On the road

In article ,
Badger_South writes:

As you know having to get off and walk the crest of the hill is very
humiliating

No, it isn't. It's an option open to any rider who
feels like getting off and walking. If any newbie
who is still developing their bike legs-&-lungs takes
on a hill and finds they've bitten off a little more
than they could chew, I'd like for them to know there's
no shame in doing as much as they could and then
deciding they don't have to kill themselves. Next time
will be better, and the time after that, better still.

Sometimes, as in the situation you describe, having to
get off and walk because of circumstances beyond our
control can be an annoying inconvenience, but I wouldn't
call it 'humiliating', any time.


cheers,
Tom

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On Fri, 24 Sep 2004 13:39:12 -0700, Tom Keats wrote:

In article ,
Badger_South writes:

As you know having to get off and walk the crest of the hill is very
humiliating

No, it isn't. It's an option open to any rider who
feels like getting off and walking. If any newbie
who is still developing their bike legs-&-lungs takes
on a hill and finds they've bitten off a little more
than they could chew, I'd like for them to know there's
no shame in doing as much as they could and then
deciding they don't have to kill themselves. Next time
will be better, and the time after that, better still.

Sometimes, as in the situation you describe, having to
get off and walk because of circumstances beyond our
control can be an annoying inconvenience, but I wouldn't
call it 'humiliating', any time.


cheers,
Tom

I sometimes get off and walk as an option, especially after 40 miles
or so of mountains already behind me. I just stop walking at the top,
enjoy the view, have a drink, and let my sore butt get some blood
circulating again. The sit down part is the reason for getting off
the bike, not the too tired to pedal part.
Bill Baka, wearing Levis as usual.


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On Fri, 24 Sep 2004 13:39:12 -0700, (Tom Keats) wrote:

In article ,
Badger_South writes:

As you know having to get off and walk the crest of the hill is very
humiliating

No, it isn't. It's an option open to any rider who
feels like getting off and walking. If any newbie
who is still developing their bike legs-&-lungs takes
on a hill and finds they've bitten off a little more
than they could chew, I'd like for them to know there's
no shame in doing as much as they could and then
deciding they don't have to kill themselves. Next time
will be better, and the time after that, better still.

Guess I should have said 'I felt humiliated', which is what I felt, right
or wrong, and was hoping nobody saw me doing that. Uh, imagine that someone
did see me and not the truck problem, then started jeering. I would feel
embarassed and feel the need to explain. I'm from the 'no pain, no gain'
school, so, yeah, YMMV. ;-)

Sometimes, as in the situation you describe, having to
get off and walk because of circumstances beyond our
control can be an annoying inconvenience, but I wouldn't
call it 'humiliating', any time.

Well if you read Roger's post seeing a guy walking a bike, you'll note that
he innocently though 'oh, he must be recovering from a heart transplant'.
;-)

Us ROGs are sensitive about such things, as we battle father time, and
vanity, haha.

I get your point, though.

-B



cheers,
Tom

On Fri, 24 Sep 2004 13:28:27 -0700, (Tom Keats) wrote:

In article ,
Badger_South writes:

While that sounds good, I actually hate it when cars stay well back and
refuse to pass. I can never tell what they're thinking, and at every
cross-street, I keep thinking, 'that guy is gonna speed up and right-hook
me', and stuff. This is on low traffic roads where there's plenty of room
to pass, although there are cars parked along the side. So I keep having to
check my mirror and keep pulling over so they'll pass, and they never do.

Try shoulder-checking and looking right at them.
I find they often just want reassurance that I
know they're there, and then they make their move.

Yep, done that. You'd think that pulling over to a foot from the edge of
the road momentarily would clue them in, but they're stubborn mofos. I
don't like passing a biker on a road with a double-yellow when there's
on-coming traffic, so I will slow and let them ride, but on a road with no
other traffic that's unlined, and room for three cars plus myself, it's
puzzling; thus the slight concern that something's going on, like they're
kids searching for something to throw, heh.

