Useless Bike Lane?

I haven't had much of a chance to ride around my neighborhood, but today I finally had a chance to meander through suburbia, and much to my surprise I found a bike lane on Dittmar Rd. I was excited because I thought it would a less traveled way to get to work, but found myself at 1st street with absolutely no safe way to ride either way. No bike lane, not even a sidewalk. Its the same situation on the other end as well when it crosses Manchaca Rd. Google Maps showed a supposedly shorter way to to my other job, but Ditmar becomes a curvy road with no shoulder. No way am I riding on that street.

It's frustrating because it seems the City of Austin just plunks down bike lanes wherever there is enough room, without considering that a bike lane through a suburban neighborhood that suddenly ends at two of the busiest streets in the area with no provision for cycling is pretty much useless. Manchaca isn't a hopeless case, the wide bus lane makes a provisional bike lane in a pinch, but on the other end its difficult to improvise. I was tired so I didn't go straight on to the South Congress intersection and see if it was better, but the road still looked pretty narrow.

The reality on the ground is so different than what is shown on maps, that I never ride anywhere I have to be without doing a test run first. There is just too much uncertainty with the infrastructure here, and many times have I ended up not being able to get somewhere that I wanted because a bike lane suddenly ended, or a sidewalk suddenly ended. Bike lanes need to go where people want to go, not where the city can plunk them down so they can get some glorified friendly bike city award. Everyone knows that is a joke. I want to get from A to B, and would like a bike network that reflects it.

My Exercise Routine Involves Stopping at Nordstrom Rack

So I haven't been on my bike in the past couple of days, hence the lack of anything new here. But today I finally had a day off and decided to hop on my bike and see if I could ride to work/slash get some exercise.

It wasn't too bad, it only took forty five minutes and so if I did ride I would have to leave about 20 minutes earlier than usual. I was huffing and puffing on my way back, so I don't know how feasible it would be to do when I've on my feet for hours, but my fatigue may have had more to do with the fact I was hungry and it was a 100 degrees outside.

Which brings me to the main point of this post. Riding in summery weather is quite pleasant. I left my house around ten, and there was a nice breeze going that made riding relatively cool. It had to have been 85 to 90 by then, but I didn't feel it, except when I had to stop at lights. I arrived at my destination somewhat fresh, at least enough to where the salesladies at the Rack didn't turn up their nose at me.

Again, a lot of people assume no one is going to ride a bike in typical Texas summer weather, but I think I've seen more bikes now than when it was cold. I guess because a lot of people are used to the heat, it doesn't bother them as much than when it is freezing. I remember during the winter there were definitely less bikes on the road. Plus, now that school is out I am seeing some kids riding their bikes around, its very nice.

The return journey was not as pleasant, mostly because I was hungry and forgot to bring along water. Thankfully, its a busy road so there were plenty of places to stop, but I kicked myself for that one. It isn't like I don't own three water bottles. Heatstroke in Texas is a big concern!

Hot Weather What What??

It is regularly hitting 95 degrees here, so I think it is safe to say cold weather is out for a little while. One of the arguments against bicycles you hear a lot down here is that no one will ride them when its hot, implying that the majority of the year, bike lanes and other infrastructure will go unused, and therefore is a waste of money. This post is devoted to debunking that myth.

Anyone have any idea what he is riding? I saw them and they instantly reminded me of those exercise machines popular in the nineties.

I was pumping gas across the street so couldn't move, but you can still see the fearless cyclist in front of the liquor store.

From about two days ago. It was hoooootttttt.

Taking pictures without being a creeper 101....do it when their back is turned.

Two different embodiments of a cyclist. She was wearing the special gear, he...well the guy uniform of a polo and jeans. Boring clothing choices like that make me glad to be a girl. Moving on.

Taken from my car. Don't worry I was completely stopped. I don't like to count cyclists all kitted out, because I feel they would be out no matter what. However, it was close to downtown around five, so perhaps he rides home from work.

H-E-B parking lot over at Riverside. FULL.

Funny

Ironically, this is the only thing parked in our garage.

All of our cars are parked outside in the driveway.

New Place!

I recently moved into a different part of Austin. I am now off of Slaughter near Southpark Meadows. It's about as far south you can go, but were still pretty close to stuff, and near several bus stops. A big plus for my roommate who doesn't have a car. I like it because where I am Slaughter has bike lanes. I was pretty apprehensive about riding on them though because they aren't separated and the traffic moves pretty fast. I'm pretty satisfied with the location, Southpark has practically everything you could need for your daily life, with a bike lane all the way. Of course, the lanes aren't great and I've seen nobody use them. Most people ride on the sidewalk. I think though that if they are there, I should make an effort to use them unless they really are unsafe.

