Bike Suite Part 1

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the deaths and hit and runs that we have had here in Pittsburgh. I titled that article "A bit Upsetting" when the truth of the matter was that I found the whole thing very upsetting. I felt so helpless that people were being killed and people I knew and thought of as friends were ending up in the hospital. I had to do something, but the truth was I had no idea what to do.

Until I looked at my work area.

That is when the idea that has absorbed my mind for the last month. The idea of a set of electronics that I could build that would do two things. First it would increase the visibility of cyclist to the motorist. Second it would help the cyclist be informed of the surroundings. (I am thinking here of cars to the rear and left of the cyclist.) So I have thought long and hard about this, waking up in the middle of the night and finding it hard to fall back asleep as my mind pondered over some little detail.

Losing sleep makes me crabby.

So what follows may be a little geeky for some of my Cycling friends but I am hoping that you can help me see the things I am missing.  First lets start off with a general description of what this Bike Suite will do.

Description
The bike suite will accomplish several goals.

Object Detection Mode
1. Detect Cars that are closer than the 4 feet (1.22 meters) allowed by PA Law.
2. Detect Cars before they are beside the bike. at 45 degrees behind bike
     (i.e give cyclist time to react)
3. Flash lights to alert Motorist that they are too close.
4. Warn cyclist with lights that object (Car) is to left rear.
5. Warn cyclist with buzzer when object is within 30 inches (0.76 meter)

Brake Detection Mode
1. Detect when bike is slowing down
2. Flash taillights to warn people behind (motorists and cyclists) that bike is slowing down.

Standard Rear Light Mode
1. flash rear lights as standard rear lights

Hacked Tail Lights
I started with the cheapest tail lights I could find at my local bike shop. I then opened them up and I hoped that I could use the hardware inside the tail light but that wasn't meant to be. So I tore out all the innards and whipped up the new hacked innards.

I plan on using hot glue to seal up where the wire goes, and locate the board inside the two tail lights.
These lights will be the main way to communicate to the motorist. Below is a video of the hacked lights blinking. Try not to be distracted by the sound in the background

This should give all of you some idea what I am working on.

Controller

The whole thing is being controlled by an Arduino Uno (Microcontroller), but the final prototype will be with a much smaller Arduino Micro. Check out the following photo for an idea of scale. The larger one is the Uno.

The idea is to use an Ultrasonic sensor to detect an object behind the bike at 45 Degrees. When something is detected and it is closer than 4 feet the left tail light will flash like it is shown in the video above. A light on the module attached to the handle bars will also flash, thus alerting the motorist and the cyclist. See photo of Ultra-sonic distance sensor below.

Braking

Brake detection is accomplished by the use of an accelerometer.  This will detect if the bicycle is speeding up or slowing down. If it detects the bike is slowing down it will flash both tail lights solid. Right now I am in the process of determining how much of a change in acceleration will cause the brake lights to turn on.

At the moment I am trying to build all the modules and get the code working to allow it all to work together. I will keep you informed of my process here. Also when it is finished I will make detailed photos, schematics, and the computer code available as part of the Open Hardware Repository and Creative Commons Projects. Meaning that anyone who wants to can build a system of their own.

If you have any ideas of options or actions that could be added to the Bike Safety Suite please leave them in the comments.

Momentum

Momentum

It's what I lack. I have been trying to ride more and strangely enough I have only managed to ride less over the last month. I know what the problem is, it is simple. I have the chance to get off my ass and on my bike and instead I stay on my ass and don't get on my bike. No excuses, no blaming this or that fact, not even blaming the wet or too hot weather.

I am suffering from a lack of momentum, and I, like every other non-quantum body in the universe is subject to Newton's laws of motion. In this case the first law which states.

First law: 
An object remains at rest or at a constant velocity (uniform motion), with respect to an inertial reference frame, unless acted upon by a force.

Right now I am suffering under the tyranny of the first law. I am that object of rest and I have surrounded myself with walls, fences, and security to make sure I stay at rest.

Momentum
Newton's first law of motion states
An object at rest remains at rest, unless acted upon by an outside force.

