Via No Silence Here, Patrick Beeson offers Knoxville drivers suggestions on how to pass cyclists.
I ride a fair amount with traffic, and to build on Patrick’s post, here’s four things that annoy me most about passing vehicles:

• Fast-moving vehicles that buzz by as if you aren’t even there. This is an innate response–if you have what feels like a near-miss with an object weighing many hundreds of pounds while you are in a defenseless position, it’s going to be scary. Remember that Tennessee law requires motorists to allow a minimum of three feet clearance when passing a cyclist. Err on the safe side and allow even more.
• Drivers who tailgate instead of passing. The opposite of driver type (1). Instead of going around the cyclist, this driver continues to trail closely behind even when the road is open to pass.
  I’m not sure why some motorists do this. Perhaps they are not used to passing cyclists and are exercising an abundance of caution? Although I appreciate this sentiment, it gets annoying having a strange vehicle lingering on your tail. So if you have five or more feet of clearance available, slowly ease by and continue on your way.
• Drivers who pass at inopportune times. A good place to pass is on a straight stretch of road that has good visibility. A bad place to pass is going around a corner. A cyclist needs extra space when cornering. And if you run into on-coming traffic while attempting to pass, you may have no choice but to force the cyclist off the road!
  Another annoying situation is when a driver passes the cyclist and then breaks. It takes a lot more effort to stop and regain your speed on a bike than it does in a vehicle. Be considerate of this.
• Honking and yelling. Some motorists like to honk to alert cyclists that they are passing. A light tap on the horn as you are approaching is generally OK (though typically unnecessary). But loud, prolonged honks or yelling out the window as you pass is almost always distracting and irritating. Don’t do it.

I noticed the Knoxville News-Sentinel had at least three cycling-related stories over the past few days. That’s pretty good publicity.

• “Bicycle museum’s curator wheels and deals for history“

  A judge in Cumberland Gap, TN, has turned his bicycle collection into the Little Congress Bicycle Museum. If I ever get to Cumberland Gap again (it’s been many years since I’ve been there) this stop would be interesting to see.

• “Cyclist gears up to improve status from ‘chick on a bike’“

  KNS reporter describes her quest to become a cyclist and complete the English Mountain Challenge.

  Bicycles bring out the best in people.

  I like to think so.

• “East Tennessee picks up speed as a ‘cycling Mecca’“

  Details a Detroit, MI, cycling club’s training foray into East Tennessee.

  “Blount County and the surrounding foothills of the Smokies offers some of the best cycling in the country,” Alexander said. “It’s a wonderful combination of rural roads, little traffic and beautiful scenery – although experiencing the scenery from a bicycle is a lot different from experiencing it from a car.”

  From what I’ve seen, Western North Carolina is probably a better cycling tourism destination than this side of the mountains–they’ve got more rural roads and more mountains. But as a whole this region offers great and challenging terrain for cycling.
  On Saturday, when I was on the Blue Ridge Parkway, I met briefly with a few other cyclists who were vacationing from Ontario, Canada. It reminded me how lucky I am to have this scenery in my back yard.

On Saturday, 17 May 2008, I joined eight other cyclists from BikeForums.net (where I have the user name “Velo Vol”) on a bicycle ride in Haywood County, NC. The course was the “Pigeon Loop“: it started on the Blue Ridge Parkway at the Pisgah Inn, descended down into the valley on US 276, climbed back up the ridge on NC 215, and returned to the Pisgah Inn on the parkway.

I arrived a few minutes late at the Inn, but everyone was gracious enough to wait for me. I put on my cycling gear and prepared to ride. It was cool at 5,000 feet (somewhere in the 50s) so I donned my arm warmers.

At about 10:25 a.m., we rolled out from the inn.

Heading downhill from the Pisgah Inn

Descending off the mountain on US 276

Downhill riding obviously isn’t one of my strengths. As soon as we turned off the mountain, the group dropped me like a lead weight. I didn’t catch back up for several miles.

US 276 descends steeply off the mountain for four or five miles, then levels out following a stream further into the valley. The group maintained a good pace through this stretch at about 22 m.p.h.

Along US 276

I finally caught up to everyone as they stopped to shed layers of clothing. The temperature in the valley several degrees warmer than it was on the parkway.

