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Miles to go before I sleep
Dec. 17th, 2008 10:25 amAn update on my dual distance challenges:
1. Concept2 Holiday Challenge (200,000 m between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve): 186,848 m down, 13,152 m to go. I should offer a partial explanation for the strange numbers of meters I've been rowing--I've been erging half-marathons, which are a distance of 21,097 m. They're a nice distance because I can compare them to what I've rowed in the past. Today's half-marathon, for instance, was the fastest I've done for the Challenge, although it's still about two minutes slower than my fastest half-marathon back in September.
2. Bicycling Bonanza (5000 miles in 2008): 4,907 miles down, 93 miles to go. This is the first full year I've had an odometer on the Jolly Roger.
As an added bit of excitement, a friend and I got pulled over by the cops last night as we were riding home from our usual Tuesday night haunt. I think it might have been appropriate for the officer to pull us over, although he couldn't articulate why and I don't think that I was personally at fault for anything. What happened was that we were riding along a street with no bike lane and typical-width vehicle lanes. Instead of riding single-file, we were riding two across, and the officer pulled us over for not riding "as far to the right as practically possible."
Unfortunately, my logical/legalistic side made me want to reason through the situation with the officer, instead of remembering that it's generally a waste of time to do so when an officer is in enforcement mode (and there are good reasons for officers to behave the way they do--it's nothing personal). So I asked for clarification about what we were doing wrong, and what he meant by that phrase (I even tried to give him some distances to work with--three feet from the curb? What?) to determine if I was in the wrong to be riding where I was (approximately 3 feet from the edge of the curb).
Long story short, I didn't get much of an answer. The other problem is that I've been pretty careful to read up on bicycling laws in Arizona, and I think that if we had pursued the matter further (he offered to write me a citation, which I would have contested at personal expense), we would not be found to be at fault. The reason is that the lane we were occupying was less than 12 feet wide, which would mean that it would not be safe/legal for a motorized vehicle to pass us in the same lane (assuming the right-hand rider rides 3 feet from the edge of the road and the vehicle provides the right-hand rider with the legally required 3 feet of passing space). A narrow lane width should mean that bicyclists have the right to occupy the entire lane to send a signal to motorists that they need to change lanes to pass instead of narrowly shaving past the cyclist. Secondly, it is legal (although usually not recommended) for bicyclists to ride two-across in Arizona, which is how we were riding.
I can't decide now if it's worth writing an e-mail to the Scottsdale police about this situation. I'm mostly concerned because I prefer to know and obey the law, to send the right message to my fellow cyclists (especially as a board member of a nonprofit bicycling advocacy organization). But my message needs to be consistent with the message sent by law enforcement officers.
I strongly believe that bicycles should be treated as vehicles and not marginalized as impediments to motor vehicle speed on roadways. Treating bicycles as vehicles seems like the best way to encourage more safe riding in the long run. Capricious or unclear enforcement of the laws does not seem like the best way to encourage this goal.
1. Concept2 Holiday Challenge (200,000 m between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve): 186,848 m down, 13,152 m to go. I should offer a partial explanation for the strange numbers of meters I've been rowing--I've been erging half-marathons, which are a distance of 21,097 m. They're a nice distance because I can compare them to what I've rowed in the past. Today's half-marathon, for instance, was the fastest I've done for the Challenge, although it's still about two minutes slower than my fastest half-marathon back in September.
2. Bicycling Bonanza (5000 miles in 2008): 4,907 miles down, 93 miles to go. This is the first full year I've had an odometer on the Jolly Roger.
As an added bit of excitement, a friend and I got pulled over by the cops last night as we were riding home from our usual Tuesday night haunt. I think it might have been appropriate for the officer to pull us over, although he couldn't articulate why and I don't think that I was personally at fault for anything. What happened was that we were riding along a street with no bike lane and typical-width vehicle lanes. Instead of riding single-file, we were riding two across, and the officer pulled us over for not riding "as far to the right as practically possible."
Unfortunately, my logical/legalistic side made me want to reason through the situation with the officer, instead of remembering that it's generally a waste of time to do so when an officer is in enforcement mode (and there are good reasons for officers to behave the way they do--it's nothing personal). So I asked for clarification about what we were doing wrong, and what he meant by that phrase (I even tried to give him some distances to work with--three feet from the curb? What?) to determine if I was in the wrong to be riding where I was (approximately 3 feet from the edge of the curb).
Long story short, I didn't get much of an answer. The other problem is that I've been pretty careful to read up on bicycling laws in Arizona, and I think that if we had pursued the matter further (he offered to write me a citation, which I would have contested at personal expense), we would not be found to be at fault. The reason is that the lane we were occupying was less than 12 feet wide, which would mean that it would not be safe/legal for a motorized vehicle to pass us in the same lane (assuming the right-hand rider rides 3 feet from the edge of the road and the vehicle provides the right-hand rider with the legally required 3 feet of passing space). A narrow lane width should mean that bicyclists have the right to occupy the entire lane to send a signal to motorists that they need to change lanes to pass instead of narrowly shaving past the cyclist. Secondly, it is legal (although usually not recommended) for bicyclists to ride two-across in Arizona, which is how we were riding.
I can't decide now if it's worth writing an e-mail to the Scottsdale police about this situation. I'm mostly concerned because I prefer to know and obey the law, to send the right message to my fellow cyclists (especially as a board member of a nonprofit bicycling advocacy organization). But my message needs to be consistent with the message sent by law enforcement officers.
I strongly believe that bicycles should be treated as vehicles and not marginalized as impediments to motor vehicle speed on roadways. Treating bicycles as vehicles seems like the best way to encourage more safe riding in the long run. Capricious or unclear enforcement of the laws does not seem like the best way to encourage this goal.