I rode west today on slaughter in an effort to get to the really nice H-E-B in the Circle C area. It proved too difficult though when I got to Mopac, as there is no provision for anything to get across other than a car, as you can see above. On my way there, the sidewalk suddenly ended. Thank god my bike is a hybrid.

As you can see, the sidewalk all of a sudden pops up again. That is why I laugh when people say you should ride on the sidewalk. In some places....there is none! Riding on the grass was not uncomfortable, but if I had a different bike it would've been. I could tell others had done some off-roading too, as the there was a slightly visible trail. I don't know why there is a driveway there, I guess someone backed out of building something.

The layout of Slaughter really baffles me. On one part you have some effort to accommodate cyclists, and then on the other end you make it as difficult as possible. Did it ever occur to them one might want to ride Slaughter from end to end? There are bike lanes in the Circle C neighborhood, I've seen them. The only thing I can think of is most of the cyclists there are of the lycra variety, and either stick to their own neighborhoods or strap their bike to their car and go somewhere else. 

Having been thwarted in going to the nice HEB, I went to the one right off of Manchaca. I managed to get into the left turn lane, but realized the sidewalk in front of the HEB was right there. So I did something slightly illegal and turned left in the crosswalk onto the sidewalk instead of turning onto Manchaca and trying to turn left again. I made sure no traffic was coming and I made it across in 3 seconds. Thoughts? I felt it was justified in that I was already in a vulnerable position and would be in another one when I need to turn left again into the HEB. There are those who say always follow the rules but sometimes I feel that isn't always the best choice in safety. 

Drunk People Are the Best

Drunk people are like children in many ways. Their child like wonder makes them ask painfully obvious questions, or in the case of last night, awesomely stupid ones. I rode to 6th street to go out with some friends. Its a 30 minute or so from my apartment.  I wore a sparkly dress and heels, basically ready to kill. As I was texting my friends a drunk woman came by and asked "Why (How?) are you on a bike and looking so beautiful." Her friends, rightly embarrassed at her, shuffled her away. But I chuckled to myself. I don't know if she meant, "Why are you riding a bike when you're so hot you should be able to get someone to drive you." or if she was genuinely curious as to how I got from one place to the other without being a sweaty mess. It's not that hard. The weather was in the sixties, no humidity, and my hair was up, so no problems with it. I took my time and rested on the downhill parts when I could. Really, if you're willing to go into a bathroom in a bar on 6th,(scary, dirty places where grease and grime reside) being a little messy from a ride should be no problem.  should point out people don't usually just walk up to me and say I'm beautiful. Last night I must have just really brought it. A homeless lady complimented me too, so I gave her two dollars. I'm like alright, you said I was pretty you can eat tonight.

The best thing is that I literally parked right next to the bar my friends were at. No circling for a spot. No ten dollar charge to park in a garage. My feet were killing me at the end of the night but my bike was right there. On my way home, I passed maybe 4 cars. Going home at that time of night, drunk drivers are unfortunately a concern. Thankfully, the alleyways and bikeways I use are pretty secluded too.

Urgh

To me there are very few absolutes in cycling. You should have lights. Agreed. A good lock. Agreed. An understanding of the rules of the road. Agreed. Everything else....up for debate. Wanna buy fancy panniers? Go right ahead, but don't say anything when all my crap is in two reusable HEB bags. Want a pantsclip? Fine, but my bike has fenders and a chainguard. Think I'm crazy for wearing high heels? Fine, but I'm too busy going about my daily life to give a shit.

Same goes for a helmet. I got chided today by some guy on my way to Target. "Where's your helmet?", he said. "Up your ass", I thought. I said simply, "I don't own one". The truth. I don't. Haven't felt the need to get one after reading about their utility. Not only that, but I don't ride the way many people do here in Austin. I have an upright bike. I can easily look back and my center of gravity is not much different than if I was walking. For reference, when I'm riding, I am higher up than a Mini Cooper. I ride slowly and deliberately. I don't do fancy tricks. All in all, I think I have less of a chance in getting into the kind of accidents helmets are designed to protect. I don't think I've ever fallen off a bike, even when I was little. Ok maybe once. I'll be upfront and say I don't have hard evidence. But then again, I'm right on par with those that advocate helmets to protect against car/bicycle collisions.

Don't act like a know it all if you've just popped out from behind a bush and think its OK because you have a fucking helmet on your head. I don't care if you want to wear a helmet. If it makes you feel safer or you're doing a sport go right ahead. I DON'T CARE. I'm tired of the helmet debate and I have better things to do than listen to your bullshit on the road.

Rant over.