The Bigger the Bubble the Better…or is it always?
While moving along the roadways I like to keep free space all around me, a big bubble of unoccupied pavement makes me happy. Aside from just plain being safer, the stress of the ride or drive is greatly reduced and I end up at my destination a much nicer person to be around and that is something everybody likes. Don’t they? Yes they do; just ask anyone who has been to Mission Arizona with me, especially that little songwriter, Allie, so perceptive for someone so young.
I love finding that luscious pocket of free space and seeing how long I can hang there while maintaining my preferred speed for that particular road. Medium to light traffic on three or four lane roads are best for this and relatively easy to maintain the bubble. The heavier the traffic of course, the harder the task becomes. Of the four zones of the bubble the front zone is most in my control, the side zones the next, and the most vulnerable to intrusion is the rear zone. Tailgaters are the most intrusive and make me the most crazy when I’m in a vulnerable mood. Generally it’s best to extend the front zone while being tailgated but in heavier traffic this invites divers. That’s right, diver drivers; those people who rush up the side lanes from behind you and dive into the lane in front of you looking for that one or two car length advantage. The worst divers are those who cruise along coming up to a junction with slow lanes and dive in at the last moment; these are gore point accident causers waiting to happen. Don’t be a diver.
On two-lane highways it is harder to maintain the beautiful bubble but not impossible unless you have heavy traffic. Then is when I’m tempted to decrease the front zone to discourage the divers. I hate being in the number one lane in a long train of cars patiently rolling along passing the slow trucks, especially on Highway 5, and having a diver run up the slow lane to dive in. It is dangerous and they save about five seconds of time for the extra close lane changes. Once I’m in the open though and have that bubble fixed around me and traffic is relatively spread out, I can set the cruise control somewhere within 5 MPH of the speed limit and roll along with slight adjustments in speed and lane selection to pass those slow trucks or move over for the rabbits. That’s right, rabbits; those drivers who push along at 10 or more MPH above the speed limit. I like having rabbits around from time to time in traffic like this as I can just move out of their way and let them run. Rabbits attract the hounds or law enforcement types and give them something to chase other than me. Rabbits reduce the likelihood that bubble lovers will get speeding tickets. You are welcome to be a rabbit if you like, just don’t run up on my rear end in heavy traffic hoping to intimidate me to move over when there is nowhere to move. That’s when I fantasize about moving over on my bike enough to let them squeak by and put a boot in the door as they do. Some fantasies are best left in the mind.
By now you are thinking “jj has personal space issues”. On the roadways yes; on foot and particularly around people I care about, not so. The fact is that I am a collector of fine hugs and keep a rolling top 10 list of huggers. My collection and enjoyment of hugs probably started in the little church we were married in that had started in the pastor’s home. Everybody hugs nearly everybody there and the pastor’s wife, Lois, has a permanent shrine in the hugger’s hall of fame. No matter what mood you were in if you got a Lois hug you were better when the hug was over than when it began. This was good training for my years of Junior High Ministry at LCPC; those kids, as a class of humans, are some of the best huggers on the planet and they do it without any sense of reservation. I love them. If you are thinking “How do I get in the top 10?” as I said, it is a rolling top 10 ten and proximity and the warmth of the hug will generally get you in. There are some who are perpetually on the list. It should be no surprise that my grandchildren, Teya and Jeremiah are there all the time. It may surprise you to note that my dad made this list relatively late in life. I cherish those hugs and wish I were close enough to have them more often.
At couple of observations about hugging; good, honest hugging. Those of us who are open to giving and receiving hugs are often the same people who are open to hearing and sharing life’s ups and downs with others. We need them around us to help us through tough times; we need to be the giver to help someone else through the valleys. Good hugs support one another. Hugs that drag someone down are wrestling maneuvers.
The point of this post; the challenge? Love and respect the bubble on the roadways. So, if I’m speeding up Briggs at 5 MPH above the posted speed limit don’t ride my tail while fantasizing about the Grand Prix and a car length behind me. At most, if you got by me or even had Briggs all to yourself, you’d save 10 seconds from Foothill to Shields and 10 seconds just isn’t worth the risk that excessive speed in a residential area exposes you, your own children, and anybody else to. With the rubber down and on the highway, give yourself and me space. Off the roadway, join me in my bubble and crack the top 10. Peace.
