Bike like a Drunk!

On Jun 8, 2:39 pm, donquijote1954 wrote:
--The sober guy talking on the phone in his SUV isn't five years in
arrears on his child support for six children.--

Everybody picks on the drunk because he's the one with the bad image.
Lawyers, teachers, and soccer moms, who recklessly drive oversized
vehicles, are part of the system, and thus part of the hypocrisy.

Bold statement, bold statement indeed. But tell me this, is the guy
who is breaking the law, putting
his life in danger along with many others not worthy of a "bad image"?

On Jun 8, 6:24 pm, "William ( http://psychologytoday.com/rss/pto-2...2-000002.htmll
)" wrote:
On Jun 8, 2:39 pm, donquijote1954 wrote:

--The sober guy talking on the phone in his SUV isn't five years in
arrears on his child support for six children.--

Everybody picks on the drunk because he's the one with the bad image.
Lawyers, teachers, and soccer moms, who recklessly drive oversized
vehicles, are part of the system, and thus part of the hypocrisy.

Bold statement, bold statement indeed. But tell me this, is the guy
who is breaking the law, putting
his life in danger along with many others not worthy of a "bad image"?

Yes indeed. The problem is the terrorists in SUVs do enjoy good
reputation. Then you got to come to conclusion, "Hey, it's all about
money!" They squeeze every penny out of the monkey who had some
drinks, but don't mess with the lion who talks recklessly on the phone
and ignores the rules of the road. And what separates the monkey from
the lion? You guessed it right: MONEY!

Road hogs

A monstrous breed of automobile stalks the highways of LA, but one
activist is determined to make it extinct, writes Duncan Campbell

One of the great banes of life in California is the Sport Utility
Vehicle, the SUV, the enormous four-wheel-drive cars that are also
becoming increasingly popular in Britain and elsewhere in Europe. They
take up an enormous amount of space on the road. They clog up parking
places. They use an enormous amount of petrol and do an enormous
amount of damage to the environment.

Because they are marketed as a safe family car - that is, safe, as in
killing other people in a crash rather than yourself - their
popularity has grown. Most car manufacturers now look to them as a big
moneymaker. Sometimes it seems as though every freeway is populated
entirely by people in SUVs talking into their cellphones.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Ar...395102,00.html

In article .com,
donquijote1954 writes:


I always wondered what was the secret to the
longevity of the drunks (I knew it wasn't alcohol), and looked, almost
with envy, at their leasure riding of cruising bikes with baskets.
Well, drunks aren't stupid. They ride bikes on the sidewalks, which
kind of hints at their longevity.

You certainly have some haywire notions.

So I decided to buy a cruiser of my
own and install a couple of those huge baskets.

You said you were going to quit riding.

Voila! This is
paradise! Only problem may be the pedestrians, but, hey, it's a jungle
out there...

The pedestrians are just minding their own beeswax on /their/
sidewalks. If there's a problem, you're creating it by
introducing a vehicle that doesn't belong in the pedestrians'
realm.

So now here I am riding my cool cruiser, without having to face the
beast out there. The drunks are also honest. They tell you, "Boy,
beware of the cars and MADD"...

They'll also tell you about how they caught their old lady meshin'
aroun' with that goof who livsh nesht door, and how they're gonna
pound the crap outa both of 'em. Then they start bawling their
eyes out & creating a scene that you desperately want to escape
from before they start puking their O-ring out, and then they
light the filter end of a cigarette, and smoke it. But if you
think you can glean pearls of wisdom from drunks, go for it.

--
Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca

On Jun 11, 4:21 pm, (Tom Keats) wrote:
In article .com,
donquijote1954 writes:

I always wondered what was the secret to the
longevity of the drunks (I knew it wasn't alcohol), and looked, almost
with envy, at their leasure riding of cruising bikes with baskets.
Well, drunks aren't stupid. They ride bikes on the sidewalks, which
kind of hints at their longevity.

You certainly have some haywire notions.

So I decided to buy a cruiser of my
own and install a couple of those huge baskets.

You said you were going to quit riding.

Voila! This is
paradise! Only problem may be the pedestrians, but, hey, it's a jungle
out there...

