This is an open letter to the young man who almost caused my life and his own to change forever, neither for the better.
Dear young man,
If I were you, I'd be thanking my lucky stars that the older man in the van that you encountered this morning while riding your bike has decent peripheral vision. Maybe you have already. Hopefully that will change the way you chose to ride your bicycle so irresponsibly this morning.
First, you weren't wearing a helmet. Had we hit, you would have been sent flying over your handlebars, probably over the hood of my car and then onto the pavement on the other side of my van. At best, you'd come out with some bumps and bruises, but you could have gotten some serious brain damage or possibly some broken bones out of the deal. I went over the handlebars of my bicycle when I was in 8th grade. I got a concussion and a broken left arm out of the deal. It could have been much worse, but probably not nearly as bad as if you'd hit me. I only hit another bicycle.
You, on the other hand, could very easily have hit me. I say hit me, because I would not have been at fault if you had. For you see, when someone comes up to an intersection intending to make a right hand turn, they look left first, because that's where the traffic is coming from. Usually drivers will look right once they start to make their turn into traffic. That's where you came into the situation.
Yeah, you were in the bike lane, but you were traveling down the street the wrong way in the bike lane. You were traveling south in a northbound bike lane. That's just asking for trouble and you almost got a lot of it if I hadn't seen you a split second before I really hit the gas and accelerated. Had I not seen you out of the corner of my eye, you could have easily been hamburger meat.
Now, I doubt that you'll ever see this and I actually wished my window had been rolled down so I could have yelled a couple of choice words at you as you rode away. Maybe those words would have helped drive home the message. I hope you got the crap scared out of you. I hope you start to wear you helmet, but if you don't, at least ride on the correct side of the road. If you don't, the next driver might not be as quick as I was.
As I stated at the top, both of our lives could have changed a lot this morning. Fortunately, they didn't, but perhaps that little scare will change you a little bit.
This one is a really easy write, something that I've been wanting to post about for sometime. The word for the year is weight. Sometime in the past year. Actually right around the end of June, I decided that there needed to be less of me around here. I was out of shape, my clothes didn't fit right and every time I went to the doctor's office, I kept hearing the same comment, "Has your blood pressure always been that high?"
A little history behind this would probably be helpful. No, my blood pressure has not always been that high, but about five years ago, I stopped getting myself weighed on a regular basis. Well, it was more of a forceful stop as opposed to something that I really intentionally did.
I used to donate blood, actually aphaeresis, about every month. On my last donation, my 79th pint, I was deferred permanently, because I test false positive for Hepatitis C. Please note the false positive. The government said I couldn't donate anymore, because of the reading, even though I knew, as did my doctor at the time, as did the personnel at the Blood Bank, that I didn't have Hepatitis.
Every two weeks, I'd go in to donate, get my blood pressure checked and get weighed. That went out the window. I didn't own a scale, so I wasn't keeping track of my weight and it went up, and up and up. Fast forward to this year and we changed insurance, so I got new doctors, and decided to check out my new doctor. Needless to say, because of my age, I got all sorts of tests done and everywhere it was the same, "Has your blood pressure always been that high?"
My new doctor gave me three choices, swimming, running or biking. I'm not a very good swimmer, nor have I ever liked to run, but I did enjoy biking when I was younger so I opted for that. He gave me moderate goals to work toward and said if I followed the regimen he specified, I'd lose some weight and in his words, "The beauty of this is you'll probably be able to eat just about anything you want."
And that has been pretty much the case. Bad weather and other things curtailed my biking during the holiday period. Add to that extra food that always seems to be around during that period and I went up a little bit, but this morning I weighed myself and I'm back to my pre-holiday weight, which is 20 pounds less than I weighed when I started this back in July.
I bought a bike off of a friend of mine. I take it out for nice rides, both on streets and trails as often as possible. I also won a Fitbit in August and that has really gotten me obsessed about how much I walk during a given day, which has also helped. I feel better, I have a lot more stamina than I used to, don't get winded on hikes like I used to. In the past, when I'd go on an 8 to 10 mile hike, my body would scream in protest for the next day or so. Yesterday, I went on a 8 mile hike, found 56 geocaches and this morning went on a half hour bike ride, then walked 3 miles later in the day. My body doesn't protest anymore. It feels good.
And that's why the word for the year is weight. Because I'm losing it. All I ask is that you don't find it.
Ten hotdogs? Seriously? The prompt is ten hotdogs? Or is it ten hot dogs? It does bring up an interesting question that has never really seriously been answered, which is why I think it's the prompt in the first place.
