I'm Not a Lawyer, but...

Update: as of August 1, 2023, the pipe and bridge have been removed.

 

...I'm going to suggest that this ramp isn't ADA-compliant.

I encountered these workers installing the ramp over an 18-inch pipe laid across the Fall Creek Greenway on June 28th. The work was going on about a quarter mile north/east of 39th Street (that's the parking lot of Pro-Strip, 4020 Millersville, in the background). I'll grant that, unlike the makeshift plywood ramps cobbled together by DigIndy contractors across the trail at sites near Central and Illinois Streets in recent years, the ramp is actually... semi-safe. It's constructed of metal mesh with handrails and doesn't have overly steep approaches.

Indy DPW to Block Motorists from Monon Trail

Preparing for new bollards at East 49th Street

In apparent response to media coverage (on WTHR television and in the Indianapolis Star) about motorists driving on local multiuse trails, Indy’s Department of Public Works has taken action. Beginning on March 22, 2023, DPW has begun the installation of bollards to block vehicular traffic on certain segments of the Monon Trail; as well as some portions of the Pennsy Trail. Similar traffic-calming devices have long been in place on trails in Hamilton County, especially the highly popular Monon Trail.

Indy’s Most Dangerous Bike Trail Intersections: Number Five

Following the untimely death of local bicycle icon Frank Radaker (October, 2021) at the Monon Trail where it crosses 86th Street, members of the cycling community lobbied Indy's government for changes to make cycling in the city safer. To our uncertain knowledge, there has been a change. By “a change,” we mean just the one: DPW reprogrammed the pedestrian crossing lights at site of Radaker's death; granting trail users a few seconds when no motor vehicles have a green light. Now, if they could just reprogram some drivers who routinely ignore the “no turn on red” signs…

Although it's certainly dangerous, in our opinion the intersection where Frank died is not the most dangerous intersection for Indianapolis cyclists, not even the most dangerous intersection of a trail and a street. Without further ado, here is our next nomination in our bottom six street crossings in Marion County…

Monon Trail Work Completed... Sort of

Well, it snowed yesterday, and that means – of course – that after eight long months, contractors have (finally) finished their work on the southern half of the Monon Trail in Marion County; the detour under the North Split not included. In other words, from 14th Street to the north entrance to Canterbury Park (about 56th Street), the pavement is finished. Every crossing has freshly painted crosswalk markings, and those irritating dropoffs where asphalt meets concrete at the street junctions are, at least for now, level and even. With the exception of a couple of spots where workers left tracked-vehicle ruts, the pavement is as smooth as a baby's behind.

2022: the Indy Cyclist's Summer from Hell

Never mind that the weather so far this year has been abnormally hot (an even dozen 90-plus degree days so far this year, including one of 99°) and, for most cyclists' tastes, a tad windy. No, we who choose two wheels and muscle power are inured to the fickleness of the weather gods. What's getting our goat this year is how much stress DPW and private construction companies are putting on cyclists. 

Take the Monon Rail Trail. Sure, purists and wannabe TdF competitors claim to eschew the trail, but take a look at it on the Strava heat map: it's white-hot! Well, it's a lot less white-hot this year...

Good News, Bad News on Westfield Bridge

Updated: 

Some time around Memorial Day, Westfield opened the bridge to traffic. Two things to know:

• There's a road (access to restaurants?) that crosses the south approach. I'll just say that it's "inconvenient" amd leave it at that. Southbound riders be aware.
• The surface is not particularly smooth.

Artist's conception, Westfield's Monon bridge

A Monon Bridge over 38th Street... Finally

Mayor Hogsett's bike

Indy's been promising for years to build a bridge over 38th Street for people using the Monon Trail. The trail crossing at the southwest corner of the State Fairgrounds has long been considered a "deathtrap," as cyclists, joggers, and walkers were forced to cross six lanes of traffic on one of the north side's most heavily traveled cross-town throughways. Construction began in March, 2020, on  a $5.5 million¹, seventeen-foot-tall pedestrian bridge, which — if progress on Westfield's bridge over SH 32 is any indication — should be finished some time in 2021. Or maybe 2022.

Not bad for a feature that's been promised since 2015, eh?

What Cyclists Wish Drivers Knew #6: That White Line is not a Force Field

If you're a cyclist and you live anywhere there are on-road bike paths, you've been there, too. Let me recount: you're pedaling merrily along in the middle of a bike lane: maybe 30 to 40 inches of space next to the curb, marked by a thick white line between you and traffic moving 20 to 30 MPH faster than you are. Maybe there are arrows and icons of cyclists on the pavement, maybe there's a sign along the roadside that says something to the effect of "No motorized vehicles in bicycle lane."

