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-   -   Where Do We Live? (https://www.bikeforums.net/living-car-free/950899-where-do-we-live.html)

Roody 06-16-14 04:27 AM

Lansing is not a very large city, so the car traffic isn't usually bad, and the grid street pattern gives me a lot of route choices. It's flat as an ironing board and the climate is pretty good. You can see one of the rivers in the photo, which have trails along them that are good for getting to a lot of places. My house is in the center of the photo, about 1/3 down from the top. So I'm close to downtown, which is where the transfer station is for most of the bus lines.

http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/...ps47b8b9a9.jpg

Machka 06-16-14 07:30 AM

We've sort of got something like a grid system in places here ... only it's vertical.

https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2908/...d0faaf6a_b.jpg

Zedoo 06-16-14 05:57 PM

1 Attachment(s)
There are several of these spiral ramp bridges over I-696 and I-75. As a flatland rider, my climbing muscles are weak, but these are worth the effort for the ride down.
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=387552
I am ridiing sidewalks more since the roads are becoming as bumpy as sidewalks, with more traffic.

bragi 06-16-14 07:21 PM


Originally Posted by Roody (Post 16854569)
I did not have any intention of offending you! I thought you were making a little joke by showing the entire skyline, and saying you lived just off the edge of it. So I was just taking it one step further. I know I have a very twisted sense of humor...and I totally agree that I am an a$$hole. I apologize and ask that you believe that I have total respect for you. I never wanted to make you mad or hurt your feelings!

Sorry Roody: I literally live a few blocks outside of the foreground of the photo, where actual houses are visible. And the photo was the best I could do, given the fact that I work 70+ hours a week. And it wasn't very different from some of Machka's photos, so I jumped to conclusions. I'm usually not this sensitive (middle school teacher). I'll try to cut people more slack in the future. Let's get back to the subject of the thread, which is actually kind of interesting.

Roody 06-16-14 07:49 PM


Originally Posted by bragi (Post 16856848)
Sorry Roody: I literally live a few blocks outside of the foreground of the photo, where actual houses are visible. And the photo was the best I could do, given the fact that I work 70+ hours a week. And it wasn't very different from some of Machka's photos, so I jumped to conclusions. I'm usually not this sensitive (middle school teacher). I'll try to cut people more slack in the future. Let's get back to the subject of the thread, which is actually kind of interesting.

And ironically, the satellite photo I posted (as a stupid joke) actually does reveal something important about cycling where I live. My house is situated near that sharply divided snow line. This shows that it's very difficult to predict the weather on a given winter day. I often take a backpack full of extra clothing on a winter ride, because I have no idea whether we will have liquid rainfall, freezing rain, or six inches of snow in the next couple hours.

Jim from Boston 06-17-14 03:06 AM


Originally Posted by Zedoo (Post 16856608)
There are several of these spiral ramp bridges over I-696 and I-75. As a flatland rider, my climbing muscles are weak, but these are worth the effort for the ride down.
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=387552
I am ridiing sidewalks more since the roads are becoming as bumpy as sidewalks, with more traffic.

I recognize those freeway numbers as from the Northeast suburbs of Detroit, where much of my family lives, and we visit a couple times a year. I also note the mitten reference to Michigan.

I feel more comfortable riding sidewalks around there since the roads lack shoulders and are heavily traveled, but unfortunately the sidewalks are sporadic, and end suddenly. Sidewalks are little used in that sprawling car-oriented region.

Machka 06-17-14 07:48 AM


Originally Posted by Zedoo (Post 16856608)
There are several of these spiral ramp bridges over I-696 and I-75. As a flatland rider, my climbing muscles are weak, but these are worth the effort for the ride down.
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=387552
I am ridiing sidewalks more since the roads are becoming as bumpy as sidewalks, with more traffic.

That's the sort of thing which comes down off one side of the Tasman Bridge.

Machka 06-17-14 07:58 AM

In this photo you can kind of see the main cycleway here.

There's a largish white building, just left of centre, on the water. Behind it, there's a parking area where cyclists and others will often park to go ride or walk/jog the cycleway. The cycleway starts to the right of that white building, and you can see it cut into the bank just above the water and tug boat, etc., below the main road.

The cycleway does go left into the centre of the city as well. It kind of goes up a path across the green lawn behind the white building, and then runs next to the road the rest of the way into town.

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3837/...0cc730b2_o.jpg


My first photos in this thread were taken from the top of the Mt Wellington which looms over Hobart. There is a road up there, and many cyclists make the climb. Some appear to do it quite regularly, for others it is an occasional thing. I've been partway up, but have not yet cycled to the top.