So lately, I've just been speeding up when it happens on the flats and
getting up to 20-25mph and taking the road until my route turns off, or
there's a convenient side street.

Thanks for the tip, though.

-B


cheers,
Tom

Tom Keats writes:

While that sounds good, I actually hate it when cars stay well back
and refuse to pass. I can never tell what they're thinking, and at
every cross-street, I keep thinking, 'that guy is gonna speed up
and right-hook me', and stuff. This is on low traffic roads where
there's plenty of room to pass, although there are cars parked
along the side. So I keep having to check my mirror and keep
pulling over so they'll pass, and they never do.

Try shoulder-checking and looking right at them. I find they often
just want reassurance that I know they're there, and then they make
their move.

That won't help with the best alarmists, drivers who don't pass
because they believe bicyclists are completely unpredictable. When I
encounter such folks, I stop and force them to go by, at which they
often floor the engine and swerve to the far side of the road, beyond
the double center strip, to make apparent what a hazard they are
skirting. Meanwhile the cars behind them have no problem driving by,
even though I continued riding as soon as the alarmist floored his
engine.

Making such drivers pass is important, because drivers of following
cars hold the bicyclist responsible for the hold up, not the alarmist
who is "only trying to be safe".

I find odd that bicyclists are not immune to this disease, having
ridden with some of the afflicted. When driving, they have no empathy
for bicyclists and when bicycling have none for drivers. This is
apparent from the comments they offer and from incessant car-up,
car-back calls, often from the other end of a column of bicyclists.
There isn't much you can say as they persist in their elitist act in
which others are not as perceptive as they, regardless whether behind
the wheel 0f the handlebar.

Jobst Brandt

Tom Keats writes:

As you know having to get off and walk the crest of the hill is
very humiliating

No, it isn't. It's an option open to any rider who feels like
getting off and walking. If any newbie who is still developing
their bike legs-&-lungs takes on a hill and finds they've bitten off
a little more than they could chew, I'd like for them to know
there's no shame in doing as much as they could and then deciding
they don't have to kill themselves. Next time will be better, and
the time after that, better still.

I guess it all depends on how big an airfoil and number of exhaust
pipes the rider has on his car, on whether such bicycling strictures
apply. It may not be apparent, but appearance isn't everything and in
recreation it rates at the bottom of the list. I hope not all new
bicyclists are peacocks.

Sometimes, as in the situation you describe, having to get off and
walk because of circumstances beyond our control can be an annoying
inconvenience, but I wouldn't call it 'humiliating', any time.

I agree, and who cares? Some folks have less than cigarette paper
thin skin.

Jobst Brandt

On Fri, 24 Sep 2004 21:37:59 GMT, wrote:

Tom Keats writes:

While that sounds good, I actually hate it when cars stay well back
and refuse to pass. I can never tell what they're thinking, and at
every cross-street, I keep thinking, 'that guy is gonna speed up
and right-hook me', and stuff. This is on low traffic roads where
there's plenty of room to pass, although there are cars parked
along the side. So I keep having to check my mirror and keep
pulling over so they'll pass, and they never do.

Try shoulder-checking and looking right at them. I find they often
just want reassurance that I know they're there, and then they make
their move.

That won't help with the best alarmists, drivers who don't pass
because they believe bicyclists are completely unpredictable. When I
encounter such folks, I stop and force them to go by, at which they
often floor the engine and swerve to the far side of the road, beyond
the double center strip, to make apparent what a hazard they are
skirting. Meanwhile the cars behind them have no problem driving by,
even though I continued riding as soon as the alarmist floored his
engine.

Making such drivers pass is important, because drivers of following
cars hold the bicyclist responsible for the hold up, not the alarmist
who is "only trying to be safe".

I find odd that bicyclists are not immune to this disease, having
ridden with some of the afflicted. When driving, they have no empathy
for bicyclists and when bicycling have none for drivers. This is
apparent from the comments they offer and from incessant car-up,
car-back calls, often from the other end of a column of bicyclists.
There isn't much you can say as they persist in their elitist act in
which others are not as perceptive as they, regardless whether behind
the wheel 0f the handlebar.

