Before I forget, I used MapMyRide.com to set up a new map of my route. This site is great because it gives you greater control of your route over the plain ol' Google maps. This site allows you to enter waypoints or mark spots of interest (water, bathrooms, etc.) among many other things. I mapped my commute out - but it still gives me a total distance of about 7.55 miles, whereas my cyclometer says 8.5 after each ride. I guess the distance from my door to the actual address location, plus the pedestrian overpass, and the circle around my building add up to an additional mile.I was confronted by a winged insect of some sorts today on my ride home. This got me thinking, what about bees? I am sure that would be quite an unfortunate event - to have a bee either fly down your jersey or stick to your arm or something like that. Can you imagine?
Even though it was reported earlier this year that the bee population in the US has decreased drastically this year, it is still a real possibility that you might confront one while on a bike. And I think part of my mantra on this blog has been: be prepared. So what sorts of things would one need to prevent the likelihood of a sting, or to treat a sting?
- Wear sunglasses to protect your eyes and gloves (full-fingered would do best) to protect your hands. These are two areas of your body that are pretty vital to protect...
- Wear bike shorts to prevent a bee from flying up your shorts...no need for explanation there.
- Wear a bandana under your helmet to add an extra layer of protection to your scalp.
- Wear a cycling jersey or tight-fitting shirt - a similar concept to the bike shorts. It keeps anything from flying its way between your skin and your clothes.
- Carry a basic sting treatment kit with sting ointment - especially if you are allergic.
It looks like the city has marked off part of the street I ride to work on (see left). The street is currently only a two-lane road (one lane each way), but is extremely wide for a single lane. I am hoping this doesn't mean they are planning a road expansion project that includes widening the street to a 4-lane. I see survey crews out in the mornings. Or maybe they are planning on striping off a 6-foot wide bike lane?...the street IS a designated bike route.For now I will keep my fingers crossed. And due to the conditioning of humans to drive withIN the lines, this stripe does actually influence drivers to stay farther to the left - and of course I am happy with that.
Lastly, I have been getting more comments at work as people see my bike. I recently moved into an area where I am around more people, and don't have as much privacy as I used to. Because of that, a handful of people walk by my bike everyday, and each one asks whose it is. I am getting pretty good at explaining that I ride 8.5 miles to work - and Yes, I do it in THIS heat.
There are even a few people at work who have expressed to me an interest in trying to find a way to incorporate biking, or at least multi-modal commuting into their life. Hooray for that, and Hooray for the Velorution!
3 comments:
I have heard some fairly terrible stories about cyclists who have had bees fly into their jerseys/etc. However, usually the biggest part of the problem is the instinct to flail around, which causes a person to lose control of the bicycle and crash. The most important thing to remember is to keep the bike under control--even people with allergic reactions take minutes to express the reaction. A bike crash takes only seconds.
Also keep in mind that while the domesticated honey bee population has decreased, we don't really carefully monitor wild bee populations, so people are still likely to encounter all sorts of flying, stinging things. But I think the vast majority of them end up bouncing off.
And I'm going to be optimistic and declare that that striping looks like an appropriate width for a bike lane, not a parking lane or anything else. I guess you'll find out if/when it gets a thicker coat of paint...
FYI - If you're curious about what PHX has planned and how the road work is going to effect the designated bike route shoot the PHX bicycle coordinator Briiana Leon (briiana.leon at phoenix.gov) an email and ask. And then let us know what she says.
I think its funny that, although I commute in a city 1200 miles away from Phoenix, my actual commute starts just slightly further north of I-10 then yours!
Viva, indeed!
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