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What stops you from riding?

Old 05-15-13, 04:43 AM
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Originally Posted by Roody
The trike sounds like a good compromise. I hope the doc passes on it.

I once broke a wrist in a bike fall.
Me too. This is probably the most common fracture for cyclists.
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Old 08-13-15, 12:22 AM
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What stops you from riding?

Originally Posted by bragi
What stops you from riding?

What are your limits to doing without an internal combustion engine of your very own, or at least a borrowed/rented one?
Hills.

And distance.

The combination of the two are why I don't commute by bicycle.

Although I am getting some better on hills, I still struggle up them and I'm very slow. Plus we live some distance south of town. It would take me close to 2 hours to get to work (4 hour round trip commute).

I'd probably be super fit ... but I'd also be super exhausted.
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Old 08-13-15, 08:35 AM
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Hills, distance, time, & sweat, reducing all of those to manageable is the E-Assist systems that I got for my and my wife's bikes... I now ride 2X more than I used to and the wife now rides 4X more than she used to...
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Old 08-13-15, 10:18 AM
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What stops you from riding?

Originally Posted by Machka
Hills.

And distance.

The combination of the two are why I don't commute by bicycle....
My job; either too much to do, so I stay (comfortably) overnight and resume very early in the AM, missing my commute; or have to travel afar for a meeting.

Having a mileage-based training schedule however, effectively motivates me to make time to ride.

My main reason to reply to this thread though is to ask, even rhetorically, why was this thread resurrected by the above post on 8/13/15, after the last preceding on 5/15/13?
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Old 08-13-15, 12:00 PM
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Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
My main reason to reply to this thread though is to ask, even rhetorically, why was this thread resurrected by the above post on 8/13/15, after the last preceding on 5/15/13?
Why not?

My guess: an attempt to breath life into a fading list by one poster.

Also noted is the gallant effort by another to pick up the fallen standard of self appointed discussion list content monitor.
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Old 08-13-15, 05:05 PM
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Originally Posted by I-Like-To-Bike
Why not?

My guess: an attempt to breath life into a fading list by one poster.

Also noted is the gallant effort by another to pick up the fallen standard of self appointed discussion list content monitor.
I guess I should be satisfied by this explanation:

Originally Posted by CliffordK
...have no fear, in a half a dozen years, those threads will pop back up with some entirely off the wall reply to the OP who has already long since vanished.
I'm glad though to ponder and respond to the question since I missed it earlier. Even though my job keeps me from riding, it's a great job to ride to.
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Old 08-13-15, 05:36 PM
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Originally Posted by bragi
What kind of trailer do you have that allows you to haul a freezer? (I'm not being skeptical, I'm sincerely curious.)
BAW Bikes At Work will handle it easily. The bike and the rider are the weak link.

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Old 08-14-15, 02:25 PM
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Originally Posted by wahoonc
BAW Bikes At Work will handle it easily. The bike and the rider are the weak link.

Aaron
They're proud of them too!
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Old 08-14-15, 06:50 PM
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Originally Posted by Walter S
They're proud of them too!
Good stuff costs money. They are extremely well built, and built in the USA. I have seen a few of them in use and they are a solid product.

Aaron
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Old 08-14-15, 08:45 PM
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Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
I'm glad though to ponder and respond to the question since I missed it earlier. Even though my job keeps me from riding, it's a great job to ride to.
Somehow I missed the question earlier too. Plus, when this thread started, we lived in a place where it was easy to get to work by walking. It was easy to get anywhere in town by walking. And if we had to go further, it was easy to hop on the bicycle and go.

Then we moved.

Now things aren't so easy.

We both live some distance from where we work ... and there are these hills. Everywhere hills. I've got to psyche myself up just to leave home on a bicycle.