The pedestrians are just minding their own beeswax on /their/
sidewalks. If there's a problem, you're creating it by
introducing a vehicle that doesn't belong in the pedestrians'
realm.

I think that whether or not a bike belongs in "the pedestrians' realm"
depends on where you are. In a large city with slow traffic, it's
probably better in the street. But where I live, it would be MUCH
safer on the sidewalk. We have 4 lanes of traffic, no shoulders,
granite curbs and traffic going by at 30-45 mph. When 2 tractor
trailers with double trailer are going by, side by side, you're best
not to be anywhere near them. If you're on a bike, there's no place
to go and you are trying to stop a humungous truck in order to avoid a
bike. It's real dangerous. Plus any fuel savings from the bike is
lost by the TT having to re-accelerate.

So using a side street or a sidewalk is the better choice here.

Besides, even it there is only 1 truck going by, you are effected by
the wind blast.

Even my 800 lb, highly visible motorcycle is no match for those bad-
boys. If I have to cross traffic to get into my driveway and I see 2
tractor trailers coming up behind me, I hit the gas and get out of
there and go to an intersection or someplace safer to turn. ... and I
can out accelerate a bicycle.

This isn't the case everywhere, but I think that you need to look look
at the individual situation instead of making such blanket
statements. The whole world doesn't live in a large city.


So now here I am riding my cool cruiser, without having to face the
beast out there. The drunks are also honest. They tell you, "Boy,
beware of the cars and MADD"...

They'll also tell you about how they caught their old lady meshin'
aroun' with that goof who livsh nesht door, and how they're gonna
pound the crap outa both of 'em. Then they start bawling their
eyes out & creating a scene that you desperately want to escape
from before they start puking their O-ring out, and then they
light the filter end of a cigarette, and smoke it. But if you
think you can glean pearls of wisdom from drunks, go for it.

--
Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca

On Jun 11, 10:54 am, donquijote1954
wrote:


They squeeze every penny out of the monkey who had some
drinks, but don't mess with the lion who talks recklessly on the phone
and ignores the rules of the road. And what separates the monkey from
the lion?

One has a legal blood alcohol level while the other does not.

In article .com,
Pat writes:

The pedestrians are just minding their own beeswax on /their/
sidewalks. If there's a problem, you're creating it by
introducing a vehicle that doesn't belong in the pedestrians'
realm.

I think that whether or not a bike belongs in "the pedestrians' realm"
depends on where you are. In a large city with slow traffic, it's
probably better in the street.

Okay, I'll allow there are some isolated instances when riding
on the sidewalk is relatively safer -- *if* it doesn't interfere
with or endanger pedestrians, and if the rider is heads-up at
intersections.

But where I live, it would be MUCH
safer on the sidewalk. We have 4 lanes of traffic, no shoulders,
granite curbs and traffic going by at 30-45 mph. When 2 tractor
trailers with double trailer are going by, side by side, you're best
not to be anywhere near them.

So you appear to live somewhere at least civilized enough to
have sidewalks. But how do people stop at stores there, to do
some shopping? Or do they have to just keep going until they
hit the next town, and support /their/ local economy? Living
on a freeway must be pretty tough. Reminds me of the Steven
Wright routine where he tries to unlock his front door with
his car keys. His house starts up. Then he drives it around
a little, parks it on the freeway, and yells at drivers to get
the hell off his driveway.

If you're on a bike, there's no place
to go and you are trying to stop a humungous truck in order to avoid a
bike. It's real dangerous. Plus any fuel savings from the bike is
lost by the TT having to re-accelerate.

Yeah, truck drivers are all out to run people over.

So using a side street or a sidewalk is the better choice here.

Besides, even it there is only 1 truck going by, you are effected by
the wind blast.

Trucks are lovely, when you know how to use them. Just stay
out of their right sides during right turns, and know where
the blind spots are. Wind blast -- pfffft. I love surfing
the bow shock waves from the fronts of trucks. There's a
dodgy spot created by the gap between tractor & trailer, but
a skilled rider can deal with that.

Even my 800 lb, highly visible motorcycle is no match for those bad-
boys. If I have to cross traffic to get into my driveway and I see 2
tractor trailers coming up behind me, I hit the gas and get out of
there and go to an intersection or someplace safer to turn. ... and I
can out accelerate a bicycle.

