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AG: Seasons changing?
On Sun, 25 Sep 2016 14:03:15 -0000 (UTC), Andrew Chaplin
wrote: I don't do "do-rags." As far as I know, I'm the only bikie to wear one. My ears ache if I allow wind to blow on them, and a white linen do-rag is the easiest way to cover them without undue insulation. -- Joy Beeson joy beeson at comcast dot net |
AG: Seasons changing?
On Sun, 25 Sep 2016 22:12:00 -0300, Joy Beeson
wrote: On Sun, 25 Sep 2016 14:03:15 -0000 (UTC), Andrew Chaplin wrote: I don't do "do-rags." As far as I know, I'm the only bikie to wear one. My ears ache if I allow wind to blow on them, and a white linen do-rag is the easiest way to cover them without undue insulation. Not really. I've used one for several years now :-) After many years of working in tropical sun I have considerable sun damage to my skin in various areas and the do-rags my wife makes for me are big enough to cover the tops of my ears and have a flap to cover the back of my neck. What might be called arm-wormers but are actually sun-sleeves are almost universally worn as soon as the sun gets up in the sky. Women cyclists go even further. they wear ankle length tights, long sleeved jerseys and a head cover that is essentially a "balaclava" made from a stretchy colorful fabric. As in other Asian countries black is not beautiful :-) -- cheers, John B. |
AG: Seasons changing?
On Mon, 26 Sep 2016 12:16:52 +0700, John B.
wrote: Women cyclists go even further. they wear ankle length tights, long sleeved jerseys and a head cover that is essentially a "balaclava" made from a stretchy colorful fabric. All my ankle-length tights are winter wear, but I'm about to change from my long-sleeved summer jersey to my short-sleeved fall jersey. Just DuckDucked: there *is* a hijab store in Fort Wayne, quite close to the big malls. If I ever figure out how to get to Fort Wayne, I'll have to look into it. -- Joy Beeson joy beeson at comcast dot net |
AG: Seasons changing?
Love today's Yehuda Moon (yehudamoon.com): two panels: 1) "I love bad weather gear." 2) "I love how it looks hanging in my closet." Just today I was admiring the brilliant yellow silkiness of the windbreaker that has been hanging on a hook in the garage all summer. Alas, it won't be long before I have to start carrying it everywhere. -- Joy Beeson joy beeson at comcast dot net |
AG: Seasons changing?
On Wed, 28 Sep 2016 22:33:37 -0300, Joy Beeson
wrote: Love today's Yehuda Moon (yehudamoon.com): two panels: 1) "I love bad weather gear." 2) "I love how it looks hanging in my closet." I liked that :-) I always carry rain wear with me on any ride over a few minutes. And hope not to have to use it :-) Just today I was admiring the brilliant yellow silkiness of the windbreaker that has been hanging on a hook in the garage all summer. Alas, it won't be long before I have to start carrying it everywhere. -- cheers, John B. |
AG: Seasons changing?
On 9/29/2016 3:41 AM, John B. wrote:
On Wed, 28 Sep 2016 22:33:37 -0300, Joy Beeson wrote: Love today's Yehuda Moon (yehudamoon.com): two panels: 1) "I love bad weather gear." 2) "I love how it looks hanging in my closet." I liked that :-) I always carry rain wear with me on any ride over a few minutes. And hope not to have to use it :-) Yesterday's grocery run: The ride started with me saying "Come on, ride with me. There's only a 15% chance of rain. And the sun doesn't set for an hour." The ride ended with both of us sprinting home through a downpour, generator headlights supplementing the illumination of the lightning flashes. It gets amazingly dark under a thunderhead. Fortunately, the computer screen verified that there was only a 15% chance the incident had actually happened. She forgave me. -- - Frank Krygowski |
AG: Seasons changing?
On 9/29/2016 10:28 AM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 9/29/2016 3:41 AM, John B. wrote: On Wed, 28 Sep 2016 22:33:37 -0300, Joy Beeson wrote: Love today's Yehuda Moon (yehudamoon.com): two panels: 1) "I love bad weather gear." 2) "I love how it looks hanging in my closet." I liked that :-) I always carry rain wear with me on any ride over a few minutes. And hope not to have to use it :-) Yesterday's grocery run: The ride started with me saying "Come on, ride with me. There's only a 15% chance of rain. And the sun doesn't set for an hour." The ride ended with both of us sprinting home through a downpour, generator headlights supplementing the illumination of the lightning flashes. It gets amazingly dark under a thunderhead. Fortunately, the computer screen verified that there was only a 15% chance the incident had actually happened. She forgave me. .... and no, we did not carry rain gear. :-( -- - Frank Krygowski |
AG: Seasons changing?
