot of moments where i was in the wrong position and putting an inordinate amount of stress on my wrists. however, remember two of the things i said out of the gate in this review — i had 50 pounds on my back, and i eyeballed installation of the bars at the outset. as to the former, i already noticed this morning on my ride to work that they were far more comfortable. and as to the latter, now that i’ve ridden them a bit, i know i need to do some slight repositioning — most specifically, i’m going to raise the stem an additional 5mm (i already raised it 5mm, so this will total 10mm), and i’m going to slightly point the bars down. i currently have them eyeballed to be exactly parallel with the ground, yet when i ride, i can tell that’s not exactly the case. by doing these two things, i’ll better position them overall and i should get a better posture.

there’s also the whole muscle memory thing going on, and that’s starting to sort itself out already, just even over the last two days, and i know that will continue to improve.

i’m not prepared to give a proper score to these bars because i have some more repositioning and riding to do on them, but i can say, in review of the above, that they are a dream to climb with, and that i’m already starting to find more comfortable hand positions on them, which, in conjunction with some slight repositioning i intend to do, should get them right where i need/want them.

i don’t anticipate that these will ever be as comfortable overall as road drops. i just don’t see any way that that’s possible. however, if i can get them to be pretty comfortable to cruise on, the climbing benefits should outweigh any little needly things that bug me about them.

till then, new toy!
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: : :

THREE HAND WHITNEY
“he’s got the engine. he keeps it in his pants.”
it’s a reality of science

MAINTAIN UP THE SUPERB OPERATE!

The Primavera Century is not my favorite long distance riding animal: the majority of it takes place out in the dusty heat of Pleasanton/Sunol and I much prefer riding by the coast, even if that means gusty headwinds. But I do like this event for a few important reasons: it includes three memorable climbing points that I can easily visualize even when I haven’t ridden he course in a few years, and it consistently offers excellent ride support, from SAG to emergency responders to feed stations. I’m a rider that spends very little time off the bike, as I get stiff after about 10 minutes of not pedaling, so I blow through feed stations efficiently. I love well-stocked feed tables with some variety to them from stop to stop. Primavera has never disappointed.

A dodgy angled-view of the Calaveras Reservoir. This is one of the best parts of the ride, especially in previous years on the fixed-gear bike: big rollers and lots of water views. There’s a known eagle’s nest viewing spot, and it’s largely shaded roadway. This year it was unsettling because a rider crashed, and while I passed him he was upright and sitting with SAG support folks, soon after, on my descent from the Reservoir, it was ambulance after fire engine after EMT after police car after police motorcycle… bad omen! So maybe the rider was concussed.

This year, I decided to do it on the road bike instead of fixed as I was to be riding with Team Lope’s Jefe, who only rides road. As it turned out, he was derailed by a serious sinus infection and couldn’t go, so I headed over to the start by myself. At first, I was disappointed I didn’t bring Crook, my Cinelli X MASH, because I love the effort of riding fixed at these events, and have done so at Primavera the last two times. But since I was already there, and had, for the first time in what seems like forever, a reliable road bike under me, I decided to go for it on Rogue, and enjoy the road bike for everything that entails, especially the descents, which become thrilling instead of torturous when you can freewheel. We were signed up for the metric, but I decided, while that was reasonable, to just go for the full century. Vy nott!

Here’s a shot looking down from the top of the Wall. These never give the same sense of effort in the photo that you feel at the top…

The first big challenge of the day, and certainly the most famous, is the Calaveras Wall. In the past few years I’ve had to stop at least once on the way up, and then walk the last short section, because I just couldn’t get up and over on the fixed gearing I had on hand (and last year we even tried flip flop hubs with smaller gearing, though mine was still not enough)… this time, though, I had a great time. I plowed through it seated, and only ticked down to my lowest gear in the last section. Felt awesome. Everything about the ride, especially in that first half, was a return to how it used to be for me, and how to do it right: my bike was mechanically sound, I was properly fueled, hydrated and unblocked, and I paced myself properly.