I am rest

tying to find the force that moves me.
I know this.
And still I go home and walk past my bike
like walking past a homeless man
I'm Afraid to make eye contact for fear that
I'll end up giving more than my change.
that I'll have to make a change
not in how I see the world
but in how I see
Me
I make all those lame excuses
For not getting on that bike and going for a ride.
for not embracing the love that changed my life
for finding that love, that change, like everything worthwhile,
is a struggle, and I struggle with myself, battling like drunken frat boys throwing roundhouse superman punches made of kryptonite that shatters and scatters all around me. poisoning not just me but those caring enough or stupid enough to be standing to close.
so I make grand plans and pray to God I'll never have to follow thru
I listen to the crap that flows from my mind and out of my mouth
flowing downhill and over me before I can escape
and I wonder just what the hell is going on.
just why am I sitting in this room writing?
when I could be outside.
just why the hell am I watching the sun go down from a window
when I could be watching it from the top of the hill

A bit upsetting

This friday was our monthly flock of cycles party ride. The ride was a lot of fun and the after party picnic in the park was so worth the late ride home. There was something I found to be a little upsetting. One of the girls (I won't mention names) was riding home from work and woke up in the hospital with no memory of how she got there,

"Either I wrecked my bike or it was a hit and run."

I am still having trouble believing this. I mean how could someone do something like this. I am glad she is ok, and healed up enough to go on the ride on Friday and yet I'm so upset at what happened that I really don't want to think about the next car that gets a little to close.

This isn't like me. I know this. I work hard to promote a positive outlook on cycling. I truly want more and more people to try cycling. I know that more cyclists mean safer streets.

All great things.

I for one am proud to be part of the vanguard that is out there. Part of the group that is showing people that you can cycle no matter what shape you are in.

I am also learning that being part of the vanguard also means being a target. It means being asked that stupid question everytime people see you

"You rode a bike here?"

It means being a target on the road. Being buzzed by drivers who think you have no right to the road. It means being ignored by police if you try to file charges after you've been threatened on the road. It means thinking that being a hit and run victim is no big deal, it is just something that happens.

Pardon me but that is f--ked up.

I am sorry if this post is a downer. I will try to make the next one more upbeat.

Edit
When I got to work on monday morning I heard about the girl that was struck and killed. At least this time the driver stuck around.  I am hoping that this was just a horrible accident. This unfortunately makes the third death in and around Pittsburgh in the last month. This was just the ones that were killed, not ones like my friend who simply woke up in the hospital with no idea how she got there.

Allow me to make a point here.

In an article on May 24th the Post Gazette  posted the following article.

Review finds Pennsylvania's new bike safety law not closely enforced
A year later, Pittsburgh police are yet to issue first ticket

After that we have Three cycling deaths.

John Pearson Jun 24th
Jeffrey Zietak July 12th
Emily Jancart July 21st

The first two of these deaths are listed as Hit and Run. Last year we had 2 people die within two weeks and there was an uproar nothing was actually done and Penn Ave is just as dangerous now as it was before. Now we have a new law that is being ignored by motorists as well as law enforcement and maybe I'm just out of touch but I don't seem to notice much of an uproar

A good day

Well not for me. (its been a tough week but a short one!) but still I found myself well warmed when I saw this photo on facebook.

Along with the text "Can someone tell Ian to come pick up his bike?" The white bike there locked up to the pole is Ian's bike. 

It was lost and now is found

A week ago his bike was stolen and yesterday it was spotted, tracked down, locked up, and recovered. The police were called and I'm not sure what all came of that other than the recovery of the bike. I am no longer surprised at what the Cycling community here in Pittsburgh can do. I'm sure there are many bicycles that get stolen and are never seen again (at least by their owners), but when you are a part of a large community who may very well be able to recognize your bike faster than they can recognize you. I have to think that someone is going to spot your bike sooner rather than later. 

That was just what happened. It would of been better if the whole thing ended with someone being frog marched to a cop car in handcuffs, but I for one am glad to see Ian's bike going back to Ian.

I'm gonna call that one a win.

Bike Corrals and the Southside of Pittsburgh

Bike Corral at OTB

The other day while I was out riding I decided that a bit of food was in order. (I know what you’re thinking but I don’t always go to OTB for food.) I wanted to get some miles of riding in as well so I tooled on over to the Southside Jimmy Johns, got off my bike and found that I had no place to lock up my bike. not that the bike racks outside of Jimmy John’s were full, but that there were no racks outside of Jimmy John’s

I was just a little surprised. 

Jimmy John’s does employ cyclists as delivery people. Several of my friends deliver for Jimmy John’s and even more of the delivery people are regulars at the local cycling hangout. I had to wonder just why the lack of bike parking. If nothing else a place for the delivery people to secure their bikes.  I took my drink and sandwich and sat facing the front windows so I could keep an eye on my bike. The longer I sat there the more bothered I got about the lack of parking. So I did what anyone would do. 

