Why don't the cyclists use the bike rack?

I'm sure many have had this question popped up in their head when they see a bike locked up to a sign post or a sidewalk rail or just about any sturdy metal thingy even though there is an empty bike rack available. So why don't cyclists use the available bike rack?

Short answer: because some bike racks are really unsafe to park my beloved bike at. You have seen many of them, they are the low racks like the one in the picture above, where you can only lock either a front or a back wheel with a U-lock (much harder to break than the cable version) and no part of the bike frame. So, locking my bike up there means there's a good chance of me coming back out of the library/restaurant/shop only to find a wheel locked to the rack... without the rest of the bike. A road bike wheel is expensive. Yes. But not nearly as expensive as the rest of the bike!

 Another library, another bad bike rack (there's no way you can U-lock any part of the bike frame to this rack). Luckily this one is surrounded by metal railing, so I locked my beloved Giant Defy to the railing instead, and so did a recumbent cyclist who got there before I did.

 It bugs me a bit that many bike shops around town only offer bad bike racks like this one in front of their store. There was no other bike around, so I managed to lock the frame to it by taking up two spaces instead of just one. I wonder how many bikes get stolen from in front of bike shops each year. I mean... what better setting for a thief to just grab a bike and ride off than in front of a bike shop that offers no sight-line to the bike rack from inside the store? I mean, people do that all day long there... going off test-riding bikes that they didn't arrive on. A bike thief would blend right in!

Now these are good bike racks for a change. I can U-lock the frame and the rear wheel (the two most expensive parts of the bike) to these racks. We need more of them around!

Morning Ride to El Capitan Reservoir via Santee & Lakeside

The weather forecast called for a relatively cool day, so a couple of friends and I went riding to El Capitan Reservoir via Grantville, Santee and Lakeside this morning. I guess the warmer and more humid climate that San Diego has been acquiring is throwing the meteorologists off a bit since it felt quite warmer than the forecast called for.

'Hello Gorgeous!' You decide who said it...

It was still a nice day for a ride, however. The ostriches were out at Hilliker's Egg Ranch on the south side of El Nopal in Lakeside, so we stopped for a while to visit and were quite mesmerized by the smooth-walking long-legged birds and their impossibly elastic long neck. One curious ostrich boy came over to socialize a bit and ended up flirting with one of my friends... He gave us a bit of a dance in between fits of wings-grooming. We never quite imagined that the big bird wears no underwear under his feathery wings!!

Lindo Lake in Lakeside. July 2013.

We cut through Lakeside via Lindo Lake... which we shall now call Lindo half-lake, since about half of its water has apparently gone off on vacation somewhere (probably Florida).  A few confused looking ducks were spotted loitering about... waddling around as if wondering which one of their mates had drank up all the water!

Lots of freebies being given on El Monte Rd...

A farmer along El Monte Rd is still trying to give off free horse sh*t to unsuspecting travelers. No taker, still... that sign's been there for months (his farm must now really stink!)!

The little 1/2 mile climb up to El Capitan Dam.

El Capitan Reservoir. July 2013.

Coasting back down El Monte Rd. So much view for so little climbing!

I'm happy to report that there is still water in El Capitan Reservoir, of course. The locals are onto it, though, as we were passed by about 13 speeding boat-towing trucks riding on that wiggly road to the lake. Weirdly enough, there weren't more than 10 boats in the lake once we got there... Maybe a few got abducted by aliens along the way (one can always hope!)!

Jackie Price Dunn Memorial Ride & Fund

We have had a few cycling deaths here in San Diego this year, but the passing of Jackie Price Dunn after a freak crash during a Velodrome race this past Tuesday hit the cycling community hard because of its circumstances. I think we all know in some level that every time we put on the helmet and roll our bike out into the city traffic there is a chance that we will end up dead or injured from colliding with a car. The velodrome, however, is a car-free environment with smooth surface to ride on... Even when in high speed races you don't expect much more than bruises and road rashes to result from a crash. Jackie went down hard and hit her head. The helmet survived but her brain didn't. I wasn't there and don't know how it really happened, but I doubt if it would have made any sense to me if I were... Sometimes you can do everything right and still end up with a catastrophe.

