AG: How to ride in ordinary pants
My favorite way to protect expensive pants is to carry them in my pannier. If you have to look respectable between the place where you park your bike and the place where you can change pants, you can wear your suit pants over your riding shorts. But if you don't sweat a lot and if you don't mind wearing the pants out in the saddle area, you *can* buy a pants protector. This is a sort of half gaiter that you can strap on to protect the inside of your ankle and shin. (I'm wearing a home-made pants protector in this pictu http://roughsewing.home.comcast.net/...S/LINJERSF.JPG back view: http://roughsewing.home.comcast.net/...S/LINJERSB.JPG ) (store-bought varieties are only half as high) If you are wearing black work pants, all you need is two safety pins and two pieces of tape or ribbon that are long enough to wrap around your leg twice. My tapes are three and a half feet long; even if your legs are thicker, a three-yard packet of tape should be plenty. It should be half an inch wide, as knots in narrower tape tend to jam. Sit down with your knees bent and form a pleat on the outside of your leg. It's easiest to just stick a pin close to and parallel to your leg, leaving the excess fabric sticking out like wings, but it looks a little less dorky to smooth the excess into a dart and pin it flat. The wing method is a trifle more reliable. Next, smooth your pants upward, stroking any excess fabric to above your knee, and wrap a tape around your leg in the notch below the knee. For some reason I've never heard explained, garters *must* wrap around twice or they won't hold. No matter how wide or narrow the tape is, it must go around twice. Mysterious, but experience shows that it's true. Put the middle of the tape where you want the knot to be, then hold the ends together and pull to make them even. Cross, bring them back to the beginning point, and tie a bow knot. (Same knot you tie in shoelaces.) Tension must be just so: you should be able to feel the tape while you are tying the knot, then be completely unaware of it afterward. Be sure your knees are bent while tying the tape: its purpose is to keep your pants loose over the knee so that they don't pull while you are riding. When you get to work, pull both bows undone, use the safety pins to fasten the tapes together, and put the whole mess into your pocket. I'm awkward about getting on and off; if I mount and dismount a lot of times during a ride, the right pin is likely to bump against the saddle and open. It's best to look down each time you mount and make sure the pins are still there and still closed. A spare pin in your wallet is a good idea -- or three or four; safety pins have a lot of uses. -- joy beeson at comcast dot net http://joybeeson.home.comcast.net/ The above message is a Usenet post. I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site. |
AG: Make some noise
NFN Smith wrote in news:m4o0cq$6pp$1
@speranza.aioe.org: Joy Beeson wrote: Before you overtake someone, MAKE SOME NOISE. "Hi!" is popular for this purpose when overtaking another bicycle on the road. When overtaking a pedestrian on a recreationway, I like to give a little more information. After experimenting with many phrases, I settled on "I am on your left". This usually elicits a smile and a step to the right. Or the classic handlebar bell. Last time I was in the Netherlands, I noticed that even racing bikes have them. I didn't confirm, but I'm guessing that it's a legal requirement. A warning device such as a bell or horn certainly is required in Ontario and most other provinces in Canada under their various versions of a "Highway Traffic Act." If you strike a pedestrian or another cyclist and do not have one, they will likely charge you. The warning device does not have to be eleborate, just a single-dinger will do. Mine is a compact bell, and I had to attach it to the handlebar stem since it will not fit around the Cinelli bars I ride. I am off for a ride. Here's hoping it's not the last of the year. http://www.theweathernetwork.com/wea...ontario/ottawa -- Andrew Chaplin SIT MIHI GLADIUS SICUT SANCTO MARTINO (If you're going to e-mail me, you'll have to get "yourfinger." out.) |
AG: How to ride in ordinary pants
On 11/23/2014 7:34 AM, Joy Beeson wrote:
A spare pin in your wallet is a good idea -- or three or four; safety pins have a lot of uses. Instead of all that, I simply use safety pins to pin my pants leg more tightly around my ankle - or ankles, depending on how narrow the pants legs are. Now, I lube my chain using a hot wax/oil mix, so it's much less likely to smear black stuff on my cuffs. I've always got at least two safety pins clipped inside my handlebar bags. -- - Frank Krygowski |
AG: How to ride in ordinary pants
Frank Krygowski wrote in news:m4sv7m$6n1$1@dont-
email.me: On 11/23/2014 7:34 AM, Joy Beeson wrote: A spare pin in your wallet is a good idea -- or three or four; safety pins have a lot of uses. Instead of all that, I simply use safety pins to pin my pants leg more tightly around my ankle - or ankles, depending on how narrow the pants legs are. Now, I lube my chain using a hot wax/oil mix, so it's much less likely to smear black stuff on my cuffs. I've always got at least two safety pins clipped inside my handlebar bags. On the very rare occasions that I ride in trousers, I use the same Terry's pant clips that I bought for about 20 cents in 1971. -- Andrew Chaplin SIT MIHI GLADIUS SICUT SANCTO MARTINO (If you're going to e-mail me, you'll have to get "yourfinger." out.) |
AG: Make some noise
On 11/23/2014 10:38 AM, Andrew Chaplin wrote:
A warning device such as a bell or horn certainly is required in Ontario and most other provinces in Canada under their various versions of a "Highway Traffic Act." If you strike a pedestrian or another cyclist and do not have one, they will likely charge you. The warning device does not have to be eleborate, just a single-dinger will do. Mine is a compact bell, and I had to attach it to the handlebar stem since it will not fit around the Cinelli bars I ride. When I looked up the bicycle ordinances in our little town, I found that not only was a bell required, but it was actually illegal to verbally warn a pedestrian! The ordinance said a bicyclist must warn a pedestrian, and "the warning must be made only by a bell." In effect, it was illegal to say "I'm passing on your left," or even "Excuse me." And that wasn't the most ludicrous ordinance, either. Fortunately, it wasn't too difficult for me to get Council to repeal _all_ the local bicycle ordinances. That's because the Ohio Bicycle Federation got a law passed that prohibited local bike ordinances that are fundamentally different from state laws. So now, the local cops are supposed to enforce only the much more logical state laws. -- - Frank Krygowski |
AG: Make some noise
Frank Krygowski wrote in
: On 11/23/2014 10:38 AM, Andrew Chaplin wrote: A warning device such as a bell or horn certainly is required in Ontario and most other provinces in Canada under their various versions of a "Highway Traffic Act." If you strike a pedestrian or another cyclist and do not have one, they will likely charge you. The warning device does not have to be eleborate, just a single-dinger will do. Mine is a compact bell, and I had to attach it to the handlebar stem since it will not fit around the Cinelli bars I ride. When I looked up the bicycle ordinances in our little town, I found that not only was a bell required, but it was actually illegal to verbally warn a pedestrian! The ordinance said a bicyclist must warn a pedestrian, and "the warning must be made only by a bell." In effect, it was illegal to say "I'm passing on your left," or even "Excuse me." And that wasn't the most ludicrous ordinance, either. Fortunately, it wasn't too difficult for me to get Council to repeal _all_ the local bicycle ordinances. That's because the Ohio Bicycle Federation got a law passed that prohibited local bike ordinances that are fundamentally different from state laws. So now, the local cops are supposed to enforce only the much more logical state laws. Canada's constitutional set up has long precluded most such nonsense, except where it concerns people riding on sidewalks. Tots on little bicycles present not much of a hazard, yet some of their elders think they can ride on the pavements or sidewalk at a rate of knots and incommode the passers-by. -- Andrew Chaplin SIT MIHI GLADIUS SICUT SANCTO MARTINO (If you're going to e-mail me, you'll have to get "yourfinger." out.) |
AG: How to ride in ordinary pants
On Sun, 23 Nov 2014 10:41:54 -0500, Frank Krygowski
wrote: On 11/23/2014 7:34 AM, Joy Beeson wrote: A spare pin in your wallet is a good idea -- or three or four; safety pins have a lot of uses. Instead of all that, I simply use safety pins to pin my pants leg more tightly around my ankle - or ankles, depending on how narrow the pants legs are. Now, I lube my chain using a hot wax/oil mix, so it's much less likely to smear black stuff on my cuffs. I've always got at least two safety pins clipped inside my handlebar bags. Goodness, don' you have a "pants clip" that clips around your ankle to hold your pants secure and prevent it from getting into the chain? I thought all you "old Fellows" had one of those :-)\ -- cheers, John D.Slocomb |
AG: How to ride in ordinary pants
On 11/24/2014 6:34 AM, John D. Slocomb wrote:
On Sun, 23 Nov 2014 10:41:54 -0500, Frank Krygowski wrote: On 11/23/2014 7:34 AM, Joy Beeson wrote: A spare pin in your wallet is a good idea -- or three or four; safety pins have a lot of uses. Instead of all that, I simply use safety pins to pin my pants leg more tightly around my ankle - or ankles, depending on how narrow the pants legs are. Now, I lube my chain using a hot wax/oil mix, so it's much less likely to smear black stuff on my cuffs. I've always got at least two safety pins clipped inside my handlebar bags. Goodness, don' you have a "pants clip" that clips around your ankle to hold your pants secure and prevent it from getting into the chain? I thought all you "old Fellows" had one of those :-)\ As an old fellow, those are what I used way back in the 1970s. They kept irritating me because my pants would gradually work their way out of the clips, then get either caught or stained by the chain and chainring. Then I tried large (2") safety pins. No more problems. And the safety pins are lighter! ;-) -- - Frank Krygowski |
AG: How to ride in ordinary pants
Am 24.11.2014 16:11, schrieb Frank Krygowski:
On 11/24/2014 6:34 AM, John D. Slocomb wrote: On Sun, 23 Nov 2014 10:41:54 -0500, Frank Krygowski I've always got at least two safety pins clipped inside my handlebar bags. Goodness, don' you have a "pants clip" that clips around your ankle to hold your pants secure and prevent it from getting into the chain? I thought all you "old Fellows" had one of those :-)\ As an old fellow, those are what I used way back in the 1970s. Then I tried large (2") safety pins. No more problems. And the safety pins are lighter! ;-) At least during the cool season (temperature below 10°C / 50F), I put the socks around the pants. OK, it looks horrible but it keeps me warm and the pants stay outside the chain. |
AG: How to ride in ordinary pants
On Mon, 24 Nov 2014 18:34:24 +0700, John D. Slocomb
wrote: Goodness, don' you have a "pants clip" that clips around your ankle to hold your pants secure and prevent it from getting into the chain? Pants clips stopped working when cuffs went out of style. -- Joy Beeson joy beeson at comcast dot net |
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