So I've got a whole different perspective now.
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Old 08-15-15, 04:15 AM
  #86  
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Originally Posted by Machka
Somehow I missed the question earlier too. Plus, when this thread started, we lived in a place where it was easy to get to work by walking. It was easy to get anywhere in town by walking. And if we had to go further, it was easy to hop on the bicycle and go...
Thanks for the reply. I'm always amused when I find I have replied to a zombie thread, and I always look to see who resurrected it and when.

Originally Posted by I-Like-To-Bike
My guess: an attempt to breath life into a fading list by one poster.

Also noted is the gallant effort by another to pick up the fallen standard of self appointed discussion list content monitor.

Originally Posted by CliffordK
...have no fear, in a half a dozen years, those threads will pop back up with some entirely off the wall reply to the OP who has already long since vanished.
Nonetheless, I found the question worthy of comment, at least for my own introspection.

Last edited by Jim from Boston; 08-15-15 at 04:26 AM.
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Old 08-15-15, 04:05 PM
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I'm not sure what stops me. Somehow I apparently avoid those things. I'm not looking to stop. So I guess anything that might gets quickly discarded.
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Old 08-16-15, 08:06 AM
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Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
Nonetheless, I found the question worthy of comment, at least for my own introspection.
Do not be concerned, I suspect there will now be less monitoring of posts and pronouncements of which ones are "worthy" or not to be posted; also expect less whining about unworthy resurrection of older threads.
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Old 08-16-15, 08:12 AM
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Pretty much nothing. I fly in and out of the town I work in and keep a bike here. In Salt Lake I don't have a car. My wife doesn't drive and I just haven't gotten around to buying one there.

That being said, my wife recently broke her ankle and the doctor told her not to ride her trike for about five more weeks. As such, she has been getting rides from people.
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Old 08-16-15, 08:30 AM
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To kind of swing things back on topic, there have been three major things in my lifetime that have stopped me from riding for varying lengths of time.

Not knowing that bicycling is a valid form of transportation. For much of my life I was carfree but walked everywhere or used public transit. It took an epiphany, like a light in the road, to show me that cycling would be a good way to get places. It's faster than walking and sometimes faster (and usually cheaper) than taking a bus. Nowadays, with so many bike commuters around my location, I think I would have figured this out much more quickly.

Fear of crime. I was victim of an attempted bikejacking on my way home from work. For several months, I gave up on riding after dark. Since I then worked until 11:30 PM, that meant no bike commuting. I took a lot of cabs and bummed a lot of rides before I came to my senses and resumed my riding.

Bad health.This has been a short term problem off and on over the years, usually due to arthritis flares or a right hand badly injured in a bike fall. Now it's more of a long-term issue. I haven't been riding for months now because of a health condition. It looks like it will be next year before I start riding again, if I can meet my goals.
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Old 08-17-15, 07:41 AM
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Originally Posted by Roody
To kind of swing things back on topic, there have been three major things in my lifetime that have stopped me from riding for varying lengths of time.

Not knowing that bicycling is a valid form of transportation. For much of my life I was carfree but walked everywhere or used public transit. It took an epiphany, like a light in the road, to show me that cycling would be a good way to get places. It's faster than walking and sometimes faster (and usually cheaper) than taking a bus. Nowadays, with so many bike commuters around my location, I think I would have figured this out much more quickly.....
I[STrike] found one of your points worthy of comment[/strike]...can personally relate to one of your points. I too had a virtual "epiphany" when I realized the utility of the bike for transportstion, and wrote about it in my introductions to BF

Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
...Back in the 60’s in the Motor City, I had an “English Racer,’ and longed to tour at about age 14, but then joined the car culture. In Ann Arbor MI in the 70’s I really realized the utility of bicycles for commuting, and began touring on a five-speed Schwinn Suburban, but soon bought a Mercier as did my girlfriend, later my wife. We toured...[/b]
...and the rest is history. I can't remember the exact date, but it was a beautiful day in May, 1970, when I borrowed my roomate's Schwinn Varsity to run a few errands here and there within a few mile radius. He just told me I had to pedal while shifting gears.

