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The Art of Rural Cycling?



 
 
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  #1  
Old August 25th 05, 01:04 PM
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Default 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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  #3  
Old August 25th 05, 05:57 PM
wafflycat
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Default 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

  #4  
Old August 25th 05, 07:28 PM
psycholist
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Default 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.)



  #5  
Old August 25th 05, 08:01 PM
jj
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Default 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  
Old August 25th 05, 09:00 PM
zsilverball
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Default 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  
Old August 25th 05, 09:09 PM
Tom Keats
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Default 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

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  #8  
Old August 25th 05, 09:18 PM
Dave Vandervies
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Default 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  
Old August 25th 05, 09:19 PM
Leo Lichtman
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Default 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  
Old August 25th 05, 09:21 PM
Roger Zoul
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Default 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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