Bike Safety: "Never ride a bike when it's wet outside!"

[Frank Krygowski]

Is this the next front in the anti-bicycling war, the war to protect us
from ourselves?


On leaving the office today, I saw the guy with the milk crate on the
back rack had bought a new bike - or, perhaps, someone new had taken
over his usual parking place.

I didn't recognize the bike's brand name, so I went over for a closer
look. Seemed to be "A2F" with the "2" as a superscript (as in
"squared"), model seemed to be "Barracuda." New to me.

Then I saw the sticker on the top tube:

"Caution!" [Uh-oh]

"Never ride a bike at night without lights!" [OK, good advice.]

"Never ride a bike without an ANSI, ASTM or Snell approved helmet!"
[Well, you _know_ what I think about that.]

"Never ride a bike when it's wet outside!" [??????????]


I suppose it's just a matter of time before fenders are made illegal.
We can't keep condoning, let alone supporting, such irresponsible
behavior!

And you folks in the Pacific Northwest - just give it up, OK? Get
yourself an SUV like God intended!



--
--------------------+
Frank Krygowski [To reply, remove rodent and vegetable dot com,
replace with cc.ysu dot edu]

 

[maxo]

On Thu, 04 Nov 2004 21:18:11 -0500, Frank Krygowski wrote:

> "Never ride a bike when it's wet outside!" [??????????]

Ha ha ha

I just re-engineered my front fender spray flap to cope with the fresh
28mm tires. Nothing can stop me now....

 

[Michael]

maxo wrote:
>
> On Thu, 04 Nov 2004 21:18:11 -0500, Frank Krygowski wrote:
>
> > "Never ride a bike when it's wet outside!" [??????????]
>
> Ha ha ha
>
> I just re-engineered my front fender spray flap to cope with the fresh
> 28mm tires. Nothing can stop me now....


I am acquainted with a particular iron bridge which you apparently
haven't met ... yet.

 

[R15757]

maxo wrote:

<< I just re-engineered my front fender spray flap to cope with the fresh
28mm tires. >>


I just re-engineered my front fender to cope with
backwards riding.

Robert

 

[Peter Cole]

"Frank Krygowski" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Is this the next front in the anti-bicycling war, the war to protect us
> from ourselves?
>
>
> On leaving the office today, I saw the guy with the milk crate on the
> back rack had bought a new bike - or, perhaps, someone new had taken
> over his usual parking place.
>
> I didn't recognize the bike's brand name, so I went over for a closer
> look. Seemed to be "A2F" with the "2" as a superscript (as in
> "squared"), model seemed to be "Barracuda." New to me.
>
> Then I saw the sticker on the top tube:
>
> "Caution!" [Uh-oh]
>
> "Never ride a bike at night without lights!" [OK, good advice.]
>
> "Never ride a bike without an ANSI, ASTM or Snell approved helmet!"
> [Well, you _know_ what I think about that.]
>
> "Never ride a bike when it's wet outside!" [??????????]
>
>
> I suppose it's just a matter of time before fenders are made illegal.
> We can't keep condoning, let alone supporting, such irresponsible
> behavior!
>
> And you folks in the Pacific Northwest - just give it up, OK? Get
> yourself an SUV like God intended!

Actually, my daughter (11 )has one of those bikes, it's a "Barracuda A2Z",
a fairly entry-level MTB. I guess I missed the sticker, she rode it 20
miles last Saturday in the (45 degree) rain. I suppose, like pulling her on
a trailer in the city, that makes me a bad dad.

 

[Zoot Katz]

Thu, 04 Nov 2004 21:18:11 -0500, <[email protected]>,
Frank Krygowski <[email protected]> wrote:

>"Never ride a bike when it's wet outside!" [??????????]

I'm afraid it reflects the sorry state of *Common Sense* today.
--
zk

 

[Roger Zoul]

Michael wrote:
:: maxo wrote:
:::
::: On Thu, 04 Nov 2004 21:18:11 -0500, Frank Krygowski wrote:
:::
:::: "Never ride a bike when it's wet outside!" [??????????]
:::
::: Ha ha ha
:::
::: I just re-engineered my front fender spray flap to cope with the
::: fresh 28mm tires. Nothing can stop me now....
::
::
:: I am acquainted with a particular iron bridge which you apparently
:: haven't met ... yet.