A golf course by US 276

Agriculture along US 276

Along US 276

Field along NC 215

The group riding on NC 215

A more streamlined peloton

After a nice flat stretch on NC 215, the road turned uphill into the woods.

Lake Logan

Me posing on the bridge along Lake Logan

Group picture at Lake Logan

After a brief break at the lake, the climbing continued for several miles through the woods. It’s a tranquil ascent on a low-traffic road: not too steep, but tough enough to work up a sweat, even when its only in the 60s.

We took a break to regroup at a waterfall. Nearby, a spring provided cool mountain water. It was good.

The grade on NC 215 gets a bit steeper past the waterfall. The tree cover opens up more, offering some terrific mountain views.

Scenery on NC 215

Looking downhill near the top of NC 215. There are several bald mountains in this area.

Finally, the road reaches the Blue Ridge Parkway.

View from Courthouse Valley overlook

We had a food break at Courthouse Valley overlook. A couple riders generously provided peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and other provisions. That went down well, as I hadn’t eaten for six hours.

Another view from Courthouse Valley overlook. Note that the leaves have yet to emerge above 5,000 feet.

The ride’s last leg was a 14-mile section of the Blue Ridge Parkway. The traffic wasn’t bad, and the views were spectacular. Great stuff.

Graveyard Fields

Looking Glass Rock

Last climb up to the Pisgah Inn

Distance: 51.7 miles

Riding time: 3:45

Overall, an excellent ride. The weather was great, the roads were good, the riders were friendly, and the scenery was outstanding.

If you ever get a chance, I highly recommend riding in this area.

Yesterday Senator McCain gave a speech in which he outlined what he planned to do during his first term as president. Among his proposals was this:

I will ask Congress to grant me the privilege of coming before both houses to take questions, and address criticism, much the same as the Prime Minister of Great Britain appears regularly before the House of Commons.

I hope McCain fails in his quest to become president. But should he win, I’d like to see him try this.
I wonder how much Prime Minister’s Questions McCain has ever watched? Perhaps he mistakenly thinks that he would get the softball treatment that he currently enjoys from the news media (i.e., his “base”).
It can get rough when opposition party members, playing to TV cameras, start grilling the leader. Some Democratic legislators certainly wouldn’t be angling for better access and softer seats on the “Straight Talk Express.”
At any rate, a no-holds-barred President’s Questions would make for some entertaining television.

A couple recent developments in the federal government’s war on high oil prices.
The first is to pretend the problem doesn’t exist. Literally. From the April CPI report (emphasis added):

Energy prices were unchanged last month after jumping 1.9% on March, according to Wednesday’s report, though with oil prices hitting record highs this month, that will likely change in May. Gasoline prices fell 2% last month, but natural gas prices spiked 4.8%.

Gasoline prices dropped? To quote John McEnroe, “You cannot be serious!” How did prices officially “drop” when in reality they were setting record highs? Through the economic magic of seasonal adjustments. Apparently this April’s price increase is smaller than prior April price increases, or something. If only my wallet size could be seasonally adjusted.
Unfortunately, elected officials have no such magic wand to wave. They must respond to voters and voters are angry about prices. Thus Congress has rushed to do something–anything–to make it look like it can control prices:

Congress voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to challenge President Bush to temporarily halt the daily shipment of thousands of barrels of oil into the government’s emergency reserve.
. . .
Bush has steadfastly refused to halt shipments of about 70,000 barrel barrels of oil a day into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a system of salt caverns on the Gulf coast. The reserve, created to respond to major oil supply disruptions, holds 701 million barrels and is at 97 percent of capacity.
. . .
The Senate voted 97-1 to suspend the shipments for the rest of the year. Hours later, the House followed suit, voting 385-25 to halt the deliveries.

Such a clamor to free up 70,000 barrels/day. If only Congress had had this kind of groundswell to toughen CAFE standards during the past 30 years, we might be seeing some real savings today.
Regarding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, I did think it curious that the government has continued to buy oil to fill the reserve even as prices were $20+ more than the government’s own price forecast. Why would it do that?
That only seems to make sense if the Bush administration: (1) anticipates an oil market disruption which will require us to draw on the reserve (Iran?), or (2) the administration simply doesn’t believe its own price projections and expects the price to remain much higher than it is publicly predicting. Either scenario is bad for consumers.