Why is it that most packages of hot dogs are 10, while the packages of buns are 8? I mean, to break even, you need 8 packs of hot dogs and 10 packs of buns so that you break even with the hot dog to bun ratio, but that's not really the end of your problems. Unless it's the 4th of July and the fireworks are bursting over head, you're going to lose some of those buns because there's going to be a build up of mold. Which means you need to buy more than 10 packs of buns.
Hot dogs on the other hand? Yeah, they're not going to go bad. Hot dogs are like McDonald's hamburgers. Leave them out for months and with all of the preservatives in them, they're still going to have nothing growing on them. Unless you buy Hebrew National hot dogs. Those might mold up after awhile.
Ah, the heck with it. Just open a can of chili, drop two hot dogs on an open bun, pour about a third of the can of chili over the top, the drop your favorite cheese on top of the chili. Heat and eat. Tomorrow, ride 10 miles on your bike, because it's going to feel like you ate 10 hot dogs by that time and you're probably good to go. But if you do that twice, then you'll have exactly the right number of buns left over for the rest of those hot dogs.
Except then, you'll have extra chili. OK. So instead of dropping a third of can, drop half a can. It's all good at this point.
But I just felt like sleeping in a little bit, so after that, I decided that I wanted my morning cup of coffee and then there was breakfast and I never got around to my morning bike ride until 9:43 in the morning. And that made all the difference in the world as there were too many people on my chosen route of the Thompson Creek Trail this morning.
To the couple walking their dog. Do you have to take up the entire trail? That's why there's a center stripe in the trail to indicate the two lanes of the trail. Then, when you hear me say "on your left," instead of moving your dog over so I can pass safely, you turn around and give me a look as if to say, "Who the heck are you?" Only when I come to a full stop do you then move your dog out of the way.
To the woman who was walking on the right hand side coming toward me. Was it necessary to cross over on to my side to continue your walk? At this point, I have no idea what you're going to do since you're not looking ahead at all, but looking at your feet, so I have no choice but to slow down to an almost dead stop until I know I can pass you without having you veer suddenly into my lane.
To the the numerous people who don't clean up after their dogs. Seriously? The city puts dooty bags along the trail. You couldn't grab one on the beginning of your walk so you clean up after your dog? Don't tell me it's coyote scat. I know what coyote scat looks like and that's no coyote scat. And, you didn't even bother to at least have your dog crap on the side of the trail instead of right in the middle of it.
To the guy standing at the side of the trail. This is the third time I've passed you in the past month while you were standing there shooting the breeze with your friends and your dog was on leash. This is also the third time your dog has lunged at me as I've ridden by and the third time you've looked surprised that that has happened. I call BS on that look. If your dog lunged at me, then we all know it lunges at other bike riders. Keep a better rein on your dog.
Rant over. We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.
One of the things I've noticed is that common courtesy seems to be waning everywhere. Where once people looked out to make sure that they weren't inconveniencing anyone, now it seems that most people have a "me first" attitude toward everything.
I ended up buying a new mountain bike from my friend yesterday and took it out on a paved trail just to see how it handled on regular street paths. The path I chose this morning is crowded in the morning. I get that. But I was going up hill so I wasn't traveling very fast so it's relatively easy to avoid getting in the way of a bicyclist. I'm constantly calling out "on your left" to alert people that I'm approaching that I'm coming up and intend to pass them on their left. Most people move over slightly and that's fine as they really don't have to as there's always space to pass easily.
This morning I came up on two groups of people. It was apparent they were talking about something, perhaps the dog one of them had because the other bent down to pet the dog. The problem was, they'd seen me coming up the path. I had slowed down because they weren't moving out of the way and that's when the one woman bent down to pet the dog in the middle of the path. Are you freakin' kidding me? Yep, they forced me off the path because they refused to move out of the way so I could pass them.
That's my rant of the day. And just so you know, I do know there is a lot of common courtesy out there as well. Just this past April, several teachers and I took a group of kids (7th and 8th graders) into Los Angeles on the Metrolink. At lunch time, the group that I sat with all pulled their phones out and put them in the middle of the table, intending to have a lunch without social media. We had a very good conversation, because no one was immersed in their phone. It was a welcome breath of fresh air and proved to me that there is still hope for our species. Now, hopefully, this small gesture can replicate itself.
And I know I've said this before, but I intend to write more frequently. For whatever reason, the first months of the school year seem to suck up all of my time. And just to let you know. All this biking has led to me shedding almost 12 pounds so far since the beginning of July when I started biking.
