600th post

It's amusing to me that this, my six-hundredth post, comes at a time when I have something far more significant that a blog post count to discuss.

I've mentioned previously that I had a part-time job at a big retailer, and that the job involved (among other things) wearing an orange apron. I have left that job. Thursday, the 27th, was my last day there.

To back up the newsreel a bit, though, I'll mention that on Tuesday, the 18th, an arrest was announced. The mechanic/service manager at a local bike shop was caught having placed video camera(s) in the restroom, with the intent of capturing video of a female coworker. Not surprisingly, many folks were "icked out" by this, including me. I had talked to Steve several times over the last ten years, and was stunned that he would do such a thing and expect to get away with it.

I could launch into a tangential discussion over how the penalty removes Steve's talents as well as his failings from society, and that our penal system doesn't do well at reform, but that's separate from today's topic.

I went by that afternoon, partially to commiserate with Carson Torpey, the owner of Bardstown Road Bicycle Company, and his other full-time employee, and partially to see what their plan was (if they had had any time to formulate one). Mindful of my own situation, I offered to step in to help keep things rolling, and was asked what my availability would be.

A few discussions later, and we have agreed that I will be the new Service Manager at Bardstown Road Bicycle Company. I start March 31st.

Seasonal milestone

It's been a while since I celebrated seasonal milestones. Today's milestone: Third time this season that I will have ridden to work wearing short pants instead of jeans.

Cycling Savvy class is two weeks away! Preparations are in full swing!

Time and transportation

A recent comment thread on that social network site reminded me of a prior rant about travel times and average speeds. The trigger comment was this,

Topping the list must be the notion that one person’s time is worth more than another’s, and that this difference in value can be determined by looking at the vehicle that one drives.

For example, a 55-year old brain surgeon and an 18-year old frat boy are waiting at a light. Each of these travelers chose his vehicle for the day based on what he determined to be “the fastest way.” Which person’s time is more valuable?

The Evidence Provided: The surgeon is driving a 35-dollar, three-speed bike, and the frat boy is driving an 85,000-dollar SUV.

Aside from being wholly conscious that one's vehicle choice may also be made in part to say things about oneself, there is the following math problem:

A more accurate figure for average speed of your car includes the time spent in service to the car. To calculate that, start with the dollar figure spent on ownership and maintenance for the last year. Take the hours working to earn that number of dollars and add it to the number of hours you spent actually operating the vehicle. Divide that number of hours into the number of miles driven in the same time period.
The American Automobile Association reported a while back that the average American household pays $9000 per year to own and operate the average car. That seems excessive, but there are a lot of people driving expensive late-model cars to offset all those clunkers.

If I pay a measly $4000 to own and maintain a car for a year, and make $40,000 per year, it takes me one tenth of my working hours for that year to pay for the car. Assuming full-time employment at fifty weeks per year and forty hours per week, or 2000 hours working per year, that's 200 hours per year to pay for the car. That's five weeks of work. If I make twice the salary, and drive that average car, that's still eleven percent of my working time, or 225 hours, to pay for it.

If I drive that car 15,000 miles in that year, and go twenty-five miles an hour the entire time the car is in operation, that's 600 hours. Add the 200 hours it takes to earn the money to pay for the car, and the average speed is not 25 but rather 18.75. The higher-paid me driving the average car averages 18.2 miles an hour.

The odometer is the default device for determining the amount of wear and tear on a car. Few cars used in America have Hobbs meters that tell us how much time the car is actually used, making the above calculations a bit tougher for the average person. Claiming that one spends all one's time driving on roads with speed limits of, say, forty-five miles an hour is specious, as this ignores traffic lights, slowed traffic due to the range of causes common on such roads, and getting to and from such a road from one's residence, among other factors.