What Cyclists Wish Drivers Knew #5: We actually do obey traffic laws.

I haven't always lived in Indy; in fact I've spent less than half my life in Indiana even though I moved away when I was well into my twenties. I recently moved back to town after "serving a seven-year sentence" in Houston, Texas. If there's one urban legend that permeates the driving community in Houston (where, in an average year, a dozen cyclists die on the roads, most in hit-and-runs), it's that "95% of cyclists run every stop sign and red light."

Well, I must be one of the 5%, then: I'm nowhere near stupid enough to run a red light in Indy, much less in Houston! As for stop signs, well, I'll admit to "Idaho stops" when there are no moving vehicles approaching from any direction. Over the past ten or so years (more than 20K miles on the bikes, I have never had a near miss because I ran a stop sign or stop light. I've had a couple of very close calls when drivers ran stop signs, though.

Things Cyclists Wish Drivers Knew #5: That White Line Is Not a Force Field

For a lot of the past couple of decades I lived in different cities in Texas – a state that's quite possibly the very model of modern bicycle hostility (though I must admit I’ve never ridden in Mississippi, Florida, or Alabama). Then-gov Rick Perry – who at the time claimed to be a cyclist – once vetoed a safe-passage law passed by the scarlet-red legislature, effectively making anyone with a driver’s license a double-oh agent. Kidding. Sort of. But now I live in Indiana... and not much has changed.

The Hoosier State, like Texas and nine other states (AK, HI, ID, ND, NM, IA, MI, KY, NJ)¹, has no legal mandate for a minimum passing distance when a motor vehicle overtakes a slow-moving vehicle such as a bicycle or Amish buggy. Some cities (Carmel, for instance) have passed local ordinances, but out on country roads it can be “Katy, bar the door!”
When riding city streets, especially those with striped bike lanes, and roadways with a fog line along the side of the road, most cyclists do try to stay to the right of the line – even though they are not required by law to do so. It’s common courtesy… What isn’t common courtesy, however, is the motorists who whiz by in the closest traffic lane without paying any attention to the cyclist, as if the white line at the edge of their lane marked a Star Trek-style force field.

Just so you know, there is no such thing! A bicycle or pedestrian on the side of the road is just as fragile as one in the middle of the road. Show some common courtesy, people, and leave them enough room to maneuver around road hazards. ¹ The differing state laws are detailed by the National Conference of State Legislatures

copyright © 2017-2018 scmrak

Axiom Lazer 500: Nice Light, Lousy Mount

Axiom Lazer 500 LED Headlight

UPDATED: See red text at bottom of page

A recent painful encounter with a distracted driver – well, actually, with the side of her van – reminded me that no cyclist is ever too visible. While neon jerseys and rear-facing blinking lights may serve to alert a driver overtaking you, some of the ones in front of you also need a visual nudge or two. One of those strobing headlights seemed to be just the ticket, so a pair of them appeared just in time for Mothers Day. They’re both the Axiom Lazer 500 LED Headlight.

According to the manufacturer’s specs, the Lazer 500 puts out 500 lumens of bright blue-white light. It features four modes: three different intensities of steady and a strobing flash. The lithium polymer battery is rechargeable from a USB port (charging cable included). Axiom says the battery lasts for up to 36 hours of flashing, or 2.5 hours at maximum steady intensity. The stated recharge time is five hours.

Lazer headlights come with a clamp-style handlebar mount that installs without tools. The light unit is removable for charging, and the mount allows me to swing the light from side to side to “see around corners” or, more commonly, point it at drivers approaching from the side.

There’s a one-button ON-OFF switch that you hold down to turn on or off or to activate the strobe function. Pressing the button while in steady mode changes the intensity. LEDs in the switch tell you that the light is working (green) and that the battery is below 15% charge (red). The light’s visible from several hundred feet away in strobe mode, though not really noticeable in bright sunlight beyond a couple hundred feet (3 seconds at 60 MPH).

I like that the Lazer 500 locks in its mount, because otherwise the bumpy local streets would probably bounce it off within a few hundred yards; I also like that swivel feature. I don't ride in the dark, so I can't speak to its use as a headlight: I bought this for safety. What I don’t care for is Axiom's handlebar mount: it’s hard plastic with an optional corrugated rubber insert, and a screw with a knurled knob to tighten the mount in place. The rubber insert can’t be used on our 31-mm bars with their slightly oval cross-section, which leaves hard plastic in direct contact with the handlebar (it can’t be mounted on the stem, for whatever that’s worth). As a result, the relatively low friction allows the mount to turn just a little as I ride, which eventually points the light downward. I’m careful to only rotate the mount itself instead of trying to use the light, but geez, guys, don’t you realize that many bikes don't have skinny handlebars any more?

