Tag Archives: Automobile

Soggy Commute with a Sprinkling of Irony

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I just dropped my car off for repair. Between the various bits and pieces that need fixing and/or replacing, it’s going to run me over $1,100. How’s that for irony? I ride my bike far more than I drive my car now, at least in terms of daily use, and yet I still plunk down thousands to keep it around. I’m thinking the day isn’t too far away that we become a one car household… All the same, it’ll be nice to have it in fully working order, without fear of being unable to stop, and without having to air up the slowly leaking tire every couple of days. I’m down to the last few payments, so after that, I’m going to ride this one to the ground.

After dropping off the car, I rode the slightly extra distance to work. It ended up being about a mile extra, which isn’t hardly worth noting, except that it was in the rain. It was coming down, if not overly hard, at least steady with a nice southeasterly cross and headwind. I do like riding in the rain, but being pelted in the face by hard little droplets thrown by an angry wind isn’t my idea of fun. Still, I made it just fine with nary an incident. I was wet, but my clothes in my panniers were dry. With coffee in hand, and wearing warm dry clothes, I’m ready to continue a very hectic and long week.

I have to mention a few things about last night’s commute. It was the most vocal of my relatively few commutes, by far.

  • At about 99th and Walmer, I heard the following behind me: “BLEEAACCH!! BLEEACCAH!!” with another voice saying “… why they have sidewalks!” I looked around and it was a couple of high school kids in daddy’s big blue truck. It was awesome! I’m finally a Real Commuter!! I’ve had my first real heckler!
  • At 95th and Lowell, as I was pulling up to the intersection and slowing to a stop, a lady in an SUV coming from my left had started into the intersection going straight. She saw me and stopped… dead in the middle of the intersection. “Oh nos! A bicyclers! Whatever am I to dos?” I was slowing to a stop with a foot out of the pedal and an arm signaling a left turn, and she stops in the middle of the intersection. I stop and stare in befuddlement. She stares back at me. The car opposite her gets tired of waiting and cuts in front of her to turn left. She apparently realizes that I’m not moving while she’s there, scowls at me (at ME!) and then moves on. What a hilarious idiot.
    It was uneventful until I got to 67th and Midland/Greenwood. Everyone did the Right Thing™, and obeyed right-of-way like a bunch of rock stars. I got to the intersection first, before the car to my left, and the car coming in the opposite direction. All of us were going straight. I went, followed by the car to my left. As I passed the car heading the opposite direction, I heard her yelling “WTF, B?!?!?” Another high school student. Oh, to have the blood pressure of youth…
  • That covers it for the angry and stupid. Somewhere between Pflumm and Quivira on 67th, a man in a red pickup truck gave me a couple of short “beep beeps” with his horn, threw his arm out the window and gave me a thumbs up. He had that “attaboy!” look on his face. I waved back, smiled from the heart, and soaked it in as thoroughly as I let the angry idiots wash off me.
  • Not far after that, I had the opportunity to return the favor. A small boy of maybe 10-12 years of age was riding on the sidewalk on my side of the road, heading towards me. At that age, I have no problem with riding on the sidewalk. He couldn’t keep up a decent speed, and might not be able to hold a line well either. I smiled real big, said “Hi!” and gave him a thumbs up as well. He just gazed at me in wide eyed wonder. I can only hope I helped keep him on that bike of his.

Mileage Deficit… Increasing…

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I opted to drive to work today. I had a presentation to give at 7:30, and would have had to get up earlier than normal to get in and cool off in time to not be gross to the audience. Also, I was up late last night at Pool League. Also, I expect my new contacts to arrive today and would like to pick them up without having to take an extra hour to do so. Also, I want to take my phone in and have it repaired b/c it’s face is a little broken.

Enough also’s. The upshot is that I got to within 184 miles of my target mileage yesterday for the first time since mid February, and today will see me back up in the upper 190′s again. With the weather appearing to slide into the nasty for the weekend, I may have some climbing to do again to get back below 200. We shall see. It might really be time to break out the rollers and get the indoor mileage gauge working.

The GF will be proud of me if I do. I just need to find a place to put it now. Things are a touch crowded, and will be until we have our garage sale.

