My Year - part 1

I am sorry I haven't maintained this blog. I started the year (2009) almost normal. I was weaker than before I became sick with ALS but I could do most things. My voice was slurred but still understandable. I stopped working on December 5, 2008 because I applied for Social Security Disability Insurance. For people with ALS, the SSA provides expedited review.

I was still fairly high functioning. I was able to take care of myself. In fact Gail went to Florida with her friend Cathy. I was weaker but my muscle control for balance was quite deficient. I was okay for normal walking but more complicated activities were already beyond my ability. I found this out on February 1, 2009. On that day while many were getting ready for the Superbowl, I thought I would try a little cross country skiing at the Radisson golf course. It was not very good since I fell down easily and often. I gave up after a hundred feet or so.

I was pretty sure I could still ride my bike, especially my Bike Friday with its low frame tube. My last big trip was to California in February to see some of the Amgen Tour of California. I planned to stay with my friend Luke Jen who lives in Saratoga (near San Jose). I definitely needed Luke's help to handle the 45 lb. Bike Friday in its travel case.

The photo to left was taken at the Almaden Reservoir. I was doing a ride with Bob Head from the Almaden Cycle Touring Club (ACTC). This was actually a scheduled club ride but because the weather was damp and cool we were the only ones there. The white spots on the hills above my head are patches of snow.

While I was weakened by ALS, I was still able to function fairly well. I could eat most any type of food, just slowly. My arm weakness made it difficult to get my backpack in the overhead on the plane and my folded bike in the back of my rental car. I also found it hard to get my bike clothes on and use the front door key at Luke's house.

I was there to see some of the Tour of California, so I decided to drive to Sacramento to see the prologue. It was a really crazy scene. I parked well away from the capital area and rode my bike across town.

The photo at the right is the Podium girls. Unlike the Tour de France, they used the same Podium girls everywhere.





The photo at left is me on the capital mall during the prologue. I didn't hang around for the big names because it was getting cold and windy with a little drizzle. I didn't know anybody there and it was a long way to my friend Luke.

I took a different way back to the San Jose area. I stopped at an In 'n Out burger in Davis. For those that like burgers, I recommend In 'n Out but I think they are only in California. Davis is also famous as the most bicycle friendly city.

This was my last sort of major independent trip. I will try to write more about this year in subsequent posts.

Ride today with ACTC

I did a ride today with ACTC (Almaden Cycle Touring Club). It included the two climbs from these links:

Reynolds Rd.

Shannon and Kennedy combination

I will provide more information in a later posting.

November trip to CA - Part 1

I'm sorry I haven't updated this in a while. I have a minor problem with my Google account for this which I haven't been able to resolve.

I did have a good time in California in November with Gail and Drew. Here is photo of me and Drew when arrived in Alameda.

I was still able to ride pretty well although my legs were a bit weaker and my voice was rough but generally understandable. My arms were weak but I could still handle my Bike Friday in the travel case (weighs about 42 lbs.)

On Drew's 25th birthday (11/19/08) we did a scenic guide book ride through San Francisco. We started near the Duboce Bikeway Mural at the back of a Safeway on Market St. Here is a photo of us at the mural. Even though my legs were weaker I was still able to ride pretty well. My biggest problem was a little problem with stability getting going and clipping in at the numerous starts that you need to do with urban riding.

Below is photo of my Bike Friday at the top of Carolina St. (at Southern Heights). This is not one of the steepest in San Francisco (in the range of 10 to 18%) per the bike map. If Drew's gearing was a bit lower I don't think he would not have needed to walk it.



I will provide more information on this trip and my February 2009 trip to California with later posts.

Riding with ALS

I was recently diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Naturally this was quite a shock and has taken a lot of adjustment. I take each day one day at a time and every day that I can still ride my bike is a good day. I don't think that I will every completely recover from a recent right leg hip fracture because of damage to the motor neurons in that leg. My other leg is reasonable OK. My arms are noticeably weaker now but I can still operate the brakes OK. I did two rides last weekend and my speed is definitely much slower. My average was only about 14 mph. I have to be careful to eat enough to keep my energy level up and to not get too tired. I hope to ride this weekend although I will only do the shorter rides. I don't think that I am good for much more than about 40 miles. I would just like to have somebody to ride with.

I am using my Bike Friday because of the lower gearing and step through frame. Helps because problems with the hip fracture on the right leg.

My ALS started in my throat area with difficulty swallowing and later difficulty eating. I have learned how to swallow better but I have to eat slowly. I didn't notice other muscle related symptoms until my diagnosis on September 16. ALS is such a rare disease that most doctors are not very familiar with it (they may only see one case in there entire career). Also my type, with symptoms starting in the throat area, occurs in only about 20% of all ALS cases.

While I started this blog to discuss transportation and bicycling issues I am going to use it now to record my struggle with ALS (at least as long as I can). So thanks for listening.

Road Position for Winter Conditions

During an unusual break in our winter weather in upstate New York I was able to ride my bike to work for 3 days in January. One big problem was all the sand left on the roadway from the highway department. Our town highway crews use a combination of sand and salt to melt ice and improve traction. While the salt washes away with rain, the sand and gravel grit remains for a long time. For this January thaw the road surface tended to stay wet since the dewpoint temperature was probably well above the road surface temperature. Some of the salt residue also remained to help absorb water from the air. The result was a road surface that didn't want dry.

