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First trip into the heart of the city!



 
 
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  #21  
Old November 4th 04, 09:23 PM
Badger_South
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On Thu, 04 Nov 2004 12:46:42 -0500, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

This is absolutely true.

My own experience: When I began adult biking in the early 1970s, I was
very careful about choosing roads. Roads were divided into those that
had very little traffic ("good for cycling"), roads that had more
traffic but slow moving ("scary" - but you can't get into town
otherwise) and "I can't ride there" roads.

As I read more & learned more about riding, the middle type of road
became not scary at all. And the "can't ride there" category got
smaller and smaller.

For many, many years now, I've been at the point where "can't ride
there" roads don't seem to exist. Roads that used to scare me are now
perfectly normal riding. I've now ridden coast to coast, following my
own route, and never found anything I couldn't safely ride. I've ridden
downtown DC as part of that trip - no problem. I've ridden in dozens of
major cities and several foreign countries.

Some roads are more pleasant than others, of course. I prefer less
noise and fumes (although exhaust fumes seem worse overseas). But I
actively enjoy biking city centers. I think it's the best way to _see_
a city.

Those who are fearful, take heart. You can learn to ride anywhere you like.


OK, what about curvy road, lots of ups and downs and blind corners, not
banked correctly, used as a short cut by many speeding cars and large
trucks, lots of trees creating shadows. Speed limit is 50 but ppl to 60,
and frequent users use much of the road to allow taking the corners
gymkhana road rally style? (lol)

There's a road like that near me I want to ride and I just can't bring
myself to do it yet. Hell, it scares me a little to be a passenger while my
wife drives it and I follow the map. ;-D

But I get your point. I think it may require continous riding, and
acquisition of the kind of nerve you get in your 20s, but I'll keep an open
mind.

Thanks...good thoughts.

-B


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  #22  
Old November 4th 04, 11:16 PM
Blair P. Houghton
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B i l l S o r n s o n wrote:
Cheto wrote:
"Blair P. Houghton" wrote in message
...

Today I was driving home from the gym, and passed this MORON
riding on a major collector with a 50-mph limit and no bike lane.


Thankfully I've been drinking, so I won't tell you what a dip**** you
are.


Allow me.

Blair, you're a dip****.

Bill "stone cold sober" S.


He was drunk, so he didn't know why he was being a dip****.

You, you're a dip**** 24/7, and being sober just makes you
think it's right.

--Blair
"Just looking at you like your
head unscrewed and fell off."
  #23  
Old November 4th 04, 11:17 PM
Peter Cole
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"Badger_South" wrote

Next time my wife starts freaking out about sharks at the beach, I'll

just
read her the statistics.


Yeah, I remember consoling myself that way once swimming off my boat 3
miles offshore (just having seen "Jaws") that the last shark attack there
had been in 1934. Then it occurred to me that perhaps no one had gone
swimming in exactly that spot since then...


  #24  
Old November 4th 04, 11:19 PM
Blair P. Houghton
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Cheto wrote:

"Blair P. Houghton" wrote in message
.. .

Today I was driving home from the gym, and passed this MORON
riding on a major collector with a 50-mph limit and no bike lane.


Thankfully I've been drinking, so I won't tell you what a dip**** you are.


In what way?

This gomer was endangering his sprog way more than any
rational Dad has the emotional decrepitude to pull off.

--Blair
"Or was it because I used 'driving'
and 'gym' in the same sentence on r.b?"
  #25  
Old November 4th 04, 11:43 PM
Blair P. Houghton
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Badger_South wrote:
Are there unwritten 'rules' or different experiences for riding with a
trailer?
o to drivers, bike/trailer is 'novelty'; they slow and pass w/wide margin;


Lack of robustness cases in your test, there.

The drivers who notice the trailer, flag or not, are not
the problem.

It's the ones who, eventually, do not notice, who are,
and this toad was making his wife's child his back bumper.