I can safely time my maneouvers on my bicycle.

This isn't the case everywhere, but I think that you need to look look
at the individual situation instead of making such blanket
statements. The whole world doesn't live in a large city.

Maybe you should ride your motorsickle on the sidewalk,
and be safe from those big, bad truck drivers. And keep
going without stopping until you hit the next town.


--
Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca

Tom Keats wrote:
In article .com,
Pat writes:

The pedestrians are just minding their own beeswax on /their/
sidewalks. If there's a problem, you're creating it by
introducing a vehicle that doesn't belong in the pedestrians'
realm.
I think that whether or not a bike belongs in "the pedestrians' realm"
depends on where you are. In a large city with slow traffic, it's
probably better in the street.

Okay, I'll allow there are some isolated instances when riding
on the sidewalk is relatively safer -- *if* it doesn't interfere
with or endanger pedestrians, and if the rider is heads-up at
intersections.

But where I live, it would be MUCH
safer on the sidewalk. We have 4 lanes of traffic, no shoulders,
granite curbs and traffic going by at 30-45 mph. When 2 tractor
trailers with double trailer are going by, side by side, you're best
not to be anywhere near them.

So you appear to live somewhere at least civilized enough to
have sidewalks. But how do people stop at stores there, to do
some shopping? Or do they have to just keep going until they
hit the next town, and support /their/ local economy? Living
on a freeway must be pretty tough. Reminds me of the Steven
Wright routine where he tries to unlock his front door with
his car keys. His house starts up. Then he drives it around
a little, parks it on the freeway, and yells at drivers to get
the hell off his driveway.

If you're on a bike, there's no place
to go and you are trying to stop a humungous truck in order to avoid a
bike. It's real dangerous. Plus any fuel savings from the bike is
lost by the TT having to re-accelerate.

Yeah, truck drivers are all out to run people over.

So using a side street or a sidewalk is the better choice here.

Besides, even it there is only 1 truck going by, you are effected by
the wind blast.

Trucks are lovely, when you know how to use them. Just stay
out of their right sides during right turns, and know where
the blind spots are. Wind blast -- pfffft.

And like that.............
--
Corporate society looks after everything. All it asks of anyone, all it
has ever asked of anyone, is that they do not interfere with management
decisions. -From “Rollerball”

On Jun 11, 11:24 pm, Bob wrote:
On Jun 11, 10:54 am, donquijote1954
wrote:



They squeeze every penny out of the monkey who had some

drinks, but don't mess with the lion who talks recklessly on the phone
and ignores the rules of the road. And what separates the monkey from
the lion?

One has a legal blood alcohol level while the other does not.

And one has plenty of cash (and credit cards) in his pockets to hire
good lawyers, while the other has to switch to riding a bike to get
around after DUI. We may as well have provided him the bike in the
first place, so he can drink without killing others, right?

On Jun 12, 1:25 am, (Tom Keats) wrote:

I think that whether or not a bike belongs in "the pedestrians' realm"
depends on where you are. In a large city with slow traffic, it's
probably better in the street.

Okay, I'll allow there are some isolated instances when riding
on the sidewalk is relatively safer -- *if* it doesn't interfere
with or endanger pedestrians, and if the rider is heads-up at
intersections.

Obviously, the answer here is to make BIKE LANES, so neither you
endanger pedestrians nor are you endangered by cars.

In the meantime the road is a jungle, and sidewalks are a jungle.

Besides, even it there is only 1 truck going by, you are effected by
the wind blast.

Trucks are lovely, when you know how to use them. Just stay
out of their right sides during right turns, and know where
the blind spots are. Wind blast -- pfffft. I love surfing
the bow shock waves from the fronts of trucks. There's a
dodgy spot created by the gap between tractor & trailer, but
a skilled rider can deal with that.

Much more carnage is caused by SUVs. They are far more and they are
driven without much training or care.

Maybe you should ride your motorsickle on the sidewalk,
and be safe from those big, bad truck drivers. And keep
going without stopping until you hit the next town.

Maybe we should eliminate sidewalks and have one big wide road where
all, semis and pedestrians, SUVs and bicycles, share in peace.

