So on the commute home tonight I was cruising down a little hill on Mercer Island at 25+mph, heading towards Seattle. It was dark, and I could see a car's headlights on my legs and on the road - so I wasn't surprised a sedan shot around me, of course 50 feet or so before a stop sign, a classic move. (I wonder how much fuel is wasted on dumb accelerations around the world?)
All I was thinking was that they're probably even going over the speed limit (30?) just to get in front of me and then immediately stop!
And then whaddya know? All of a sudden the surroundings light up with blue/red flashing lights!! And then a commanding voice on the loudspeaker. I've never been happier to see those lights.
Guess the cop was watching the whole thing. I made sure to come to a complete stop at the sign, with the foot down (not the usual "Cali stop"). I also made sure to give a nice wave/smile to the driver, just to rub it in. Justice!!
The ironic thing is that had the driver just stayed behind me in the first place, I'm guessing I would have been the one pulled over (for not stopping completely). Just goes to show, patience pays.
Stop Reading Here, If You Hate Power Data!
Alex pointed out that my FTP (Functional Threshold Power) was probably set too low (it was at 259w), since last weekend's 4.5 hour training ride scored 300+ TSS.
All I was thinking was that they're probably even going over the speed limit (30?) just to get in front of me and then immediately stop!
And then whaddya know? All of a sudden the surroundings light up with blue/red flashing lights!! And then a commanding voice on the loudspeaker. I've never been happier to see those lights.
Guess the cop was watching the whole thing. I made sure to come to a complete stop at the sign, with the foot down (not the usual "Cali stop"). I also made sure to give a nice wave/smile to the driver, just to rub it in. Justice!!
The ironic thing is that had the driver just stayed behind me in the first place, I'm guessing I would have been the one pulled over (for not stopping completely). Just goes to show, patience pays.
Stop Reading Here, If You Hate Power Data!
Alex pointed out that my FTP (Functional Threshold Power) was probably set too low (it was at 259w), since last weekend's 4.5 hour training ride scored 300+ TSS.
I think it comes down to the the 20-minute test (NP: 271w) I did that included cars & stop signs to slow me down. I really need to do that test again..
But there are other ways to estimate your threshold, and one (crude) method is looking for the drop-off in your power distribution chart. Well, according to that method it looks like I'm closer to 300 watts. Sweet!
(chart is not including zeroes, and the bucket size is 15w)Anyway I still need to do another test, but hopefully the numbers are indeed better than I thought.
2 comments:
The second best move by dumb-assed drivers is when they blow past you, only to turn on a street about 10 feet ahead of you, thus causing you to have to slow down (else you would HIT them). They don't understand, really, how fast you are going; they assume you are slow because you are on a bicycle and they are in the all mighty car...
Justice is rarely served! You're lucky! I hope the driver got an extra citation for dangerous or wreckless driving (I dont know what kinds of other citations they could get, but I'm sure there are some for improper behavior with other traffic on the road).
It's a rare occurance, but so nice when it happens. Mine was in Woodinville one morning on my way to work. Stopped at the light at the bottom of 175th where 140th crosses (at the 7-11). I was in the center of the right lane (right turn or straight) and the driver approaching from behind me didn't feel like waiting for the green light to make his right turn. So he pulled into the center lane (straight only) and made a right-on-red in front of me. Whoop-Whoop! Sirens and lights go up and this dork gets pulled over before he's 100' past the intersection. In his haste, he missed seeing the officer sitting in the bank parking lot right across the street...
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