I've been on the Bike and Walk trail for the past week and I've noticed some changes since the last time I used the facility. We might add walk your dog without poop scoopers to the name. This one lady had two dogs on leashes stretched across the sidewalk. Lucky for me, she looked back and saw I was approaching, so I didn't have to go into panic mode of breaking or dismounting or maybe both.
I'm up to a 30 minute ride which is equivalent to 4.2 miles averaging about 8 miles per hour. That's not exactly tour De France but I'll increase time and distance this weekend.
The traffic on Airline and Stockbauer is unbelievable, so crossing these intersections is always a risk because a lot of vehicles are exceeding the speed limit and don't really care about the signs that warns them that pedestrians might be crossing. I don't have any problem because I won't cross until I don't see any cars at all. A lot of people aren't using the trail but I imagine that will pick up after school lets out. I'm sure the city will come up with new safety regulations when the water park, baseball and soccer fields are complete because that's going to generate new traffic nightmares. The improvised parking lot across from the trail is pretty rough, so rough that the jarring in the back of my pickup knocked the chain off the sprocket. That led me riding to and from the trail but I have to make a sign of the cross every time I get on Airline. How much would it cost to make a bicycle lane? Never mind, I can hear it now" not with my tax dollars you don't."
That's it for now and right now I'm satisfied because I finally put up a blog at VA where everyone one engaged in a civil manner and I did learn something about the stalker law. I also got to see a different perspective of a national incident.
9 comments:
Way off topic but I didn't want to go back to your other blog.
President Obama at a speech in Vermont, maybe I heard it wrong on the news, but I don't think so, said... "We passed a health care reform law after a CENTURY of trying."
A 100 years of trying? Really? I don't think health care cost was much of a concern in 1912.Doctor would accept a chicken as payment!
Maybe the President was making a attempt at a joke, if not that is the kind of gaffe that has ended many a campaign, especially this year with the GOP hopefuls.
Not to worry ,good info.
I think I mentioned that in a blog once...He's referring to Teddy Roosevelt's campaign of running on a "health care for all."in1912.
I didn't know that about TR, interesting.
Heck that was only 50 some years before Medicare, and only 46 years after nursing was considered a err, thankless low paying, below most job.
Florence Nightingale changing that way of thinking, she knew more than the doctors did.
TR was visionary in a way, sort of a racist by excluding southern blacks, but every one of his progressive or "bull moose", party platform eventually became the law of the land.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_Party_%28United_States,_1912%29
Good stuff.
Legion
Another piece of info...When LBJ wanted to pass Medicare he knew the AMA was against it but he asked them if they would send some doctors to Vietnam to treat the civilians and they said "sure.".........LBJ knew the press would ask him if the AMA would back him on Medicare...When they asked LBJ said " of course they are sending doctors to Vietnam,so it's only natural that they would back Medicare.".....They did ,and no one can say that LBJ wasn't a shrewd politician....lol
Can I talk about the Hike and Bike trail?
I think bike lanes would be a fantastic idea for Victoria. I think it would be a sure death warrant for bikers! The drivers in this town have no clue how to maneuver with bike lanes. They are all over Austin, and folks understand them.
There are bikers up and down Parmer--speed limit is 70 in places--but I would be mortified to bike in a bike lane on Airline!
Don't do it Mike! I don't want to read about you getting smacked!
EA
I'm going back to using a much safer path: Linwood-Airline-Stadium-to the trail and back.
You’re right I'm not to suppose to feel the wind of a car that just passed me on Airline.
BTW… Our streets have a lot of chucks holes; election year used to be an ideal time to get them repaired but I don’t think council members don’t have that much pull anymore..They will just give you the number of maintenance..lol
As I was bike riding this morning I started thinking about things that seem normal to some but abnormal to others.
Some have said that Trayvon should have called 9/11 if he feared for his life... This morning, as I was riding; I started feeling the symptoms of hypoglycemia, so I pulled over and took a couple of glucose tablets but I called my wife with a promise to call her in 15 minutes because we know what to do. Some would say I should've called 9/11 but like in Trayvon's case that's for a known emergency.
Earlier in the week, some were saying that the president of United States was inciting a riot because of the way he answered a reporter's question. His main objective was to offer condolences to the Martin's and the family took it that way. Others thought he should have been a mediator because he's the president. There are others that believe he was taking sides... The bottom line, people will react to the president's words according to their ideology. They should know that the president can't do anything about the left and right issue of America. It's a given, this incident was going to bring out the hate from both sides and the president's words won't make one iota.
We don't have a social norm anymore.
I decided against writing a Saturday vent blog and because I'm relatively happy.
Austin aside, anybody that rides a bicycle in a space that cars potentially occupied by drivers 16 years of age on cellphones and drivers eighty years of age on meds and vodka, is simply put, an idiot. Surely there are bike trails dedicated bicycle/foot traffic only trails within a reasonable driving distance. If not come up here. We'll ride Cullen Park or run down to Galveston and ride the seawall....I never ride my K2 on the same piece of pavement that 4-wheelere are allowed on.
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