billwatson58
06-01-05, 11:43 AM
This past Sunday morning was Bike The Drive in Chicago for 18,000 cyclists where Lake Shore Drive is closed to cagers. It was a great weather for a ride along the lakefront. Here are some observations... I was working at a repair station and not riding.
A wonderful array of cyclists and bikes....all shapes and sizes. Road bikes, mountain bikes, comfort bikes, bents, tandems, tandem bents, new bikes, old bikes, Rat Patrol bikes, tall bikes, bikes with kid trailers.
Lots of mountain bikes, yet no mountains. I know these are comfortable bikes for the masses, but I really believe people would do better with a road bike on a ride like this.
Lots of people showing up with 20lbs of pressure in their tires who said "I think I need a little air". 40lbs or more later and they were happy and sent on their way.
People who had 40-50lbs and needed more who said "I think I have enough, but can you check it?" They were using the squeeze method in determining they thought they had enough air.
A really sad case was a couple who had just bought a couple of bikes from SprawlMart - the brakes and shifting were out of adjustment and the wheels were rubbing against the breaks - what a pile of +$%# !! I felt bad for them. We were able to get them rideable, but they planned to return them after I talked them about getting decent bikes, and that you get what you pay for.
And the topper....as I was leaving and riding through downtown, I saw several groups of suburban roofrackers who were walking their bikes on the sidewalk back to their cars. As an urban cyclist, this really blew me away. They desperately need to take Chicago Bike Fed course on how to ride in traffic. Maybe some of them had sore bums, but I think most of them were afraid to ride on the streets.
A wonderful array of cyclists and bikes....all shapes and sizes. Road bikes, mountain bikes, comfort bikes, bents, tandems, tandem bents, new bikes, old bikes, Rat Patrol bikes, tall bikes, bikes with kid trailers.
Lots of mountain bikes, yet no mountains. I know these are comfortable bikes for the masses, but I really believe people would do better with a road bike on a ride like this.
Lots of people showing up with 20lbs of pressure in their tires who said "I think I need a little air". 40lbs or more later and they were happy and sent on their way.
People who had 40-50lbs and needed more who said "I think I have enough, but can you check it?" They were using the squeeze method in determining they thought they had enough air.
A really sad case was a couple who had just bought a couple of bikes from SprawlMart - the brakes and shifting were out of adjustment and the wheels were rubbing against the breaks - what a pile of +$%# !! I felt bad for them. We were able to get them rideable, but they planned to return them after I talked them about getting decent bikes, and that you get what you pay for.
And the topper....as I was leaving and riding through downtown, I saw several groups of suburban roofrackers who were walking their bikes on the sidewalk back to their cars. As an urban cyclist, this really blew me away. They desperately need to take Chicago Bike Fed course on how to ride in traffic. Maybe some of them had sore bums, but I think most of them were afraid to ride on the streets.