Jeff's Journal

Driving

Driving on the “other side” of the road has been interesting. The only terrifying moments are when I make turns. Inevitably, I head for the US lane rather than the UK lane. It has made for some interesting moments and so far, no tragedies. I find it easier to drive when I follow another car. Highway driving is pretty easy - unless you miss your exit. Once on a highway you are on the highway. In my experience the UK highways are not organized with get-off and get-on places next to each other as in the states. If you make a wrong exit, you get to enjoy the countryside for a while.

Driving in the UK is not as much a problem as is parking in the UK. There is a new program at Oxford that prohibits cars being parked in the city center. The longest you can park a car without a long-term permit is 2 hours. On the orbital or ring road (or what we would call a loop around the city) are parking lots. You park your car on the outer realms of the city and take a bus from the outer realms of Oxford to the city center and then a bus back out of the city center to the car. (The locals tell me the pollution is better since the institution of the “no car in the city center” policy.)

Another aspect of the European road is the roundabout. Roundabouts are terrifying when first encountering them. There are no lanes and once you have entered one, you have to watch for your exit or just keep going around again (and again) until you determine your exit. It is like going into a centrifuge and then being slung out to somewhere where you hope to go. Upon reflection, they really are a good idea, once you get accustomed to them.

I will add an addendum to roundabouts. The ones in Paris are quite interesting. While driving there I had to think a different mathematics of driving. In the US, we think in quadrangles while driving, though, in Paris thinking fractals and Tinker Toys made the experience more manageable.

The Arc de Triomphe roundabout was the most interesting encounter. The family marched up the Champs Ellysees to see the grand arc and watched 11 spokes flood into one hub. Some in our party were already saturated with French history and not too interested, until the fun began.

The best encounter involved a female bicycle rider. From out of nowhere, she flew into the roundabout with the rest of the traffic. There were motorcycles and cars and big buses and this one little bicycle. She did not hesitate, but with great gusto pedaled into the jumble of vehicles.

Her pedaling speed increased as she entered the roundabout. (She had done this before and knew how to navigate through the vehicular maze.) Armstrongian speed and endurance were her allies in this urban rite. She could have given the bicycling wicked witch from the Wizard of Oz a run for Toto and won.

Things were going fine. Well fine, until the big bus (see picture) began to bisect the roundabout. As the bus began to cut a path through the traffic, cars were slamming on brakes and the motorcycles were being cut off and everyone was giving way to the large motor predator. However, the bus came a little too close for comfort as it cut through the roundabout almost clipping the basket on the front of the bicycle. The audience on the sidewalk gasped in unison.

Then the most amazing thing happened. The woman bicyclist produced some French hand gestures (one handed, mind you), pedaled faster in front of the bus, cut it off and then continued on her way past the arc. It was astounding to watch her take out the T-Rex of the roundabout pedaling her bike in her pink tennis shoes. Cheers rang out from the onlookers, who had expected another outcome. Needless to say, I have a new respect for French women and chaos theory.

This one encountered enamored our party to “arc watch” for a good while. It was one of the best shows of the afternoon, but “Joan of Arc” was the best performance of the day.

posted by Jeff Waldo @ 12:40 PM