I spent a lot of this ride fantasizing about a summer TLTC ride kit in white or gray, I have to admit. I was sweltering in the black…as awesome as it looks…

In the past few years, my event rides have been a peculiar string of misfortunes, and after what, 22 years of doing event rides, it’s been especially annoying. I’m no stranger to mechanicals: my first event ride ever, in High School, was a two-day course from San Luis Obispo to San Juan Capistrano. That was 245 miles or so over the two days, with overnight camping. I did it on my first road bike, a heavy Nishiki ten-speed, and I remember towards the end I was doing some long climb out of the saddle and bent the teeth on my chainring. Granted that was cheap componentry long brutalized and I was torquing too big a gear, but nonetheless, the last portion of the ride was challenging as a result. I had several years of no mechanical issues to speak of, but with asthma issues and the like. And up here in the Bay Area, most of my early event rides in the 90s and early 00′s went fine. Then dodgy things started to happen. I agitated my right leg IT band so any long climbing effort that fatigued me would start to inflame that tendon, and not long after that couldn’t spin the knee anymore. I had a few events where I was riding sick that didn’t feel great. I later re-injured an old back/pelvis injury that led to problems on long rides. I even had a foot tendon issue one year. And on mechanicals, I mean seriously? I jumped a Dura Ace rear derailleur and gouged the chain guard one ride, had a string of flats the next, and if it wasn’t me, it would be someone I was riding with. Most recently, after I built a new road bike and replaced my sweet, sweet LOOK, it was comical. My Dura Ace brighter blew up, so I switched to SRAM, but then the front derailleur would slip inexplicably (even stumping the SRAM neutral car mechanic on Gran Fondo the first time) and then cracked my rear derailleur in half, blew a chain, and wiped out the drivetrain, stranding me for hours waiting for SAG in the rain. The following year’s Gran Fondo the bike was still having problems on a replacement rear derailleur, and then the knee acted up, killing that effort. It became an unfortunate theme with my riding buddies. I was sort of the misfortune sponge. If I was there, chances are the issues would happen to me, and spare the others. Sort of like a bad luck heat sink.

The Ultegra Di2 was flawless…and nary a prettier Cinelli can be found.

But this ride? Flawless. I had switched from SRAM to Ultegra DI2 and it worked like a dream. Shifting, smooth and efficient. No cross-chaining. No brake issues, no flats, no seat problems. I do a an equipment check before these rides, so it’s not like previous rides I was using loose or improperly maintained gear (though one year I built the bike the night before, which was obviously unwise) but this ride it FELT like it. On the physiological side, everything was fine again. Well nourished, well hydrated, at least in the first half, well stretched, no asthma at all, and felt strong until the last climb. It was a great time.

The last climb of the day is the Palomares grade, which is just this long, unrelenting winder. It’s not as steep or tightly curved as the roads we have up in Marin County like Apline, but specifically hitting it at the end of a long ride is pretty exhausting. In previous years, I had some trouble and had to take a few rests, and that was on the metric, and fixed. This time, it was happening at mile 85, rather than 60, and I’ve always noted that my energy level seems to collapse after mile 80. Every century I do, and every ride day of Aids Lifecycle, etc I note that I can maintain aerobic respiration until around mile 80, and then feel fatigue that I find impossible to really overcome. I just have to push through. 80 mile rides? I feel good after its over. 100 mile ride? I feel wiped out. Anyway, suffice to say, I rode the entire event seated, no hop-offs, and only feed stop breaks to fuel, but then hit Palomares and did have to stop a few times to recover. But after that, over the summit and down the long descent, I felt good, if exhausted. I dislike parts of that descent because the curves are tight, there’s a bit of gravel, and cars around blind corners. Not unlike some of the descents on my normal route, of course, but still, that’s a long descent after a long day, so everything’s tired: arms, hands, back, seat. Also, it terminates in Hwy 84, which holds the record in the met dangerous stretch of highway I’ve ever ridden on (and I’ve ridden on the 101)… All in, though, felt outstanding. I was wiped at the end of the ride, but in the right way.

Having very little saddle time this year meant my recovery was longer than it might otherwise have been. My knee flamed up a bit afterwards and overnight, and I had to do a lot of stretching for my back and legs. And the rides to work the next two days were unusually weak…just no fuel. But today I felt great and did some climbing before work.