Sorry to hear though of your crime and health issues.
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Old 08-17-15, 09:15 AM
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Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
I[STrike] found one of your points worthy of comment[/STrike]...can personally relate to one of your points. I too had a virtual "epiphany" when I realized the utility of the bike for transportstion, and wrote about it in my introductions to BF



...and the rest is history. I can't remember the exact date, but it was a beautiful day in May, 1970, when I borrowed my roomate's Schwinn Varsity to run a few errands here and there within a few mile radius. He just told me I had to pedal while shifting gears.
Well, AA during the 70s was something of a bike nirvana, at least compared to the rest of SE Michigan. Although cycling briefly became very popular even in inner city Detroit (Highland Park, actually), where I was living. I remember discussing the best type of steel for frames with my buddy. then he bought his mom's old VW Beetle and bicycling was a dream of the past.

Sorry to hear though of your crime and health issues.
Thanks. The crime fear is also a dream of the past. I'm now walking intrepidly everywhere in the city. But riding is something I decided to put off until early next year, if all goes to plan. I have to focus on my health right now, and I hope to be starting back to work fairly soon, if they'll have me.
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Old 08-17-15, 09:34 AM
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About 2 months ago; my right knee started to hurt while I was pedaling.
Doc said get off the bike for 1 month. Rode the bus and walked to work
for a while. Started riding again last Saturday; knee seemed okay; but
still taking it easy and not rushing to my usual 6 days a week riding schedule.

What's up Doc by 1nterceptor, on Flickr
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Old 08-17-15, 11:32 AM
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Originally Posted by 1nterceptor
About 2 months ago; my right knee started to hurt while I was pedaling.
Doc said get off the bike for 1 month. Rode the bus and walked to work
for a while. Started riding again last Saturday; knee seemed okay; but
still taking it easy and not rushing to my usual 6 days a week riding schedule.
Mine hurts if I mash instead of spin - are you making sure to gear down?
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Old 08-17-15, 11:40 AM
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I work a billion hours, usually I find 15-20 minutes to cruise up and down my street a few times before it gets dark or the wife starts to whine. (This will be fun come spring when I'm in slightly better shape and I randomly take off for an hour or two)

I just realized my helmet has aged beyond the useful point, so until I save up for a new one I'll be sticking to my dead end street.
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Old 08-17-15, 12:07 PM
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Originally Posted by 1nterceptor
About 2 months ago; my right knee started to hurt while I was pedaling.
Doc said get off the bike for 1 month. Rode the bus and walked to work
for a while. Started riding again last Saturday; knee seemed okay; but
still taking it easy and not rushing to my usual 6 days a week riding schedule.

What's up Doc by 1nterceptor, on Flickr
Sorry about the knee. I've had some knee issues in the past that stopped me from riding for brief periods. What helped me was to do more walking as "cross training" (or running, if you're the running type). I guess walking and cycling exercise different muscle chains, and your leg muscles can get out of balance if you ride a lot and rarely walk. At any rate, both walking and pedaling will get you where you need to go, so it makes sense to me to mix them up.

I think bicycle fit is also more important when you have knee problems. I find that keeping my saddle a couple millimeters higher than usual has been helpful.
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Old 08-17-15, 12:10 PM
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Reading this forum while my internet radio shows are running , and sitting between the 2 speakers is the best stereo image.
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Old 08-17-15, 01:56 PM
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What stops me from riding? nothing if I can help it. Then again, flat tires, snapped chains,(I get heavy footed
sometimes), getting run over by a car, are things that have put a damper on my riding.
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Old 08-17-15, 02:17 PM
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Originally Posted by fietsbob
Reading this forum while my internet radio shows are running , and sitting between the 2 speakers is the best stereo image.
Earphones and an Ipod?
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Old 08-18-15, 11:24 AM
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Originally Posted by cooker
Mine hurts if I mash instead of spin - are you making sure to gear down?
I try to spin as much as possible. But my folding bike only has 6 gears; end up mashing at times up steep hills.
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