AG: Aunt Granny's Advice, or How to become an elderly cyclist:

As predicted, it looks beautiful out there, but the geese are huddled
together and the wind sock is standing straight out.

--
joy beeson at comcast dot net
http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/
The above message is a Usenet post.
I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site.

On 2/24/2019 7:37 PM, Joy Beeson wrote:

Last time I checked, our highest gust of wind was 44 mph, about six
minutes before I started walking home from church.

Wasn't snowing much, but it hit my face pretty hard. I didn't get
chilled (I do know how to dress!) but DH could detect a difference
between my upwind ear and the other one when I asked him to feel them.

Weather Underground says that the wind will drop off in a fairly
straight line from Real Soon Now until midnight tomorrow, but I'm not
going anywhere by bike or by car. I might venture as far as the
compost heap on foot.

I don't know if I should be proud or embarrassed to say I was out in it
on the bike.

I heard about several trees down within a mile. I hate driving such
short distances, plus the car might be unable to get past some blockage;
and since I was a bit underdressed, I'd have frozen if I walked.

So I used the bike, got suitably impressed by the power of nature, and
froze anyway - but for a shorter time.

--
- Frank Krygowski

On Mon, 25 Feb 2019 11:45:34 -0500, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

So I used the bike, got suitably impressed by the power of nature, and
froze anyway - but for a shorter time.

I'm accustomed to walking faster when I'm a bit under-dressed -- I
made the fifteen-minute walk to church in eleven minutes the Sunday
before last -- but the first time I tried it on a bike, I learned that
moving faster makes you colder.

But yesterday, I don't think anyone could have ridden fast enough to
notice the breeze he was stirring up.

One fear I have when riding in a stiff side-wind is the moment when a
large vehicle overtakes me and suddenly cuts it off.

The wash is hung and the dryer stuff has been put away; it's time for
a nap. Might go out myself to get my pills in the afternoon. Or
maybe tomorrow; I don't really have time to do anything in the
afternoon, since we eat early and I often sleep until four.

--
Joy Beeson
joy beeson at comcast dot net
http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/

I've often commented that properly-written law and properly-designed
roads try very hard to make it take two mistakes to cause a collision.

That was illustrated this week. I'm sure that the driver who crashed
into the funeral procession will be blamed, and rightly so. Anyone
who "didn't see" a police car with its lights flashing is not paying
attention.

BUT

The driver in the procession should have glanced to each side to make
sure the cross traffic really had stopped before barrelling through.

I was rather paranoid about looking at the side streets for several
days after I read the story.

--
joy beeson at comcast dot net
http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/
The above message is a Usenet post.
I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site.

I'm weary wi' cycling, and I fain would lie doon.

Last Tuesday's ride was fourteen miles, more or less. A fifteen-mile
round trip to Pierceton seemed just right for a gentle increase in
miles, and I dropped off some old bath towels at the animal shelter on
the way.

I forgot that the Chinworth Trail and the streets of Warsaw are built
on a flat old lake bed. The roads between here and Pierceton
undulate.

I arrived in Pierceton thinking "I've gone about as fur as I can go."
(Everything is up to date in Kansas City.)

Touring the antique shops and having a cup of chili at the Oddfellow
Cafe and Coffee helped, but not a lot.

I rode south on 13 to Hillcrest Cemetery -- noticing for the first
time that it actually is on the crest of a hill, if you call these
undulations hills -- and turned into the wind. Peak gust, along about
then, was 19 mph, and I don't think it was ever less than five.
Pierceton is higher than Winona Lake, but that doesn't mean that the
road was downhill! I think that most of the elevation gain comes when
climbing from Cherry Creek/Wyland Ditch to Pierceton Road. I walked
up the Heritage Trail on the way out.

In addition, Google maps says the route I took was actually 18.3
miles.

I came back from Tuesday's ride with at least half a dozen receipts,
and I'd spent a while in the park eating lunch. Today, I stopped only
to blow my nose. And got off only to walk a few hills. Not as many
as I *felt* like walking; sometimes I had to remind myself that I felt
the same way on the flat. I didn't use the big ring much.

Once I got all those layers of clothing off, I took an aspirin tablet
and lay down for an hour, but I'm still not fit to operate heavy
machinery.