But fortunately the cycleway is relatively flat and not too strenuous to ride. And for that reason, lots of commuters use it ... walkers and cyclists.

locolobo13 06-17-14 09:27 AM

1 Attachment(s)
Here's a shot of Dobbins Lookout on S. Mountain. You're looking northish towards downtown Phoenix on the right. Yes the air is smoggy.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=387666

Roody 06-17-14 03:05 PM


Originally Posted by locolobo13 (Post 16858231)
Here's a shot of Dobbins Lookout on S. Mountain. You're looking northish towards downtown Phoenix on the right. Yes the air is smoggy.

I've never been to Phoenix. Is it hilly or flat where the actual city is? I hope they get more people on bikes--would probably help with the smog problem.

I lived in Grenoble, France for a while. Although it's not far from the tallest mountains in Europe, the city itself is in a level river valley and riding a bike was pretty easy. The climate was mild and the university brought in more cultural events than you would expect in a fairly isolated city. Overall, it was a very nice place to be carfree.

http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/...psbeb55f62.jpg
Grenoble, France.

locolobo13 06-17-14 04:44 PM


Originally Posted by Roody (Post 16859362)
I've never been to Phoenix. Is it hilly or flat where the actual city is? I hope they get more people on bikes--would probably help with the smog problem.

I lived in Grenoble, France for a while. Although it's not far from the tallest mountains in Europe, the city itself is in a level river valley and riding a bike was pretty easy. The climate was mild and the university brought in more cultural events than you would expect in a fairly isolated city. Overall, it was a very nice place to be carfree.

Phoenix is very flat. There are hills here and there but by and large the metro area is flat. I think you could easily ride 50 mi without changing more than 200ft in elevation.

enigmaT120 06-18-14 01:46 PM

I wonder if this will work. If so, the white roof in the middle is my shop, the house is the reddish roof east of it.

https://www.google.com/maps/@44.8675.../data=!3m1!1e3

Roody 06-18-14 03:41 PM


Originally Posted by enigmaT120 (Post 16862356)
I wonder if this will work. If so, the white roof in the middle is my shop, the house is the reddish roof east of it.

https://www.google.com/maps/@44.8675.../data=!3m1!1e3

Nice! Are those solar panels on the shop roof?

MickeyMaguire 06-19-14 01:49 PM

1 Attachment(s)
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=388226

Ironic... the neighborhood. Yes, my car from time past.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=388227

A shot with the bike. I could not resist. :D

enigmaT120 06-19-14 04:09 PM


Originally Posted by Roody (Post 16862736)
Nice! Are those solar panels on the shop roof?

Yes! I'm on the grid, though. And you can see my pickup parked by a pile of horse manure that had just been unloaded, to the west of the shop.

I like it that if you type my address into Google, you don't get my house but my neighbors' to the south of me, on the other side of the creek.

cooker 06-22-14 11:38 AM


Originally Posted by Roody (Post 16853531)
That certainly narrows it down!
:D

Here is a shot of my house, about in the center of the photo:

http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/...ps87789993.jpg

You can see cooker's house in there too, more over to the right.

lol

cooker 06-22-14 12:14 PM

1 Attachment(s)
This is a computer-generated image of the Toronto skyline from Google Earth. I highlighted the CN tower since it didn’t show up well.

Thirty-five years ago, I lived in the circled tower 8 km north of the waterfront, just east of Yonge St. Now I live in the upper quadrangle just left of it, on the west side of Yonge.

My office is just off the map on the lower left, so I skirt the edge of downtown on my commute.

Machka 07-03-14 05:53 AM

Looking across to the Eastern Shore ...

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5563/...d07fda59_c.jpg

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3920/...d4e59008_c.jpg

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3838/...c063e929_c.jpg

eofelis 07-03-14 01:30 PM

I think Machka has more pictures of where I live than I do, when she visited Colorado National Monument a while back.

I'm riding Rimrock Drive tomorrow. Being July 4, there is a special climbing of the rock formation Independence Monument. I'll stop by on overlook on the road to try to see the climbers.


cooker 07-03-14 01:38 PM


Originally Posted by eofelis (Post 16905723)

Wow that was hard to watch. And I'm sure it's considered easy by some.

Machka 07-12-14 08:35 PM


Originally Posted by eofelis (Post 16905723)
I think Machka has more pictures of where I live than I do, when she visited Colorado National Monument a while back.

:D

I did take a lot. :D

They start on this page ... https://www.flickr.com/photos/machka...etail/?page=10 ... and just keep going for several pages. We were in awe. :)

Machka 07-13-14 03:40 AM

Looking up at Mt Wellington, with snow! And a good shot of the terrain ...

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3915/...30dc146f_c.jpg

Machka 07-19-14 08:21 AM

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3836/...ff39b960_c.jpg

Machka 07-26-14 05:34 AM

Looking down at Wrest Point (tall building on the right) and across the Derwent to Tranmere, one of the furthest suburbs to the southeast. If a person were cycling or walking to where I took the photo ... it would be a challenging effort. Very steep.

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3924/...72d97bde_c.jpg

italktocats 07-26-14 10:21 AM

now i wish i had hills...


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