We loaded Frances and Benjamin into the bike trailer for Ken and Henry rode his bike next to me. The trip to the daycare/after-care place for the kids is easy because it's downhill through the cemetery. (Of course Ken was the one pulling 75 pounds in a trailer, but he was riding in circles and going over bumps just to hear the kids scream, so I'm going to guess that it wasn't that difficult!)
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| Ain't she purty! That's mine, not Frances' btw! |
We dropped the kids off and the Ken and I headed downtown to see what was going on. They had a nice little breakfast with bagels and peanut butter, energy bars, juice, water, and coffee. It was all very "green" too because the plates were actual plates that someone was going to take home and wash!
We had a bite to eat and then parted ways. I ran into my first obstacle when I came to a red light next to the police station/jail. There was no way I could trigger the green and I check three times but there were no cars coming up behind me. So I went through a red light. That's okay, right? I also rode on the sidewalk going down the main road. It's 35 mph, but nobody goes that speed, especially in morning traffic.
{UPDATE} I did it! I rode home! I had to walk a part of the cemetery, but otherwise I rode the rest. MIT only took me fifteen minutes. Kinda proud of myself!
I'm so proud of you for deciding to do this...then actually doing it!! Well done!! (It's the uphill part that would do me in!!) :) --Lisa
ReplyDeleteAwesome! And looks like a beautiful day too. I can't imagine riding a bike, much less riding a bike with kids but I for a free breakfast, I would have done it.
ReplyDeleteYay! Great job. I'm not sure if I could do it.
ReplyDeleteAwesome story. Thanks for sharing your experience!
ReplyDeleteYou mention the traffic signal on at the police station/jail. Not sure if you are referring to Main Street at Elizabeth Street, or to Liberty Street at Market Street. Either way, the lights downtown do not have cameras or detectors for cars or bikes, but rather they are timed on a regular cycle and would have turned green for you.
However, the traffic signals in Harrisonburg outside of downtown do have video/camera detection and the best place to stop your bike is about 3 feet behind the white line/stop bar, in the middle of the lane, where the camera would "see" you. With that said, sometimes cameras get out of adjustment or they get dirty and they may not "see" you. In those cases, it is legal for a bicyclist (and motorcyclists) to treat the traffic signal like a stop sign, only after they have waited through 2 complete traffic cycles, or after a full 2 minutes (http://www.vabike.org/va-cyclists-can-now-run-red-lights/). Then you just look both ways for it to be clear, safe to proceed, and you can go. And when this happens, the City would really appreciate it you would call Public Works at 540-434-5928 or submit an issue at this website http://www.harrisonburgva.gov/sign-signal-maintenance so that they know to fix it and readjust it so that it will pick up bicyclists. Another option would be to wait for a car to get behind you, and move your bike behind them, allowing them to move forward so the camera would "see" them and turn green when its time.
I hope this information is helpful.
Happy cycling!
(FYI, I work for Harrisonburg Public Works and bike around the city quite a bit. :)