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Bay Bridge Commute

So if I see any of you on the bridge that I can recognize, cage or no cage, give a wave, two fingers and a smile! lol :thumbup
 
Jenn said:
And then -- the piece de resistance: flambe de semi-truck
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ROFL, yes it was pretty cooked. Don't you check traffic before you leave? I have 511.org send me an e-mail with traffic commute time every morning. Maybe you knew about the truck already I don't know.
 
Yea the bridge was a nightmare this morning, even worse then during the BART strike. It was tough splitting today not only because it was packed, but people weaving around because they were on their phones.
 
Toast said:
Yea the bridge was a nightmare this morning, even worse then during the BART strike. It was tough splitting today not only because it was packed, but people weaving around because they were on their phones.
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I didn't think so - at least not the first day or two of the strike. It wasn't even noticeably worse than usual on 580 until right where everything comes together - although definitely slower/tighter than usual on the bridge. I did get stuck behind a couple very slow splitters with who wouldn't move check their mirrors.

I also almost got clipped by some guy on a cruiser who cut over from the next lane, right in front of me without checking to see if there happened to be any other motorbikes out and about. I saw him coming so it was a non-issue, but jeez man - you're not the only moto on the bridge!

Jenn said:
If I'm going into the office, I'm going in - I just lanesplit anyway. :)
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Exactly - I saw the "big rig fire on bridge" sign on 580 and thought "I wish I had put my Contour on my helmet today. Gotta see this!"
 
you don't have to watch the news, go to 511.org and setup a profile. Setup a commute and set a notice via e-mail or text. It tells you how much time your commmute will take today. At least it gives you a heads up if its really bad. I use to to decide to go 280, or through the city to get to my EB bridge.
 
That was definitely a messy commute. All but one lane was closed when I got to 5th at about 7:40am, and it looked like they were just cooling off the rig after putting it out.

If I did this right, I've attached a cropped frame grab from my Contour of the rig.
 

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Jenn said:
Actually, I did not see a lot of weaving around - not sure where you saw that. It was completely STOPPED.
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It was totally stopped from the 24 to 80W (?) to Treasure Island but once it started to ease up a bit I saw a lot of people trying to see ahead by drifting left and riding the white line.

I don't remember the bridge being so packed during the strike, but I only took the bike in on the 3rd. It was smooth sailing after the metering lights on that day.
 
I didn't see the fire because it was after my exit, but that explains a lot. When I got on 80 in El Sob, I figured folks must have stayed home because traffic was flying. By El Cerrito, traffic was bad, and it only got worse. I saw bike that had been hit, apparently splitting between the 2 and 3 lanes. Rider appeared to be okay, and was struggling to get his cruiser out from under the bumper of a cage.

Very, very dense day on the bridge. So happy to be a rider and not a driver. :ride
 
^^^ Take San Pablo Dam Rd to 24 West, it's much nicer :). Less traffic and it usually only gets backed up once you hit the 80 interchange.
 
Toast said:
^^^ Take San Pablo Dam Rd to 24 West, it's much nicer :). Less traffic and it usually only gets backed up once you hit the 80 interchange.
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Thanks. I take that route home most days, but I prefer the slog down 80 in the AM. :dunno
 
monkeyneck said:
I didn't think so - at least not the first day or two of the strike. It wasn't even noticeably worse than usual on 580 until right where everything comes together - although definitely slower/tighter than usual on the bridge. I did get stuck behind a couple very slow splitters with who wouldn't move check their mirrors.
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The bridge was a bit of a shit show, but getting stuck behind a cock gobbler that won't move over chaps me in all the wrong places. This morning it was a douche on a white maxi scooter. He was going just fast enough to make it a pain in the rear to get around given the heavy traffic.

Days like this make me so glad to have a bike.
 
Yup, I've never seen traffic that bad. I had no clue about it happening, as I never check news or traffic before I go. In all honesty, the worst traffic barely increases my commute time. I think it took me an extra 10 minutes today. I'm always at work 30 minutes early anyway. Saw a rider on a cruiser in lane 2 stopped with a sedan parked up his ass. Looks like he want splitting and the lady tapped him. More reason to split, y'all! If you don't like splitting in heavy traffic, cage it or take public transit!
 
I get on 80W at the University Ave interchange. At 9:30ish all lanes except the carpool lane were dead stopped, but I managed to wiggle through the 4 right lanes and enter the carpool #1 lane and zip right up and through the BB toll plaza and up the incline. Then all lanes of traffic were slowed down to less than 5 mph for the remainder of the bridge.

I found lane splitting to be much more difficult today with traffic at a standstill rather than where the cars/trucks/buses are moving along at the usual 20 to 50 mph. My Concours is too damn wide, so the splitting was tight all the way, but I made it to the first SF exit without touching any mirrors. There were quite a few frustrated cagers trying to see what was ahead by hugging the lane markers, blocking up the split line.

Today is a good day. I still have my teeth.
 
Apparently the rig was carrying a load of rice and it somehow caught on fire.

----**SIGALERT ISSUED**AN EARLIER BIG RIG FIRE IS OUT, BUT THE CLEANUP CONTINUES...ONLY THE LEFT LANE IS OPEN....THE THREE RIGHT LANES ARE CLOSED .. CALTRANS, CHP UNITS ON SCENE...ETO: 3PM (NOTE: THE BIG RIG WAS LOADED WITH RICE WHICH IS NOW WET RICE, AND THE RIG HAS TWO FUEL TANKS THAT REMOVAL CREWS ARE TRYING TO AVOID PUNCTURING)...(THE FIRE DEPARTMENT HAS CLOSED PERRY ST AT THIRD ST IN CASE DEBRIS FROM THE FIRE FALLS TO THE STREET BELOW)---(394)
* Congestion: Stopped traffic
* Expect delays up to 2 hours
 
Fried Rice!

Yeah, I get to work at 6:45, and the bridge was already packed. Lanesplitting was definitely harder.

Agreed that It was way worse than the BART strike this AM.
 
zignut said:
And I'm told it was full of shrimp. Didn't the driver know you can't overcook those things?
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What're you talking about? Shrimp are easily overcooked!

Jenn said:
There was no BART strike, I heard it was averted by the venerable governor.
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I was talking about the BART strike at the beginning of July.

I'm getting conflicting messages about the possible looming BART strike.
 
Jenn said:
Sunday morning at 6:30 or so - I saw a hitchiker on the new section of the Bay Bridge! I pulled over to find out if he was okay, and he was in his late 20s, tall, thin, Caucasian - dressed a bit raver-ly (ie, newsboy cap covered in spiffy pins) ... he said he just "had to get home" and got "stuck" in the East Bay with no money for a cab and BART/bus lines weren't running... I would have offered him a ride but didn't have a helmet.

I have no idea how he got past the toll plaza - or that far up the bridge - without CHP stopping him (or someone phoning in a person strolling across the bridge!). However, there's not much of a shoulder or place to walk in the tunnel -- but I was on my way to the Alcatraz Invitational so didn't want to make a big deal out of it.

Fortunately, right when I got off the bridge, I saw SFPD managing traffic in an intersection and told him I had a non-emergency for him to report to CHP. He got right on his radio and called it in -- I hope that silly guy did not get into too much trouble, but it's better than getting killed at dawn on the Bay Bridge!

Got stopped on the Bay Bridge this morning by CHP officer Pumphrey -- sigh. At least he was nice AND very good looking.

On the chance that he's on BARF, here's the link to Hear Net for the awesome custom ear plugs we talked about (http://hearnet.com/). Way better than disposable foam earplugs.
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Nice one
 
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