Biking it and Liking It

[hotbike]

I ride a bicycle, and I drive a car too. There aren't many cars that come within three feet of my bike. I stay as far as possible to the right, most cars are five, seven, even ten feet or more to my left. I think someone's been "buzzing" the cyclists, which is the reason we have this hostility.
These group rides are composed of cyclists with many skill levels, from expert to novice. Some of them are acting as "human road cones" for the rest of the group. And the men are going to protect the women, which is an important fact to consider, before you go berzerk.
But remember, you have a car; if a large group of cyclists is blocking the road, you can turn a different direction at the next intersection, and detour-take an alternate route to your destination.
I try to sympathize with motorists, because I drive too, but I have found that motorists accuse cyclists of blocking the road even when the bikes are doing the speed limit. Which is the end of the argument. We started off listening to your complaint, assuming that the bikes were going really slow, and then it turns out they were really fast.

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news...l_advance.html

[hotbike]

It's true about the Netherlands. You could find photos of people riding bikes in the Netherlands (online) and almost nobody is wearing a helmet. Same is true in China.
I've been riding bicycles since 1972, and there were no helmets back then. Starting about 1975, Bell corporation started making helmets for bicycling, but the price was about $500.00 (that would be ~$1,800.00 in todays money). I wanted a helmet back then, but I was just a kid, I didn't have the money. I actually saved up money I earned raking leaves and bought the helmet myself. My parents didn't pay for the helmet, I did. So Mass Production has brought the price of a helmet down to about $35.00 today.
Parents used to say "stay on the right side of the road!" to their kids before a bike ride, today parents say "wear a helmet!"
Staying on the right side of the road is very important, we shouldn't forget that. Do you want to see the cars coming?-then get a rear view mirror. Mirrors should be required on bicycle too. Working brakes are a must. Every bicycle should have lights, and every bicycler should wear a relective vest. So we could make up an equipment list that includes more items than just a helmet- and these items can PREVENT an accident; a helmet doesn't do anything until an accident actually happens.
Riding on the right side of the road is the most important thing, along with watching where you are going, looking left and right, and checking your mirror. Turn and use brakes to avoid coliding with motor vehicles. It might help if you view a bicycle as "easier than walking" rather than "faster than running"- slower is safer.

http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/...kCurrentPage=1

[hotbike]

More posters , or Fact Sheets, telling people about my Human Powered Vehicle.

[hotbike]

I scanned this today, posted it on another site, and someone told me it was already archived on PopSci's own website. Well, I reposted it here for you perusal, anyway.

[hotbike]

Bicycling to work is a lot different than bicycling for pleasure. Biking to work, by it's very nature, puts the bicycle on the road during "rush hour", which is the worst time to ride. People who ride for the sport of it can ride on the weekends, early on Saturday or Sunday morning. On weekdays, the hours between 7:00 and 9:00 PM offer a good chance to ride with less traffic than mid-day. (but get lights for your bike in case it gets dark before you get home).
That being said, if motorists can learn to coexist with bikes during rush hour, there shouldn't be any problems during off-hours.

http://www.topix.net/forum/source/la...ACOUH#lastPost

[hotbike]

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/49...s-hit.html.csp

Five years old is too young for a child to be riding a bicycle in a public street. A lot of people have the misconception that bicycles are for children, but cycling is really for adults. Take a look at the Tour de France, on television right now, it's all adult men.

It's a matter of being able to understand the "rules of the road", and also the actual traffic pattern. It helps if the bicycler is tall enough to see and be seen over the hoods of parked cars.

It may be the attitude that everyone gets a car when they turn sixteen, but the fact is that ninety nine percent of cyclists have a car. Cyclists understand the rules of the road better than most people (they have to, or else they'd be dead).

I don't know where people get the idea that an adult on a bicycle doesn't have a car. We can have Both! I have a car and five bicycles, myself. Bicycles are mainly for adults. Children should be at least ten or twelve before they venture onto main roads. Maybe parents should ride with the children? or is that asking too much? How about parents should hire a cycling coach for their offspring? Maybe Cycling should be taught in school , as part of the physical education department?

I think Parents should ride with their children. Are they embarrassed to be seen riding a bicycle? They shouldn't be embarrassed. We need to work on educating the public, informing them that ninety nine percent of bicyclists do indeed Have a Car.

