Biking it and Liking It

[hotbike]

Video, with volunteers to ride the bike, because I was having the damndest time trying to ride the bike and aim the camera at myself at the same time:

The Type 5:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpET7TIomoA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXCyaSikDeM


The Type 9:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaVxNntUSnU

Note: The kids were rehearsing a play called "Grease" , with John Travolta, Olivia Newton John, and a Motorcycle called "Greased Lightning". So the Type 9 stood in as a prop for a motorcycle. At least that's my understanding.

[hotbike]

In case you haven't guessed, I obtained a DVD recorder last week, so I can now transfer my videotape collection to DVD, which in turn fits in the slot on my computer, so I can broadcast the video on YouTube.

Here are the Type 5 AND Type 6, together at the same time. Volunteers are doing the pedaling, so I can stand by and run the Camcorder:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFpejO0GTqw

Here is the Type 5 on a downhill run:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXctogS9qxc

Two More Downhill Runs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SIiCAewo48

This video shows how to install the handlebar clamps of the Type 7A, which serves as a handlebar basket:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGt8Rdy6gvQ

Barrier Impact Test- The Type 4 was used for a barrier impact test. The car companies crash test their cars, so I figured I should crash test a Human Powered Vehicle. There is a 70 pound piece of lead (boat ballast) in the fairing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2VL7wow_tk

[hotbike]

http://www.summitdaily.com/article/2.../1055&_ic=true

More Safety Tips:

Let's not forget; Stay on the right side of the road.

Wear a reflective vest.

Install lights on your bike and use them at night, or even on cloudy days, or if there is shade.

Get a rear view mirror, so you can see cars coming up behind you.

DON'T wear headphones, you want to hear cars coming.

I may be criticized for saying this, but DON'T always try to ride (race) at maximum speed. Take it easy, ride a little slower. You will have more time to react and can stop sooner. It is often better to pull over to the curb, stop, and let traffic go by, than to try to maintain the speed limit. Even if you can go 30mph, there are motorists who speed, so you can still get hit from behind. Keep an eye on the rear view mirror, and pull over to let Trucks and Busses go by.

Wear gloves in case you fall.

Make sure your shoe-laces don't get wrapped around the pedal spindle. Stop to tie your shoes.
7/13/2009 10:09:16 AM on summitdaily.com

[hotbike]

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/sto...ents_Container

[hotbike]

Okay, more facts are coming in. Disregard my previous comment. It was a left turn from south Salem onto Apex peakway. could they have been going up there to inspect the road construction? (Which I could see in the satellite photo on Google maps). I figure that's what Rosar was doing, since he's an expert in those matters.
I've bicycled 140,000 miles since 1972, never been hit by a car. I've tried all kinds of bicycles- one speeds, three speeds,six speeds, seven speeds, ten speeds, twelve speeds, eighteen speeds, twenty one speeds, Mountain bikes, touring bikes, racing bikes, recumbents, velomobiles, utility bikes, and even electric mopeds.
I like to ride alone. I realize some people feel safety in numbers, but I weigh 265 and can defend myself.
I would rather yield the R.O.W. to a car ; than risk my life trying to prove a point, or be a human road cone for some other idiot.

[hotbike]

I'm not against wearing a helmet, I wear one when I ride my bicycle.
But there are other safety devices which actually PREVENT accidents, whereas helmets only protect an individual after the fact.
Install lights on your bike. Lights help you be seen even in daytime, under tree-shade, shade from tall buildings, or on cloudy days. Most new tail lights have a flashing mode for daytime use.
Rear view mirror will enable the cyclist to see cars coming up from behind-could save your life.
Wear a reflective vest! Highway dept workers aren't allowed to work in the road without one!

And tell your kids to ride on the right side of the road. That's what we where told as kids. There were no helmets in those days. Today, moms say to the kids "Wear a helmet!", but in our youth, moms would say "Stay on the right side of the road!".

Ride to the right of the fog-line, or take a back street.

If you are not cycling any faster than 20mph, and you use the same precautions as a pedestrian, do you need a helmet?
Will pedestrians ever be required to wear helmets? Eight times more pedestrians get hit than bicyclists.

The key word is "Racing". If you bicycle faster than 25mph, wear a helmet.