As for battery life: the battery in one of our lights lasted twice as long as the other on its first charge, but since then the two seem to be keeping similar recharging schedules of perhaps 30-35 hours.

Axiom also sells a 700-lumen model (cunningly called the Lazer 700) and sets with both headlight and blinking tail light. I like the visibility and the rechargeable battery of my Lazer, but I’m less impressed by its mount. If the clamp were sized for real bikes, I’d like it a lot better. As it is, I’m just “meh” about it, mostly because I am suspicious that the mount is not going to last as long as the light.

And I was right: three times, the mount has broken on bumpy city streets, broken in such a way that it cannot be repaired. I'd say that mount ins worse than "Meh," it's utter crap. Buy any brand but this one...

copyright © 2017-2019 scmrak

She Said, He Said: Road Rage or Driver Intimidation?

Transcripts of a couple of Indianapolis newscasts have come across my email of late, newscasts that tell wildly different stories about the same incident. It was initially labeled a case of "unprovoked road rage" on the part of an anonymous local cyclist. The cyclist has now been identified, and he has a... different take on the incident. It's now turned into a case of he said, she said... and you can be pretty sure that neither one is telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth...

Who Wins When a Bicycle and Car Collide?

Ever wondered? Well, as of just last week, I can tell you from personal experience. But I won't: instead, I'll just show you a couple of pictures for comparison...

This is what happens when someone bumps into your truck in an apartment complex parking lot...

...and this is just some of what happens when someone chatting on a cell phone cuts off a cyclist while making a right turn across a bike lane:

...Any questions?

copyright © 2017 scmrak

You, Too, Can Be Seen with a Flashy Taillight

Planet Bike Blinky SuperFlash Rear Bike Light

If you ride a bicycle in traffic, you've probably noticed that many urban drivers aren't bike-friendly. It's not (usually) hostility, it's distraction: they don't shift to attack mode upon seeing a cyclist, they simply don't see us. A wise rider does whatever it takes to be noticed by folks thumbing iPhones or wiping goo off Baby's chin while driving. Flashy jerseys are a passive method; but in enemy territory, by which I mean most urban settings, you'd better take active measures. My first rides in the city where I used to live (Houston) were nerve-wracking, so I dropped into my LBS for something that would attract attention before my rear wheel disappeared under a bumper. My choice? A Planet Bike Blinky SuperFlash Light for rear mounting.

The SuperFlash is a small three-LED light in a plastic housing with padded clamps for either seatpost or seatstay. Installation takes a couple of minutes and a screwdriver. The housing is about three inches high, one inch wide, and one inch thick; shaped like a keyhole. Two LED lights are located on the vertical, with a third, focused by a parabolic mirror, in the center of the round top. A pair of AAA batteries (included) power the light or you can buy one that recharges from a USB plug for about twice the price. Including the batteries, total weight is fifty grams. The light has is a three-position switch: off, steady, and flashing. When flashing, the bottom two LEDS blink at one rate, while the upper LED flashes at a different, faster pattern. Planet Bike says that batteries will last for 50 hours with steady use, and 100 hours flashing. Mine lasted more than two years before I had to replace them. Some users claim that the light can pop out of the mounting on rough surfaces, but mine snaps in place and stays there. It's not certified waterproof, so rainy weather may cause problems. This is a heckuva bright light: I wouldn't be caught dead (well, actually I probably would be) riding in most cities after dark, but I use this for daylight rides on "share-the-road" streets and marked bike "lanes" (the "dirty bike stripe"). I've had almost no close calls from the rear with it working (wonder if I can mount one on the front?), because even in bright light the irregular flash pattern and that super-bright red upper light get a driver's attention. I've seen these on bikes while driving, and even in broad daylight they're noticeable from several hundred feet away. On gray days, I've been known to mount mine on the back of my helmet to get it up level with drivers' eyes.

Overall, it's a fine safety device for urban riders. The eye-catching flash pattern and superbright light should catch the attention of distracted drivers, day or night. The light may be a bit expensive, but so's major surgery.

copyright © 2016-2017 scmrak

Flat Tire on Your Bike? Comparing Four Patch Kits

Flat Tires are an Inevitability

Explorers in the new world, history would have it, spent years questing for the fabled Cibola, a city whose streets were said to have been paved with gold. They never found it. If those same explorers were to come to the city where I used to live (Houston), they might think the streets were paved with diamonds because of their sparkle in the rays of the morning sun. The glitter isn't diamond-studded pavement, though: it's acres of broken glass, the legacy of a city that owns no street sweepers and depends on torrential rains to wash debris from the local roadways.