PS-There is a sub-class of the population that can't afford Both a car and a bicycle; they had to choose one or the other, and chose the car. I say _____ them, they shouldn't hurl insults at people who ride bikes, who have cars at home, have more money, and know the rules of the road better than they do.

That's my two cents.

[hotbike]

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/49...group.html.csp

"
By Bob Mims
The Salt Lake Tribune

Updated 3 Hours Ago
Draper • A woman remained in critical condition and on life support Thursday, the day after she was struck by a pickup truck that veered into a group of bicyclists in Draper.

The accident occurred about 7 a.m. Wednesday. The truck collided with an SUV and then, having lost a tire, spun into the group of about 10 women riding their bikes near 300 East and Highland Drive, Unified Fire Capt. Clint Smith said.

A 29-year-old woman, Elizabeth Bradley, was knocked off her bike and onto a sidewalk. She was later airlifted to University Hospital in Salt Lake City, reportedly with head injuries and broken arms and legs.

Four of the other cyclists were treated at the scene for scrapes and bruises. None of them was taken to a hospital, Smith said.

Neither of the drivers involved in the initial crash were injured. Draper police Sgt. Chad Carpenter said no citations were issued, but the accident remained under investigation Wednesday."

This is not a happy story. At first, I wanted to suggest that the driver be hanged, but there was sort of a chain-reaction accident, and we don't know which driver caused it. A group of ten cyclists is rather large, big enough to be seen, but not big enough to block traffic for fifteen minutes. Someone should've just put their four-way-flashers on and said "I'm not passing".
I think there should be a big , public trial, in a court of law, to determine which driver caused the accident. Such a trial would bring to the public's attention the need to be careful while passing bicycles.
I just hope nothing like this happens again.

[Rusdianto]

good photograph, if you want to ride a bike, it never hurts visit www.freebikes.us information about bicycle

Your friend Rusdianto
thanks

[Rusdianto]

First Thing First before Buying a Mountain Bike
For some people owning the first mountain bike is the most exciting experience, and most of all for the cyclists. So many brands offer you the best bike ever and tempt you to possess it, but sometimes the prices make you reconsider to buy a new one. However, you need a bike for commuting, you so eager to possess it. So what you have to do?
First of all relax your mind no need to hurry or tempted by any various brands. Then, set your budget, you don’t have to push yourself to have full suspension bike if you don’t have enough money. You can also upgrade your old bike with some new parts. In this case you’ll have a new bike without costing a lot of money. But the most important thing when you decide to buy the new bike is deciding what kind of bike you need.
More information
www.freebikes.us/buy-mountain-bikes

[hotbike]

good photograph, if you want to ride a bike, it never hurts visit www.freebikes.us information about bicycle

Your friend Rusdianto
thanks

How do you like this photograph?:

I just happened to be nearby when this taxi cab caught on fire.

[10 Wheels]

Nice pic....

[hotbike]

Blog entry, 30 august, 2010.

Looks like good weather, I think I'll go for a ride. Been thinking about how I'm getting older, and I doubt I'll ever ride as fast as I did when I was 22.
I've been thinking about bicycle baskets. I think it's very odd, that today, with so many thing being made of plastic, It's still impossible to obtain plastic bicycle baskets. Of course, I'm thinking of boxes, without the holes that baskets have.
You all know I made my own, right? I'm not posting any more pictures today, sorry. And the boxes, let's call them panniers, could be made with some semblance of aerodynamics, if it doesn't make the bike faster, it could at least not slow the bike down.
I want to note that my ideas for aerodynamics are based on the headwinds I encountered. I rode the the beach, Jones Beach, on Long Island, with a headwind the whole way. Breezes off the water change direction; when the water is cooler than the land , convection causes a sea breeze. But when the sun sets, the land cools off while the water remains the same temp. Then the wind changes direction. So at sunset, the wind changed direction,and I had a headwind the whole way home , too. So that's what got me on this hunt for a windshield, or Fairing.
Well, that's my blog for this day. Bye now.

[hotbike]

I want to blog some more:

I was thinking about two lane roads with shoulders, and how they are kind-of-like four lane roads. If cyclists use the shoulder, isn't it in fact a four lane road? If we treat a two-lane road with shoulder like a four lane road, would we have a case against right-hookers? i.e.-Making a right turn from the left lane? I have to make this simple, so motorists will understand. Is that a good comparison?
I want to say something about road-maps. Road maps are completely screwed-up. No wonder everyone is using a Garmin (GPS Device). Road maps never tell you if a road has a shoulder. Road maps never tell the speed limit. Road maps don't tell you uphill or downhill. Road maps never give you an indication of a Blind-Curve, or crest of a hill; things people from out-of-town need to know. (and if your not from out-of-town, you don't need a road map.) Road maps also fail to show alternate routes for bicycles, like paths through parks.

