Leisesturm

My GF and I literally moved across the country to be in a place with a thriving bike culture. Not to mention pedestrian friendly with the #1 rated mass transit system in the country. Nevertheless people we've met that have lived here all their lives are completely car dependent. In fact, we are the only car lite people we know. For us being car lite means not owning a car but renting occasionally when we must. We don't see the sense in carrying insurance, etc. for a vehicle that isn't being driven. Gas is hardly the biggest cost for a vehicle that is only being driven occasionally. We are able to afford a nice health club and do other things that would be impossible if we also had to keep a car. We also don't eat out. Ever. We have in the past but for now it is simply not doable. I staff a homeless shelter as a volunteer and if is mind boggling to see younger people opt to be homeless but keep their cars in a city that prides itself on its mass transit options. So if you get from this that I think the mental hurdle is a bigger handicap than the infrastructure hurdle to being car free you would be right.

H

dcrowell

I'm going to have to disagree with you here, at least with my experiences in Kentucky.

In the central city of Louisville (I imagine Lexington to be similar), riding is fine. Riding out in the rural areas is also fine. People are friendly and curious. It's the suburbs where I have the most problem.

btw... This also applies to the riding I've done in West Virginia, Michigan, Indiana, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Illinois.

cyclist5

+1 on the suburbs. most people are too friendly or not friendly at all. i hate it when I'm at a 4 way stop and everyone waits for me to get through even though I got there last.

But getting back on topic I found another limitation today: I can't bike in my graduation gown and hat. I'd bring my pannier to carry it and change in but no lockers are provided at the KFC Yum! Center. So for my graduation I will drive

Roody

Congratulations and best wishes for the future!

cyclist5

thanks!

dcrowell

Congrats on the graduation, but you can change in a restroom stall. I do it all the time at work.

Roody

I was thinking that a graduation robe would fold or roll up into a neat little bundle, and he could just throw it on over his clothing. (Test it first to make sure it wouldn't wrinkle too much.)

I would probably just wear the mortarboard while riding my bike--Graduation Day is a day for showong off, after all.

wahoonc

I seem to recall seeing that in an old(er) movie, maybe The Graduate?

Aaron

gerv 

I would rent a Yuba or some other long wheelbase bicycle. It isn't a stretch limo... but it isn't a stretch either

Seriously, hope you enjoy your graduation... however you get there.

Robert Foster

I did discover a slight limitation today. I got up and get ready for church and discovered my wife ws going to stay home. I thought to myself there was no reason that I couldn't ride my bike this morning. I put on a leg protector to cover my pant leg and took off on the bike. I didn't get 100 yards before it started to drizzel. I was riding in the direction the drizzel was coming from so I knew it would get worse if I continued on so I turned around and took the car. Remember I live in California and we aren't set up for rain in May. The ironic thing was I passed on a rain suit Saturday at a bike fair because it was May and summer would be here soon.

Roody

I would have taken my shirt off and ridden in my T shirt, then put the shirt back on when I got to church. Only in southern California would people let a "drizzle" stop them from doing what they want to do!

wahoonc

I routinely ride to church, 3 miles one way. I usually have a light wool sport coat in the winter months, summer months if I wear any type of jacket is is going to be a water proof windbreaker. FWIW our church dress is very casual, and I am usually over dressed.

Aaron

bragi

Okay, I'll agree with you on this. My riding experiences in KY have been limited to riding in Lexington and the areas just outside; I haven't been on a bike out in the actual state of Kentucky. And it's honestly the same here in WA: in the city, great. Out in the countryside, just fine; even semis will cut you some slack. It's the suburbs where people tend to be nasty sometimes. I wonder why that is?

dcrowell

It may be that the 'burb dwellers spend the most time stuck in traffic. That makes them angry. Just a guess.

Roody

Probly so. Also, suburban streets are designed for fast traffic and have a lot of merges and yields. Bikes don't fit as well in that kind of streetscape as they do on the more angular streets in urban and rural settings.

Robert Foster

It was the unexpectedness that got to me. I had decided to put on some light cream colored pants and a light green shirt. I had a water repelling jacket but was concerned with the wet T-shirt effect if I didn't change pants.

But you are correct even Northern California riders give us a bad time about our idea of bad weather. Right now I managed to get 6,000 to 8,000 miles a year on my bikes even with not riding in the rain.

I did ride to the doctor's appointment today even with a very light drizzel. But then I dressed in MTB shorts, short sleve jersey and a wind breaker.

I admit it I am not at all like Yahuda Moon.

https://www.yehudamoon.com/index.php?date=2010-04-22

Elkhound

Unless you make the bike ride part of the date. (E.g. "Let's ride out to the park for a picknick on Saturday afternoon.")

Elkhound

[QUOTE=cyclist5;12640434But getting back on topic I found another limitation today: I can't bike in my graduation gown and hat. ([/QUOTE]

Ever seen pictures of Oxford and Cambridge, England? People bike all over those towns in academic gowns and caps. Are you saying that a bunch of Limeys can do something you can't? Invoke the Spirit of 1776!