Today's "responsible" cyclists.

Stephen Harding said:

Zoot Katz said:

[email hidden] (Brent P) wrote:

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( I got tired of throwing money into the bike)

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Throwing money into a bike?  A person can spend more annually just
maintaining their tennis racquet.

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Two chains, two tires and four brake pads usually does me for a year
of daily transportation.  Occasional cog, rim and chain ring
replacement is interspersed over five years.

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I have more than one bike so that spreads the wear. Some days, some
destinations and some whims demand different bikes. Maintaining
eleven bikes for a year probably costs me less than two months of
insurance on only one of your cars.

I actually "got tired" of fixes for my beloved Mongoose.

It recently broke a rear axle and rear deraileur.  I could
always put a $30 new deraileur and another $35 (6-speed freewheel)
wheel on it but I've done that three times now over the past 6 years.

Six speed cogs are getting harder to find (that start lower than 14t)
and upgrading means a cascade of related replacements (shifter,
perhaps cable, perhaps brake as well since the two were combined and
maybe more).

Heck with it!  Nearly $500 got me an 8-speed cogset Raleigh MTB with
front shocks and disk brakes.  Very smooth Alivio shifting compared
with what I was used to, and a larger frame that makes the bike much
more comfortable to ride.

Every bike has its season!

SMH- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Do you ever consider using things like greenways in order to avoid
traffic while you are cycling? I've found them to be more scenic, less
stressful, and of course--minus distracted drivers!

Quoted message said:

Do you ever consider using things like greenways in order to avoid
traffic while you are cycling? I've found them to be more scenic, less
stressful, and of course--minus distracted drivers!

I frequently use one short "multi-use path" simply because it starts
two blocks from my house and runs directly toward my workplace, taking
me to the best "riding" street going that direction. But don't
overestimate the significance. It's only one block long.

Overall, I'd guess less than 1% of my riding is on such things. Why?
Because except for that one block cut-through, they aren't available
where I'm riding, and they don't take me where I want or need to go.
Furthermore, unless someone builds another handy little shortcut like
that, they never will. There is just no way to put practical MUPs in
most places.

What I won't do is put my bike in my car and haul it out to the
closest such path, about five miles away, ride back and forth, then
drive home. In general, when I want to ride my bike, I don't want to
drive my car.

- Frank Krygowski

Quoted message said:

Do you ever consider using things like greenways in  order to avoid
traffic while you are cycling? I've found them to be more scenic, less
stressful, and of course--minus distracted drivers!

Around here, they don't get plowed of snow, so they're useless for
months each year. During the summer, they're just longer and slower,
but sometimes they make a nice change.

Stephen Harding said:

Nate Nagel said:

Stephen Harding wrote:

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Those are the types that end up as bike fatality statistics eventually.

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And still y'all don't believe me when I say that I feel like I have more
to worry about from cyclists than from other drivers, at least on a
per-encounter basis.

I think it's wasted worry.  Just not significant enough to bother with.

I disagree. that was the whole point; I'm tired of seeing cyclists
"just in time" when simply by having a light there would be no issue
whatsoever.

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Let's face it.  the people that are going to bother to search out a
newsgroup with "bicycles" in the title are not the same people that are
making up their own rules as they ride out there one the roads.  Just
like the vast majority of people driving could give two [censored] about
actually driving, and would be astounded that anyone would care enough
about it to find a Usenet group about it.

I think people who actually use a bike for transport (in place of a car)
are probably going to be far better in traffic than even experienced
motorists simply because the penalties are too high not to be better.

Then one has the kids and who knows what they'll do.

And an intermediate group that are adult or enthusiasts, but regard
the bike as the best of both the motoring and pedaling worlds.  They
can ride on the road, pedal past jammed traffic, yet pass through
intersections like a pedestrian, travel on a sidewalk or wrong way on
a road, or make a "quick trip" to the convenience store at night without
lighting.

I believe statistics predict if you ride the wrong side of the road
or at night without lighting, you're probably headed for the fatality
column of some government accident report at some point in your future.

Then they must be breeding like mad, because there's a lot of them.
Or else the local drivers are just too blase to cuss them out,
complain to the police, whatever.

nate

N8N said:

On Mar 4, 3:36 pm, Stephen Harding <[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

I disagree. that was the whole point; I'm tired of seeing cyclists
"just in time" when simply by having a light there would be no issue
whatsoever.

it sounds like you need to slow down if stuff is sneaking up on you
while you're driving. I don't understand why all you people want to
drive your cars on the roads where all those bicyclists are anyway...
why don't you just go drive on the freeway where non-motorized
vehicles are prohibited? I mean pulling your head out and paying
attention while piloting a 3klb machine down the public roadway should
be no issue whatsoever... I just don't understand why all y'all gotta
kill 44,000 people every year, so apparently paying attention is an
issue for you and your ilk.

DennisTheBald said:

N8N said:

On Mar 4, 3:36 pm, Stephen Harding <[email hidden]> wrote:
I disagree.  that was the whole point; I'm tired of seeing cyclists
"just in time" when simply by having a light there would be no issue
whatsoever.

it sounds like you need to slow down if stuff is sneaking up on you
while you're driving.  I don't understand why all you people want to
drive your cars on the roads where all those bicyclists are anyway...
why don't you just go drive on the freeway where non-motorized
vehicles are prohibited?  I mean pulling your head out and paying
attention while piloting a 3klb machine down the public roadway should
be no issue whatsoever... I just don't understand why all y'all gotta
kill 44,000 people every year, so apparently paying attention is an
issue for you and your ilk.

let me guess, you ride without a light after dark too?

nate

Quoted message said:

Do you ever consider using things like greenways in order to avoid
traffic while you are cycling? I've found them to be more scenic, less
stressful, and of course--minus distracted drivers!

If by "greenway" you mean a bike path, yes I use a local
bike path quite frequently during summer commutes for
the very reasons you mention: scenic and calm.

However they don't plow them during winter so you can
only choose roads for the commute, most of which aren't
too bad.

SMH

Quoted message said:

Do you ever consider using things like greenways in order to avoid
traffic while you are cycling? I've found them to be more scenic, less
stressful, and of course--minus distracted drivers!

Due to the pedestrians, dog walkers, munchkins, poor sight lines, low
design speeds and worst of all, unprotected crossings of busy roads,
multi-use paths are LESS safe than riding on the street.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
The weather is here, wish you were beautiful