[hotbike]

This is a photo of yours truly, rolling downhill behind a fairing (Type 3), back in 1987. 46 MPH, I wish it was video and not a still photo. Private road in Manhasset, Long Island. Note the cobblestone gutters.

[hotbike]

I wrote this for a new site, http://www.peopleforbikes.org:

We all love bikes. Not all of us love the bicycle industry though. There are a number of small businesses supplying radically different bike styles, which the "Industry" would not provide. These include: recumbents, electric bikes/electric assist motors, big cargo bikes like the Dutch Bakfiets, extracycle, "Big Dummy"etc., and Velomobiles.
The Industry knows that they can sell new bikes by introducing a new feature, every couple of years. An example would be index shifting. Or look at how the number of gears has gone up: 10 speeds, 15 speeds, 18 speeds, 21 speeds, 24, 27 and now 30 speeds. You can't even get sprockets for 10 and 18 speeds anymore. All my bikes have 7 speed (21 speed) freewheels, I hope I can still get parts in the coming years.
In 1991 my Daughter Mellisa designed a Fiberglass Ladies Bicycle. Okay, some people don't trust fiberglass, but the original mold can be used to produce a Carbon Fiber Ladies Bicycle.
Think of that, there is no other Carbon Fiber Ladies Bike anywhere! A totally different kind of bike that no one's ever thought of. But the Industry doesn't want to pick up the slack. Carbon is the perfect material for a Ladies Bicycle, because the material can be molded into any shape. We can manufacture the frame with a single tube ( the Down Tube) and make that tube a big enough diameter to carry the weight. Our (successful) prototype has a 4 inch by 6 inch rectangular tube, but perhaps we will reduce this to 3 inch by 5 inch oval tube on the next go-around. Carbon is extraordinarily stiff and light. We know there is a pent-up demand for a high-end Ladies Bicycle, which the Industry does not acknowledge.
Our prototype has a fairing, based on the styling of a tractor-trailer truck spoiler. Inside, it has a real Glove Compartment for your stuff. I think we put too many great features into this bike, like eleven of them. The average person wants a bike with just one improvement over his/her old bike, not eleven. The bike industry may be right after all.
A little test marketing showed us that there can be profits making bikes based on Mellisa's design. Okay, a lot of people wanted the bike without the aerodynamic fairing. If this CF Ladies frame ever goes into full scale production, we will only offer the fairing as an option. (But that fairing did indeed get a great deal of attention, which helped with the test marketing ). I can't say what the profit margin is here, but if you send me a private email, I will tell you, confidentially.
And as a bit of helpful advice to builders, if you plan to build a Carbon Fiber bike, build the first one, or a few of them, out of Fiberglass. This will save you from bankruptcy if you make a mistake. Once you perfect your machine, then you can use the mold to make a Carbon Copy (no pun intended).

[hotbike]

http://www.topix.net/forum/source/co...LA/p6#lastPost

I drive a car and I have five bicycles too. Obviously, I can't be using all of them at the same time. When I ride a bicycle, I only use town and county roads, I don't use state roads. But I do recognize that other bicyclists have the right to use them. When I drive my car on a state road, it's rare to see any bicyclists. All this fuss, in these comments, and there really aren't many bicycles. The amount of time you spend stuck behind bicycles is next to zero. Bicycles almost always use the right side of the road, and they are very narrow, compared to a car.
I think these rumble stripes are artificial potholes, which will get bigger over time and destroy much of the road surface.
Do a Google search for "lane departure warning" and you will see that there are now cars and trucks available which offer an electronic system, that alerts drivers when they are drifting off the road. Why don't we leave it at that, and those who want such a warning device can pay to have it in their own car, and not force the taxpayer to pay for these rumble stripes?

Anyway, most bicyclists have a car. So the commenters who suggested that bicyclists should get cars are mistaken.

I do think, however, that a number of cyclists are caught up in this "road racing" craze, and they need to remember that a bicycle can only do the 35mph speed limit for a mile or two, on flat ground, due to the limits of human endurance. Try the more cautious and leisurely "Touring" instead of "Racing". It's easier to pull your bike over to the side of the road, when you are riding a slower bike. You pull over and let traffic go by, as a courtesy to motorists, and because it's safer. I, for one, have given up trying to ride a bicycle at the speed limit, mainly on account of speeders, who have no respect for the speed limit.