[hotbike]

http://www.whas11.com/news/local/sto....4d9f5d31.html

[hotbike]

We have seen $4.00 a gallon gasoline, and many people are buying bikes. Last year, Americans bought more bikes that cars for the first time in sixty years.
Bicyclists do have the right to use the roads, and although we think of driving as a right, it is actually a privilege; you can lose your drivers license if you are a bad driver.
Rush Hour traffic is dangerous no matter what you're driving. Drivers should expect traffic jams at rush hour.
I don't agree that bicycles are a "menace". If there is an accident, it's the cyclist who gets killed. Speeders, on the other hand, are a menace, because they kill innocent people.
My advice to cyclists is "Take it easy", pull over and let traffic go by, then start up again. You may be able to keep up with the speed limit, but many drivers ignore the limit, and accuse the cyclist of blocking traffic anyway. And I know there are a lot of cyclists who can't keep up with the speed limit.

http://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/...ents_Container

[hotbike]

I've bicycled 140,000 miles since 1972. I've never had any collision with a car, and lately, for the past twelve years or so, there haven't even been any cars coming close to hitting my bike.
I don't race any bicycles anymore. I have found that motorists are bloody liars, when it come to the speed limit. I had so much trouble with speeders/tailgaters, while I was going between 37 and 47MPH on a 30MPH speed limit road, I decided to ride slower, like around 15MPH. It's easier to move over at a slow speed. One tailgater got ticketed for going 47 in a 30, and he accused ME of "holding up traffic". I was glad a Police car showed up that day, but It's not enough. Police enforcement of speed limits is what's needed.
So remember, you can ride a bicycle fast, faster than a man can run; or you can ride a bicycle slowly, but further than a man can walk.
So I don't "race" my bike anymore. I don't go "touring" either. I don't do stunts. I would describe my bicycling as "Patrolling" . I carry a note pad and a pen, and I write down license plate numbers. I started my own bicycle club and named myself "Course Marshall" .
But what I wanted to say is, children under ten shouldn't be riding bicycles on main roads.
Thank you for reading my comment.

http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmana...408003#comment

[hotbike]

Current standards for lane width call for 14 foot wide lanes. That would not leave much space for a shoulder, but on the other hand, 14 foot wide lanes are considered wide enough for cars and bicycles to share, side-by-side. Remember, you car is only 5.5 feet wide.
Many cyclists refuse to use the road shoulder, citing it as unsafe. Legally, there is no law in any state requiring cyclists to use the shoulder. In addition, auto traffic blows away road debris, so most cyclists ride in the same path as the right tires of the cars. Car tires also grind broken bottle glass to dust. The road shoulder is full of garbage, and it causes many flat tires to cyclists.
I favor the installation of "SHARE THE ROAD" signs, with a pictogram of a bicycle.
I've bicycled 140,000 miles since 1972 and I've never been knocked off my bike by a car. I may have been grazed by a few cars, but the drivers did nothing more than scrape some of their precious paint off their autos. ( I have rocks in my panniers).
I have a rear view mirror on my bicycle(s), and I haven't had any trouble with motorists in more than ten years.
Also, since I've gotten fat, motorists give me more room.
"Sub-Standard Lane Width" is a term which means there is not enough room for a car to pass a bicycle. If the lanes are 14 feet wide, then it's wide enough that a car can pass without coming within three feet of the bike. Share the road.

http://maplewood.patch.com/articles/...ed-in-millburn

[hotbike]

Yesterday I rode 12.28 miles(twelve and a quarter), from Glen Cove to Cold Spring Harbor. It took two hours and five minutes. Then I took a train back. I had to change trains, and the first train was scheduled to arrive in Mineola at 7:03PM, but it was three minutes late, arriving at 7:06PM. The second train, was scheduled to leave Mineola at 7:06PM, so I missed my connection and had to wait an hour for the next train. I took advantage of the wasted hour by doing some trainspotting, and I saw Locomotive number 160 headed eastbound without a train.
The trains on the Huntington line run half-hourly on the weekends, but the trains on the Oyster Bay line run at 1:06, 3:06, 5:06, 6:06, 7:06, 8:06, 10:06 and 12:00 midnight.
There is a Bike Route that runs from Cold Spring Harbor RR station to Smithtown, called "bicycle route 25A: but it is not actually on 25A (a.k.a. Northern Boulevard), due to heavy traffic and a high speed limit ( and piecemeal road shoulders).
I started with two 23 ounce bottles of water, and I bought two more bottles of water at the Dunkin' Donuts in Syosset . I drank all that water!
Anyway, I had gotten of to a late start at four something PM, so I did not ride the bike route, but maybe I will some other time.