Morning Drive

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Yeah. I drove in this morning. I was on the fence last night when I got home, my fingers numb to the second knuckle on account of the freezing headwind that I fought the whole way, but the decision was made for me when I woke up two hours late this morning. I had to drive in to make a meeting in time. I might have taken the Kona, rather than the Saturn, had I not overslept, but honestly, it’s uncertain.

Everything was fine last night but the fingers. I think if I’d doubled up on the gloves… the Toastada’s plus the BG Gels, I’d have been fine. Just a little something extra to help with the wind chill. Live and learn, as they say. I’m glad I took the short route. My lil’ digits were begging for some warmth, and two extra miles would have been rough on them. Maybe it’s time to look into some electric gloves.

So, for the drive in this morning, I was very well equipped. For the legs I had dress pants, while the torso had a button down shirt, layered with a t-shirt, and a leather jacket while I waited for the heater to kick in. On my feet I had dress shoes on the casual side, and dress socks. All in all, I judged well and was pretty warm for the whole way in. No complaints.

This weekend won’t see much in the way of cycling either… I’ll be out of town with the GF visiting her family. Between the luggage and the dogs, there’s no room leftover for bikes. I’ll have to make up some miles come Monday… regardless of weather. I don’t want to fall behind, after all, do I?

Tangado haid! Hado i philinn!

RIP: Brett Jarolimek and Tracey Sparling

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Check out the thread here… I put my $0.02 in as well. My brother commutes to work by bicycle in Portland, and so I have a vested interest in the police out there doing their job and doing it right.

I’d like to meet Steven Resnick. My favorite bit from him is

Yes there are bad drivers out there too, but the bicyclist are one more distraction that takes people’s minds off the road and not being able to pay attention to what’s actually going on in front of them. (quoted without permission)

Nevermind the fact that cyclists are PART of what’s going on in front of drivers. All the other distractions are, I guess, OK, b/c driving is a right and can be taken for granted. But nooo…. Not cyclists. That’s just too much. B/c he is driving a car, it’s apparent that this irresponsible miscreant believes that he doesn’t have to give the level of attention he demands of cyclists.

Crossing the street get off the bike and cross in a crosswalk, ride single file, if you see a stop sign, stop don’t run right through it and also get off your bike and cross the street with the crosswalk.

Ok, Steven, run-on sentence aside, you’re right. Drivers never pull rolling stops. Drivers never cut other drivers off. Drivers never fail to signal. Drivers are always attentive and respectful and responsible.

Heh.

It is a given that there are many cyclists on the road that do not either understand or abide by the laws that apply to them. There are many cyclists that come across as feeling above said laws. I’ve seen it time and time again, and I completely agree with Mr. Resnick on those points. Rare is the group ride that doesn’t have at least one or two people ignoring the cars around them by riding double and triple in traffic, taking comfort in the apparent safety of the group. I’ve seen many cyclists just blow through stop signs, and even stop lights w/o even slowing. That is a source of irritation just as rough and caustic as irresponsible drivers. I will never claim that cyclists always behave responsibly.

What I don’t agree with is the single-minded focus on the errors of cyclists with no attention paid to the countless infractions of drivers. Do drivers never pull rolling stops? Do drivers never cut other drivers off? Do drivers never fail to signal? Are drivers always attentive and respectful and responsible?

It is my opinion, with only a sketchy understanding of the laws as they apply to responsibility, that the greater responsibility lies with the owner of the larger weapon. In a fight betwixt cyclist/motorcyclist/pedestrian and motorist, the motorist will almost always win hands down. Therefore, the motorist has a greater responsibility to pay attention and yield when necessary. Am I saying that “bi-ambulatory” travelers have no responsibility? No. Am I saying that “bi-ambulatory” travelers can just go about their way, all willy nilly hi-dee-ho? No. I’m saying that motorists, as much as they admonish cyclists for not paying attention and taking little to no responsibility for their actions, need to be “strong enough to point that high-powered perception” right back at themselves and recognize that historical trends aside, we all share the road, and we all have to take responsibility for it.

