Ducking the Right Hook

"An accident so common it has a name..."

Another great commute to work this morning; clear weather, strong legs and no headwind. Unfortunately, my happy Monday morning mood was broken by a somnolent lady in a battleship-grey RAV4 who made a right turn into a driveway.

Directly toward me.

I've developed a paranoid, look-over-my-left-shoulder twitch that has kept me safe from quite a few situations like this. Due to my quick right turn (to parallel Ms. RAV4's direction of travel) and her slamming on the brakes, we both avoided an unpleasant discussion.

In today's traffic adventure, I was nowhere near an intersection. But the "Right Hook" seems to be most common at green lights. Portland, Washington has recognized this problem and taken action. My strategy at traffic lights is to get as far out in front as possible to make myself visible. And to get a head start on crossing in front of the impatient right-turners.

Be safe and friendly out there, ya'll.

Amateurs talk tactics, professionals study logistics

Any successful bicycle commuter has to carefully plan out his supply lines and sustainment plan. Like a sherpa working toward the summit, he has to establish a base camp, intermediate camps, and supply caches along the way, without overloading himself during the uphill climbs. He can't just pile stuff in the trunk of his car, so he needs to carefully think out in advance what items must be carried on the daily commute, what items can be stored at work, and how to adjust for unplanned contingencies. Since I work in the logistics field, I thought that I would share some of my success factors:

• Like the proprietress of Girl Cycling, I'm a big proponent of my camelbak. Hydration and cargo, all in one convenient, retroreflective package. Yay.
• I'm fortunate to live in sunny Southern California so that my clothing requirements are simple; no raingear, and minimal outerwear, even during the winter months.
• I stage multiple sets of work clothing at the office, and store extra underwear, socks etc. in my locker. Gotta have fresh undies.
• Cycling clothing gets aired out during the workday so that I have a comfortable, mostly dry ride home.
• I never carry a laptop back and forth to work. I'm fortunate enough to be able to synch my important data to a thumb drive.
• Finally, I rely on a solid, repeatable routine. Same stuff goes in the same pockets of the camelback. Same route to work so that I know when to leave and how long it will take. Same sequence of storing bike, helmet, shoes, gloves. Same files and folders synched to the thumb drive so that I can take work home.

I sure love commuting on the skinny tires, and I'm not the only one. I love the multi-tasking feeling of having gotten 17 miles of exercise before my work day starts, without a time-consuming side trip to the gym. But it does take some planning.

Introducing....Cheng

Here goes my first ever post on Sunny Rides.

I'm a 3-times-a-week commuter to beautiful Point Loma. When I'm not pedaling my road bike, I'm usually astride a Suzuki SV-650.

So, I've got a relatively unique viewpoint of traffic and commuting in San Diego, different from the claustrophobic view behind your average tinted windshield. Every day I see dazzling beauty as well as bland ugliness. I drive past sublime landscapes and pedestrian strip malls. I see young and old, rich and poor, fast and slowpoke.

But what I don't see is angry or rude drivers. In fact, I would guess that 80% of San Diego drivers are downright polite and patient. I think that we're blessed with a relaxed, take-it-as-it-comes culture that makes the daily commute much more bearable.

Even outside San Diego, the American roadway is relatively benign and welcoming. Compare Boston to Naples, or Cleveland to Cartagena.

So get out there and count your blessings. Here's hoping that you're not stuck behind a line of traffic, but even if you are, just remember that it could a LOT worse.

Introduction

I swoop into the bike shop where I work part time and make a bee-line for my mechanic and good buddy Steve.

"Steve! Have I told you about my new business?" I ask excitedly.

"Um, no?" he timorously responds, hardly looking up from the tire he is changing.

"OK! So, it's called Sunny Rides, LLC, and the division I'm focusing on right now is Sunny Safe Commute. It's a bicycle commuter consultant and coaching business."

"Mmm-hmm," he says as he pops the tire onto the rim.

"So! If you don't have a bike, but want one for commuting," I pause just long enough to take a quick breath, "I'll help you choose your bike and make sure it does all the things you want to do with it besides commute. I'll teach you how to ride and make sure you're good with the shifting and everything. If you already have a bike, I can help you map out your route and teach you to change a flat tire. Oh, and I can also do all the homework that people hate to do, like locate bike lockers, or safe places to lock your bike, or find a gym that offers just a shower pass."

I pause, awaiting praise at my brilliance or, more realistically, some kind of grunt in the affirmative that tells me he's still listening.

"Uh-HUH," he says. I take this as my cue to continue.

"Yes! And I'll have a Ride with Confidence Class for people who want to feel safer on the bike, and also a Fix-a-Flat class. What do you think?"

He stands up from his work and looks at me, his face void of expression. He pauses and smiles a tight-lipped smile and says, "You need a website, and a commercial."

"What do you mean a commercial?" I ask.

"Exactly what you just did from the time you walked in. That needs to be your commercial," he says.

My eyes grow wide and I bounce just slightly on my toes, "Cool! So you think I can launch this business on my enthusiasm alone?"

He takes a deep breath and nods, "Yeah. That's exactly what I mean."

Well, it will be a while till I get the commercial, but in the mean time, I'm working on the website. We hope to be up and running soon.

Big shout out to the people who have brought me to this point, encouraged me to start my own business, and continue to inspire me to great heights.

-Laura (Sunny) Drexler