M
Mike Iglesias
Guest
Last updated: April 30, 2003
Weekly Posting for Rec.Bicycles.*
This is the weekly posting to Rec.Bicycles.*. In it, you
will find information on how to get a copy of the FAQ (in
case you missed it when it was posted to
rec.bicycles.misc/news.answers) and some tips on nettiquette
when posting articles to rec.bicycles.*.
The FAQ was last updated on April 30, 2003.
Mike Iglesias [email protected]
Gopher and Web access to rec.bicycles archives and FAQ
------------------------------------------------------
I've made the rec.bicycles ftp archives available via gopher
and the Web, and have split the FAQ up into individual files
for easier access via gopher. The FAQ is available via the
Web as listed below.
You can access the FAQ and archives via the Web using
these URLs:
<http://draco.acs.uci.edu/rbfaq/> <http://www.cis.ohio-
state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/bicycles-faq/top.html>
To connect to the gopher server, use the hostname
draco.acs.uci.edu and port 1071. Please don't ask me how to
use gopher or how to configure your gopher client; I don't
know how to use all the available gopher clients, nor do I
have access to them. Please talk to your local gopher gurus.
Again, please ask your local gurus for information on how to
use Web clients.
Posting Guidelines
------------------
The rec.bicycles subgroups are described below - please
try to post your article to the appropriate group. The
newsgroups were designed to minimize cross posting, so
please take the time to think about the most appropriate
newsgroup and post your article there. Most postings to
rec.bicycles should not be cross-posted to groups
outside of rec.*.
rec.bicycles: DO NOT USE THIS NEWSGROUP - it should have
been dropped
from news servers, having been replaced by
rec.bicycles.misc.
rec.bicycles.marketplace: Bicycles, components, ancillary
equipment and services wanted or for sale, reviews of such
things, places to buy them, and evaluations of these
sources. Not for discussion of general engineering,
maintenance, or repair -- see rec.bicycles.tech.
rec.bicycles.tech: Techniques of engineering, construction,
maintenance and repair of bicycles and ancillary equipment.
Not for products or services offered or wanted -- see
rec.bicycles.marketplace.
rec.bicycles.rides: Discussions of tours and training or
commuting routes. Not for disussion of general riding
techniques -- see rec.bicycles.misc. Not for products or
services offered or wanted -- see rec.bicycles.marketplace.
rec.bicycles.soc: Social issues, cycling transportation
advocacy, laws, conduct of riders and drivers; road hazards
such as potholes, dogs, and sociopaths. Not for products or
services offered or wanted -- see rec.bicycles.marketplace.
rec.bicycles.racing: Race results, racing techniques, rules,
and organizations. Not racing equipment -- see
rec.bicycles.marketplace or rec.bicycles.tech.
rec.bicycles.misc: General riding techniques, rider
physiology, injuries and treatment, diets, and other cycling
topics. Not for products or services offered or wanted --
see rec.bicycles.marketplace.
rec.bicycles.off-road: This group is moderated. Discussion
of riding on unimproved roads, gravel, dirt, grass, sand,
single track or 4x4 roads. Also discussion of environmental
issues related to mountain biking, trail issues, backcountry
travel, how to handle conditions (technically and evo-
sensitively), off-road magazines and other media.
Nettiquette
-----------
Here are some tips to remember when posting to
rec.bicycles.*:
* Check your line lengths. Most readers use 80 column
terminals, and articles with longer line lengths are
hard to read. 72 characters per line is a good length,
since it allows others to quote you without running over
80 characters.
* Trim down your quotes. Delete parts of the article that
you are not responding to. Less to read from previous
posts is better. And please don't include the signature
of the article you are responding to.
* If you are asking a basic question, please check the
FAQ first. If the FAQ is has expired on your system,
see the "Archives" section below for information on how
to get a copy.
* If someone posts a question about something that was
resolved recently, please answer the poster via email.
Rehashing something that was just discussed is a waste
of bandwidth unless you have something new to add.
* Please don't flame someone if their posting should have
been restricted to a certain region (for example,
california only). Most people are not the news admin on
their system, so publicly flaming them does no good. A
nicely worded email message to them that there may be a
problem would allow them to notify their news admin.