Dennis makes a good point. Will equal weight be given to the driver of a H2 vs. the driver of a Volkswagon Golf in an accident between the two? I would think so. But, rhetorically speaking, if not, then Mr. Resnick follows a Might Makes Right creed, and there is no more to say here. He is a lost cause. If so, then he needs to carefully examine his reasons for singling out cyclists with such vehemence. If it comes down to the safety of the cyclist, then he’s going about it in a very odd way, and could advocate for cycling safety much more successfully by blaming cyclists a bit less, and raising safety awareness for all a bit more. Relax. Don’t be so angry, and people tend to listen more.

What if the cyclist that died had been your son? Your daughter? Your wife, brother or sister? Would you still hold that they were, by default, at fault and let the driver off w/o so much as a $15 citation?

If I’m inattentive or irresponsible on the road (assuming no automobile involvement), I get a damaged bike, some road rash, maybe a broken bone, and a financial hit of a few hundred dollars. If a car is inattentive or irresponsible on the road, costs are in the thousands, and more importantly, people die. Regardless of consequential differences, relative weight and speed do not change anyone’s responsibility to be safe and conscientious users of the roads.

All that said, my condolences to the families of both Brett Jarolimek and Tracey Sparling.

Time For a Little Break

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It’s been quiet around here lately. I’ve moved the server to my new house, and haven’t set up all the access rules in the new firewall yet to allow for easy updates. I’m set for August 6th to have my shoulder looked at by an orthopedic surgeon. The quote to get the single-pane windows replaced in my house with double-pane windows was way too high. My new car is phenomenal, and the tinting looks great. Bills are piling up as I wait for new checks to arrive. I need to set up automatic payments on those that allow it.

It has been one hell of a year so far. Between looking for and then buying a house, moving into the new house, dealing with many little and big things that accompany a new house, the personal stresses that led to the new house, re-injuring my shoulder, wrecking my car and the 3 weeks of dealing with an insurance company that charges too much and helps out too little, missing out on a greatly desired trip to APA Nationals in Las Vegas for both 9-ball (not my fault) and 8-ball (mostly my fault), I think I’m due a weekend away. So, I’m going to take it. At noonish today I leave for the deeps of Missouri to enjoy a day of drinking and floating down a creek on a raft. I might row some.

New Car

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It’s finally over. It was an "interesting" 3 weeks, but it’s finally over. I dropped off the rental on Friday, and two hours later, drove off the Saturn lot in Olathe, thus instantly dropping thousands of dollars off the value of my brand new Saturn ION 3 Quad Coupe.

I’m really a lot happier about it than this short ‘n sweet post indicates. I’m just drained from an afternoon in the sun and at the gym.

I’m going to get my tags transferred next week, and take it in to get the windows tinted, and then the saga of totalling out and replacing the old car can be considered all over.

Car Juggling, Over-eager children, and dumber than dumb home improvement

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Finally heard some solid numbers regarding my car. After bouncing it around town for a week and a half, spending about 6 hours in total on the phone with a dozen different people, I find that the estimated repair, according to the body shop, is $5,200. That’s damn near the trade-in value… we’ll see what the insurance adjuster says. I should hear back on Monday what the verdict is.

Last week, during all this, my lawn needed mowing… badly. I just didn’t feel up for it, though. With timing that almost speaks to the supernatural, two neighborhood kids come by and offer to mow the lawn for $10. What wonderful fortune! I agree, at which point they ask if they can use my mower. Heh. Go figure. No matter, I let them at it, and pay them $20 for their trouble.

They’ve come by three times since wanting to mow it. Seems they figure me and my lawn an easy source of money, and want to milk it for all they can. I really can’t blame them for it… they’re young, and I remember doing exactly the same thing when I was their age… didn’t work for me any better than it’ll work for them, though.

The previous owner of my house, in keeping their promise to repaint the interior, did so. But they did an absolutely abhorred job. It’s terrible. They didn’t trim in the ceilings except for a couple of places, and splashed paint on fixtures here and there. The best part though (note the sarcasm) is how they dumped their excess paint down the kitchen and bathroom sinks! Isn’t that grand? The brand new, gorgeous deep stainless steel sink in the kitchen had white paint drops all over it, and the drains are stained. The sink in the bathroom is nigh unusable, due to the fact that it takes over an hour for it to drain.

