Consternation

I'm sure people assume that I'm always pro-bike path. I'm in favor of most bike paths- old railroad right of ways, separate bike lanes, places that have already been developed, etc. But, if the land is untouched or only touched by unpaved trail, but I think it's better of to stay that way than add pavement.

To that end, I received an email from the Town of Windsor yesterday asking us to lobby on behalf of a trail from the Bissel Bridge to Mead Rd in Windsor. At present, you can make this journey without too much muss or fuss, by either taking relatively quiet roads or using a few trails along the train tracks that are rather pleasant. The DEP owns the land they want to pave. Below is the area:

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At first, I thought they wanted to pave the trail from the Bissel bridge up to Loomis, which be a shame, because it's nice and quiet in there, but I guess they don't want to do that.

So, the questions, I guess is pave or don't pave. Am I just selfish? The C&O Canal isn't paved and people love using that.

Those Hockanum trails are unpaved except for complex bridges. I like that.

Don't I have the dorkiest cockpit set up ever there?

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Bicyclist Down

(Disclaimer: This is not a photo from the accident, nor is it from West Hartford)

The Courant reported this morning that a bicyclist was struck by a car along Boulevard in West Hartford and although in a "dazed" state was otherwise not seriously injured. These types of incidents are always disconcerting, however, the fact that the accident took place two blocks from my house and along my daily commuter route makes it all the more unsettling. I know we cannot take more from the incident until more details come out but as I travel this route daily and as it is a major thoroughfare for bike commuters I can personally attest as to the need for 'real' bike lanes on this central artery connecting West Hartford and the Beat. Cars move far too quickly along this road and while there is a nice wide shoulder and decent road quality throughout the route the fact that parked cars and bikers share the same portion of this infrastructure it leads to a dangerous tendency for bikers to move between the road and the shoulder according to whether parked cars are in their way. I know this is one of the biggest taboos of bike commuting and a very dangerous practice, however, the road is too busy with auto traffic in both directions to take the lane all the time. This increases the propensity for the rider to constantly move from the road to the shoulder to allow drivers to move past at their rapid pace in order to decrease the likelihood of pissing them off and inciting an altercation. I have found myself many times frantically looking over my shoulder to check the lane while coming up upon a car parked in the parking shoulder... oh I mean bike lane... in order that I might take the lane without getting run over or hitting the parked car. This makes for a dangerous situation and an unstable bicycling experience. I have been fortunate thus far not to have been hit, to run into a parked car, or to simply dump it as I was glancing over my shoulder, but it seems someone this morning was not. Lets just hope they are ok and that the driver was not on their cell phone. Read more!

Bike Lanes?

(Not Farmington)

So I headed out for a ride after work today despite the nasty black clouds and rolling thunder. I worked my way over one of my favorite hills (Buena Vista Rd. in West Hartford) and then past the Uconn Health Center, and over into Farmington. The entire stretch was wrapped in rain and clogged with traffic. It was not a pleasant way to start a ride. However, as I turned onto Rt 4 in Farmington I came across what seemed to be DIVIDED BIKE LANES! I wish I had my camera (I left it at home due to the rain but I will head back over soon to get follow up pics) but there was a newly placed asphalt curb to the right of which was a pair of white lines about 3 feet wide running parallel to the road. I was ecstatic as I rode somewhat protected along the wet road for the albeit short distance between Rt 10 and Town Farm Rd. To make things better as I made my turn onto Town Farm Rd. the skies split open and the sun came out to dry the rest of my ride. It was a gorgeous shower of light and mix of sun and clouds, made better by the (perhaps fleeting) idea that there were divided bike lanes so close to where I live. Fleeting because they may just as likely be eventually filled with concrete and made into a sidewalk, but I can dream can I not? In the meantime the barrier is a huge mental boon to cyclists riding along this pretty sketchy stretch of road.
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