When I ride my bicycle, I pull over to let cars go by, and this amounts to pulling over once every half mile, to a mile and a half. I have a rear view mirror now, and things work out better when I watch where the motorists are going. I no longer expect motorists to watch where they are going themselves. It's all in the bicycle's rear view mirror.

[hotbike]

http://www.thestarpress.com/article/...ESTYLE/9160313

"ImTellingYou:

Yes, the "Far Right As Possible" (or FRAP) thing is a joke. For the FRAP rule to work, motorists have to move as far LEFT as possible. Even the Police now, are telling cyclists to "take the lane" or ride in the middle of the lane, forcing motorists to wait until there are no cars coming the other way, and then crossing the double yellow to do so. The buzzword is "Sub-Standard Lane Width". Todays standard is fourteen foot wide lanes, anything less than that, and the cyclist doesn't have to move right. If a cyclist rides FRAP, the Police now say he is "Inviting Unsafe Passing". It's not clear if the cyclist riding FRAP is hard to see because of blending with the vegetation, or if the motorist has "tunnel vision", or if the motorists are "buzzing", or trying to scare the cyclist. Cyclists used to ride "Far Right As Possible", but certain motorists have "worn out the courtesy", and ruined it for the other motorists."

[hotbike]

Dear Motorists:

In my last post, I mentioned that if a cyclist moves Far Right As Possible (which he or she does as a courtesy, to make it easier to for you to pass), you have to do your part and move as far left as possible. I also said that some among you have "worn out the courtesy", and ruined it for the rest of you.
Many states have adopted a "three foot rule", which means motorists must give at least three feet of side-clearance to the bicycles, when passing.
I will grant you, ninety nine percent of motorists give seven to ten feet of side-clearance, when passing bicycles. It's the small minority of "road rage cases" who are agitating the bicyclers , making them hostile in turn, and leading to more laws, restricting your movement, and raising your taxes due to the "SHARE THE ROAD" signs that must be installed by DOT.
In most places, you don't need to cross the double-yellow to pass a bicycle. Just try to get as close as possible to the double yellow.

[hotbike]

The following was titled "Photos from 1971 Railfan Trip to Oyster Bay" and appeared five minutes ago on railroad.net.

I'm just posting it here for redundancy, in case their server crashes. These photos are 39 years old , and they are pictures of Long Island Rail Road trains. Perhaps, I should have posted this under "living car free", but I think it will do fine here in my blog:

Hello Everyone,

We are pleased to announce that some old photos are now online. Some really Archaic Ektachrome from 1971, to be exact. The slide frames say July 1971, but the foliage looks a bit barren, so maybe they were shot in May (?).

The old man is my Grandfather, Hubert Donohue, and the photographs were shot by my Aunt Claire. The little boy in the New York Mets jacket is me.


We are at Glen Head, on the Oyster Bay Branch. The waiting shed is long gone. Note the obsolete phone booth, which shielded phone users from the noise of the trains. Nowadays, everyone has a cell phone.


Another shot of Grandpa and me.


Train has pulled in. The stainless steel coaches are both ex-NYC, but one is a Budd, and the other is a Pullman.


Before the high level platforms, passengers had to climb steps to board the train. Grandpa helps out, as my legs were too short.


Look at all the MP54 cars in Oyster Bay yard! We're looking to the right, something is coming down the track, what could it be?


It's an Alco RS3, LIRR #1557 !

Conclusion:
I thought of titling this topic "My First Railfan Trip" or "Grandpa took me Railfanning". But I chose the title I did use to be more specific.
Grandpa had worked for the LIRR, back when it was controlled by the Pennsylvania Railroad.
My Aunt Claire, recently found these slides and gave them to me. I really could not remember what the trains looked like. I do remember the steam escaping, as the coaches still used steam heat back in those days.

I really think my Aunt knows how to shoot photographs. These photos look remarkably clear and sharp, in part due to the choice of Kodak Ektachrome.

Comments, corrections, and additional details are welcome. These photos are 39 years old, and have never before been published.

[hotbike]

How I installed a camera on my bike:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzPy3p24exg
(39 second video)

[hotbike]

There's a new bike website:

http://www.ThinkBicycles.org/

It's a LOCAL bike website, for Johnson County. And I had to look under "Maps" before I found it is Johnson County , IOWA.