Items to change for next year, or next event ride:

1. Two bottles: For years now I’ve been carrying one bottle in my jersey, and just refueling often. It’s not because I think I don’t benefit from two bottles: it’s more because I like carrying everything I need in my jersey, and what doesn’t fit, I don’t take. I have the ride kit pretty lean for these things: tools and tube in right side pocket, bottle in middle pocket, iPhone and ID/CC in the left pocket. Prior to that I used the rear-position seat mounted dual cage system that Lung used for a long time as well until recently, and before that it was a Camelbak, which to be fair is the BEST solution in terms of frequent hydration. I’ve never been thrilled with frame mounted bottle holders. But Primavera this year taught me that I’d rather be inconvenienced and carry two bottles than have to conserve. In the middle of the century, between miles 50-65, there was a long sweep over Altamont Pass, which was made worse for being at mid-day, and having precisely zero wind (seeing the windmills unmoving was disheartening) and I was hitting my bottle hard and wished for a second. So, back to that.

2. Looser First Half: My knee didn’t flare up until after the event, and doing a century cold like that this year I felt pretty lucky for having no issues… but since I’m unlikely to have a lot of saddle time before the next events in the hopper, I have to remember that I’m more prone to IT band inflammation again and to ‘tekkie teasy’ as my Swiss cousin-in-law would say. The less big tea rmashing I do not he front end, then less fatigue on that joint I have so when I lose form from exhaustion, I’m not as likely to flip that tendon out. In previous years I had not IT band problems at all, thanks to lots and lots of fixed gear riding. But with the kids and realLife, I just clearly don’t have the saddle time to assume that I can make it through long climbs without aggravating the injury.

3. Chiro First: I haven’t been to my chiropractor in a few months, and I think I would have benefitted from an adjustment prior to this ride. I spent a lot of time stretching and suffered back and hip pain in the last 40 miles. One less thing to bother me.

4. Battery: What a dope. I bought two battery extenders with slip tube profiles specifically for long rides (and long travels) and despite making myself three notes, I left the house in the pre-dawn hour without them. So, of course, Strava killed my iPhone at mile 67.

5. Eats: I learned after the fact that all the baked goods at the event were home-baked. I tolly skipped them in favor of the usual carbo-loads like bagel bits and PB&J, and fruit and such, but had I known, I’d have engaged in some yummery. Actually, the post-ride brownie was prety amazing.

Looking forward to the next event ride on the docket: Marin Climbing Century 2013!

Links:
The route sheet for 2013 100-miler
The route mapthusly
Primavera’s Facebook page… not too early to get in on 2014!
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You know I’m a huge fan of my Vittoria 75s. Leather, old timey, clip in and completely recessed cleats. But sometimes I want a more casual shoe and yet still be able to clip in. I’ve got straps on the office bike, just in case, and other times I wear the Vittorias and I have two pairs, one at work and one at home. But until now, I haven’t seen urban SPD sneakers that I really liked.

Chrome finally introduced a version I could get behind:
http://www.chromeindustries.com/footwea … -pro-black

I had the non SPD version of this shoe (same rigidity, no cleat) and I’ve not really liked the aesthetics of their other offerings, nor those from DZR much. But these new Truks in all black? I likey.

Somewhere between my Vittorias and the Truks are Giro’s new offering, the Republic. What I don’t like as much about them is how the soles are separated and exposed, and frankly, the white layer that calls your attention to it. I think urban SPDs should be stealth.
http://www.giro.com/us_en/products/men/ … ublic.html
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When I sold my Xtracycle 3-seater build ‘Longjohn’ to a private party recently, he came back to me that the bike was too large for his wife so he wanted to part out the Xtracycle components and return the bike itself, to which I was amenable. Sure, why not. I went to put the thing back together here at the office the other night and was faced with a few peculiarities: the rear wheel did not fit. First, I noted the custom 29er-sized FAP bracket was still on the bike, which I removed. Then, I determined that the jumbo 205mm rotor I had put on there for the Xtracycle loading was neither needed nor capable of fitting the frame as is, so the next night I brought in my smaller 165mm rotor and swapped them out. Still didn’t fit. Running out of options, I walked it into my LBS to see what sort of bonehead mistake I was making thanks to my general unfamiliarity with disc brake adjustment. My theory was that the mounting bracket that connected the brake to the frame had been changed out when the new brake was installed as part of that conversion, and that a shorter one was now required.