That's after the Armageddon, what the religious right via the
Republican Party is working hard to get, right?

On Jun 12, 1:25 am, (Tom Keats) wrote:
In article .com,
Pat writes:

The pedestrians are just minding their own beeswax on /their/
sidewalks. If there's a problem, you're creating it by
introducing a vehicle that doesn't belong in the pedestrians'
realm.

I think that whether or not a bike belongs in "the pedestrians' realm"
depends on where you are. In a large city with slow traffic, it's
probably better in the street.

Okay, I'll allow there are some isolated instances when riding
on the sidewalk is relatively safer -- *if* it doesn't interfere
with or endanger pedestrians, and if the rider is heads-up at
intersections.

But where I live, it would be MUCH
safer on the sidewalk. We have 4 lanes of traffic, no shoulders,
granite curbs and traffic going by at 30-45 mph. When 2 tractor
trailers with double trailer are going by, side by side, you're best
not to be anywhere near them.

So you appear to live somewhere at least civilized enough to
have sidewalks. But how do people stop at stores there, to do
some shopping?

They only stop to shop for tax-free gas and cigarettes. And of
course, to go to the casino.

Or do they have to just keep going until they
hit the next town, and support /their/ local economy? Living
on a freeway must be pretty tough. Reminds me of the Steven
Wright routine where he tries to unlock his front door with
his car keys. His house starts up. Then he drives it around
a little, parks it on the freeway, and yells at drivers to get
the hell off his driveway.

If you're on a bike, there's no place
to go and you are trying to stop a humungous truck in order to avoid a
bike. It's real dangerous. Plus any fuel savings from the bike is
lost by the TT having to re-accelerate.

Yeah, truck drivers are all out to run people over.

So using a side street or a sidewalk is the better choice here.

Besides, even it there is only 1 truck going by, you are effected by
the wind blast.

Trucks are lovely, when you know how to use them. Just stay
out of their right sides during right turns, and know where
the blind spots are. Wind blast -- pfffft. I love surfing
the bow shock waves from the fronts of trucks. There's a
dodgy spot created by the gap between tractor & trailer, but
a skilled rider can deal with that.

Around here, the worse part of trucks on the highway is that they
don't tend to tarp their loads. It's painful to get hit by a #2
crushed stone when it comes off a truck and you're going 70. It's a
heck of a bruise. Stones off of dump trucks and bark off of logging
trucks. Ouch. That's why I always wear a full-face helmet on the
expressway.


Even my 800 lb, highly visible motorcycle is no match for those bad-
boys. If I have to cross traffic to get into my driveway and I see 2
tractor trailers coming up behind me, I hit the gas and get out of
there and go to an intersection or someplace safer to turn. ... and I
can out accelerate a bicycle.

I can safely time my maneouvers on my bicycle.

If there are 2 TTs coming up behind you and you're turning left to
your (my) driveway but there is traffic coming, there is not
manuevering. I just get the heck of of there as I hit the CB mike and
tell them that there's a motorcycle in front to them and slow down.
Actually, a CB in the headset is a pretty good thing so you can at
least talk to the truckers.


This isn't the case everywhere, but I think that you need to look look
at the individual situation instead of making such blanket
statements. The whole world doesn't live in a large city.

Maybe you should ride your motorsickle on the sidewalk,
and be safe from those big, bad truck drivers. And keep
going without stopping until you hit the next town.

Out here, distance is different than for you. 30 miles for you is
probably quite a ways away. Out here, it's how for you go for
shopping. You can get tax-free gas and cigarettes in town; most
groceries (but not off-the-wall stuff); car parts; and we have
pharmacies. Even one place to buy lottery tickets -- no place else
can have them because the other stores are on the Rez, and you can't
sell lottery tickets on the Rez cuz it competes with the Nation.
That's about it. So yeah, you keep going to the next town. There's a
Walmart 20-30 miles in each direction.

But we do have sidewalks. They aren't used too much, but they are
there. They were put in back in the good old days when there were
curbs at the corners (no ADA). I had them lay some blacktop down at
the corners so bikes could go up and down them without having to go
into the street. It worked pretty well. And it kept the kids off of
the street and away from the traffic.




--
Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca