Here to There - Two Wheels in Traffic
If you are bicycling from the University of Vermont to Watertower Hill in Colchester, Colchester Avenue drops steeply from the level of the school to the bridge across the Winooski River. If your timing is just right, you can get on the double yellow at about Chase Street, pass all the cars backed up at the Barrett street light and get to the intersection just as the light changes pulling about forty miles an hour. The gravity assist lets you slingshot across the bridge, getting into the traffic circle just about the time the motorized surge catches up with you. In the uphill slog up the east side of the circle, you have to position on the dotted white line to set up for the turn to continue up Route 2, and some car or truck driver in the right lane always has to honk as they overtake you. From that point it's a half mile climb before moving two lanes to the left, on the dotted line again, to position for a left turn after crossing under Interstate 89. You typically wind up waiting for a green light at the head of a cluster of vehicles, manage to out-accelerate them, and deal with the fact that they're uncomfortable when they catch up with you. Maintaining an absolutely unwavering course until the turn seems to make them a little more comfortable, but you still get the people who figure they have to use their horn, either because they think you don't know they're there or because they can't deal with a bike in traffic. There are, however a surprising number of people who will gracefully yield to you and there's often a chance to do likewise.
posted by johnbryanpeters at 7:53 PM
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