Never ride on an iron bridge when it's wet outisde!

Silly.

 

[Bob Burns]

Frank Krygowski wrote:
> Is this the next front in the anti-bicycling war, the war to protect
> us from ourselves?
>
>
> On leaving the office today, I saw the guy with the milk crate on the
> back rack had bought a new bike - or, perhaps, someone new had taken
> over his usual parking place.
>
> I didn't recognize the bike's brand name, so I went over for a closer
> look. Seemed to be "A2F" with the "2" as a superscript (as in
> "squared"), model seemed to be "Barracuda." New to me.
>
> Then I saw the sticker on the top tube:
>
> "Caution!" [Uh-oh]
>
> "Never ride a bike at night without lights!" [OK, good advice.]
>
> "Never ride a bike without an ANSI, ASTM or Snell approved helmet!"
> [Well, you _know_ what I think about that.]
>
> "Never ride a bike when it's wet outside!" [??????????]
>
>
> I suppose it's just a matter of time before fenders are made illegal.
> We can't keep condoning, let alone supporting, such irresponsible
> behavior!
>
> And you folks in the Pacific Northwest - just give it up, OK? Get
> yourself an SUV like God intended!

What about riding in the snow?

--
Bob Burns
Mill Hall PA
[email protected]

 

[Bob Burns]

Zoot Katz wrote:
> Thu, 04 Nov 2004 21:18:11 -0500, <[email protected]>,
> Frank Krygowski <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> "Never ride a bike when it's wet outside!" [??????????]
>
> I'm afraid it reflects the sorry state of *Common Sense* today.

And the sorry state of litagation fears. Sounds like a CYA to me!

--
Bob Burns
Mill Hall PA
[email protected]

 

[John Everett]

On Thu, 04 Nov 2004 21:18:11 -0500, Frank Krygowski
<[email protected]> wrote:

>"Never ride a bike when it's wet outside!" [??????????]

One of my prime tenets, but it has nothing to do with safety. ;-)



jeverett3<AT>earthlink<DOT>net http://home.earthlink.net/~jeverett3

 

[maxo]

On Fri, 05 Nov 2004 05:49:07 +0000, Michael wrote:

> maxo wrote:
>>
>> On Thu, 04 Nov 2004 21:18:11 -0500, Frank Krygowski wrote:
>>
>> > "Never ride a bike when it's wet outside!" [??????????]
>>
>> Ha ha ha
>>
>> I just re-engineered my front fender spray flap to cope with the fresh
>> 28mm tires. Nothing can stop me now....
>
>
> I am acquainted with a particular iron bridge which you apparently haven't
> met ... yet.

What? I've ridden many Chicago winters and crossed the iron bridges
thousands of times, though in that climate I switch to a 35mm tire.

Wood bridges are worse.

 

[Terry Morse]

Peter Cole wrote:

> Actually, my daughter (11 )has one of those bikes, it's a "Barracuda A2Z",
> a fairly entry-level MTB. I guess I missed the sticker, she rode it 20
> miles last Saturday in the (45 degree) rain.

She must have been well dressed, hypothermia is not pleasant.
Yesterday's descent was 5 miles long at 7.4%, 43F, with light rain.
Clothing was poly undershirt, long-sleeve jersey, Windstopper
jacket, helmet cover, glove liners, shorts, leg warmers, fleece
booties. At the bottom, I couldn't stop shaking for a couple of
minutes.

On cold and wet days, I wish there were a sag service to take you
from the top of climbs to the bottom. Climbing in the cold is no
problem, it's the descents that are unpleasant and just a little
hazardous.
--
terry morse Palo Alto, CA http://bike.terrymorse.com/

 

[Peter Cole]

"Terry Morse" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Peter Cole wrote:
>
> > Actually, my daughter (11 )has one of those bikes, it's a "Barracuda
A2Z",
> > a fairly entry-level MTB. I guess I missed the sticker, she rode it 20
> > miles last Saturday in the (45 degree) rain.
>
> She must have been well dressed, hypothermia is not pleasant.
> Yesterday's descent was 5 miles long at 7.4%, 43F, with light rain.
> Clothing was poly undershirt, long-sleeve jersey, Windstopper
> jacket, helmet cover, glove liners, shorts, leg warmers, fleece
> booties. At the bottom, I couldn't stop shaking for a couple of
> minutes.