As it turns out, my instincts were more correct than I thought. Not only was that a correct assessment, it was much worse. After my guy wailed on it for awhile and ran into the similar issues I faced with fitment of the rotor into the pads (seemingly too big) I noted that the brake was coming in very close to the wheel spokes, not plum with the Y axis. So he pulled out those tools and checked alignment. As you can see above, there’s fail in these here hills!

It appears that when my Xtracycle french bolt loosened on the one side a few months back, and all that torsion was applied to the frame, it actually twisted and deformed the rear triangle. My other shop was convinced the frame was fine and re-set up the Xtracycle attachments and I was using it again. However, you can clearly see the deformation. Worse, this is an aluminum frame. THERE AINT NO COMIN BACK!

It’s the double-edge sword about aluminum. It’s a great frame material, but it is NOT forgiving of damage. When TLTC’s Muadib suffered that accident with a VW Beetle some years back, his frame was visbly fine, but when X-ray’d revealed a hairline crack that rendered it unrepairable and unsafe. Similarly, this damage is permanent.

So, my only choice is to abandon the bike entirely, or replace the frame. Fortunately, most major bike companies offer a ‘crash replacement’ program, and I’ll be probably engaging Cannondale on that one. For science.

Here’s the positive take-away though, aside from the lesson learned about checking those bolts and other bike components that are concealed from view thanks to panniers or other material, which I passed on to the new owner of that Free Radical stuff: I have a bit more relief about my bewilderment over how I had so much trouble keeping that Xtracycle upright. Given that the frame was warped, there would be constant pressure then back onto the Free Radical, and most likely the failure of the aluminum rear triangle was increasing over time after that major incident. It was an unstable system. I’m glad I’m now using a trailer with the kids!
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Found this courtesy of MASH.
NUTS!

Also, why didn’t we think of it.

http://rideallofsf.tumblr.com/
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[Posted by TLTC's Ironlung]

i don’t know what the deal was with the travel channel’s “triple rush” show about NYC bike messengers, but apparently it was supposed to be viewable on their site, then it wasn’t, and NOW IT IS.

i haven’t seen it yet because it doesn’t seem to work here at work, where i have all manner of lockouts and restrictions on my computer, so if you see it before you see a review from me, let me know how it is.
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: : :

THREE HAND WHITNEY
“he’s got the engine. he keeps it in his pants.”
it’s a reality of science

MAINTAIN UP THE SUPERB OPERATE!

[posted by TLTC's Ironlung]

i’ve often thought about running bullhorn bars on a bike, but for whatever reason, i’ve never pulled the trigger on it. it never overtook me as a need, it never seemed to have any place on any build i was undertaking at the time, and in the end, it always just ended up being one of those “that’d be cool to try” things.

but recently i’ve been noticing something on my rides — i RARELY use the bottoms of the drop bars on my long-distance fixed-gear primary bike anymore. i used to climb in the drops religiously, but as time went on, i started gravitating towards the tops, where you’d be in the hoods on a traditional road bike. that being the case, i purchased some stoker nuggets (essentially hoods without levers/brifters) with the intent of giving myself a more comfortable and traditional climbing handhold. and while i still fully intend to try that cockpit setup, which would give me the absolute most possible hand positions, a couple weeks back i started thinking about bulls again. for one thing, i don’t seem to need the drops right now, so why bother even having them? bulls would give me the climbing posture i was after, retain the cruising posture i’m accustomed to, and with a bunch less metal, would continue to make my bike lighter (my bike is a fucking FEATHER right now, it’s insane). so i pulled the trigger on deda’s crononero lowriders and they arrived today.

out of the box, i was pleasantly surprised by a few things. for one, they are LIGHT. it’s like they don’t even exist. but here’s something i didn’t notice in the pictures or documentations — the resting/cruising hand position, which is on the slight down-slants, is nice and flat.

i tend to be a traditionalist, so i usually don’t play around with oddly-shaped bars, but i have to say, just holding these is REALLY comfortable. that flat section is a very pleasant treat, and as opposed to the extremely flat bars such as the MASH x cinellis, it’s not so flat that it doesn’t feel like a bar. i’m really looking forward to how that flies on the road.

