I recently got the opportunity to borrow a car again. The last time I had a car for a while, I had borrowed my dad’s, and had the adventures of 101/92/280 to San Francisco on a Tuesday night and parallel parking.

My adventures this time were quieter. The lowlight (or highlight) was a drive home from Daly City BART, in the dark, in heavy rain and fog, on 280. It was truly scary at times, in a way that only one ride I can think of (it was dark, rainy, windy, and I was physically shaky from stomach upset) has scared me.

I enjoy my occasional opportunities to drive as a time to get a different perspective on the size of the Bay Area, the time it takes to get places, and the hassle involved. One thing I realized this time is that my perception of traffic is totally different as a cyclist. I never think about the freeway commute-hour traffic, because I’m never on the freeway then. And on city streets, I’m treated to long traffic-free stretches either because of a bike lane or because the way the traffic lights are timed (cars tend to bunch up). It turns out that coming home at 5:30, the traffic makes the journey nearly the same as if I rode, and far more variable and stressful. Same with traveling within town. Driving to an office downtown takes the same time as riding to it.

It also reminds me of why drivers behave the way they do. Why do they squeeze by to pass? It’s kind of hard to tell how close you really are, because the cyclist is usually on the side of the car away from you. And some roads I thought were wide enough to share really aren’t, and I should be more assertive about lane-taking. Why do they drive so fast? Because they can and they don’t even notice they are. Why don’t they expect to see me? Because cyclists really aren’t that common of a sight on most roads, sadly. Why don’t they slow down or stop properly? Because they know they see you, even if you don’t know that.

FYI, if you do this, please don’t, because I really can’t be sure you see me. Stop properly and don’t act like you even might turn or drift into me, even if you know you won’t.

Being a cyclist makes me a more patient driver in some ways that aren’t directly related to my behavior when I see cyclists. I’m less inclined to speed, because I’m no longer habituated to driving at 55 or 65, and I’m not in a hurry because I know no matter how long it takes in a car, it would take as long or longer without one! (My usual speed is 3 mph walking and 10-20 mph cycling.) On the other hand, I get impatient because I am stuck with the traffic; I can’t bypass it as I could if I were a cyclist.

In general, I’m extremely happy to be back on my feet or two wheels, just like last time. And I’ve been poking around for new inspiration to do more. One thing on my agenda is to buy a touring bike (Goal #50), and then get an Xtracycle conversion kit for the current bike. Then I’ll have a SUB (sport utility bike) which can be used for hauling, as well as an easily equippable commuter and tour-ready bike. (The small diamond of my current bike makes it hard to properly cargo-equip with racks and panniers.) Then I’ll just need a tour-ready Alexis!

Also on the subject of cargo, I came across the lovely Year of Living Carlessly Experiment Series. The second item in the series discusses an old Burley bike trailer that they push around to carry cargo in for destinations in walking radius. How utterly brilliant! Why did it never occur to me that a convertible bike trailer can be pushed around when I’m walking? Why limit myself to what I can carry, when I can push or pull?

Now I REALLY need to get a bike trailer (Goal #46), but it also has to be one I can push around. Cool!