Considering, for a moment, a bicycle as the primary vehicle, and factoring in any bicycle-specific clothing and accessories purchased in the time period, and perhaps even clothing that is primarily worn while cycling but not at other times, the math gets interesting. I have a 1974 Raleigh 3-speed that I bought for $25 in 2008. Since that time, I've spent a fair bit on rehabilitation--the bike came to me third- or fourth-hand, and had suffered a fair bit of neglect if not outright abuse. I've also installed lights and some home-built reflectors on the bike to make it more useful for me. At retail prices (I was working for Bluegrass Bicycle when I did most of the work to this bike), I probably did six hundred dollars or so worth of work to the bike. If we call the purchase price as rehabbed $700, and figure twenty bucks worth of tubes, cables, and brake pads per year, I've spent about $800 on the bike in the five years I've had it, or $160 per year. 


I've logged my miles on that bike, and log entries for the last year or so have included more accurate trip times (I finally got a cyclometer for it a year or so ago). My usual rolling average speed on that bike is 13 miles an hour (rounded). If we keep with that above employment assumption of $20 per hour, it takes me eight hours to pay for the bike for a year. My logs shows that I spent about 43 hours riding that bike the 570 miles I put on it last year. According to the calculations, I spent 51 hours riding and paying for this bike, for an average speed of 11 miles an hour.

Compared to the less than 19 miles an hour average for the car, that's not a big difference. If I had chosen to ride that bike more out of the 4000 miles, say, half of the time, my average speed on the bike would be over 12 miles an hour. If I had ONLY ridden the Raleigh, excluding other bikes all year, my average speed would have been 12.7 (rounded to tenths).

The most cycling I've done in one year was 8000 miles, in 2011. My average speed for that year was 13.77 miles an hour. I don't know what I spent on bicycles that year, or the amortization on those bikes and parts and accessories. If I figure the amortization on five years of ownership for all purchases, just to make math easier, and assume the money spent to be $2000, it's $400 a year. That's half a week's work in the income assumption above, at 20 hours. 13.5 miles an hour.


I haven't included calculations for time that might be spent exercising separately from driving the car that is offset by the exercise of driving the bike. The salary figures were chosen for simplicity, and do not reflect my actual income.


"Your Mileage May Vary," as the expression goes.

Proposed updates for 601 KAR 14:020 and the problems in the proposals.

I've had a chance to review the suggested revisions to 601 KAR 14:020, that govern bicycle safety standards and bicycle usage. There are some problems in the proposed revisions.

To make things a bit easier to read, I've done some formatting. The suggested revision is in clear text, and words like this are slated to be removed from use. My comments on specific sections are in blue text, to place them were they are most relevant.




Transportation Cabinet     
Kentucky Bicycle and Bikeways Commission
Office of the Secretary
(Amendment)
601 KAR 14:020. Bicycle safety standards.
RELATES TO: KRS 189.030(1), 189.450 [KRS Chapter 189]
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: [KRS 174.125,] 189.287
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY: KRS 189.287 requires the cabinet to promulgate administrative regulations to establish standards for bicycle safety and equipment. This administrative regulation establishes the equipment and safety requirements required in the operation of a bicycle [KRS Chapter 189 sets forth many bicycle safety standards that can be overridden by administrative regulations promulgated by the Transportation Cabinet. The Bicycle and Bikeways Commission authorized by KRS 174.125 has suggested that with the ever-growing use of bicycles in Kentucky additional or different standards are necessary for the safety of the traveling public. This administrative regulation sets forth the required bicycle safety standards].


Section 1. Definitions.
(1) "Bicycle":
(a) Means a device with an attached seat propelled solely by human power (what of the emerging technology of electric-assist bicycles?) upon which a person may rides (sic) astride regardless of the number (Zero is a number, so a sled could be a bicycle?) and size of the wheels in contact with the ground; and
(b) Does not mean a:
1. Wheelchair designed for a person with a disability; or
2. Device designed solely for use as a play vehicle for a child.  How is this determined? It appears to open a door so that anyone who doesn't like that bicycles are vehicles can say that my primary means of transportation is a children's toy and get me off the road.

(2) "Hazard" means a condition present on the roadway that constitutes a danger to a bicycle rider such as:
(a) A fixed or moving object;
(b) A parked or moving vehicle;
(c) A pedestrian;
(d) A surface irregularity; or
(e) An animal.
    