When I've been geocaching in the past, especially with my friend Jim, he's always been quick to point out that you can't park in a bike lane. I've always heeded that pronouncement, since it made sense.
But I wanted to see exactly what the wording was regarding bicycle lanes, especially since I've taken to riding my bike again. The reason? Yesterday, while taking my morning ride, I encountered 5 cars parked in the bike lane. Only one, according to the California vehicle code was legally parked. I've quoted the specific code regarding bicycle lanes below.
Bicycle Lanes
A bicycle lane is a designated traffic lane for bicyclists, marked by a solid white line, typically breaking into a dotted line ending before it reaches the corner. Different from a simple white line showing the edge of the road, a bicycle lane follows specific width requirements and is clearly marked as a bike lane.
Treat a bicycle lane the same as other traffic lanes.
Do not turn into the lane if there is a bicyclist in the bike lane
Do not obstruct bicycle traffic by reducing the width required for safe bicycle passage, typically 3 to 4 feet. (bold my emphasis)
When you are making a right turn and are within 200 feet of the corner or other driveway entrance, you must enter the bicycle lane only after ensuring there is no bicycle traffic, and then make the turn. Do not drive in the bicycle lane at any other time.
You may park in a bicycle lane if your vehicle does not block a bicyclist and/or there is not a “No Parking” sign posted. (bold my emphasis)
Drivers of motorized bicycles should use bicycle lanes carefully to avoid collisions with bicyclists.
The two portions I've bolded above are the parts where I feel these particular vehicles were in violation of the law. Their cars completely blocked the bicycle lane, forcing me to move into the regular traffic lane. Only the last car I encountered on Towne Ave, just east of where I live didn't do that and that's because the bike lane there is wider than normal allowing me the 3 to 4 feet for safe passage.
I think because there weren't "No Parking" signs on the street, the owners of the vehicles felt they could park there. A reasonable assumption, but one that puts bikers at risk. I doubt any of the violators follow this blog, but if you decide to park in a bicycle lane, please be aware that you are blocking bicycle riders and putting them at risk for injury.
That's my soapbox for today. I now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.
I've hear jokes in the past from various people stating, "I'm in shape. Round is a shape." Yes it is and while I'm not round, I'm rounder than I'd like to be.
Last year, we changed our health insurance and I decided to take advantage of that and get some things looked at that have been sort of sitting on the back burner for a couple of years. The justification was I was busy, or it can wait until summertime, etc., and then summertime would roll around and I'd find other things to occupy my time and it wouldn't get done.
When I was donating blood on a regular basis, I knew my blood pressure and weight. Donating platelets every other week, I had a handle on those two things. Because of a lab snafu, where I tested false-positive for something I don't have, I cannot donate blood anymore. That happened about five years ago which meant I no longer had access to my blood pressure and weight on a regular basis. That's when things started to go south.
With the various appointments I've had this spring and summer, I've heard one recurring theme, which was bothersome to me, "Has your blood pressure been this high in the past?" Yeah, that's not something I want to mess around with, so I made another appointment to talk to my doctor about a sensible way to bring my blood pressure down. Obviously, the best way would be to lose some weight.
When we used to live over in Rancho Cucamonga, I could see my work from the back yard of my house and I used to bike to work. I'm not sure why I stopped doing that, but once we moved, the commute ended that. I held onto the bicycle giving myself all sorts of incentives to get back on it, but that never panned out until this week.
My doctor gave me three different options - swimming, running or biking. I have never been a good swimmer and I have never enjoyed running either, but I have enjoyed biking in the past, so I dusted the old bike off, took it in to get it serviced and Sunday went out on my first bike ride. Nothing spectacular, but I have a slight uphill grade for half the ride and the first day I traveled 5.78 miles. Day two, on Monday, I did the same ride, but the GPS said I did 5.83 miles. Yeah, I didn't zero the GPS out on the first day until I was a little ways away from the house, but I have a pretty good readout of how many miles I'm traveling if I take that standard route.
Tuesday, I took the day off as my thighs and rear end was barking a little bit, but I was back on the saddle again today for another run. So in three days, I've traveled almost 17 and a half miles. I'm sure the mileage will increase as I work my stamina back up, but for now, it's baby steps to get back in shape, bring my weight down and hopefully, my blood pressure as well.
I've decided to make this one of the regular occurring features in this blog, so if you don't want to read about my success, or lack of success on the road, feel free to skip it. I'll post the same photo as I've posted above to alert you ahead of time that this post will be a fitness post.
Here's to a thinner me in the future.