I fired up my phone and hit facebook. I send Jimmy John’s the following message:

Fatguy

No bike parking outside your South Side pittsburgh shop. Why? South Side is cycling Mecca in pittsburgh. You can do better than this.

To which I got a quick response.

Jimmy John’s

I don't know, but I do love bikers and bikers love Jimmy John's! Thanks for the feedback Terry

On the inside I knew that bike parking has not been a high priority in Pittsburgh, and I was willing to accept that we need to strive for more but accept what we can get. That was until the car that was parked in front of the store pulled away leaving an open Parking space. 

Just the size of a bike corral. 

I’m betting the people in the store could hear the gears turning as I visualized a bike corral in place of the open parking slot.. The more I thought about it the more I liked the idea. The bike trail on the south side is broken up (in my mind) into three parts. The first part is the station Square portion of the trail that runs from the Duquesne Incline past the hounds field, station square and behind the cement factory. The Second part runs from S4th street (just past the terminal properties) thru riverfront Park and down to Hot Metal Bridge. The Third part of the trail runs from Hot Metal bridge to Sandcastle Waterpark in the Waterfont in Homestead.

Station Square has some bike parking and the Waterfront has to many problems to go into in this article. 

Right now I'm focused on the Southside and the southside trail. I am defining the southside as east carson st from s10th to Hot metal Street, and the southside trail as the section of the trail from s4th street to Hot metal St. First a little information about the trail. Exits and Entrances to the trail are limited to 4th 9th 18th and 26th streets. So it seems that it would be advantageous to have bike corrals at the start of the Southside (Near 10th st.) in the middle of the Southside (Near 18th st) and at the end of the Southside (Near 26th st) 

Now back to what started this all Jimmy Johns in located at 1717 East Carson St. the nearest bike corral is up between 25th and 26th. So that means they are located almost next to where the bike trail empties onto to carson. So in my mind this would be a perfect place to locate a Bike Corral. This got me wondering just how does one go about getting a Bike Corral placed on the street. So again I fired up my phone and went to Email instead of Facebook and asked the people at Bike PGH. Eric at bikePGH outlined the different plans 

1. Free bike rack from City Request Program. - This may take awhile.  Since the meter removal, the City has been using all of their racks on the districts that lost meters. The program is on a bit of a hold, but they could still apply, it might just take a long awhile.

2. Purchase bike rack, install yourself.  - They can get this done really quick. Long story short: It's a $25 permit, the city checks out the site to make sure it's not in the way and ADA compliant, then you buy and install yourself.  all info is located on our site, including the forms to download: http://bikepgh.org/purchase-bike-racks/ 

3. Corral: There's a permit application, as well as getting the permission of the neighbors on your block, but I haven't figured out how they are supposed to "formally" get the approval. If it could work out, it will be free. HOWEVER, it will no doubt take a long time, especially considering the Southside has a corral, with a second already on the way.  They gotta spread the love to other neighborhoods first.  

On City owned streets, ie Highland Ave Mad Mex.  There's a corral request form, which one technically needs to get from the Bike/Ped Coordinator, but I can send it to them as well.  They need to get their neighbors on board, because the last thing the city wants is complaints, and they are supposed to demonstrate that there is a need, as well as showing that there are no viable off-street options (like if they have their own parking lot, for instance). They then have to sign a maintenance agreement stating that they will help keep the corral free of trash and snow, and notify the city if there is an abandoned bike or if the corral is struck by a car or something.  The City then creates a work order, and eventually it gets installed.

If the street is owned by PennDOT, like E.Carson st there is one more step.  The city will need to apply for what's called a Highway Occupancy Permit (HOP), which adds at least a month to the process.  This will most likely be done by the City, but it also means that PennDOT will need to review the site and the plans. They also want to be able to remove it if need be, say for some major plowing effort or repaving or something.

I will always be a fan of Bike Corrals over Bike Racks on the sidewalk for several reasons. 

First, off bikes don’t belong on the sidewalk. Cyclists have to constantly fight for acceptance on the roads. I’m not saying that having to lock your bike up on the sidewalk is a step backwards but I do feel like it is a solid step sideways.  

Second, if we want to increase the number of people cycling on the roads (and we all know that more cyclists on the roads means safer roads for everyone) then we need provide the infrastructure that the General Population will be able to use. 