I’m sure it’s entirely possible to carry more stupidity around on one’s shoulders, but the previous owner is already carrying around quite a load. I’ve called him and requested he send a plumber out to take stock of the situation. I’ve the name of my own which I’ll call if (when) I don’t hear from the previous owner for an estimate.

Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable.

On the Road (or off it, as the case may be)

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Yesterday, I spent about 3 hours on the phone in the afternoon trying to track down someone at my insurance company who could tell me about my car. The name I was originally given as the insurance adjuster handling the case was on vacation. Apparently, his assistant is too. His supervisor was out, as was *his* supervisor. Voice mail in all cases. I called my agent in Wichita, and over the course of several phone calls got several names and a couple redirections… all leading to voicemail. No fault of hers, either… she was eager to help, but there just wasn’t much she could do aside from try to get me in touch with someone who could do something.

I was told by one of the first live humans I talked to that the scheduled pickup from the body shop by the IC on Monday was cancelled. So I called the body shop and the car wasn’t there. Several phone calls later, I find out that the pickup had been cancelled, but then re-scheduled for the same day. Huh.

In addition, my rental car agreement was originally for three days, and was going to run out in a matter of hours. The adjuster was supposed to call to renew it upon looking at the car. The adjuster not only hadn’t looked at the car, but didn’t even know he was supposed to call the rental agency! I could have picked the car up on Friday. It’s a good thing I didn’t pick the car up until Sunday… Hertz would have been calling me wondering what the hell was going on, and I wouldn’t have had a clue. He did call after I told him about it, and told me about another adjuster would actually be looking at the car, taking photos, and sending them to him.

In summary, the name of the adjuster in charge of the case is not the name I was given last week. The name of the adjuster in charge of looking at the car is not the name I was given last week. I was told last week that it would be taken care of last week, and now it’s this week. It might not be until next week that I know what the final verdict is… is it totalled or not? If not, what’s the damage and schedule? Why have I not been kept in the loop regarding the progress? Why was I given names of people who aren’t involved, and left to track down the names of those who are? Why did *I* have to spend 3 hours on the phone yesterday… I pay nearly two grand a year on insurance, shouldn’t that be their job?

Bah. This has gone from the normal unpleasant one expects in such a situation, to damned frustrating.

Just got off the phone with the woman inspecting the car. She thinks it might not be totalled, but it’ll need a deeper inspection to tell. I’ll know by early next week. That’s the good news. The bad news is that, although unconfirmed by me, the face-plate on the stereo may be stolen. If the car is totalled, I don’t give a shit. If it’s not, then GODDAMNIT, WHAT THE FUCK IS NEXT?!

The stereo face plate was in the glove box. The license plate is in my hand. I’m done with this for the next few days… I hope.

Looking Down the Barrel at a New Car

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Following my talk with the adjuster this morning, I test drove a couple Saturn ION 3 Quad Coupes today. Actually, one was an ION 3 with an automatic transmission which, except for that and black leather interior, matched my feature wish-list to a T. The other was an ION 2 with the sports package they started offering. It had a manual transmission, but was lacking quite a few of the other features I wanted.

I’m not a fan of automatic transmissions, so I drove both, thinking the manual tranny would be enough to allow me to live without the rest of the missing features. Not so. It just didn’t feel right… there was no tension/friction point when I pushed in the clutch. Without that feedback, it felt awkward, and I just wasn’t sure exactly where the clutch met the accelerator. That being the case, I’m going with the automatic (sorry Dad).

As for the black leather interior, I’d rather have tan, but I can live with black. I’ll just deep tint the windows to eliminate/minimize the issue of interior heat during the summer.

If all goes well, I should have the settlement check next week, and ought to be able to pawn off the dead car to a salvage yard somewhere, both giving me a hefty down payment on the ION. I may just have it this time next week… a full month from the day of the accident. Maybe that’s being too optimistic…

I just wish the new trunk mounted bike rack I bought two months ago would fit. Anyone want a Yakima MoJoe rack? It’s been used… maybe 5 times.