(3) "Shared lane" means a single lane of traffic less than fourteen (14) feet in width not including the gutter pan."Shared" how, exactly? Common usage for "shared" is often misused as meaning "side by side," a notion which is ludicrous on its face. Indeed, there are many cases in which a lane of width greater than fourteen feet is not shareable side-by-side with other vehicles. Or do they mean "shared in series?" so that I get my turn, then the next road user gets a turn, and so on?

Section 2 [Section 1. Front] Lights and reflectors.
(1) A bicycle operated on a highway during the hours or atmospheric conditions described in KRS 189.030(1) shall display at least [be equipped with] one (1) front light on either the bicycle or the bicyclist that is visible for 500 feet and capable of revealing [which clearly reveals] substantial objects at least fifty (50) feet in front of the bicycle [ahead and which is visible for 500 feet].
 [Section 2. Rear Lights or Reflectors.]
(2) A bicycle[,] if [when] operated on a highway or highway shoulder[,] shall display on either the bicycle or the bicyclist[so that it is visible from the rear of the bicycle]:
(a) [(1)] One (1) red reflector or red light visible for at least 100 feet from the rear of the bicycle; and
(b) [(2)] One (1) red light or a flashing red light visible from the rear of the bicycle for at least 500 feet  during the hours or atmospheric conditions described in KRS 189.030(1)[, one (1) red light or flashing red light visible for at least 500 feet].

Section 3 [Section 3]. Horn or Bell. 
(1) A bicycle may be equipped with a bell, horn, or other device capable of making an abrupt sound, but shall not be equipped with a siren or whistle.   
(2) A[Every] person operating a bicycle shall shout or sound the bell, horn, or other sound device as necessary to warn pedestrians or other bicycles of the approach of the bicycle [whenever necessary as a warning of the approach of the bicycle to pedestrians or other bicycles, but shall not sound the horn or sound device unnecessarily.
    (3) A bicycle shall not be equipped with a siren or whistle].


Section 4. Brakes.
A bicycle shall not be operated on a highway or highway shoulder without a brake or brakes adequate to control the movement of, or [and] to stop the bicycle within fifteen (15) feet at a speed of ten (10) miles per hour on a dry, level, clean pavement.

Section 5. Seat.
(1)(a) A bicyclist[,] if [when] operating on a highway or highway shoulder[,] shall ride [on or] astride a seat attached to the bicycle [a permanently attached bicycle seat].
(b) A bicyclist operating on a highway or highway shoulder may transport a person in a seat or carrying device attached to the bicycle in a manner in which the seat or device is manufactured and designed to be used.
[Section 6. Passengers.] 
(2) A bicycle [, when being] operated on a highway or highway shoulder[,] shall not carry more than the number of persons for which the bicycle is [was] designed or [is] safely equipped.

Section 6. Transporting a package and attaching to a motor vehicle.
(1) [Section 7. Packages.] A bicyclist[, when] operating on a highway or highway shoulder[,] shall not carry a package, bundle, or article that prevents the operator from keeping [at least] one (1) hand on the handle bars. [Section 8. Prohibition Against Attaching to Vehicles.]
(2) A bicyclist[, when] operating on a highway or highway shoulder[,] shall not attach either the bicycle or himself or herself to a motor vehicle [any other vehicle].

Section 7[Section 9]. Operation of Bicycles.
(1) A bicycle shall be operated in the same manner as a motor vehicle, except that the [following] traffic conditions established in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subsection shall apply.[:]
(a)[(1)] A bicycle may be operated on the shoulder of a highway unless prohibited by law or ordinance.  Where bicycle travel on shoulders is permitted, it shall not be required.
(b)[(2)] If a highway lane is marked for the exclusive use of bicycles, the operator of a bicycle shall use the lane unless: [whenever feasible;]
    1.Travelling (sic) at the legal speed;
    2. Preparing for or executing a left turn;
    3. Passing a slower moving vehicle;
    4. Avoiding a hazard;
    5. Avoiding the door zone of a parked vehicle; or
    6. Approaching a driveway or intersection where vehicles are permitted to turn right from a lane to the left of the bicycle lane.   

