Work Route: .25 miles on residential 4 miles on main arterial (Memorial Dr.--4-lane, curbed, moderate to heavy traffic, rough right-edge of roadway, ride in right wheel track.) 1.25 miles at perimeter of airport2 miles on main arterial (Apache--4-lane, curbed, light to moderate traffic, smooth, ride in right wheel track). I ride all over Tulsa in all manner of traffic conditions. Arterials are laid out on a mile-grid system and all have at least 4 lanes, no bike lanes, only a few miles of signed bikeways, most of which are irrelevant to my needs.
English Instructor and Writing Center Paraprofessional. Vehicular cyclist. Christian non-conformist.
Story #1: I was whizzing along at about 25 mph (tailwind), northbound toward home, when a car full of teens pulled up next to me. One of the passengers rolled down the windowed, tilted his head, and asked, "Hey man, what do you call yourself?" I replied, "I call myself a cyclist. What do you call yourself?" He barely paused before responding, "I call myself a stoner!" Politely, without condescension, and without missing a pedal-stroke, I reflected, "Well, perhaps you'll grow out of that some day." He surprised me by saying, "Perhaps I will." Their car slowly accelerated away from me. Story #2: I was once pulled over by a policeman who told me I had to ride "as far to the right as was humanly possible." I started with, "Sir, I'm not one to argue..." and soon had him digging through the traffic regulations--we stopped when we found, "Same rights and responsibilities as operators of motor vehicles." He said, "Well, it's better to be safe and alive than to be right but dead. I don't want you to wind up a hood ornament." I thanked him for his concern, but I still emailed the police chief to inquire what, exactly, they're learning these days at the academy.