Riding on that road is a risk you should reserve for yourself.

o larger size and width of colorful trailer make bike more visible;


This one, I neglected to mention, was roughly the color
of asphalt, and ass-Dad was dressed head-to-toe in black.
It was bright morning and the light was behind us both,
but dude...

o presence of child in trailer - causes drivers to slow and pass /w care;


I didn't notice the load until I was close enough to see
through the little mesh window.

o specific dangers of riding in traffic may a perception, but not proven.


Getting your kid killed to put a little burn on your quads == criminal.

Problems:
o cyclist may have trouble negotiating hill and S-turns w/trailer;
o slower vehicles typically annoy drivers;


This is a very bikie-heavy neighborhood. Even so, I don't
trust most of the drivers to know that it's against the law
to fail to give a bicyclist a 3-foot buffer when passing
on a road with no bike lane.
http://www.azleg.state.az.us/ars/28/00735.htm

Unfortunately, I've seen "literature" that says 5 feet,
which just results in confusion and frustration.

o drivers may take chances to pass slow vehicles;


Drivers behind those taking chances suddenly have one
car-length to recognize why the SUV in front of them made
an evasive maneuver.

o on rear impact, child would be hit first;


95% of my point. I'd be a lot less irritated if the
kid was pedalling and Dad was slacking in the rickshaw.

o on front impact, child would be flung into traffic (?);
o riding in traffic should be an individual choice;


Like smoking and eating cakes of rat poison. It's your
health, but don't impose it on others, especially those
too young to make a legal decision.

o flimsy aluminum nylon composition falsely appears dangerous.


Makes it easy to scrape up the corpse, though.

-B
Still, it's not always clear why a driver might not see a large guy in
bright colorful clothing, dressed strangely, and wearing funny shoes and
hat, riding on a bike, waving his hands and whistling. ;-)


See, now that's how *I* go out.

--Blair
"Just wearing a helmet makes me
a curiousity."
  #26  
Old November 5th 04, 01:57 AM
Beverly
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"justen" wrote in message
...
Blair P. Houghton wrote:
You haven't wondered if you're really gonna enjoy being
alive until you've stood with one foot on a pedal and the
other on a curb while an accelerating Metrobus blasts diesel
soot across your entire body in 92F/100%RH conditions.


Better than getting knocked over by a wall of slush and
snow in freezing conditions.

justen


I don't ride the roads too often so I'm not real familiar with these
hazards. Riding trails presents a whole different set of problems. You
have animals running across the trail, snakes sunning on them and an
abundance of goose crap to avoid. I also had the misfortune of getting
between police with drawn guns and the criminal they were chasing - talk
about something that will cause you to increase your speed!

Beverly


  #27  
Old November 5th 04, 07:31 AM
Cheto
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"Blair P. Houghton" wrote in message
...

In what way?

This gomer was endangering his sprog way more than any
rational Dad has the emotional decrepitude to pull off.


Because there's nothing inherently dangerous or moronic about riding in
traffic.

Cheto


  #28  
Old November 5th 04, 08:45 AM
Zoot Katz
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Thu, 04 Nov 2004 22:16:35 GMT,
,
the other silly sig sister, Blair P. Houghton wrote:

You, you're a dip**** 24/7, and being sober just makes you
think it's right.

--Blair
"Just looking at you like your
head unscrewed and fell off."


I thought you guys are twins?
--
zk
  #29  
Old November 5th 04, 08:45 AM
Zoot Katz
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Thu, 04 Nov 2004 15:02:24 -0500,
, Badger_South
wrote:


Are you seeing, like I am, a lucrative market for life-like blow up babies
to tow in bike trailers? ;-D


I've often fanaticised about having one on a long tether attached to a
spring loaded baby seat and occasionally ejecting it into the street.
--
zk
  #30  
Old November 5th 04, 09:29 AM
Zoot Katz
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Thu, 04 Nov 2004 23:45:13 -0800,
,
Zoot Katz corrected:

Thu, 04 Nov 2004 15:02:24 -0500,
, Badger_South
wrote:


Are you seeing, like I am, a lucrative market for life-like blow up babies
to tow in bike trailers? ;-D


I've often fanaticised about having one on a long tether attached to a
spring loaded baby seat and occasionally ejecting it into the street.


Figgin spool chucker- fantasised.
--
zk
 




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