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Captain's Report March 6th Ride
April Newsletter 2005
Road Captain Report:
Finally the rain had stopped long enough for a ride on Sunday. The weather man said there were going to
be some clouds but no rain. Everyone lined up for the first full ride of 2005, we had 46 bikes lined up on
H Street. The ride had to be shorten due the road condition. On my original route the roads had lots of
pot holes and water crossing the street. (Not safe to ride thru). Jumped on the 215 south to La Sierra and
heading behind Lake Mathews, boy the lake is getting full. Then we turned on to Cajalco road (not to bad
on pot holes) going to the 15 and head south. Originally I was going to exit at Tom’s Farm, but again
the roads had water going across, so instead we exited Lake Street and went over to the 74 Ortega
Highway which was in good shape. Everything is so green and gorgeous this time of the year, this is what
riding a bike is all about. We stopped at Hell’s Kitchen for a short break. Once we reach Antonio
Parkway and head North to "Cook’s Corner" all we did was to wave, as we went by., Because our
finally lunch stop was "Fuddrucker’s" in Lake Forest. I would like to thank everyone that rode with
me, everyone did a GREAT job on the ride. Everyone should pat themselves on their back, when we
were heading up the Ortega Highway another group of bikes were going down and were on the same
channel 31. They complimented on how together and organized we looked. Thanks also goes out to the
Co-Captains John, David, Eddie, and Vasco for their help in keeping the group together. Not to sure
about doing the road blocks, I would hate to have someone get hurt or a ticket!!!!!
Pete Aker
Finally the rain had stopped long enough for a ride on Sunday. The weather man said there were going to
be some clouds but no rain. Everyone lined up for the first full ride of 2005, we had 46 bikes lined up on
H Street. The ride had to be shorten due the road condition. On my original route the roads had lots of
pot holes and water crossing the street. (Not safe to ride thru). Jumped on the 215 south to La Sierra and
heading behind Lake Mathews, boy the lake is getting full. Then we turned on to Cajalco road (not to bad
on pot holes) going to the 15 and head south. Originally I was going to exit at Tom’s Farm, but again
the roads had water going across, so instead we exited Lake Street and went over to the 74 Ortega
Highway which was in good shape. Everything is so green and gorgeous this time of the year, this is what
riding a bike is all about. We stopped at Hell’s Kitchen for a short break. Once we reach Antonio
Parkway and head North to "Cook’s Corner" all we did was to wave, as we went by., Because our
finally lunch stop was "Fuddrucker’s" in Lake Forest. I would like to thank everyone that rode with
me, everyone did a GREAT job on the ride. Everyone should pat themselves on their back, when we
were heading up the Ortega Highway another group of bikes were going down and were on the same
channel 31. They complimented on how together and organized we looked. Thanks also goes out to the
Co-Captains John, David, Eddie, and Vasco for their help in keeping the group together. Not to sure
about doing the road blocks, I would hate to have someone get hurt or a ticket!!!!!
Pete Aker
Conspicuity
by Robert Vaughan
Conspicuity means more than just making yourself seen--it means making yourself easy to recognize.
Placing a strobe on your helmet will make you visible at night, but it certainly doesn't make you
recognizable. Seeing the two headlights of an oncoming truck doesn't help if you think it is two
motorcycles and try to go between them. Even if you could make yourself look the size of a tractor trailer
truck, it wouldn't be enough. Several studies have proven that reflective markings make even trailers safer.
To be conspicuous, an object must be recognized without confusion or ambiguity. Every second counts in
avoiding a crash. A few tenths of a second spent deciding the meaning of what is seen can mean the
difference between a close call and a hospital call.
Drivers go through four stages in responding to an object they see:
They detect it.
They identify it.
They make a decision to react.
They act.
Good conspicuity acts to shorten the reaction time in the first three stages.
White reflects five times more light than red but red means danger. It says stop. Red and white are used
for stop signs and railroad crossings. Red also appears brighter to the human eye than it really is.
Drivers are used to interpreting these colors as something to avoid. Using the same colors at night on
retroreflective tape on helmets or vests when riding a motorcycle will undoubtedly reduce our chances of
being hit by making us both visible and recognizable as a motorcycle.
by Robert Vaughan
Conspicuity means more than just making yourself seen--it means making yourself easy to recognize.
Placing a strobe on your helmet will make you visible at night, but it certainly doesn't make you
recognizable. Seeing the two headlights of an oncoming truck doesn't help if you think it is two
motorcycles and try to go between them. Even if you could make yourself look the size of a tractor trailer
truck, it wouldn't be enough. Several studies have proven that reflective markings make even trailers safer.
To be conspicuous, an object must be recognized without confusion or ambiguity. Every second counts in
avoiding a crash. A few tenths of a second spent deciding the meaning of what is seen can mean the
difference between a close call and a hospital call.
Drivers go through four stages in responding to an object they see:
They detect it.
They identify it.
They make a decision to react.
They act.
Good conspicuity acts to shorten the reaction time in the first three stages.
White reflects five times more light than red but red means danger. It says stop. Red and white are used
for stop signs and railroad crossings. Red also appears brighter to the human eye than it really is.
Drivers are used to interpreting these colors as something to avoid. Using the same colors at night on
retroreflective tape on helmets or vests when riding a motorcycle will undoubtedly reduce our chances of
being hit by making us both visible and recognizable as a motorcycle.