I got lane-split yesterday

while I was splitting nearly stopped traffic on 237 west. I was in the
"+" where there were two cages to my front R & L, plus two more to my
rear R & L. Not going fast, watching cages for unexpected behavior,
moving through the traffic. To my surprise, a Buell appeared on my
right, then snaked back in front of me, and headed on down the dots at a
pretty high rate.

first time that I've ever been lane-split while I was lane-splitting.

when I notice that a rider is right on my tail, I signal and move over,
waving them around. if they want to lane-split faster than I do, then I
say let 'em go. the Buell made a nice 'parting of the sea' effect as he
rode ahead of me. this also helped me as when he went by the cages,
they woke up and looked in the mirror. when they see me coming also,
many of them give way slightly.

I'd like to give each cage who moves over 6" to make things easier a
friendly wave, but I also like to keep my hands on the grips.

Ken

 

I always yell 'Thank You!' as I go by the window.

But also I have to say it kind of bothers me when they do that because
I'm planning on them not seeing me.

 

If I'm rolling at all, I move over for splitting cyclists. I usually
see them coming, because I'm one of them, much of the time. You never
know who's behind the wheel of that cage, really, unless you've been
watching them. It could be another of us, or it could be some crazy. I
stop-and-go traffic it can be really hard to tell.

Al Moore
DoD 734

 

For sure. You just know those guys who scootch over a bit probably ride.
I tap the horn as I go by...by way of thanks.

--
--
Barb
Chaplain, ARSCC



"Comparing Scientology to a motorcycle gang is a gross, unpardonable
insult to bikers everywhere. Even at our worst, we are never as bad as
Scientology."
-ex-member, Thunderclouds motorcycle "club"

 

Sounds like southern California to me.

--
--
Barb
Chaplain, ARSCC



"Comparing Scientology to a motorcycle gang is a gross, unpardonable
insult to bikers everywhere. Even at our worst, we are never as bad as
Scientology."
-ex-member, Thunderclouds motorcycle "club"

 

What we've got up here in the Santa Clara Valley is a bunch of drivers
who learned to cope with traffic by watching milling herds of water
buffalo. Or maybe that's how they learned to drive...

According to the 2000 census, more than half of the residents of the
county were born outside the US. Ask me why I think we have too much
immigration.

Al Moore
DoD 734

 

"Too much immigration" is when the network weather guy tries to
interview the cute little girl at the DelMar fair and has to speak to
her in Spanish.

"Way too much immigration" is when you can't afford to hire her mom to
look after your kids because you've lost your income. ;-}

 

And why do the bastards make a right turn from the far lefthand bit of
the lane? Christ on a trike that get's up my nose.

 

No, trust me it's worse.

 

*snort*

So I'm not the only one that discovered this.

 

The most ironic comment I heard concerning this was from an Indian
co-worker and her husband complaining about how Asians were lousy
drivers.

As a follow-up to this, I rode in her car a few times and she would
wait like until the last minute to brake. I told her that she should
start slowing down, maybe, uh, *before* she was right on someone's ass.
She just pooh-poohed my advice. So, as justice would follow, a few
months later, she said she rear-ended someone on 17 during stop-and-go
traffic. Some people, what is it with them?

 

I will always move over for splitters coming up on me. In some places,
however, I have to tuck my mirros in to keep from possibly hitting
truck mirrors and the like. I do that on the Benicia bridge, where the
lanes are really narrow. If someone came up on me and didn't like it, I
figured they could go into the other lane space.

 

You know the rules:

right turn form left lane only;
left turn from right lane only;
45 MPH school zones;
stop signs with white borders are optional;
right turn on red is mandatory;
yellow light means speed up;
red light means only two more;
taxis have the right of way;
"yield" means you have the right of way.

What could be simpler?

 

Toi khong phai hoi. Toi biet roi!

--
--
Barb
Chaplain, ARSCC



"Comparing Scientology to a motorcycle gang is a gross, unpardonable
insult to bikers everywhere. Even at our worst, we are never as bad as
Scientology."
-ex-member, Thunderclouds motorcycle "club"

 

On the other hand, how about those talking head newscasters who land
sweet jobs on the Left Coast and proceed to butcher all our place names?

Like the woman I heard refer to La Canada like the country to the
North...argh!

--
--
Barb
Chaplain, ARSCC



"Comparing Scientology to a motorcycle gang is a gross, unpardonable
insult to bikers everywhere. Even at our worst, we are never as bad as
Scientology."
-ex-member, Thunderclouds motorcycle "club"

 

I sent a cartoon to the Guardian once, but they didn't publish it.
It was two Chinese people in a car, signalling a left turn.
The caption was, "Two Wongs make a right."


--
--
Barb
Chaplain, ARSCC



"Comparing Scientology to a motorcycle gang is a gross, unpardonable
insult to bikers everywhere. Even at our worst, we are never as bad as
Scientology."
-ex-member, Thunderclouds motorcycle "club"

 

You forgot: When the light changes, no more than three additional cars
may pass though the intersection.

 

This is why your BMW is making threatening sounds.

 

Spanish I don't mind. In my day you couldn't grow up out here without
aquiring a pretty fair Spanish vocabulary -- there are Spanish words I
routinely use in English for which I learned the English equivalents
only as an adult.

By high school I could also keep up my end of a casual conversation in
Cantonese. Both Spanish and Cantonese had been widely used in
California long before my family settled here, and there are still
communities where either of those will be enough for you to get by.

On the other hand, we now need police and medical types with dozens of
languages at their fingertips. 911 operators have first to identify
the language being spoken, then refer calls to speakres of that
language. Obviously, the occasional misidentification is inevitable,
considering the number of dialects at issue.

It goes deeper than that. My son attended the same high school I did,
many years ago. When I had to meet with a counselor there, she asked
where I was from because she detected that I spoke with an accent.
Palo Alto, CA has had a complete turnover of population in under 40
years. So complete that the cultural milieu in which I was raised is
extinct.

And I'm supposed to respect other people's cultures. Last year a Sikh
threatened a nurse with his sword becuase she wanted to prep him for
surgery. This is worthy of respect? In my view, it's worthy of
deportation.

A couple of years ago, a couple of Hindus were busted for using the
H1B program to staff their brothel. It wasn't the INS that detected
the abuse of the system -- one of the girls died, and the police
investigated (they were deported, or will be, once they're out of
jail. The surviving girls are still here, I believe).

A friend recently left the area. Before moving, he lived on the border
between India and Korea -- or so it felt to him. None of those
cultures are in any danger of disappearing -- only my own.

Al Moore
DoD 734

 

No, that would be why her Peugeot is cowering.

Al Moore
DoD 734