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The Art of Rural Cycling?
I just read Robert Hurst's "The Art of Urban Cycling."
OK, but what about *rural* cycling? I live in an small town surrounded by farmland and more small towns, mostly. Any books, articles, webpages, etc., about rural cycling? (Hurst did mention in his book that the "hit from behind by a motor vehicle"-type accidents are more likely on rural roads. That was about the only reference to rural cycling that I remember in his book.) |
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The Art of Rural Cycling?
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The Art of Rural Cycling?
"John_Kane" wrote in message oups.com... For everyday riding I don't think I have seen any either. This is probably because a) there are more English language urban cyclists who write and b) most of the time rural cycling can be pretty relaxing, baring attacks by dog, the occasional ram or moose, or hitting stray deer and other assorted wildlife. Traffic problems (for highways anyway), equipment concerns and so on are much the same either in an urban or rural environment. Being in the UK and often cycling in a rural area... if I came across even one moose whilst out cycling, I could make a lot of money from the story. Either that or be carried off to the nearest funny-farm on grounds of being delusional ;-) Cheers, helen s |
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The Art of Rural Cycling?
Maybe I'll have to take a stab at writing that book.
I live in a very remote, rural area and ride 12,000 miles or so a year here in the boonies. My old buddies from the urban and suburban areas where I used to live are afraid to come down here because they fear, "rednecks." I've never had a single problem with a redneck. I've had some problems with their dogs which never seem to be leashed. The art of rural cycling, in my mind, boils down to a) being able to appreciate and enjoy solitude, b) being equipped to handle what may come on the road when nobody else is around, c) learning how various animals react when approached and d) learning not to look like whatever poor critter is in season for the hunters. Regarding item c), there are some interesting rules: 1. When you see a deer cross the road ahead of you, assume there will be more. And they will dart right out in front of you and nearly kill you! 2. Goats in the road will always dart for home if they are scared. So, even if you're the one scaring them and you are between them and their home, they're going to dart for home ... and you might get stampeded. 3. Chickens, when encountered in the road, sometimes fly straight up into your face. 4. If there's a major snake in your lane at the same time there's an oncoming car blocking you from going wide around it, it's best to aim for the snake's head. Otherwise, you could get struck. 5. You can't win when you encounter a horse. Half the time, the riders expect you to announce your presence so you don't startle the horse. The other half, they yell at you, "don't talk to my horse." Weird. 6. You can, however, win when it comes to an encounter with a tractor. They're kinda fun to race. But they're too easy to beat. -- Bob C. "Of course it hurts. The trick is not minding that it hurts." T. E. Lawrence (of Arabia) wrote in message oups.com... I just read Robert Hurst's "The Art of Urban Cycling." OK, but what about *rural* cycling? I live in an small town surrounded by farmland and more small towns, mostly. Any books, articles, webpages, etc., about rural cycling? (Hurst did mention in his book that the "hit from behind by a motor vehicle"-type accidents are more likely on rural roads. That was about the only reference to rural cycling that I remember in his book.) |
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The Art of Rural Cycling?
On Thu, 25 Aug 2005 14:28:09 -0400, "psycholist"
wrote: 6. You can, however, win when it comes to an encounter with a tractor. They're kinda fun to race. But they're too easy to beat. -- Bob C. Great post. Incidently yesterday I beat my first two big trucks. Usually I'm beaten by them. One truck wasn't really trying to beat me, but wasnt lagging behind either. I lead him out for at least 500 yds up a slight incline before turning off. The other one -was- trying to beat me for the same distance, but he was a double 18-wheeler and was gearing up the whole time. There was even a thrilling photo-finish where he almost caught me and pinned me between an on-coming mini-bus (half-size school bus), but I surged and won - uh fortunately. ;-} (I ride some back roads with moving van company, and a cement-mixer company out on a dead end which ride through the neighborhood on the way to the interstate.) And...I got a PR, upping my best average speed on that route by 0.3mph. Doesn't seem like much, but... (yay!) jj |
#6
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The Art of Rural Cycling?
How in the world can you ride 12,000 miles a year. Are you stretching
the truth a little. If not how do you have the time for this much riding? I'm actually curious. |
#7
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The Art of Rural Cycling?
In article . com,
"zsilverball" writes: How in the world can you ride 12,000 miles a year. By riding everywhere and not driving anywhere. And having further to go for stuff than city-dwellers like myself. I don't doubt Bob's veracity. cheers, Tom -- -- Nothing is safe from me. Above address is just a spam midden. I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca |
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The Art of Rural Cycling?
In article . com,
zsilverball wrote: How in the world can you ride 12,000 miles a year. Are you stretching the truth a little. If not how do you have the time for this much riding? I'm actually curious. Simple - just do 1000 every month. (Or, if you don't like winter riding, do 2000 a month for six months of the year.) It's not exactly trivial, but if you're serious about biking it's not that hard either. If you have a 25mile one-way commute to work, and ride every working day, that's your 1000miles/month plus a few extra. You can expect to spend three hours on the road every day, but a lot of people do that driving too, and it's probably a lot more enjoyable on a bike once you've developed the endurance for it. Me, I'm aiming for 1200km before I put the bike away for the winter, and not sure if I'm going to make it. Living a 10minute walk from work is nice for a lot of reasons, but getting in cycling distance isn't one of them. (I'm probably well into the high percentiles for walking distance, though; I haven't measured it, but I'd be surprised if I average much less than 50km/week.) dave -- Dave Vandervies How do I sort pointers tostructures. The key field is an int. The simple answer: you use qsort(). The hard answer: you buy Knuth. --Jen Jirochvong and Richard Bos in comp.lang.c |
#9
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The Art of Rural Cycling?
"psycholist" wrote: (clip) 5. You can't win when you encounter a horse. Half the time, the riders expect you to announce your presence so you don't startle the horse. The other half, they yell at you, "don't talk to my horse." Weird. (clip) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I had a long conversation with a horse owner about horses and motorcycles, and horses and bikes sharing the trails. A horse that is spooked is very dangerous, and it is not surprising that the rider may be nervous when we approach. A bicycle is very quiet, and it is possible to get fairly close before the horse and rider see you. I always keep a little distance, and ask the rider whether it is okay to pass. Nearly always, they smile, say yes, and thank me. Occasionally, I have been asked to hold back. That's fine with me. I may need that person's support sometime when questions about trail closure are debated. |
#10
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The Art of Rural Cycling?
zsilverball wrote:
:: How in the world can you ride 12,000 miles a year. Are you :: stretching the truth a little. If not how do you have the time for :: this much riding? I'm actually curious. Being self-employed would certainly help. Being a fast rider helps too. Riding most days of the week would make it possible, too. Thing is, riding solo in a rural area would seem to make one a lonely person . |
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