Please remember that it may be some other site
somewhere along the line that is leaking articles out
of its region and the poster may not have any way to
solve the problem.
* Along the above lines, please try to restrict your
postings to your site/region/state/whatever. People in
Australia may not want to see bike-for-sale ads from the
U.S., for example.
* Make your subject line informative about the content of
your article.
* If you are following up an article to create a new
article, please remember to delete the "References:"
line in the header. This will help the readers who use a
threaded news reader; otherwise your new topic will be
mixed in with an old one.
* Please don't flame others. We're a somewhat opinionated
group, and there are many diverse personalities here.
This is especially true in the never-ending helmet wars.
* Speaking of helmet wars, let's try to stay away from
them. Most everything that could be said pro and con
for wearing helmets has been said at least once in
rec.bicycles. There is some evidence that wearing a
helmet can help prevent head injuries. There are
people that wear a helmet all the time, people that
wear a helmet some of the time, and people who will
never wear one. Everyone has their own reasons for
their decision, and most will not change it in the
middle of a flaming helmet war. Questions on types of
helmets, what ones are coolest (temperature and
otherwise), etc are always welcome.
Archives
I've made available via anonymous ftp a copy of the current
FAQ and a few other items on draco.acs.uci.edu
(128.200.34.12). This is the workstation on my desk, so I'd
appreciate it if people would restrict their use to 7pm-7am
Pacific time. The files are in pub/rec.bicycles.
For those without Internet access, you can use the ftpmail
server at gatekeeper.dec.com to get copies of items in the
archives. I really don't have time to email copies of files
to people who can't get at them easily. To use the ftpmail
server, send an email message containing the line
help
in the body of the message to [email protected].
You'll get a help file back with more information on how to
use the ftpmail server.
Here is an example of what to put in the body of a message
to to get the README file:
connect draco.acs.uci.edu chdir pub/rec.bicycles get README
Here's what's available at this time:
README for Rec.Bicycles Anonymous FTP area
arnie.light Arnie Berger's ([email protected]) "Ultimate
bike light"
bike_gear.sea.hqx Lawrence Hare's ([email protected])
copy of a Hypercard stack to calculate gearing. Lawrence
says there is a newer version on major bbs systems.
bike.lockers David H. Wolfskill's ([email protected])
summary of bike locker vendors.
bike.painting Sam Henry's ([email protected]) collection of
articles on how to paint a bike.
bike_power.* Ken Roberts program to calculate power output
and power consumption. See bike_power.doc for more info.
updated by Mark Grennan ([email protected])
biking_log.* Phil Etheridge's ([email protected])
hypercard stack riding diary. It keeps track of dates,
distance, time, average speed, etc., and keeps running
weekly, monthly, and yearly totals. See biking_log.read_me
for more information.
CA-veh-code A directory containing the California vehicle
code sections that pertain to bicycles and gopher bookmarks.
See the README in that directory for more information.
camera.tour Vivian Aldridge's ([email protected]) collection
of articles on cameras to take on a bike tour.
competitive.nutrition Roger Marquis' ([email protected])
article from the Feb 91 Velo News on nutrition and cycling.
computer.calibrate computer.install Sheldon Brown's
([email protected]) universal bike computer
calibration chart and installation suggestions.
cyclesense Larry Watanabe's
([email protected]) copy of the "Cycle Sense
for Motorists" ready to run thru LaTeX.
faq.* The current Frequently Asked Questions posting
first.century Pamela Blalock's ([email protected]) tips on
training for your first century ride.
frame.build Terry Zmrhal's ([email protected]) writeup of
a frame building class he took.
gear.c Larry Watanabe's ([email protected])
program to print gear inch tables.
glossary Alan Bloom's ([email protected]) glossary of
bicycle terms.
lab.info Erin O'Brien's ([email protected]) article on the
League of American Bicyclists.
lights Tom Reingold's ([email protected]) collection
of articles on bike lights.
lights2 More articles from rec.bicycles.* on lights.
mtb.faq Vince Cheng's ([email protected]) MTB FAQ.
pam.bmb* Pamela Blalock's ([email protected]) report on her
Boston-Montreal-Boston rides.
pam.pactour* Pamela Blalock's ([email protected]) writeup
of her PAC tours across the country.
pbp.info Pamela Blalock's ([email protected]) information
on her Paris-Brest-Paris ride.
pictures Bicycling gif pictures.
prof.sched Roland Stahl's ([email protected]) list
of scheduled professional races in many countries.
pwm.regulator Willie Hunt's ([email protected]) design
notes on a pulse width modulated voltage regulator.