I met another cyclist on the train on the way back, and he had taken the train to Port Jefferson and rode his bike to Riverhead and back to Port Jeff. Riverhead is like seventy miles from New York City.

No incidents to report, all motorists passed with at least five feet of room. I haven't seen a road-rager in years. I think it's a good idea to mention the fact that 99.99% of motorists are good drivers. Let's give credit where credit is due.

[hotbike]

reply to MLive:

It's a good thing that this bike trail network is being expanded. All kinds of people ride bikes; young and old, middle age and middle income too.
A rail trail might help keep bicycles off the streets, which is good if the bikes are going to slow or too fast. Bicycle racers sometimes exceed the speed limits, going forty or almost fifty in a thirty zone, which makes it difficult for motorists to pass. Recumbent bikes can exceed fifty five, so if a motorist passers a recumbent, and gets caught by the cops, it's the end of his driving days.
The Pere Marquette was known for it's fast trains, going back to the age of steam locomotives. The gentle slopes and wide curves should make a safe route for even the fastest bicycles. A lot of digging, with picks and shovels. went into the construction of the Pere Marquette roadbed. It's good that it's still being used and not going to waste.

http://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw/in...me_more_b.html

[hotbike]

There are two things that don't make sense together. Bike Lanes AND Street Parking?
As a cyclist myself, I'd rather have it the way it is, without street parking. Build a Municipal Parking lot if you want parking.
Do we really need bike lanes? If motorists were more courteous, there would be no demand for bike lanes, it's called "sharing the road". Treat bikes like any slow-moving vehicle; if there's a tractor on a 4 lane road, motorists would use the left lane to pass. Same with bikes. Let the bikes have the right lane. There is not a constant flow of bicycle traffic, the current four lane striping would be fine. Road-ragers trying to prove the need for 'Jersey Barriers, and other bad drivers are digging a hole for themselves.
I drive a car too, and I never have a problem with other bicycle-riders.

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/app...375&s=d&page=1

[hotbike]

FOUND pictures of my bikes on another site:

http://www.londonfgss.com/thread4037-57.html

That's London Fixed Gear and Single Speed dot com.

[hotbike]

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/art...0305/-1/NEWS04

[Brian]

As for myself, I have a car and five bikes. All of my bikes are insured on the same policy that covers my car. There is no need to register the bikes, since the make, model, color and serial number are already on file with the insurance company. This system saves the Government money, because the DMV doesn't need to hire personnel to keep *duplicate* paperwork."

What?

[hotbike]

What?

Whadaya mean; "what?". I've had my bicycles insured since 1986, when I first built a prototype of an Electric Moped, but it was classed as an "Experimental Vehicle". Haven't you ever been to Engineering School?

[hotbike]

I rode seventeen and a half miles yesterday. A lap and a half around the Loop in Central Park, and back down to 34th Street on the Hudson River Greenway. There is a nice new bike lane on 106th Street.

Today I wrote this:

"The Bicycle is a wonderful invention. One can ride a bicycle four times further, in a day, than one can walk. And the Bicycle is powered by the same legs one would use to walk, no engine required.
The Bicycle (with properly inflated tires) is the most efficient form of transportation in the world.

Everyone should have a bicycle. One doesn't have to choose between a Bicycle and a Car, most people have both. Ride a Bicycle on the weekends and save the gas in the Car's gas tank for the Monday morning commute. "

http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingn...ticle_comments

[Brian]

Whadaya mean; "what?". I've had my bicycles insured since 1986, when I first built a prototype of an Electric Moped, but it was classed as an "Experimental Vehicle". Haven't you ever been to Engineering School?

Engineering school has nothing to do with insuring bicycles under an auto policy. You make some pretty far-fetched claims, and that's one of them.

[hotbike]

Engineering school has nothing to do with insuring bicycles under an auto policy. You make some pretty far-fetched claims, and that's one of them.

When I built the first prototype, my Insurance Agent insured it as an "Experimental Vehicle". As for simply adding a bicycle to an existing auto insurance policy, I guess that can be done. I have a couple of Electric Bicycles and they are also insured- the Law requires E-Bikes to be insured.

We should work together to get the word out that bicycles CAN and SHOULD be Insured. When an insurance claim is filed, the Insurance Companies do a better job of keeping track of how may accidents each motorist has had, than the Police. (Perhaps because there's Money involved).