Naturally I only used my old "beater" which has fenders. The sand/ gravel debris along the side of the road also forced me to ride much more in the lane than I typically would. This was not much problem for the ride in to work when there is not much traffic. I was more concerned with the afternoon return. If I was out in the lane more would cars be really mad with me? I made sure that I had a high visibility jacket. It seemed that drivers were actually more careful and may have even passed with more room when I was in "their" lane. I know this sounds strange but you almost get more respect when you are in "their" way.

I always support bike lanes and wider roads with paved shoulders so there is plenty of space between bikes and passing cars. However, there is a "psychology" of being noticed. If you are riding in your nice separate bike lane or paved shoulder then you are out of "their" way and you are less likely to be noticed. If you are visible and in "their" lane you have to be noticed. I was actually surprised how respectful everyone was when passing. This is just an observation of one situation and may be largely the result that the people who were passing me were my co-workers and possibly more sympathetic.

I have heard that overtaking accidents, while horrible, are generally rare if visibility is not an issue, such as at night. It just points at the need to be visible and aware of your surroundings no matter how wide the lane is or how much space you have available.

Ride safe and so long for now.

The Tata Nano

Is the new people's car, the Tata Nano, the solution to a transportation problem or something that will create more problems? It is an interesting update of an earlier theme starting with the original Ford Model T and followed by the German "people's car" the Volkswagen.

It's clear that it is probably safer for a family of four in India to travel in ultra small car like the Nano as opposed to squeezing onto a motor bike. Is the Tata Nano a good idea in India? And is the Tata Nano good for the world?

As chairman of Tata Motors noted India is woefully behind in infrastructure development for transportation. The question is how and what infrastructure should be built? If India and China follow the US with a heavily automobile oriented transportation system (i.e. motorways and stripmalls, etc.) where will the world be going?

I think it very hard for us in the car crazy United States to tell the people of India how to live and that they should not buy the Tata Nano. I think the only rational response for the people of North America or Europe is to lead by example. We need to redesign our communities to reduce our need for automobiles. That is only rational way that we could suggest how the people in the rising economies of India and China should live.

Anyway you look at it the age of cheap petroleum based energy for transportation will be coming to end. The Tata Nano (and I suppose similar Chinese cars) will hurry the end.

Something to think about.

Take the Lane

As discussed in the November/ December 2007 American Bicyclist, the various laws for bicycle use on the highway vary very much from state to state. Most states (41) require bicycles to ride to "as far to right as practicable". While this is certainly a case where bicycles are not treated equally and under certain situations it may create problems, it still provides the bicycle with a right to road but with some limitations. Naturally it most comfortable for the bicyclist and passing motorists to have a roadway with a bike lane or wide shoulder area so it is easy and safe for passing. The problem is what do you, as the bicyclist, do when the road narrows. How far to the right is "practicable"? This varies very much with the situation. Often in urban areas with, lots of what Phil Liggett calls "traffic furniture" or various lane dividers and barriers, etc., it is easier for the bicyclist to "take the lane" and force motor vehicles to follow and not overtake. Usually in these situations traffic is slower (turning or around a rotary) so that the speed difference between the bicycle and the motor vehicle traffic is not that significant. Outside of urban areas it is very annoying when the bike lane (or shoulder area) suddenly disappears. The problem is how close to the edge should you ride. I don't think you should ride too close to the edge but you really need to be aware of traffic behind and a rear view mirror really helps. I like the Bicycle Safe guide by Michael Bluejay. The applicable case is collision type 8. Fortunately this is a rare type of collision, at least during daylight. As noted in Bicycle Safe, for night riding proper lighting and reflective materials for visibility is absolutely required. Don't trust the little reflectors that the government requires.

Michael Bluejay's approach has some differences with the Effective Cycling method developed by John Forrester. The Wikipedia discussion on Effective Cycling highlights the difference and provides other related links. I don't oppose marked bike lanes because they may be considered like other defined traffic lanes. Just ones primarily for bicycles. The defined space created by the bike lane certainly makes cycling more comfortable for most riders because you are "not getting in any body's way" and auto traffic moves along pretty much the same as if there was no bike lane. The problem and challenge is how to deal with the situation when the bike lane ends and the state DOT posts those nice signs with bicycle graphic and "shared roadway". I'm not sure how much drivers notices these signs. This situation calls for careful riding and positioning and, as I said before, using a rear view mirror helps you to be aware of overtaking traffic. Notice the traffic that is approaching from the rear as well as on coming traffic and the available sight line. Usually if there is a poor sight line such as winding mountain roads then cars tend to be more careful and cautious about passing. What bothers me the most is when you have relatively good passing conditions and drivers just don't have the patience to wait for the on coming traffic and squeeze by with little clearance. In rare cases, in this sort of situation, I have had to take defensive action and ride off the paved surface (onto gravel or dirt).

Hope this guide item is helpful. I find it interesting to follow the Effective Cycling debate.