BluesCat,

It would be great to have an MUP to take me most of the way to work, heck it would be great just to have a few MUP's period! I've never seen a lighted one before, wouldn't DST (Daylight Savings Time , sorry but I couldn't resist the time reference from earlier ribbings) be easier? I guess I'll have to take some pic's of my commute too. Of course I just go by a bunch of Live Oak trees and some plain old Palm trees, it's really not all that interesting. It's also flat like yours, I only shift one time to go across a bridge over the Bay.

Walt

The multi-use path (the last picture in Part 3) continues north in the shadow of the freeway for less than a quarter of a mile, bringing me to this Nice Crossing #1:





At first glance you might think this four-lane collector road would rate IOD status, but a couple of factors make it an excellent, very safe crossing. There are no ramps to access the freeway here, so most of the traffic takes the arterials which are a half mile north and south.

The nearest traffic lights are about a half mile east and west from this crossing, and they are timed for the arterials going north and south. This means that the lights are green at the same time, and so the traffic from both the east and west arrives at this crossing at the same time. When the eastbound and westbound traffic clear this crossing, there is almost a full minute when there is no traffic at all. If I arrive at this crossing when the traffic is passing through, I have time to stop and catch a drink of water before crossing very casually.

One scenic note: notice the big rust colored vase in the center of the picture. I couldn't resist framing this photograph to make it look as if the palm tree was growing out of it. This giant vase was part of the early 1990's "freeway beautification project" by the City of Phoenix when this freeway was originally constructed. It was called "The Pots Debacle" because virtually nobody but some nerds in the State government and on the City Council thought it was aesthetically pleasing --- or a good use of highway funds --- to have this gigantic, Alice in Wonderland crockery lining the freeway. One of the residents protested by putting up a "Golden Commode" on his property somewhere along this path.

From this crossing, I take the multi-use path less than a quarter of a mile north, where it empties into a local, neighborhood road which brings me to the Nice Crossing #2:





This is a very busy intersection, but once again there are a few things which make it pretty safe and not worthy of IOD status.

This picture was taken looking back south, the way I have come. I exited the neighborhood almost directly behind the yellow car you see at left, center of the photograph. I ride a sidewalk which angles toward that guard rail you see trailing behind the yellow car. The guard rail disappears behind a white car which is mostly hidden behind the big, white, square traffic signal electrical box. Almost directly behind the white car is the point I cross over the eastbound freeway exit ramp (You can see a tiny bit of the exit ramp directly behind the white car and just above the guard rail). The button for the walk signal is located on the post of the green street sign you see just behind the dark colored car which is encroaching on the crosswalk.

When the "WALK" signal goes on, there is a loud beeping sound; "Bee-boop, bee-boop, bee-boop," which sounds a lot like the OSHA backup bells on construction equipment. When the beeping quits, it means the "WALK" signal now says "DONT WALK" and you better be close to exiting the intersection. These multi-sensory pedestrian signals, and the fact that those post barriers are everywhere, are the main reasons I think this is a pretty safe intersection, even with all the traffic.

Next up: Part 5 - The Mall Tour

We had winds reaching gusts of 50 mph last night (Thursday, 3/26/09), but they said the high winds would die down so I packed the panniers and the rack pack with my work clothes and gear just in case.

This morning was beautiful. The wind had scoured the air clean of pollutants and then gone away. There were some broken tree limbs and other wind blown trash but it was easy to get around. Morning temps were in the middle 50s, this afternoon it was 68 degrees on the thermometer at work when I left.

Had my best average speeds and trip times ever, a full mph above my previous average best and carved 4 minutes off my trip times both ways.

Right after Nice Crossing #2, I enter a quiet neighborhood where local streets parallel the freeway for about a mile and a half:



That noise abatement wall on the left, along with those trees, provides excellent shade during the ride home. Very important to us expert “Shade Dancers.” (During the 110°+ F summer days, kids growing up in Phoenix get very good at bouncing from tree shade to building shade to tractor trailer rig shade, etc., etc., whenever they walk or ride their bikes.)

This is the neighborhood which used to have the crack house in it. I have no doubt the scum bags chose this area because of its proximity to the shopping mall. The house has been cleaned up and painted, and the grounds have been cleared so I think they are ready to put it up for sale.

At the end of this neighborhood is this little entry baffle:





You come from the left, circle around on the sidewalk and turn right. The road you see through the opening is the off-ramp for the freeway. My only beef with this little baffle is that it is almost impossible to negotiate riding a LWB recumbent.

A traffic light is about two hundred feet to the right, and we enter the shopping mall grounds and a lot of shade to dance through for about a quarter of a mile:



Unfortunately, I do not think a Starbucks or other coffee shop is located in this mall, it would be really fun to pause and have my morning coffee here.

Next up: Part 6 – Intermission and Classic Iron

After I leave the mall, I encounter two more Nice Crossings (not worthy of numbers) and enter a pleasant, older neighborhood. Immediately, I run across this:





I got to thinking how many classic cars I see on my ride into work, and so one day I rode my route with just my camera to take some pictures. I only got a chance to take two more shots before the battery croaked (note to self: two spare Lithium AA batteries for the tool kit; might come in handy for the headlight):





What is amazing about all three of these cars is they look like they are daily drivers for their owners! A lot of the people who live in these neighborhoods have owned their homes since the '50s, some of these driveways are the only home these cars have ever known.

Of course, Phoenix has a large retirement population, and people who have moved here over the last fifty to sixty years have pretty much stayed here. I hear that the salt on the roads in the northeast eats up car bodies, so classics like these do not survive. What's it like in your neck of the woods?

Next up: Part 7 – The Phoenix Definition of a Hill

They also use salt here on the roads in winter that’s hard on cars and bikes. You can have a car for a long time if you want under your conditions. My father just sold an old car a 1967 Ford Galaxy 500 with 2 doors and with a vinyl top. It was in driving condition but not used the last 20 years.

Peder

I see this one on mine and if you go too fast around here you'll also get to see this one, up close and very personal!!!