Third, I think it would be better to concentrate the bike corrals to a neighborhood like the Southside instead of “Spreading the Love around to different neighborhoods. Maybe I’m wrong but I believe that by putting 3-4 bike corrals equally spaced out along carson from 12th to 26th you will begin to see what kind of impact this has on the neighborhood as a whole. We could use that kind of data to find out what works and what doesn’t. This will help other neighborhoods create these cycling friendly areas with minimal impact and maximum effect. 

Simply put I want people to cycle because it is simpler and easier to ride to the southside, park your bike and shop then jump back on your bike ride the 6 blocks and lock your bike up there and shop some more because it is easier than it would be to get in the car, fight traffic, find a parking spot, and then only shop in that small section of the southside because you don’t want to have get back in the car, fight traffic and look for another parking spot eight blocks away.  

If you want people to start riding bikes then you have to do three things. Make riding a bike easier, cheaper, and more convenient than a car. I don’t believe that Bike Corrals are some kind of magic bullet that is going to change the inherent car culture in Pittsburgh but I think it will be a large step in the right direction.

Fatguy on vacation part 1

Well it is at the end of my first day on vacation, and in the morning I took a ride with my Nephew (who was holding the camera. I had to rock the old school Flock of Cycles T-shirt. The ride in the morning was refreshing, it was a bit chilly (we will call it brisk) and the wind was brutal. I thin breakfast, a ten mile ride and home by 8:30 is a none to shabby way to start off the week. Yesterday was a partial day so I only got a 4 mile ride in to the beer store and back.

My nephew and I made it to the nearest Fishing pier and decided to try our luck I have had some luck fishing at the pier, mostly a freaking looking flat fish called a skate. Here is a pic of my nephew with his first ever fish. Yeah it is an ugly fish, but it fights you to bring it in. I found out just how hard it can fight when it broke my rod in half and made me pull it up by hand.

So yeah I'm down one rod.

It was a trying day after that but nothing a nap and a huge plate of various BBQ'd meats couldn't improve. After dinner I felt restless and restless is something I know how to deal with. So I snuck out an hopped on my bike and headed out as the sun was setting and the wind seemed to have calmed down. 8.77 miles later I pulled back into the house and I am sitting in the kitchen writing this.  Soon it is off to bed and netflix a movie while the muscles unwind.

A Ranty Aside

On my evening ride I had toyed with the idea of just riding to a local bar and having a few adult potables. However as I rode past the first five or six bars without seeing anywhere to lock up a bike I gave up on the idea and started really paying attention to the shops and stores I was passing as I rode. I saw so few spots to lock up bikes that they stood out.

1 bike shop
1 pizza shop
1 bar (closed)

I find this very strange in a place (Outer banks N.C.) that the roads are not only flat but almost un-nerving in their straightness. (it is disconcerting to look down the road and see cars coming for miles.) When you take into account the fact the whole area is dependent on the tourist trade it is even more shocking that so many places not only lack bike racks but anywhere to lock up a bike at all. Maybe things change during the tourist season which starts next week.

But for some reason I doubt it.

Ranty Aside over

So mileage so far for the week 22.77 miles.

Unsettling

Please forgive me if this post sounds a little... off. I had something unsettling happen to me just a few minutes ago. I’m still not sure how to handle what I feel about it.

I’ve decided that best thing I can do is be honest with you all and tell you what happened and by the telling try to understand what it is I feel. I am going on vacation soon and I am very excited about it. I was getting my clothes together and packing some away and sorting others for laundry so I can pack them away. (watching Iron Man while I folded and sorted clothes.) I came across a pair of jeans that still had their tags on them and for a moment I was excited to think I had bought a pair of jeans and forgot about them. I looked at the tag and realized why they still had the tags on them.  They were too small when I bought them (I must of grabbed the wrong pair when I bought them) My excitement turned to despair when I realized this. They were 50’s (thats inches for those in the know) and I was wearing a pair of 56’s.

Baggy 56’s but still seeing a pair of jeans that big and knowing they were too small was very upsetting. Still my jeans were baggy so I decided to try them on and see just how small they were on me. I didn’t realize it for a long moment that I could button them and zip them up.

I almost cried.

They were a little snug but I could button them, walk around and even sit down with them. It was as I sat there feeling more comfortable that I felt I had a right to that I began to feel unsettled. even now it is a feeling that I don’t understand. I  feel like I have convinced myself over the years that I deserve to be the big fat guy that I am. That I don’t deserve to truly happy or to feel comfortable with myself. I wonder now just what I’m going to do to sabotage this feeling that is just starting to make itself known.

I guess I’ll just keep riding.