Originally designed for caving, this design is adaptable to
bike lighting. The author has parts available in kit form.
ride.index Chris Hull's/Bill Bushnell's
([email protected]) explanation of a way to "index"
rides and compare the difficulty of different rides.
ridelg22.* Found on AOL by Gary Thurman
([email protected]), a ride diary program. The .exe file
a self-extracting archive for PCs.
spike.bike Bob Fishell's ([email protected]) Spike
Bike series. They are numbered in the order that Bob posted
them to rec.bicycles. All the Spike Bike stories are
"Copyright 1989 by Robert Fishell, all rights reserved."
spokelen11.bas Roger Marquis' ([email protected]) spoke
length calculator, written in Microsoft Quickbasic.
spokelen.c Andy Tucker's ([email protected]) port of
Roger Marquis' spokelen11.bas to C.
spokelen.hqx Eric Topp's [email protected]'s Hypercard
stack that computes spoke lengths.
studded.tires (Name removed by request) compilation of
messages on studded tires, including how to make your own.
tandem.boxes Arnie Berger's ([email protected]) notes on
how he built a box to transport his tandem to Europe and
back. It's taken from a longer travelogue on his trip - if
you want more information, contact him at the above address.
tech.supp.phone Joshua Putnam's ([email protected]) list
of technical support numbers for various manufacturers.
This list used to be in the FAQ but now is too long to
include there.
trailers A summary posting of messages about bike trailers.
Good stuff if you're thinking of buying a trailer.
wheelbuild.txt Sheldon Brown's ([email protected])
instructions on how to build a wheel.
wheels.*.hqx R. Scott Truesdell's ([email protected])
Hypercard stack to calculate spoke lengths. See
wheels.readme for more info.
wintertips Pete Hickey's ([email protected]) notes
about how to cycle in the winter.
wintertips.pam Pamela Blalock's ([email protected]) winter
cycling tips.
Weekly Posting for Rec.Bicycles.*
This is the weekly posting to Rec.Bicycles.*. In it, you
will find information on how to get a copy of the FAQ (in
case you missed it when it was posted to
rec.bicycles.misc/news.answers) and some tips on nettiquette
when posting articles to rec.bicycles.*.
The FAQ was last updated on April 30, 2003.
Mike Iglesias [email protected]
Gopher and Web access to rec.bicycles archives and FAQ
------------------------------------------------------
I've made the rec.bicycles ftp archives available via gopher
and the Web, and have split the FAQ up into individual files
for easier access via gopher. The FAQ is available via the
Web as listed below.
You can access the FAQ and archives via the Web using
these URLs:
<http://draco.acs.uci.edu/rbfaq/> <http://www.cis.ohio-
state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/bicycles-faq/top.html>
To connect to the gopher server, use the hostname
draco.acs.uci.edu and port 1071. Please don't ask me how to
use gopher or how to configure your gopher client; I don't
know how to use all the available gopher clients, nor do I
have access to them. Please talk to your local gopher gurus.
Again, please ask your local gurus for information on how to
use Web clients.
Posting Guidelines
------------------
The rec.bicycles subgroups are described below - please
try to post your article to the appropriate group. The
newsgroups were designed to minimize cross posting, so
please take the time to think about the most appropriate
newsgroup and post your article there. Most postings to
rec.bicycles should not be cross-posted to groups
outside of rec.*.
rec.bicycles: DO NOT USE THIS NEWSGROUP - it should have
been dropped
from news servers, having been replaced by
rec.bicycles.misc.
rec.bicycles.marketplace: Bicycles, components, ancillary
equipment and services wanted or for sale, reviews of such
things, places to buy them, and evaluations of these
sources. Not for discussion of general engineering,
maintenance, or repair -- see rec.bicycles.tech.
rec.bicycles.tech: Techniques of engineering, construction,
maintenance and repair of bicycles and ancillary equipment.