(2)[(3)] Not more than two (2) bicycles shall be operated abreast in a single highway lane unless part of the roadway is exclusively for bicycle use.  Persons riding two (2) abreast shall not impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic.

(3) A bicycle operated in a highway lane with other vehicle types shall keep to the right unless:
This entire section is badly written at best. If a regulation has exceptions that cover almost the entire gamut of the situations a cyclist is likely to experience (for example, see (c)), there is no reason for the regulation in the first place. Many people who claim to despise cyclists already think there is some version of this law on the books with no exceptions whatsoever. How can this be "making it better for cyclists?"
(a) Preparing for and executing a left turn;
(b) Passing a slower moving vehicle;
(c) The lane is too narrow to be considered a shared lane. A bicycle may be ridden far enough to the left to prevent overtaking vehicles from attempting to pass in the same lane;
(d) Approaching an intersection or driveway where right-turn movements are permitted. A bicycle may be ridden far enough to the left to avoid potential conflicts with right turning vehicles;
 (e) It is necessary to avoid a hazard.  A bicycle may be ridden far enough to the left to provide a reasonable safety space to the right; 
(f) The bicycle is operating on a one (1) way street with two (2) or more marked traffic lanes. A bicyclist may ride as near as  practicable to the left side of the roadway subject to the conditions in paragraphs (b) through (e) of this subsection;
(g) It is necessary for a cyclist to use a lane other than the right lane to continue his or her route; or
(h) The bicycle is operating at or near the legal speed.

(5)(a) A bicycle may be operated on a sidewalk or a crosswalk unless prohibited by law or ordinance.
(b) A bicyclist operating on a sidewalk or crosswalk shall have the rights and duties of a pedestrian in the same circumstances.
(c) A bicyclist using a sidewalk or crosswalk shall:
    1. Slow to the speed of an ordinary walk where pedestrians are present or if approaching a crosswalk, driveway, or other crossing where a motor vehicle is present; and
    2. Not suddenly leave the sidewalk or crosswalk and move into the path of another vehicle that is close enough to constitute an immediate hazard.
(d) A bicyclist operating on a highway or highway shoulder shall obey an official traffic control device applicable to a pedestrian unless otherwise directed by a police officer or other officially designated person. So, if I'm on the road in a general travel lane (as I am supposed to do as the operator of a vehicle per KRS 189.010), but the crosswalk sign indicates that I have to wait rather than go through that green light, I'm to do what, exactly? I realize that this paragraph is in a section governing bicycle use on sidewalks, but who wrote this tripe?
(e ) A bicyclist operating on a highway (??? If I am operating on a highway, I'm NOT operating on a sidewalk. Or am I??) or highway shoulder shall yield the right of way to a vehicle if crossing the road at a point other than within a marked crosswalk or within an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection.
(6) A bicyclist operating on a highway or highway shoulder may proceed against a red light if a traffic signal fails to detect the bicycle. Finally, some sensible verbiage. What's the standard for this, though? A cycle of the light phases? Two cycles? Why don't we have as a KAR that signal sensors have to recognize the presence of bicycles?

Section 8. Bicycle Parking.
(1) Unless prohibited, a bicycle may be parked on a sidewalk if it does not impede the movement of pedestrians or traffic.
(2) A bicycle may be parked in the roadway at an angle to the curb or edge of the roadway at a location where bicycle parking is allowed.
(3) A bicycle shall not be parked or stopped as established for a vehicle in KRS 189.450(b) through (j).
(4) A bicycle may be parked on the roadway abreast of another bicycle or bicycles near the side of a roadway where parking of vehicles is allowed.



As it happens, the Uniform Vehicle Code is outdated. There is an update in the works, and its wording is far easier to parse than the jumbled mess I see in some of the above proposal. This proposed "update" is stilted, hard to follow, and in places out and out inane. These are not stupid people at the Kentucky Bikeways Commission. They are not jerks. They care about what they do, or seem to.

I need for them to recognize the potential for harm I see in how this mess is worded, though.