they also don’t have those massive tips at the ends of the bars, like other bulls do sometimes. there’s enough that you could mount bar-end levers, but not so much that it looks like they’re just adding tubing for tubing’s sake. and related to those ends, here’s the other surprise i found — they have cable routing holes through them.

i have no intention of using a bar-end lever at this particular time because i never use the brake when i’m climbing, so it actually becomes dangerous to have it out there, but that doesn’t mean that i will never do so. this bar is, in the end, just a test item. it might stay, it might not. and if it doesn’t, i’m super stoked to know that i can use it on some future build and route cables through it. i think that’s really, REALLY cool.

i’m very excited to install this bar this weekend and see what’s what. the thing i’m most interested in seeing is how that down-slant feels. i chose the lowriders because i intend to raise my bars by 5mm at least, but i still want my climbing posture to be a bit lower than traditional for leverage. this allows for that to happen. however, riding around with my hands at an angle, however slight, could actually decrease my control over the bike. i’ve ridden with track drops before, which begin their downward bend AT the clamp area, and i learned the muscle memory eventually to be quite comfortable and in control on them, so i’m not worried, per se, but it will be a slight learning curve, and if they get uncomfortable after a while, then they’re a fail. so we’ll see about that.

but at first sight and touch, i am delighted. more after install!
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: : :

THREE HAND WHITNEY
“he’s got the engine. he keeps it in his pants.”
it’s a reality of science

MAINTAIN UP THE SUPERB OPERATE! 

I don’t much fret over training or fitness levels. I tend to be in good shape year round thanks to my combination of bike commuting and hills pursued on tarcke bikery. Even now, when my commute is short, and my ride days fewer thanks to kid transport requirements. Hell, I did Aids Lifecycle fixed with our man Lung with virtually no specific training, so it’s not something I worry about.

I will say this, though: after a strong start early this year, I’ve done very little riding in the past month, due to those family pressures, work travel, and illness. I’m still sick from a cold my kids gave me on my return from Maui. And Primavera century is this weekend.

Norrnally I’d take Crook, my Cinelli MASH bike. That’s a fun course to brutalize yourself on with a fixed-gear. But this year I’m going to have to take my road bike (the right bike for the job, technically, of course); I’m riding with Muadib (on road bike) and none of my fixie cohorts are attending the ride. AND, with the combination of less saddle time and illness, I think pacing myself and using gears will be the order of the day.

One additional factor made more apparent after doing a bunch of PR on my SLAP tear on my left shoulder: fixie climbing is hard on my shoulders and has certainly aggravated that injury. But fixie DESCENDING even worse. I was actually told not to do it. So, if nothing else, riding Rogue, my Cinelli Xperience road bike, will be better for my shoulder recovery for now anyway…

Hopefully I’ll have photos of fun and thrills to share after the weekend this time, instead of tales of misfortune, mechanical failure and woe, as with previous road bike events int he last few years. Why the FACE.
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I’ve been catching up on my Urbanvelo crawling and thought I’d pull together some bits and pieces from their regular Legalese column, which I found helpful for urban cycling…

1. What to Do After a Bike Accident

This one is all pretty much common sense, but it’s good to revisit it from time to time because frankly, after an accident, you’re so high on adrenaline and shock that it’s hard to be logical anyway. Good to have the routine down. I break many of these rules, based on my previous accidents. I have never called an ambulance or the cops, and I have virtually never had access to witnesses. But give it a read. I’m reminded how much of this I don’t do out of I guess wishful thinking and ego (I’m not hurt, I’m OK, tough it out…)
http://urbanvelo.org/cycling-legalese-b … ident-101/