--
Joy Beeson
joy beeson at comcast dot net
http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/

Revised version:


Letter one:

«»«»«»«»«» «»«»«»«»«» «»«»«»«»«»



Rules of the Road for Bicycles

With pleasant days getting closer together, a lot of people are
dusting off their bikes. Before venturing onto the roads, it's a good
idea to learn the rules.

The only rule for riding a bike on the road is "Never surprise
anybody."

It takes a whole book of rules to explain how to avoid surprising
people — what other operators expect and how you can tell them what
you are going to do — but if you have a car-driver's license, you
already know most of them.

Bikes follow the same rules as cars because two vehicles operating by
different rules on the same facility insure conflict. Where the rules
for different classes of vehicles differ, there will be signs saying
"no non-motorized vehicles", "no trucks except for local delivery",
"slow vehicles keep right", and so forth.

Most differences between cars and bikes are statistical. For example,
cars are noisy, so bike riders need to make noise on purpose much more
often than car drivers need to sound the horn. You should never
overtake a pedestrian or another bike rider without letting him know
that you are there. A simple "Hi!" will do, but I often choose to
give more information — when I saw a photographer leaning over the
edge of the boardwalk, for example, I said "I am passing behind you."

There are a few rules that are different for bikes, but I've taken up
too much space already, so I will write a another letter.





«»«»«»«»«» «»«»«»«»«» «»«»«»«»«»

Letter two:

«»«»«»«»«» «»«»«»«»«» «»«»«»«»«»


Three Ways Bikes Are Not like Cars

There are a few rules that are different for bikes.

A car driver can make hand signals only through the driver's-side
window, so he signals a right turn by bending his left elbow at a
right angle and pointing up. When I give this signal on a bike,
people wave back. A bike rider signals a right turn by pointing with
his right arm, a mirror image of the left-turn signal. Bike riders
also have the option of signalling "I intend to go straight" — just
point straight ahead with either arm. It is a good idea, after giving
this signal, to raise your arm a little so that people behind you can
see it.


The law gives bicycles explicit permission to operate on a usable
shoulder — most of the reasons for banning traffic on shoulders don't
apply to a vehicle that the operator can pick up and walk off with.

But note the word "usable". You don't have permission to ride on
shoulders that are intermittent, narrow, covered with sharp or
slippery debris, or otherwise not safe to ride on.

Also note that when you ride on a shoulder, you are not in the roadway
and therefore have sole responsibility for avoiding collisions.
Whenever you approach an intersection, you should suspect every driver
of intending to turn into the side road, and you should expect every
driver on the side road to creep forward for a better view of the
traffic lanes.


A third difference between cars and bikes is lane position. Most
vehicles have no option but "in the middle of your share", but
bicycles can also ride in the left wheel track or the right wheel
track, and on some rare occasions, your share isn't the entire lane.
Lane position is a complex subject best studied under the supervision
of an experienced cyclist, but I've posted an over-simplified
explanation at http://www.wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/LOC/LANE.HTM", and you
can read chapter 2 of "Street Smarts" at
http://www.bikexprt.com/streetsmarts/usa/index.htm.

An even-more simplified version: when in doubt, ride in the middle of
the lane. Always leave yourself room to dodge to the right. Never
weave in and out of traffic. Give a wide berth to things that can
knock you off your bike, such as parked cars, curbs, lengthwise
grooves, and drop-offs. When riding in a bike lane, allow a good four
feet between your left elbow and the motor lane. Always signal your
intentions.

Always keep your brain engaged and be aware of the world around you.




«»«»«»«»«» «»«»«»«»«» «»«»«»«»«»

The Web site:

«»«»«»«»«» «»«»«»«»«» «»«»«»«»«»



Lane Position for Bicycles

Most vehicles have no option but "in the middle of your share", but
bicycles can also ride in the left wheel track or the right wheel
track, and on some rare occasions, your share isn't the entire lane.
Lane position is a complex subject best studied under the supervision
of an experienced cyclist, but reading chapter 2 of "Street Smarts"
will help, and I have written an over-simplified explanation below:


The default position is the middle of the lane.

When a faster vehicle is approaching from the rear and it is safe to
overtake, shift into the right wheel track to leave more room and to
indicate that you have seen the overtaking vehicle. When the
overtaking vehicle has committed to a path and has almost reached you,
shift as far right as you can -- that extra six inches might matter.
(Before deciding how far right is safe, look to see what you will hit
if you fall off the road.)

When it is not safe to overtake, indicate that you have seen the
approaching vehicle by putting your left hand out with fingers spread
and the palm toward the approaching vehicle. When the oncoming traffic
is almost clear, warn the driver that it's about to become safe to
overtake by looking back, then shifting into the right wheel track.

When you want to turn left from a multi-destination lane, signal your
intention, shift into the left wheel track to leave more space for
people who are going straight, and signal again when you reach the
intersection. When the light turns green, enter the intersection, then
wait for oncoming traffic to clear before turning. (Some traffic
lights have a left-turn phase during which the oncoming traffic must
wait for you.)

Symmetry suggests that you should shift to the right before turning
right, as car-drivers do.

Unfortunately, shifting to the right is an emphatic and unambiguous
"now is a good time to overtake" signal. This is all very well if the
overtaking driver is going straight; that's why car drivers shift to
the right, after all. But right-turning car drivers haven't been
taught to get into line behind right-turning bicycles and wait their
turn, and they have been taught, unintentionally, that bicycles are
stationary objects. If you signal that it's safe to overtake, the
right-turning car *will* overtake, and when swerving to the right, it
will aim for a point that gives a good three inches of clearance to
your current position. You must never approach an intersection farther
to the right than the middle of the lane -- so on some occasions, you
will shift to the left before turning right

When overtaking a parked car, give it as much room as you give to the
oncoming traffic. It is impossible to verify that a car is empty, and
if someone is in it, he may open a door at exactly the right time to
steer your bike out from under you, and you are more likely to fall
into traffic than to fall onto the parked car.

Always leave yourself room to dodge to the right. Sometimes a black
spot that you took for a fresh patch of asphalt turns out, when you
are too close to stop, to be an open manhole or a sunken drain. Don't
ride so far right that you have to choose between crashing by hitting
it and crashing by getting run over.

I've left out more than I put in. Keep your brain engaged, use common
sense, and don't freeze onto a rule.

«»«»«»«»«» «»«»«»«»«» «»«»«»«»«»


--
Joy Beeson
joy beeson at comcast dot net
http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/
The above message is a Usenet post.
I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site.

On 3/23/2019 8:43 PM, Joy Beeson wrote:
Revised version:


Letter one:

«»«»«»«»«» «»«»«»«»«» «»«»«»«»«»



Rules of the Road for Bicycles

With pleasant days getting closer together, a lot of people are
dusting off their bikes. Before venturing onto the roads, it's a good
idea to learn the rules.

The only rule for riding a bike on the road is "Never surprise
anybody."

It takes a whole book of rules to explain how to avoid surprising
people — what other operators expect and how you can tell them what
you are going to do — but if you have a car-driver's license, you
already know most of them.

Bikes follow the same rules as cars because two vehicles operating by
different rules on the same facility insure conflict. Where the rules
for different classes of vehicles differ, there will be signs saying
"no non-motorized vehicles", "no trucks except for local delivery",
"slow vehicles keep right", and so forth.

Most differences between cars and bikes are statistical. For example,
cars are noisy, so bike riders need to make noise on purpose much more
often than car drivers need to sound the horn. You should never
overtake a pedestrian or another bike rider without letting him know
that you are there. A simple "Hi!" will do, but I often choose to
give more information — when I saw a photographer leaning over the
edge of the boardwalk, for example, I said "I am passing behind you."

There are a few rules that are different for bikes, but I've taken up
too much space already, so I will write a another letter.





«»«»«»«»«» «»«»«»«»«» «»«»«»«»«»

Letter two:

«»«»«»«»«» «»«»«»«»«» «»«»«»«»«»


Three Ways Bikes Are Not like Cars

There are a few rules that are different for bikes.

A car driver can make hand signals only through the driver's-side
window, so he signals a right turn by bending his left elbow at a
right angle and pointing up. When I give this signal on a bike,
people wave back. A bike rider signals a right turn by pointing with
his right arm, a mirror image of the left-turn signal. Bike riders
also have the option of signalling "I intend to go straight" — just
point straight ahead with either arm. It is a good idea, after giving
this signal, to raise your arm a little so that people behind you can
see it.


The law gives bicycles explicit permission to operate on a usable
shoulder — most of the reasons for banning traffic on shoulders don't
apply to a vehicle that the operator can pick up and walk off with.

But note the word "usable". You don't have permission to ride on
shoulders that are intermittent, narrow, covered with sharp or
slippery debris, or otherwise not safe to ride on.

Also note that when you ride on a shoulder, you are not in the roadway
and therefore have sole responsibility for avoiding collisions.
Whenever you approach an intersection, you should suspect every driver
of intending to turn into the side road, and you should expect every
driver on the side road to creep forward for a better view of the
traffic lanes.


A third difference between cars and bikes is lane position. Most
vehicles have no option but "in the middle of your share", but
bicycles can also ride in the left wheel track or the right wheel
track, and on some rare occasions, your share isn't the entire lane.
Lane position is a complex subject best studied under the supervision
of an experienced cyclist, but I've posted an over-simplified
explanation at http://www.wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/LOC/LANE.HTM", and you
can read chapter 2 of "Street Smarts" at
http://www.bikexprt.com/streetsmarts/usa/index.htm.

An even-more simplified version: when in doubt, ride in the middle of
the lane. Always leave yourself room to dodge to the right. Never
weave in and out of traffic. Give a wide berth to things that can
knock you off your bike, such as parked cars, curbs, lengthwise
grooves, and drop-offs. When riding in a bike lane, allow a good four
feet between your left elbow and the motor lane. Always signal your
intentions.

Always keep your brain engaged and be aware of the world around you.




«»«»«»«»«» «»«»«»«»«» «»«»«»«»«»

The Web site:

«»«»«»«»«» «»«»«»«»«» «»«»«»«»«»



Lane Position for Bicycles

Most vehicles have no option but "in the middle of your share", but
bicycles can also ride in the left wheel track or the right wheel
track, and on some rare occasions, your share isn't the entire lane.
Lane position is a complex subject best studied under the supervision
of an experienced cyclist, but reading chapter 2 of "Street Smarts"
will help, and I have written an over-simplified explanation below:


The default position is the middle of the lane.

When a faster vehicle is approaching from the rear and it is safe to
overtake, shift into the right wheel track to leave more room and to
indicate that you have seen the overtaking vehicle. When the
overtaking vehicle has committed to a path and has almost reached you,
shift as far right as you can -- that extra six inches might matter.
(Before deciding how far right is safe, look to see what you will hit
if you fall off the road.)

When it is not safe to overtake, indicate that you have seen the
approaching vehicle by putting your left hand out with fingers spread
and the palm toward the approaching vehicle. When the oncoming traffic
is almost clear, warn the driver that it's about to become safe to
overtake by looking back, then shifting into the right wheel track.

When you want to turn left from a multi-destination lane, signal your
intention, shift into the left wheel track to leave more space for
people who are going straight, and signal again when you reach the
intersection. When the light turns green, enter the intersection, then
wait for oncoming traffic to clear before turning. (Some traffic
lights have a left-turn phase during which the oncoming traffic must
wait for you.)

Symmetry suggests that you should shift to the right before turning
right, as car-drivers do.

Unfortunately, shifting to the right is an emphatic and unambiguous
"now is a good time to overtake" signal. This is all very well if the
overtaking driver is going straight; that's why car drivers shift to
the right, after all. But right-turning car drivers haven't been
taught to get into line behind right-turning bicycles and wait their
turn, and they have been taught, unintentionally, that bicycles are
stationary objects. If you signal that it's safe to overtake, the
right-turning car *will* overtake, and when swerving to the right, it
will aim for a point that gives a good three inches of clearance to
your current position. You must never approach an intersection farther
to the right than the middle of the lane -- so on some occasions, you
will shift to the left before turning right

When overtaking a parked car, give it as much room as you give to the
oncoming traffic. It is impossible to verify that a car is empty, and
if someone is in it, he may open a door at exactly the right time to
steer your bike out from under you, and you are more likely to fall
into traffic than to fall onto the parked car.