Not for products or services offered or wanted -- see
rec.bicycles.marketplace.
rec.bicycles.rides: Discussions of tours and training or
commuting routes. Not for disussion of general riding
techniques -- see rec.bicycles.misc. Not for products or
services offered or wanted -- see rec.bicycles.marketplace.
rec.bicycles.soc: Social issues, cycling transportation
advocacy, laws, conduct of riders and drivers; road hazards
such as potholes, dogs, and sociopaths. Not for products or
services offered or wanted -- see rec.bicycles.marketplace.
rec.bicycles.racing: Race results, racing techniques, rules,
and organizations. Not racing equipment -- see
rec.bicycles.marketplace or rec.bicycles.tech.
rec.bicycles.misc: General riding techniques, rider
physiology, injuries and treatment, diets, and other cycling
topics. Not for products or services offered or wanted --
see rec.bicycles.marketplace.
rec.bicycles.off-road: This group is moderated. Discussion
of riding on unimproved roads, gravel, dirt, grass, sand,
single track or 4x4 roads. Also discussion of environmental
issues related to mountain biking, trail issues, backcountry
travel, how to handle conditions (technically and evo-
sensitively), off-road magazines and other media.
Nettiquette
-----------
Here are some tips to remember when posting to
rec.bicycles.*:
* Check your line lengths. Most readers use 80 column
terminals, and articles with longer line lengths are
hard to read. 72 characters per line is a good length,
since it allows others to quote you without running over
80 characters.
* Trim down your quotes. Delete parts of the article that
you are not responding to. Less to read from previous
posts is better. And please don't include the signature
of the article you are responding to.
* If you are asking a basic question, please check the
FAQ first. If the FAQ is has expired on your system,
see the "Archives" section below for information on how
to get a copy.
* If someone posts a question about something that was
resolved recently, please answer the poster via email.
Rehashing something that was just discussed is a waste
of bandwidth unless you have something new to add.
* Please don't flame someone if their posting should have
been restricted to a certain region (for example,
california only). Most people are not the news admin on
their system, so publicly flaming them does no good. A
nicely worded email message to them that there may be a
problem would allow them to notify their news admin.
Please remember that it may be some other site
somewhere along the line that is leaking articles out
of its region and the poster may not have any way to
solve the problem.
* Along the above lines, please try to restrict your
postings to your site/region/state/whatever. People in
Australia may not want to see bike-for-sale ads from the
U.S., for example.
* Make your subject line informative about the content of
your article.
* If you are following up an article to create a new
article, please remember to delete the "References:"
line in the header. This will help the readers who use a
threaded news reader; otherwise your new topic will be
mixed in with an old one.
* Please don't flame others. We're a somewhat opinionated
group, and there are many diverse personalities here.
This is especially true in the never-ending helmet wars.
* Speaking of helmet wars, let's try to stay away from
them. Most everything that could be said pro and con
for wearing helmets has been said at least once in
rec.bicycles. There is some evidence that wearing a
helmet can help prevent head injuries. There are
people that wear a helmet all the time, people that
wear a helmet some of the time, and people who will
never wear one. Everyone has their own reasons for
their decision, and most will not change it in the
middle of a flaming helmet war. Questions on types of
helmets, what ones are coolest (temperature and
otherwise), etc are always welcome.
Archives
I've made available via anonymous ftp a copy of the current
FAQ and a few other items on draco.acs.uci.edu
(128.200.34.12). This is the workstation on my desk, so I'd
appreciate it if people would restrict their use to 7pm-7am
Pacific time. The files are in pub/rec.bicycles.
For those without Internet access, you can use the ftpmail
server at gatekeeper.dec.com to get copies of items in the
archives. I really don't have time to email copies of files
to people who can't get at them easily. To use the ftpmail
server, send an email message containing the line
help
in the body of the message to [email protected].
You'll get a help file back with more information on how to
use the ftpmail server.