2. The Legality of Biking Under the Influence

Lung and I have done our fair share of lit riding, in several meanings of that term, over the years, and frequently without incident, largely I think due to the fact that we weren’t DRUNK, just fuzzy, and when a certain someone WAS drunk, well, he’s got stitches to account for it. And of course, the SMART play is to only ride sober because even sober riding is a near-death experience. But for those that choose to engage and then rage, it pays to know what you’re liable for in the event of an event. In California, I was surprised to learn that we are not held to DUI laws… but we do have a BUI statute… with a surprisingly modest $250 max fine. I would wager that this would be levied at the casual, mildly intoxicated rider, or at sober riders being harassed I suppose. Were you to be drunk on a bike, I’m sure the cops would through public drunkenness laws at you and you’d be in hotter water. Other states treat BUIs as either unenforceable, or no different than DUIs, seemingly tied to whether that state sees a bicycle as a vehicle or not. But let’s not kid ourselves: it is, riding one lit is a bad idea, and when we, as consequence-aware adults do it, well, we should know what to expect. This article doesn’t mention the civil legal ramifications of drunk riding, however, which I would suspect are quite high. Collide with a pedestrian or their car (ahem) and you’re in for a financial squeeze.
http://urbanvelo.org/cycling-legalese-b … influence/

3. Where Should You be Riding?

As plenty of angry drivers will tell you, loudly, many people think bikes belong on the sidewalk, which is patently untrue and unsafe. However, there seems to be much dispute int he bike community about where and how to ride within the street itself. I’ve always said that you need to stay to the right unless unsafe to do so. It’s also common sense: riding in the middle of the lane, when it slows other vehicle traffic behind you, is a recipe for an altercation. But riders shouldn’t be afraid to get out into the lane when their are obstructions, unsafe road conditions, parked cars, taxis, slower riders, and so on. I think the key, as with most bike/car interaction, is respect. I hate seeing riders rolling two or three ride on a roadway. I hate seeing riders just randomly taking the lane. It’s bad mojo for all of us. But I also hate seeing riders panic because they feel wedged between car traffic and a rain gutter or something. The important thing to do is signal or ease out, don’t just swerve. Because we tend to lose in those situations on a mass comparison. In California: “Any person operating a bicycle upon a roadway at a speed less than the normal speed of traffic moving in the same direction at that time shall ride as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway.” Cal. Veh. Code Section 21202(a). The law goes on to note a number of exceptions where a bicyclist may move out of the right side of the road such as when passing another vehicle or bicycle, when preparing to turn left and, importantly, “When reasonably necessary to avoid conditions (including, but not limited to, fixed or moving objects, vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians, animals, surface hazards, or substandard width lanes) that make it unsafe to continue along the right-hand curb or edge.”
http://urbanvelo.org/cycling-legalese-w … e-roadway/

4. The Unseeing Eye

This was a great one. The columnist discusses the fallacy of the ‘I didn’t see the cyclist’ defense in civil negligence cases involving motorists striking bicyclists. I’ve often argued that it’s an unfair reality that cyclists are expected, and OBLIGATED, to make themselves seen through predictable riding. It’s unfair, but the basic problem with the ‘unseeing eye’ argument is that it’s generally a moot point, right? Doesn’t matter WHY they didn’t see you. A ghost bike is a ghost bike. I think about this often, as a cyclist who is also a motorist, and it stems from my motorcycle riding days: I’ve always been alarmed by how hard it is to see motorcyclists, let alone cyclists, in the road around and behind you, as they are frequently moving rapidly between lanes, accelerating at a different speed than the cars, and threading lanes between them. Add to all that the even smaller profile of a cyclist and the fact that some cyclists, including those of us here at Team Lope, have found occasion to thread the lane, ride in the lane with traffic, and so on. We are practically invisible, and that’s under the BEST CASE conditions where the motorists are alert. In this article, the columnist points out that not seeing the rider is no defense: if you can’t see safely, don’t move the vehicle. I think this is true. I’ve lived it, both as a motorist and as a cyclist. It’s just sad that in the end, it doesn’t matter if you’re the cyclist who got mowed down.
http://urbanvelo.org/cycling-legalese-b … f-nowhere/

In addition, he goes on to offer these tips for maximum visibility:
http://urbanvelo.org/cycling-legalese-v … edictable/

I liked them all, and frequently argue with my better half for all of these things even as motorists, let alone cyclists. Assertive, predictable, highly visible. It pays. I never really gave much thought to operating a headlight during the day, but it’s funny, I drive with them on in the MINI…

And finally, related to the above, yes, if a motorist doors you, they are in the wrong. But it pays to not be doored in the first place.
http://urbanvelo.org/cycling-legalese-the-door-zone/

Good stuff!
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