[hotbike]

This story reminds me, I've been meaning to say this for some time, but I think it's safer to take a leisurely bike ride, rather than race. In our automobile-centered culture, we sometimes forget that bicycles can reach 50MPH or more. Bicyclists don't get enough credit when they set a new speed record. There are not enough bicycle race tracks (called velodromes) for racers to train on. The velodromes that do exist are for racing only, and aren't an option for the racer who is only "training" for a race.
As for myself, I have been working on building Electric Mopeds since 1986. Since 1999 or so, over 125 million Electric bikes have been built in China, and I doubt I'll ever see my patent claims honored. But that's beside the point; the reason I invented the Electric Bike was for the E-Bike to act as a pace motorcycle, or an escort, for bicyclists in training. Most Chinese E-Bikes are intended for commuting to work and back.
I wish Mr. Vigorito a speedy recovery. But what race training cyclists need is a motorcycle escort, with flashing lights.

http://www.explorehoward.com/news/75.../#comment-8233

[hotbike]

Here is a copy of a poem, which I have heard before, but this is the first time I saw it in print. Just wish to archive it here:


High Flight

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds - and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of - wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long delirious, burning blue,
I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or even eagle flew -
And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod
The high untresspassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand and touched the face of God.

Pilot Officer Gillespie Magee
No 412 squadron, RCAF
Killed 11 December 1941

[hotbike]

Hello,
This is my first post on FreeRepublic dot com! I just joined today.
I may start a flame war by saying this (I hope not), but I say: "If you don't believe in conserving gas, you're not a true conservative."
We need to have an alternative to gasoline. Who knows when the arab muslims will set fire to massive numbers of oil wells, like Sadam did at the outset of Desert Storm.
I am an Aircraft Structural Engineer, so I know about keeping vehicles lightweight. Well, back in 1986 I started working on plans to develop Electric Motorcycles and Electric Mopeds. I've been following developments in Hybrid Vehicles. I think the Chinese have stolen my Patent for the Electric Moped, and they've built 125 million of them, according to some reports, but I digress.
The Electric Moped works best, and at it's peak efficiency, when the operator is putting in seven to ten foot/pounds of Torque with his or her feet (which is light to moderate exercise, aerobic, no muscle strain) while the electric motor is putting out it's nominal one Horsepower.
The ratio of Torque to Horsepower is optimal at about seven ft/Lbs Torque to One Horsepower. Vehicles need a lot more Torque than Horsepower. The Internal Combustion Engines we are familiar with today don't have much more than a one-to-one ratio, in this respect.
Tests with Electric Mopeds have shown that the Torque contributed by moderate pedalling can reduce the Amperage draw quite drastically, from 35 Amps not pedaling, down to only 8 amps while pedaling.
This means a drastic extension of battery life.
So maybe the Engineers at GM have included a direct-geared transmission for the Torque?
There may be no other way to build a hybrid car, other than reducing the weight to 125 pounds and getting the driver to pedal, like on a bicycle. Such a vehicle would be a Velomobile, or a Light Electric Vehicle (LEV). Velomobiles are popular in the Netherlands, but the Netherlands has 35,000 miles of Bike Paths. I don't think people would trust such a small vehicle on a road shared with trucks and busses.
I think my views on bicycling are somewhat like those of Radio talk show host, Michael Savage. Mr. Savage often complains of cyclists blocking traffic, but he himself admits that he rides a bicycle everyday. Personally, I've never worn those silly colored Lycra costumes, and the only "racing" I ever did was as a young Engineering Student, to establish a "Benchmark Speed" for the bicycle, before installing the motor. The bicycle I used was only a twelve speed (a long time ago), but it had an Aerodynamic Fairing, and it went 47MPH. The Electric Moped never went that fast, and is in legal-limbo because the state DMV says a moped with pedals can only go 25MPH.
Anyway, there are a lot of 20-somethings riding a bicycle for the first time, because their parents mollycoddled them, and they have no experience riding a bicycle, and no idea what to do, because they were chaufured in the back of an SUV and never got to sit up front , the way we used to. Heck, I sat on the fold down center armrest of a 67 Chevy as a child, we didn't use safety seats, but I learned to drive by watching traffic from the front seat.
This concludes my very first post at freerepublic dot com.

[Rusdianto]

wow good product, I love that bike