[hotbike]

Vehicular Homicide (Murder by Automobile), Aggravated Vehicular Assault, Harassment, Speeding and Defamation- These are a few of the things cyclists have to put up with. You can't have a fast lane without a slow lane. Bike lanes aren't for bicyclists to stay in, Bike Lanes are for motorists to stay out-of. If the road-ragers were put in prison, there would be no need for Bike Lanes. If one or two speeders were jailed, it would be a deterrent, and others would clean up their acts.
Read more: http://www.centredaily.com/news/loca...#ixzz0PmLtRuQK

[hotbike]

The Bicycle is a wonderful invention. One can ride a bicycle four times further, in a day, than one can walk. And the Bicycle is powered by the same legs one would use to walk, no engine required. The Bicycle (with properly inflated tires) is the most efficient form of transportation in the world.

Everyone should have a bicycle. One doesn't have to choose between a Bicycle and a Car, most people have both. Ride a Bicycle on the weekends and save the gas in the Car's gas tank for the Monday morning commute.

http://forums.mercurynews.com/topic/...source=article

[hotbike]

Airbags won't be feasible on bicycles; however, there is a pedal powered vehicle known as a Velomobile, and it might be possible to install airbags on a Velomobile.
Let me back-pedal for a moment; a bicycle could have an airbag if the bike has a "Fairing", (windshield) to mount the airbag in.
I have recommended in the past, that if one wishes to experiment with the idea of a bicycle airbag, first try putting a large plastic bag full of styrofoam packing peanuts in a bicycles handlebar basket. This way one could get an idea of what to expect.

Here is a crash test of a faired bicycle hitting a concrete wall:
youtube.com/watch?v=-2VL7wow_tk

Here is another video, of a Velomobile and a second bicycle with the front-end of a Velomobile (copy and paste):

youtube.com/watch?v=HFpejO0GTqw

Such vehicles exist, but they are very rare. Velomobiles can get extremely hot inside, so they are not practical in Southern climates.
Consider that the automobile went through stages in it's development; Bumpers came first, then dashboards, then seatbelts, and lastly airbags. Don't forget Frame-Rails and the Crumple-Zone.

The video is of bikes (Velomobiles) built by an Engineering Student some twenty years ago, and the vehicles are not commercially available.

http://www.examiner.com/x-14111-Twin...ikes?#comments

[hotbike]

I drive a car, but I like bicycling too. I have ridden my bicycle in Tennessee while I was stationed at a Military Base in TN. I live on Long Island, and sometimes I ride my bicycle in New York City.
Of the two, I have to say that I feel it is safer to ride a bike in New York City, than on the country roads in Tennessee. New York City has bicycle lanes. Tennessee has narrow roads with too much vegetation growing along the sides of the roads.
When I drive my car, I give bicyclists the same respect I would expect. If I come up behind a bicycle, I Check My Speed! That's why my car has a speedometer, and brakes. If I have to, I will wait, staying 200 feet behind the bike, until it is safe to pass, or I come to an intersection and have an opportunity to take a different road. You'd be surprised how many cyclists can do the speed limit, or at least twenty-something in a 30MPH zone.
My opinion is that Tennessee DOT needs to clear roadside vegetation, and the Police need to issue more speeding tickets.

http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story...3&provider=top

[hotbike]

http://www.santamariatimes.com/artic...t#blogcomments

" The bicycle is supposed to be ridden in the road. However, there are motorists who yell "Get on the Sidewalk!" to bicyclists. Just ignore them, they don't know the rules.
I don't want to say anything about Bike Lanes, but there is an issue with Road Shoulders, a.k.a. Lane Margins. Not all roads have shoulders, there is no standardization. I would ride my bicycle to the right of the fog-line, on the shoulder, all the time if all roads had shoulders. Sometimes the fog-line is at the very edge of the pavement.
I finally made a concession to install a rear-view mirror on my bicycle, keep an eye out for cars (and trucks) coming from behind, and pull over to let traffic go by when necessary- I mean I pull to the edge, put my foot on the curb, and lean so the handlebar doesn't stick out. Only my tires are in the road, touching the curb, and they are only an inch or two wide (depending on which of my bicycles I happen to be riding). Most drivers are far enough left that I don't have to take such an extreme measure, but I do have to look at every car in my rear-view mirror.
Also, if I come to a parked car, I check my mirror, and if there is traffic coming, I wait for them to go by before passing the parked car. Again , this is a concession that I made, out of concern for my safety, and as a courtesy to motorists. There is no law saying I have to resort to such an extreme measure. Other cyclists will be furious if you tell them to do what I do. It is after all, the motorists obligation to watch where he or she is going. "