Here is an example of what to put in the body of a message
to to get the README file:
connect draco.acs.uci.edu chdir pub/rec.bicycles get README
Here's what's available at this time:
README for Rec.Bicycles Anonymous FTP area
arnie.light Arnie Berger's ([email protected]) "Ultimate
bike light"
bike_gear.sea.hqx Lawrence Hare's ([email protected])
copy of a Hypercard stack to calculate gearing. Lawrence
says there is a newer version on major bbs systems.
bike.lockers David H. Wolfskill's ([email protected])
summary of bike locker vendors.
bike.painting Sam Henry's ([email protected]) collection of
articles on how to paint a bike.
bike_power.* Ken Roberts program to calculate power output
and power consumption. See bike_power.doc for more info.
updated by Mark Grennan ([email protected])
biking_log.* Phil Etheridge's ([email protected])
hypercard stack riding diary. It keeps track of dates,
distance, time, average speed, etc., and keeps running
weekly, monthly, and yearly totals. See biking_log.read_me
for more information.
CA-veh-code A directory containing the California vehicle
code sections that pertain to bicycles and gopher bookmarks.
See the README in that directory for more information.
camera.tour Vivian Aldridge's ([email protected]) collection
of articles on cameras to take on a bike tour.
competitive.nutrition Roger Marquis' ([email protected])
article from the Feb 91 Velo News on nutrition and cycling.
computer.calibrate computer.install Sheldon Brown's
([email protected]) universal bike computer
calibration chart and installation suggestions.
cyclesense Larry Watanabe's
([email protected]) copy of the "Cycle Sense
for Motorists" ready to run thru LaTeX.
faq.* The current Frequently Asked Questions posting
first.century Pamela Blalock's ([email protected]) tips on
training for your first century ride.
frame.build Terry Zmrhal's ([email protected]) writeup of
a frame building class he took.
gear.c Larry Watanabe's ([email protected])
program to print gear inch tables.
glossary Alan Bloom's ([email protected]) glossary of
bicycle terms.
lab.info Erin O'Brien's ([email protected]) article on the
League of American Bicyclists.
lights Tom Reingold's ([email protected]) collection
of articles on bike lights.
lights2 More articles from rec.bicycles.* on lights.
mtb.faq Vince Cheng's ([email protected]) MTB FAQ.
pam.bmb* Pamela Blalock's ([email protected]) report on her
Boston-Montreal-Boston rides.
pam.pactour* Pamela Blalock's ([email protected]) writeup
of her PAC tours across the country.
pbp.info Pamela Blalock's ([email protected]) information
on her Paris-Brest-Paris ride.
pictures Bicycling gif pictures.
prof.sched Roland Stahl's ([email protected]) list
of scheduled professional races in many countries.
pwm.regulator Willie Hunt's ([email protected]) design
notes on a pulse width modulated voltage regulator.
Originally designed for caving, this design is adaptable to
bike lighting. The author has parts available in kit form.
ride.index Chris Hull's/Bill Bushnell's
([email protected]) explanation of a way to "index"
rides and compare the difficulty of different rides.
ridelg22.* Found on AOL by Gary Thurman
([email protected]), a ride diary program. The .exe file
a self-extracting archive for PCs.
spike.bike Bob Fishell's ([email protected]) Spike
Bike series. They are numbered in the order that Bob posted
them to rec.bicycles. All the Spike Bike stories are
"Copyright 1989 by Robert Fishell, all rights reserved."
spokelen11.bas Roger Marquis' ([email protected]) spoke
length calculator, written in Microsoft Quickbasic.
spokelen.c Andy Tucker's ([email protected]) port of
Roger Marquis' spokelen11.bas to C.
spokelen.hqx Eric Topp's [email protected]'s Hypercard
stack that computes spoke lengths.
studded.tires (Name removed by request) compilation of
messages on studded tires, including how to make your own.
tandem.boxes Arnie Berger's ([email protected]) notes on
how he built a box to transport his tandem to Europe and
back. It's taken from a longer travelogue on his trip - if
you want more information, contact him at the above address.
tech.supp.phone Joshua Putnam's ([email protected]) list
of technical support numbers for various manufacturers.
This list used to be in the FAQ but now is too long to
include there.
trailers A summary posting of messages about bike trailers.
Good stuff if you're thinking of buying a trailer.
wheelbuild.txt Sheldon Brown's ([email protected])
instructions on how to build a wheel.
wheels.*.hqx R. Scott Truesdell's ([email protected])
Hypercard stack to calculate spoke lengths. See
wheels.readme for more info.
wintertips Pete Hickey's ([email protected]) notes
about how to cycle in the winter.
wintertips.pam Pamela Blalock's ([email protected]) winter
cycling tips.