Monthly Archives: February 2005
February 23, 2005
Personal Land Speed Record
On a particularly flat, straight, dry section of I-8 in Arizona between Casa Grande and Gila Bend, I set a new personal land speed record. There was no traffic visible, in either direction, and the V-1 was on the job.
135mph.
There was plenty left in the bike, too.
February 21, 2005
Heading Home
I filled up at the Circle K on Irvington, then made good time to Casa Grande. I made a last second decision to go west on I-8, to avoid Phoenix and to see some new scenery. I'm not ashamed to say that my adventure on I-8 included a perfectly flat, straight, dry, sunny section of roadway with no traffic to be seen forward or back in either direction, which I put to good use: 135mph, a new personal land speed record. (Previous record was 130 in the 'Vette. And yes, the V-1 was on the job.)
SR-85 from Gila Bend to I-10 was packed with off-roaders going home. I still think it made the trip faster, and I was glad to avoid Phoenix.
I stopped for food and gas at a T/A truck stop. Ate one slice of my personal pan pepperoni pizza, which was somehow nasty, but I enjoyed the bread sticks.
The next break was in Blythe. No more butterscotch, but the strawberry sundae went well with the new book, "Tourist Season".
There was lots of rain, often heavy, between Blythe and Indio. I stopped for gas and to wait out the storm at a Coco's just west of Indio. Jacket was soaked through; gloves too. The henley was sopping at wrists and tail. More than a few heads gave pitying shakes as I left the waiting area to restart the ride.
Perseverance paid off, and I got home just two minutes past my 9:00pm target that I set leaving the Coco's. (There was too much rain and too much traffic to go safely faster.) When I got home, I got complaints from Jeremy that I wasn't going to make dinner, dried off, started a load of towels, and went to bed.
February 19, 2005
The Road to Tucson
Carole invited me to come out to Tucson in early February, and the initial plan was for the weekend of Feb 12-13, but the rain was bad and the initial forecast for the following weekend was better, so I delayed the trip a week. The Monday holiday meant I'd have a day in between the two legs of the trip, making it much more relaxing, but still an adventure.
My dad turns 79 on Sunday, but I didn't want to miss out on our traditional birthday breakfast at Coco's, and persuaded everyone to meet up on Saturday instead. During breakfast we found out an interesting fact: Sheehan did not know what coffee cake was. Carol doesn't eat the carbs that come with breakfast anyway, so Sheehan got a chance to try it out.
The waiter was very good, and very funny, and everyone enjoyed breakfast immensely.
The earlier forecasts were wrong - dead wrong. After breakfast it took me quite a while to finish last minute packing, get the bike ready, put on my gear and hit the road. I wound up leaving around 10:20am.
The rain started in heavily just after the I-215, and it was apparent that my rain jacket (the heavy, red one) was not waterproof, or even close. I stopped off at a Sportmart in Redlands and got a pair of neoprene gloves, and a $6 rain suit to put over my shirts and under my cycling jacket. This improved my situation somewhat.
Between Yucaipa and Banning I passed two different accidents with overturned cars on the other (westbound) side of I-10. Somewhat sobering, but I knew I had a world-class motorcycle, engineered and equipped to handle all kinds of weather conditions.
I stopped for gas in Coachella, but after the big breakfast I wasn't hungry. In Blythe I needed a break, grabbing a cheeseburger and reading 10 pages of The Forgotten Man. The rain started in again east of Quartzsite, and continued on and off (mostly on) all the way to Tucson.
I stopped for gas at a Shell station in Tonopah. Between Tonopah and Buckeye, a white Chevy pickup road my tail while I passed a slower moving car. Once I cleared the car I was passing, I pulled over into the right lane to let the pickup pass, and made a waggling motion with my left hand to let the driver know I wasn't thrilled about the closeness. As they passed me, the passenger tossed a dark beer bottle onto the road just in front of the bike. No harm, but I was a little angry, and conjured up all sorts of retaliations in my mind. They pulled off after ten miles, with no further incidents.
I pulled in to Carole's garage around 8:00 (9:00pm MST), and finally accepted the offer of a hot bath to cure my shivering.
February 1, 2005
A Lane Splitting Primer
I don't consider myself an expert, but freely admit to having significant experience in the skill of lane splitting - specifically, in Southern California lane splitting. In California, it's legal for motorcycles to ride between lanes of traffic, but in many parts of the U.S., lane splitting is not allowed.
Lane splitting in Southern California is not easy. Traffic in general is horrendous. Drivers are pre-occupied with cell phones, car stereos, and blaring kids. To improve overall traffic flow, an extra lane has been added to many freeways by relining existing lanes and shoulders. This results in lanes that are quite skinny, reducing the space that motorcyclists can use for lane splitting. A lot of freeway traffic consists of large trucks and SUVs that occupy almost all of the lane from side-to-side. During rush-hour, its not uncommon to find big rigs in the number two lane.
In this environment, you must ask the question: can lane splitting be done safely. The answer is: usually, but only if you have the proper skills, patience, and knowledge to make it work.
Lane splitting requires two skill sets: a) intimate knowledge of your bikes handling, braking, and acceleration; and b) the unconscience knowledge of the overall traffic situation around you.
Lane splitting must be done only in carpool lanes; if the freeway doesn't have carpool lanes, then only between lanes 1 and 2.
Carpool lanes are preferred. The best lane splitting situation is the carpool lane on the I-10 between East Los Angeles and El Monte. The carpool lane itself is separated from the main traffic lanes by a six-foot wide buffer lane, reducing the chances of an incursion, and there are only a couple of entry points in each direction. In addition, there's a solid white line that marks off a three-foot section on the right side of the carpool lane. It's almost like a separate motorcycle lane, and it gets well used by commuting cyclists.
Most other carpool lanes are separated from the main traffic lanes by only a set of double yellow lines. Cars are allowed to enter and leave the carpool lane only at merge points, which occur every one to three miles.
Rules:
- Only in carpool lanes; if no carpool lane, only between lanes 1 and 2.
- Never more than 10-15 mph over the speed of the slowest lane involved.
- Do not signal lane changes that consist only of moving from one side of the lane divider to the other side.
- Watch for faster cyclists behind you, and move to the left side of the left lane to let them pass.