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Thursday, September 21, 2006
Vigil, Friday, MEadowbrook Park 7:00-7:30 for Matt Wilhelm. Silent.
Parallel Universe Ride this morning - 'way east on Green, I go by a fellow on a cruiser, who crosses from the right-hand sidewalk to the left-hadn sidewalk. For the next 3-4 miles - all the way through campus and almost all the way through Champaign - we're a study in contrast of vehicular vs. That Other Kind of cycling. He'd bob and weave and pretty much go through intersections at will... I'd proceed in my lane and stop at traffic lights.
I don't know if he could have gone faster or was moderating his speed for maneuverability (odds are he wasn't), but I was only keeping up with him because I was moving faster when I was moving.
I wasn't moving all that fast, though - I went Green all the way and went by the school. The intersection cop waxes all official and I see him looking into that radar gun and hear, in that authoritarian cop tone, "That's 12 miles an hour, Ma'am!" I chorgled and said in equally drill-seargentesque tones: "Gotta pick it up!!" and he echoed, "Gotta pick it up!"
This enabled me to charge through that PRospect light with seconds to spare :-)
Parallel Universe Ride this morning - 'way east on Green, I go by a fellow on a cruiser, who crosses from the right-hand sidewalk to the left-hadn sidewalk. For the next 3-4 miles - all the way through campus and almost all the way through Champaign - we're a study in contrast of vehicular vs. That Other Kind of cycling. He'd bob and weave and pretty much go through intersections at will... I'd proceed in my lane and stop at traffic lights.
I don't know if he could have gone faster or was moderating his speed for maneuverability (odds are he wasn't), but I was only keeping up with him because I was moving faster when I was moving.
I wasn't moving all that fast, though - I went Green all the way and went by the school. The intersection cop waxes all official and I see him looking into that radar gun and hear, in that authoritarian cop tone, "That's 12 miles an hour, Ma'am!" I chorgled and said in equally drill-seargentesque tones: "Gotta pick it up!!" and he echoed, "Gotta pick it up!"
This enabled me to charge through that PRospect light with seconds to spare :-)
Comments:
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Sue,
Thanks for adding a comment to my blog about riding from Louisville to Wisconsin and back by bicycle. I hope you have had a chance to read other entries besides the one in which I mentioned getting driven into and out of Urbana rather than riding through.
Your profile mentions League of Illinois Bicyclists. Thanks for supporting them! I enjoyed chatting with LIB executive director Ed Barsotti at the ProWalk/ProBike conference in Madison, WI two weeks ago. He and LIB do great work. Best wishes with your continuing work to advance vehicular cycling and bicycle commuting in Urbana.
Ride well,
Barry Zalph
www.bicyclingforlouisville.org
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Thanks for adding a comment to my blog about riding from Louisville to Wisconsin and back by bicycle. I hope you have had a chance to read other entries besides the one in which I mentioned getting driven into and out of Urbana rather than riding through.
Your profile mentions League of Illinois Bicyclists. Thanks for supporting them! I enjoyed chatting with LIB executive director Ed Barsotti at the ProWalk/ProBike conference in Madison, WI two weeks ago. He and LIB do great work. Best wishes with your continuing work to advance vehicular cycling and bicycle commuting in Urbana.
Ride well,
Barry Zalph
www.bicyclingforlouisville.org
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