Cold & wet is the hardest to dress for. My daughter was fine, except for
her feet, she was using sneakers and had no fenders (unlike parents)
because she only has 1 bike for on & off road. She & my wife both had
Activent jackets over fleece tops, fleece tights. It takes a lot more than
that to get hypothermia.

> On cold and wet days, I wish there were a sag service to take you
> from the top of climbs to the bottom. Climbing in the cold is no
> problem, it's the descents that are unpleasant and just a little
> hazardous.

There's no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.

 

[Maggie]

maxo <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> On Thu, 04 Nov 2004 21:18:11 -0500, Frank Krygowski wrote:
>
> > "Never ride a bike when it's wet outside!" [??????????]
>
> Ha ha ha
>
> I just re-engineered my front fender spray flap to cope with the fresh
> 28mm tires. Nothing can stop me now....

"There's a very fine line between a groove and a rut; a fine line
between eccentrics and people who are just plain nuts."

 

[the black rose]

Roger Zoul wrote:
> Never ride on an iron bridge when it's wet outisde!

Actually, that's good advice. We have an old iron bridge in
my county that's extremely dangerous to bicycles when wet.
Not all that safe for a car, for that matter. =:-O

-km

--
Only cowards fight kids -- unidentified Moscow protester

http://community.webshots.com/user/blackrosequilts
proud to be owned by a yorkie

 

[Chris Zacho The Wheelman]

Lawyers. "Can't live with 'em and you just can't shoot 'em!"

- -

"May you have the wind at your back.
And a really low gear for the hills!"

Chris Zacho ~ "Your Friendly Neighborhood Wheelman"

Chris'Z Corner
http://www.geocities.com/czcorner

 

[Dennis Ferguson]

Terry Morse <[email protected]> wrote:
>On cold and wet days, I wish there were a sag service to take you
>from the top of climbs to the bottom. Climbing in the cold is no
>problem, it's the descents that are unpleasant and just a little
>hazardous.

I'll say, or at least it seems that way to me. My racing bicycle seems
rock-solid stable to me at downhill speeds all summer, but tends to shimmy
after bumps when I'm feeling uncomfortable in the winter. I've ended up
moving many of my regular rides to the afternoon when it's warmer, I've
gotten shy about the rain and I'll sometimes avoid climbing the local hills
just because of the marine layer clouds peeking over the top.

When I lived on the east coast I didn't mind cold or wet nearly as
much as I've come to now, so these may be symptoms of having lived in
California long enough for my blood to thin, or something...

Dennis Ferguson

 

[justen]

Frank Krygowski <[email protected]> wrote:
> look. Seemed to be "A2F" with the "2" as a superscript (as in
> "squared"), model seemed to be "Barracuda." New to me.

> Then I saw the sticker on the top tube:
> "Never ride a bike when it's wet outside!" [??????????]

That's a mountain bike. Barracuda tended to be
marketed towards the "hardcore, rad, badboy skater dudes." I think
the warning is trying to say, "Avoid wet trails," in a hip way.
I thought Barracuda stopped making mountain bikes ~2000, but I
could be mistaken, or the name/image may have been resurrected by
some marketing pukes.

justen

 

[Frank Krygowski]

justen wrote:

> I think
> the warning is trying to say, "Avoid wet trails," in a hip way.

As if that makes any more sense?


--
Frank Krygowski [To reply, remove rodent and vegetable dot com.
Substitute cc dot ysu dot
edu]

 

[justen]

Frank Krygowski <[email protected]> wrote:
> justen wrote:
>> I think
>> the warning is trying to say, "Avoid wet trails," in a hip way.

> As if that makes any more sense?

You need to get off your paved retro couch once in a while.

International Mountain Bike Association, Rules of the Trail,
Number 2, Leave No Trace:

"Be sensitive to the dirt beneath you. Recognize different types
of soils and trail construction; practice low-impact cycling. Wet
and muddy trails are more vulnerable to damage. When the trailbed is
soft, consider other riding options. This also means staying on
existing trails and not creating new ones. Don't cut switchbacks.
Be sure to pack out at least as much as you pack in."

Barracuda is trying to encourage its riders to be responsible
trail users. As if a large percentage of mountain bikes,
or SUVs, ever see dirt.

justen