Jobst Brandt


Well, I have to say I've used this 'bikers are unpredictable' a few times
when I thought a driver was going to pass me in a very unsafe place, such
as at a traffic island that caused the lane to narrow just enough for one
car, with a couple feet of clearance total. I just -knew- the guy was going
to try and pass me in the narrow, squeezing by. But when you're afraid of
being run down by some guy speeding 10 miles over the speed limit into a
housing development just to get home 5 seconds sooner...well... ;-)

-B

Badger_South wrote in message
So I've been back to biking at 50 for less than a year. You let me know
when you get to that point.

Wellllll it will be hard for me to "get to" that point as I'm already
60 and while I have taken several "breaks" from cycling they have been
to pursue with some intensity some other activity. So, I must say I
have no experience with getting back into shape as I never let myself
get out. I don't say this to brag; fact is I know lots of folks who
have done the same- actually almost all of my crowd. But I do get a
little tired of the newfound religous type zeal of the "getting back
to shape crowd." And remember you started this thread as a complaint
about something to the effect of "all those moron motorists."

As to dumb questions. I'm a believer in questions and ignorance isn't
necessarily dumb. If you don't know something and ask about it I don't
think that's dumb.

But posing the question you posed- regarding the follow car- was
something that as a 50 yo adult you should have known. This was not a
matter of technical information seeking -which is a good thing- but
rather an egotistical exersize of defining a situation in which you
could assert your rights as a cyclist. I'd argue it is the self
absorbed trait that has you accusing motorists of being morons in this
thread. You need to assert your superiority.

My suggestion- use all this anger energy to ride more. You'll feel
better as a result and will become more inner directed and you will
not have to worry so much about what everyone else is doing.

That's a tip from Dr. Phil :-)

Badger_South wrote in message . ..
On 24 Sep 2004 11:07:35 -0700, (gds) wrote:

Badger_South wrote in message . ..
You really don't realize just what morons are behind the wheel until you've
biked on the road for a while.

But aren't you the guy that wanted to have a follow car for your ride
on a narrow road without a shoulder so that you could go along at half
the speed limit and block traffic for 20 or 30 miles.

Bad decsison are not confined to the motorized traveler.

Look a little deeper into that mirror.

Yes, I did pose that question, but it's b/c there are not that many decent
semi-flat routes in my area and it was dumb, and borne out of desperation.

You're jumping the gun to apply that to me, b/c I only -asked-, I didn't do
it, and don't -want- to do it.

Hmm..."jumping the gun" seems to happen a lot around here.



So I've been back to biking at 50 for less than a year. You let me know
when you get to that point. Tell me you've never asked a dumb question.

But when others ask them, they get plonked.

I admit it, I still ask dumb questions and do dumb things on the bike, but
it's done sincerely and not out of malice or the desire to run someone off
the road.

Same here.

In article ,
Bill Baka writes:

I sometimes get off and walk as an option, especially after 40 miles
or so of mountains already behind me. I just stop walking at the top,
enjoy the view, have a drink, and let my sore butt get some blood
circulating again. The sit down part is the reason for getting off
the bike, not the too tired to pedal part.
Bill Baka, wearing Levis as usual.

So, you sometimes walk, because it just feels good.
Same here! It's all part of the freedom that comes
with riding. Might as well enjoy it to the fullest.
We can get off our bikes, and back on 'em any time
we want. If we did that with public transit buses,
we might have to pay extra carfare to get on the
next bus. After waiting maybe a long time for it.

Now, some folks like to get on their bikes and just go,
go, go. And that's fine. I ain't criticizing or
finding fault with that. There's plenty of room in
cycling for all kinds of styles & approaches.

I guess some folks like to ride for where they can take
it in terms of physical fitness etc, and others (like
you & me) like to ride for where it takes us. Ultimately
there are probably elements of both in any rider's approach.
So, we're all kindred spirits; just with varying priorities.

I'm not going to criticize anybody for riding their bike.


cheers,
Tom

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Above address is just a spam midden.
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