Tag Archives: cycling

Seizures, kidney issues, double-vision… what’s next? Obviously, more riding!

Personal stuff, Ride reports (not Tu/Th),

The plan (remember, there’s always a plan) was to head out with Kevin (my son, not the pilot) shortly after 9am and do a ride similar to what I did alone last Sunday (head up Old LaHonda, down to Pescadero, Highway 1 to Gazos Creek, return to Pescadero via Cloverdale, north on Stage and back over the hill on 84). But about that time Kevin had developed some pretty strong double vision (one of those potential side effects of meds that you assume happens to someone else and not you) followed by a nasty headache. A reasonable case could be made that he was in no shape to ride a bike. It was suggested that I head out on my own (like last weekend) but instead I decided to wait this one out, however long it took. And it took a while. It wasn’t until 1pm or so that he was up to getting out on a bike, which kinda killed off a 78-mile ride, but it did give me time to figure out what Google adwords are all about (supposedly the best way to advertise to your customers) and fix a few things on the website.

I lied when I said I didn't bring a camera on this ride; I captured this Poppy-fied hillside on Stage Road near San Gregorio with my iPhone's camera.

It was a stunningly-beautiful day when we finally got out on our bikes. Mid-to-upper 60s (dropping as low as 57) and clear skies. The type of day you’re really glad to have your camera with you, the one you discover you forgot at home. Hate that. Probably my first ride without a camera in years. It should have felt a lot better to be out riding on a day like this than it did, at least at first. Something about being “ready” at 9am but not getting out until 1pm, being quite literally all-dressed-up-with-no-place-to-go, made the ride seem a bit mechanical for a while, but eventually we settled in to an enjoyable ride… up Old LaHonda, over Haskins to Pescadero, north on Stage Road and back to Woodside via 84.

No stop for refueling in Pescadero; Kevin figured we’d be fine riding straight through, but I did make sure he ate some ClifShots before the long run back on 84. 61 miles total, probably less than 5000ft of climbing, so not really that challenging a ride, were it not for issues that Kevin continues to face. It’s taken a lot of patience on my part, rearranging my plans and expectations, but those are mere inconveniences compared to the stuff he’s been through. His kidney issues (thankfully behind him now) and now double-vision, both related to his meds for epilepsy, have been challenges no kid should have to face, but once on a bike, life somehow seems to become normal for a while. That’s probably the main reason I’m still doing the July gig in France, following the Tour de France bike race with him. Something “normal” that he can look forward to.

Distracted driving- what can we do about it?

Advocacy & Local Issues, Personal stuff, , , ,

Distracted driving is not something cyclists can live with.

Driven by our multi-tasking culture that has deemed our cars are simply 4-wheeled extensions of our work desk, our kitchen table and even entertainment center, distracted driving is unquestionably becoming worse.

Presently the law is *NOT* working, as you can sit at *ANY* intersection, anywhere, and in very little time see a number of people with phones to their ears. Easy pickings for law enforcement, if they decided to make it a priority. They (CHP anyway) claim it is a priority, but I think otherwise. A 2-officer operation could nab a huge number of offenders. For that matter, why do we have red light cameras but not cell phone cameras? True, they’d have to take a photo of every car, and a real live person would have to cull through them, but it would be a lot easier than having officers handing out tickets.

But given that it’s going to take time to change people’s attitudes while driving, what can we do in the meantime to avoid becoming a run-down-from-behind statistic? Some of it has to do with where we ride; I suspect that more-dangerous driving conditions are less-likely to see distracted drivers, because driving at those times comes closer to a full-time job. It’s when it seems like there’s little to do that people will be more-inclined to be stupid behind the wheel. Ironically that means that straighter roads and less-congestion are probably more dangerous to cyclists than we believe. Picture Canada Road vs Kings Mtn. I have yet to see someone yakking or texting on the phone on Kings (although I’m sure it does happen), but see it often on Canada.

I have questions, not answers. Bright flashing tail lights in the daytime. Good thing? Intuitively I think so, but at the same time I’ve come across a sea of flashing headlights (while riding) and found it distracting, and at some point I think distracting moves from being good (getting noticed) to being bad (taking your attention away from other things you should be seeing). Could just be a matter of how bright that flashing light is. But to effectively engage the attention of a distracted driver, is anything less than a laser pointed straight into their retina going to do the job?

I look forward to a discussion of these points, from two entirely selfish standpoints. First, I’m out there on the road myself. Second, I don’t want people to get scared away from cycling because it’s bad for business. Sadly, this is too serious a point to warrant having a smiley after it. –Mike–