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Category: Recumbent Bicycling

Cruisin’ the streets

Burnett Blvd Signals: Five More Seconds!

My most recent description of not quite getting killed in front of the NYS DOT Region 8 office evidently did some good. Although I wasn’t informed directly, this happened:

The minimum green time was increased to 10 seconds.

Which is five more seconds more than before, allowing us to get nearly all the way through the intersection before crossing traffic on Rt 55 gets a green light.

As before, the numbers are video frames at 60 fps.

T=0.0 – Burnett signal goes green:

Burnett – New signal timing – 0101 – 2018-09-30

T=2.5 – The trailer ahead of us starts and we’re rolling:

Burnett – New signal timing – 0251 – 2018-09-30

T=8.0 – We reach the Burnett crosswalk. Note the car beside us isn’t making much headway, either:

Burnett – New signal timing – 0581 – 2018-09-30

T=11.93 – Burnett signal goes yellow overhead, so the green phase lasted 12 seconds:

Burnett – New signal timing – 0817 – 2018-09-30

T=16.16 – Rt 55 signal remains red, but will change within a second:

Burnett – New signal timing – 1071 – 2018-09-30

Seen from the rear view camera, the Rt 55 signal went green while we were still in the intersection:

Burnett – New signal timing – 16 s – crossing green – 2018-09-30

You’ll note the cars on Rt 55 behind us weren’t visible three seconds earlier, so, as far as they can tell, we’re running the red.

Fortunately, we’re almost where we need to be:

Burnett – New signal timing – 22 s – traffic – 2018-09-30

The timing still isn’t safe, but after three years, five more seconds counts for a lot!

2018-10-04
Brush Clearing

Some recent brush-clearing along our usual bicycle routes:

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The bushes with oval leaves are Blackthorn, of which Wikipedia says “The shrub, with its savage thorns, is traditionally used […] to make a cattle-proof hedge.” They’re commonly found along the untamed border of Rt 376, as well as the rail trail.

It’s more effective than expecting my tax dollars to wake up and get to work …

2018-09-30
Excavator Family

We’re accustomed to seeing geese with goslings and turkeys with chicks around this time of year, but we didn’t realize excavators have a similar breeding season (clicky for more dots):

Excavator Family – Vassar College

The adult seems very protective …

Spotted on the Vassar College campus, in front of the dining hall.

2018-09-09
Vulture Liftoff

A yummy carcass on New Hackensack Rd near Wappinger Falls attracted a pair of vultures, one barely visible on the right just beyond Mary (clicky for more dots):

Vultures – New Hackensack Rd – 2018-08-27 – 0159

Half a second later, they’re both airborne and flapping in unison:

Vultures – New Hackensack Rd – 2018-08-27 – 0190

The one on the left swooped around the bushes and we both anticipated a collision, but it decided against returning to the carcass until we passed.

Bon appétit!

2018-09-08
Dutchess Rail Trail: Maloney Rd Trailhead vs. SUV

The driver gave us plenty of room, which is always nice:

Tire tracks at Maloney Trailhead – DCWWA SUV on Maloney 2018-08-20

But then the SUV turned into the Maloney Rd entrance to the Dutchess Rail Trail:

Tire tracks at Maloney Trailhead – DCWWA SUV entering – 2018-08-20

Which was specifically designed to exclude motor vehicles:

Tire tracks at Maloney Trailhead – DCWWA SUV tracks – 2018-08-20

Later, I was told it’s an “allowable access” for Water Authority vehicles and, in any event, because their SUV didn’t leave the biggest ruts and tracks, they think it’s all good:

Tire tracks at Maloney Trailhead – 2018-08-20

The ramp joins the trail at an acute angle, so the SUV required some backing & filling to get around:

Tire tracks at Maloney Trailhead – Tight Turn onto DCRT – 2018-08-20

Then it’s an easy drive to the water meter about 2500 feet down the trail:

Tire tracks at Maloney Trailhead – Dutchess Water Authority SUV – 2018-08-20

There’s an Official Vehicle Access gate one mile south of the Maloney ramp that’s about 3800 feet from the water meter. I’m told they use the Maloney ramp to reduce the distance they drive on the rail trail; evidently, destroying the entrance Just Doesn’t Matter.

I’m trying to develop an attitude between Zen and apathy, with just enough indifference to not care when somebody tells me how wonderful things will be in the future.

2018-09-05
New York State Bike Route 9: Maintenance Thereof

One might expect the NYS Department of Transportation to maintain New York State Bike Route 9, a.k.a. NYS Rt 376 from Poughkeepsie to Red Oaks Mill, in a bicycle-aware manner.

One would be mistaken.

The most recent patch strip very carefully avoids the deteriorated shoulder, all the way around the curve:

Rt 376 SB patch – shoulder deterioration – marker 1111 – 2018-08-23

The weeds growing in the serrated shoulder add a decorative counterpoint to the black asphalt patch in the travel lane:

Rt 376 SB patch – shoulder grass – marker 1110 – 2018-08-23

It was a rather large repair crew:

Rt 376 Road Repair Crew – marker 1110 – 2018-08-23

The crew chief said they were there because “somebody wrote a letter” describing the conditions. I suppose that would be me, although after half a year it’s hard to establish causation, let alone correlation.

He also says no details of the letter reached him, which explains why they laid the patches in the travel lane, rather than repairing the conditions I described. He was adamant they were doing the best they could with the inadequate manpower, materials, and time available for the projects.

There are absolutely no requirements to consider bicyclist safety in their repairs, so laying asphalt over the shoulder never happens.

NYS DOT’s Bicycling FAQ says I should “take the lane” around that curve, due to the deteriorated shoulder, to ensure motorists pass only when it’s safe.

Whenever I offer to take a NYS DOT bureaucrat on an inspection ride along their roads, they never have the time. Of course, they don’t “work” on weekends, so they’re unwilling to join me on a pleasant ride around the area some Saturday or Sunday morning.

Just another day of bicycling along NYS DOT’s “complete streets” …

2018-08-31
Bike Helmet Mirror Mount Tightening
Almost exactly three years later, it’s time to tighten the helmet mirror mount screws:

Helmet mirror mount – bottom view – setscrew

That’s a 0.035 inch = 35 mil hex wrench, of which Eks reminds me “Any time your design requires a tiny [obscene gerund] wrench, you’re doing it wrong”.

The sequence goes like this:
- Loosen that tiny setscrew
- Unscrew & remove the mirror boom
- Remove brass screw & azimuth pivot
- Tighten screw in elevation pivot
- Tighten tiny setscrew on elevation arc
- Reinstall & tighten azimuth pivot
- Reinstall mirror boom
- Tighten tiny setscrew
Going strong after seven years!
2018-08-30