Modern Vespa

I had an interesting 2 days of riding - about 4 hours each day. Friday I had what I will call 2 'close calls' within the first hour and a half of riding. After that my traffic 'radar' was on red alert and I was being very vigilant in keeping a very close eye on things. 5 other 'incidents' in the other 2 1/2 hours of riding.

Yesterday a total of 11 incidents. Because I was on top of the ride mentally there was nothing that I'd classify as a close call but they all had potential...

What kind of things were happening? Cars crossing the center line - 4 times! Cars pulling out in front of me from driveways and parking lots - 5 times. Vehicles changing lanes abruptly with no signal - 4 times, 2 of them crossing multiple lanes to get to their exit/turn. Tailgaters (I mean really, really close!) 3 times. One person almost backed in to me in a parking lot - I was parked. And the best of all - I was at the extreme right edge of the pavement - literally about 8" from the gravel shoulder - waiting at a 4 way stop to make a right hand turn. (signal was on). Just as I start to go, a bicycle (middle aged guy on a road bike with skinny tires) tries to go straight through the intersection on the gravel shoulder. There were multiple vehicles at all 4 stop signs...

There's distracted drivers everywhere. Please enjoy your rides but don't be complacent about the traffic. Be alert and be ready for anything.

Dave

I noticed it yesterday too. I had a cop pull up behind me at a red light. He was busy looking at his computer and kept slowly rolling toward me. Luckily, he stopped in time, but I was ready to pull into the cross walk or move toward one of the lanes next to me. It especially scared me since a cop in Austin recently rolled into an older man on a motorcycle and injured him. My husband had the good suggestion, after the fact, of honking your horn to get their attention, in addition to being ready to flee.

Stay vigilent.

Full moon on the 24th. You can usually tell. People get weirder. When i worked the the hospital i absolutely hated full moons because every weirdo would climb out from under their rock and do something stupid

Yes, last weekend. It was me.

As I was starting home from a scooter camping trip I stopped off at a small town to gas up and check my messages...there was no cellular service at the campsite.

I found one message from the parent of one of my students who was very upset with me for reasons that were totally inane, unjustified, and unfathomable. I rode on with this on my mind, angry at the person and preoccupied thinking of how I was going to deal with the situation after I got home...until I looked up and saw:

1) A bright yellow sign that indicated a 90 bend in the road, which
2) Urgently suggested that one seriously slows down, right now, to avoid landing in a cornfield...after flying over a deep roadside drainage ditch and,
3) A minivan coming the other way, strategically placed across my patch in such a way that the drainage ditch and the cornfield option was starting too look really good.

I was able to slow down and negotiate the curve, thanks to MSF training and eleven trips on the Tail of the Dragon.

I decided that I couldn't make the long trip home while so distracted, found a small church with parking in the middle of another cornfield, pulled over, called the person on my cell phone and gave them a frakking serious lecture on how they were wrong, and an even more serious lecture on how I expect anyone who expects to train at my dojo is expected to treat me and my staff...not the least of which was do not ever leave angry messages on my voice mail when I'm off for the weekend! Wait 'till I get back and tell me to my face.

I'll admit to having been a bit pissed.

After resolving the situation and fully forgiving the person after their sincere apologies...I believe grudges are a burden...I rode happily and safely home.

My lesson: I'm not transferring my business calls to my cell phone when I'm off a-riding anymore.

Two universities in a city of 25K. Freshman week. Kids driving, bicycling, scooting, and walking with f ing cell phones in their ears! Went to the MSF field here for an hour of practice.

There is NO folklore to this tale......Something definitely happens to humanoids on that day. I cannot tell you how many times i have had to confront kids i know for texting while driving. Not confront in a bad way, i know many of their parents and they know the next call is too them.....
(one is even a prominent Judge in town). I just try to be overcautious.....i cannot emphasize this enough....Stebel Airhorns and balloons filled with brake fluid (just kidding on the balloons) .

godoggo

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Think about a 70 square mile island of 11,000 permanent residents, invaded for 6 weeks by some 90-100,000 vacationers operating 7,500 additional cars and 2,000 rental scooters. Every last one of them in a hurry and thinking that since the island is rural there is no need to pay attention to anything. Many of them are lost. For some, that seems to be a perpetual state. Only 10 days to go. No place ride without them intruding. Full moon or not it's bedlam.

The other 46 weeks of the year are heavenly.

The only saving grace for us is there are no tourist facilities in our little village. When a tourist stops here, they are lost, and the polite thing for us to do is direct them someplace else.

Ouch! On second thought a couple thousand teenagers on their first weekend ever living away from mom and dad may be close second!

Tom-

Obviously, many of the islanders are dependent on tourism. The standing humor is that from April to 15 Jul, we pray for the tourists to come. From 16 Jul until 31 Aug, we pray for them to leave.

Got it, we depend on the university, soooo, low miles me practices the MSF course.

DOG here's my theory. The moon has a gravitational interaction with the earths tides. Tides=liquid. Humans are mostly liquid so i think it has some affect on people when it's a full moon. My theory on why joints hurt when a storm is coming works on the fact that people are mostly liquid and the barometric pressure affects liquid so your joints hurt more when the barometric pressure lowers/raises. People go nuts during/around a full moon and joints hurt when a storm is coming. Both not "wives" tales IMHO

and I did look, the body of evidence is that the full moon is no more weird a time than any other time. Sometimes people come out and mess around at night because they can see in the bright moonlight, but it is not mystical or whatever.

Remember the moon is no less present at any other phase, it is still there, it is just not lit fully by the Sun.

I did once see the most beautiful girl I have ever seen enter a tree-lined pond by the light of a full moon, and I was glad for all of the illumination. And it sorta had an effect on me. But it wasn't the moon above.

Wow ! It would seem the Moon and my Ex have alot in common ?

godoggo

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And a big DITTO here also......the 6 and 3/4 Titianium Screws in my back always suggest the same, along with Migraines (at times) when that Barometric pressure drops........I guess Judy, some people/living things are just more gifted and aware than others .....(i.e. the wildlife that head for the hills during a Tsunami)

godoggo ~

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WTF does barometric pressure have in common with phases of the moon?

I can understand the former having a limited (as in the range is limited) effect on physiology - but the phases of the moon? No direct effect on humans any more, taken over the general population.

Come on jim. What do they have in common? They are both listed in the newspaper. Don't you read?

Oh yes, and I forgot the hundreds of ATVs on the roads, most of which cannot go faster than 40 kph. And they love to travel in groups of five and six, just tempting the idiots in the other vehicles to try to pass them, regardless of curves, sightlines and oncoming traffic.

7 days to go, but nobody is counting.

gotta agree about the full moon as well....
I worked in an od folks home for about 2 yrs......every full moon, there is a gal that has alzhimers and she would behave absolutly batty.....would be up most of the night, sitting watching tv.......and all the light are on in the place, so it wasn't here seeing the moon or anything...

The college kids came back to town last week, and a good number of them brought scooters. So we have both distracted drivers and crazy scooter riders (I saw one with three girls on it, all wearing shorts and flip flops and of course no helmet). Sheesh!