Always leave yourself room to dodge to the right. Sometimes a black
spot that you took for a fresh patch of asphalt turns out, when you
are too close to stop, to be an open manhole or a sunken drain. Don't
ride so far right that you have to choose between crashing by hitting
it and crashing by getting run over.

I've left out more than I put in. Keep your brain engaged, use common
sense, and don't freeze onto a rule.

«»«»«»«»«» «»«»«»«»«» «»«»«»«»«»


I think it's very good. My tiny suggestions are these:

In the fourth paragraph, I'd use "ensure" instead of "insure." Some
manuals accept both, but some people interpret "insure" as selling
insurance, or something like that.

Near the bottom, I'd omit the "new paragraph" space between your
"symmetry" sentence and the following paragraph.

Nice job!

--
- Frank Krygowski

I'm back! While I was reading Usenet yesterday, agent.exe
mysteriously vanished from drive C *and* from the back-up folder on
drive E. Long story short, this morning I took a long shot and it put
Agent back on line.

I think I'll gibber the whole story in the Banner, then comment it
out.

Found it! This message disappeared even though I'd saved it. Finally
found the drafts folder -- which is now bereft of all the messages I
had been working on.

On Sun, 24 Mar 2019 21:50:14 -0400, Frank Krygowski
wrote:


I think it's very good. My tiny suggestions are these:

In the fourth paragraph, I'd use "ensure" instead of "insure." Some
manuals accept both, but some people interpret "insure" as selling
insurance, or something like that.

"ensure" isn't in my dialect, so I changed it to "guarantee".


Near the bottom, I'd omit the "new paragraph" space between your
"symmetry" sentence and the following paragraph.

That puts it back where I started! Re-reading the interpreted
version, I shouldn't have added that paragraph tag. I was led astray
when reading the source code because I don't kill my darlings, I
comment them out.


Nice job!

Thank you for commenting.

Now to post it on alt.english.usage to see whether the naive read the
opposite of what I wrote, and then I can go live.

Urk. The spell checker is also AWOL. But both the program I write
the source code with and the program I send letters with have spell
checkers.

--
Joy Beeson
joy beeson at comcast dot net
http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/

I'm going out in only two shirts and two pairs of tights, and this is
the second time I've put ice in my insulated pannier and carried my
warm tea wrapped in newspaper in the other one.

The ice didn't melt at all last Tuesday, but condensation reminded me
why I put a thick pad of newspaper in the bottom of the plastic bag
lining the insulated pannier.

--
Joy Beeson
joy beeson at comcast dot net
http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/

Woo hoo!

I felt great through the whole ride, sprinted through the parked cars
on Park Avenue, and Google Maps says it was 23.3 miles!

Leesburg here I come!

If we ever have another dry Friday. (On Fridays, Duck Down & Above
hands out free snacks. Also, for a long time the Friday specials
didn't remain available through the following Thursday, and habits
stick.)

My back started hurting while I was unpacking my groceries, but one
repeat each of three of my evening exercises calmed it down. And I'm
just now (20:00 -- eight bells) starting to miss my nap.

After all this winter, I didn't have the nerve to go out with only a
silk scarf, so I took my wool scarf liner along. At Pierceton, I
wished heartily that I'd packed a linen scarf instead, and when I left
Aldi, I didn't care that even a hot wind makes my ears ache -- I
wasn't going to put that scarf back on. And I got away with it. It
was less than three miles, which I accomplished in less than half an
hour.

My ears *do* enjoy having warm hands laid over them, but they don't
hurt when I stop.

I'm going to have to find another place to have lunch in Pierceton.
One rather expects to find tomato soup gacked up with sugar, and lots
of people actually *like* sweetened chili, but the Oddfellow Cafe' put
sugar in my french onion soup!

I'm afraid to try the chicken-noodle.

Yesterday someone on rec.food.cooking posted a recipe for macaroni
salad that called for a whole can of condensed milk *and* a half cup
of sugar. We are doomed.

--
joy beeson at comcast dot net
http://wlweather.net/PAGESEW/
The above message is a Usenet post.
I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site.