San Diego Velodrome

Anyhow, this Saturday (June 22nd) morning Jackie's friends and fellow local cyclists are getting together at 8am to ride one of her favorite cycling routes, the Bayshore Bikeway & Sweetwater Bikeway from Tidelands Park on Coronado to Plaza Bonita and back, in her memory. Everyone is invited and more details can be found at this Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/212819032199962/

A fund has also been established to help her family pay for her medical & funeral cost: http://www.gofundme.com/3brxtw

Added on 29 June:
Another memorial ride & fund-raiser in her honor is scheduled for July 4th. The bike ride starts/finishes at Moonlight State Beach in Encinitas at 7:45am. Two routes offered, with mutual rest stop at Double Peak. There is a fund-raising dinner (for Jackie's favorite charities) afterward at Union Kitchen & Tap in Encinitas from 11am - 2:30pm. More info at the event's facebook page.

Things You See When Riding Slowly Through The Great Western Loop

Some cyclists ride fast for the adrenaline rush or for challenging exercise or for Strava placing. I ride leisurely for the view... And here are some views you might miss if you speed around the scenic Great Western Loop as if being tail-gated by a homicidal oil tanker:

Yup, real life peacocks... Quite domesticated and watched over by a pair of cute goats.

There are some bike lovers living up in the mountains!

Rock, we do!

And we smile our way up the hill, too!

You've passed it a zillion time, but have you actually visited Loveland Reservoir?

The Japatul punishment is nearly over when you see this...

Oink if you approve!

Barrett Lake & Valley... you miss it going CCW because the view is behind you, you miss it going CW because you're busy enjoying the curvy & fast downhill.

Embrace the view!

Well, okay, a bit of off-route exploration required to find this place. But why keep doing the same route as if it's a rut. Explore a little!

It's almost a crime punishable by multiple tire punctures to roll on thru Lyons Valley without stopping to check in with Black Jack across from the trading post!

Above all, though, be nice to every GWL denizen 'cause you're always being watched like a hawk!

Why aren't the cyclists riding in the bike lane/road shoulder/far right edge?

I often see complaints by a subset of drivers who probably don't ride their bike on city streets that cyclists are often seen riding in the traffic lane when there is road shoulder/bike lane available. So, why don't cyclist always ride in the bike lane/road shoulder/far right edge of the road?

People don't always check their six before opening their traffic side car door...

You can't see this from the car, but 3/4 of this bit of bike lane is covered in broken bits of glass.

These won't do anything to car tires, but road bike tires go flat riding over them. Even the ultra-tough Gatorskins aren't immune to punctures!

Pine cones & other fruits are cute as long as they aren't in the bike's path! Also, when there are big trees lining the street, there tends to be root bumps and cracks right under them in the bike lane/road shoulder.

I added the vertical red bar to make the ickiness of this root bump more visible... Try hitting that thing while going at speed on a bicycle. It can really destroy the wheel (among other things)!

A bit of sand on the road won't cause a car to skid, but these can really cause a bike crash.

We cyclists haven't got a windshield.. Try riding into protruding tree branches at 15 mph. It hurts!

Branches are hard to see, even from a bicycle. This particular limb was at throat level...

You wouldn't drive a car over this, why should a cyclist ride his bike?

With all the broken glasses and radial tires' wire bits on the road, I get punctured most often from goathead thorns...

Some roadside protective ramps have ends that jut out. This one will easily take a shin off a cyclist and send him spilling into the traffic lane.

Every week from the night before to the night of the trash collection day, of course, there are extra obstacles in the bike path/road shoulder.

Also... a lot of time it is safer for a cyclist to ride left-center of the only through traffic lane when entering an intersection if he is behind a tall car so that the cars coming from the opposite side of the road that might be waiting to make a left turn would see him and know not to try to turn right as the tall car in front of the cyclist is going past.

A lot of street corners here have cars parked right up to the intersection. A street-savvy cyclist going straight will also ride more toward the middle of the right-most through lane rather than far to the right so that cars coming out of the side street will be able to see him (drivers tend to just look to the middle of the road for other cars before they make the right turn onto the cross street... and end up hitting a cyclist they should have seen but didn't).

So, the next time you see a cyclist riding in the middle of the traffic lane, please think about what legitimate circumstances that might force him to be riding there (believe me, most cyclists are sane and really dislike riding in traffic, surrounded by cars) rather than to immediately go into the road rage mode and assume all sort of evil motifs on the cyclist's part.