On Fri, 30 Sep 2016 06:57:01 +0700, John B.
wrote: Errr.... Can't you just look up when you go out doors and get an idea of what the weather will be? I usually look west. -- Joy Beeson joy beeson at comcast dot net http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/ |
AG: Seasons changing?
On Thu, 29 Sep 2016 10:28:42 -0400, Frank Krygowski
wrote: On 9/29/2016 3:41 AM, John B. wrote: On Wed, 28 Sep 2016 22:33:37 -0300, Joy Beeson wrote: Love today's Yehuda Moon (yehudamoon.com): two panels: 1) "I love bad weather gear." 2) "I love how it looks hanging in my closet." I liked that :-) I always carry rain wear with me on any ride over a few minutes. And hope not to have to use it :-) Yesterday's grocery run: The ride started with me saying "Come on, ride with me. There's only a 15% chance of rain. And the sun doesn't set for an hour." The ride ended with both of us sprinting home through a downpour, generator headlights supplementing the illumination of the lightning flashes. It gets amazingly dark under a thunderhead. Fortunately, the computer screen verified that there was only a 15% chance the incident had actually happened. She forgave me. Errr.... Can't you just look up when you go out doors and get an idea of what the weather will be? -- cheers, John B. |
AG: Seasons changing?
On Thu, 29 Sep 2016 20:28:13 -0300, Joy Beeson
wrote: On Fri, 30 Sep 2016 06:57:01 +0700, John B. wrote: Errr.... Can't you just look up when you go out doors and get an idea of what the weather will be? I usually look west. That doesn't work well early in the morning :-) -- cheers, John B. |
AG: Seasons changing?
On 9/29/2016 7:57 PM, John B. wrote:
On Thu, 29 Sep 2016 10:28:42 -0400, Frank Krygowski wrote: On 9/29/2016 3:41 AM, John B. wrote: On Wed, 28 Sep 2016 22:33:37 -0300, Joy Beeson wrote: Love today's Yehuda Moon (yehudamoon.com): two panels: 1) "I love bad weather gear." 2) "I love how it looks hanging in my closet." I liked that :-) I always carry rain wear with me on any ride over a few minutes. And hope not to have to use it :-) Yesterday's grocery run: The ride started with me saying "Come on, ride with me. There's only a 15% chance of rain. And the sun doesn't set for an hour." The ride ended with both of us sprinting home through a downpour, generator headlights supplementing the illumination of the lightning flashes. It gets amazingly dark under a thunderhead. Fortunately, the computer screen verified that there was only a 15% chance the incident had actually happened. She forgave me. Errr.... Can't you just look up when you go out doors and get an idea of what the weather will be? If it were that easy, we wouldn't have weather forecasters. I once bought a pretty little book, _Instant Weather Forecasting_ by Alan Watts. It features lots of basic explanation of weather phenomena, followed by a couple dozen photos of different cloud types. Each photo has an explanation of what would cause that cloud type, and what weather could be expected. BTW, I first came across the book in the 1970s, and figured the knowledge would be very useful on long bike tours. In practice, when I started doing long bike tours, I found it far easier to check the newspapers; then later, the Weather Channel; and nowadays, my smart phone app. Not that any of them have been perfectly accurate, of course! -- - Frank Krygowski |
AG: Seasons changing?
On Thu, 29 Sep 2016 23:12:20 -0400, Frank Krygowski
wrote: On 9/29/2016 7:57 PM, John B. wrote: On Thu, 29 Sep 2016 10:28:42 -0400, Frank Krygowski wrote: On 9/29/2016 3:41 AM, John B. wrote: On Wed, 28 Sep 2016 22:33:37 -0300, Joy Beeson wrote: Love today's Yehuda Moon (yehudamoon.com): two panels: 1) "I love bad weather gear." 2) "I love how it looks hanging in my closet." I liked that :-) I always carry rain wear with me on any ride over a few minutes. And hope not to have to use it :-) Yesterday's grocery run: The ride started with me saying "Come on, ride with me. There's only a 15% chance of rain. And the sun doesn't set for an hour." The ride ended with both of us sprinting home through a downpour, generator headlights supplementing the illumination of the lightning flashes. It gets amazingly dark under a thunderhead. Fortunately, the computer screen verified that there was only a 15% chance the incident had actually happened. She forgave me. Errr.... Can't you just look up when you go out doors and get an idea of what the weather will be? If it were that easy, we wouldn't have weather forecasters. I once bought a pretty little book, _Instant Weather Forecasting_ by Alan Watts. It features lots of basic explanation of weather phenomena, followed by a couple dozen photos of different cloud types. Each photo has an explanation of what would cause that cloud type, and what weather could be expected. BTW, I first came across the book in the 1970s, and figured the knowledge would be very useful on long bike tours. In practice, when I started doing long bike tours, I found it far easier to check the newspapers; then later, the Weather Channel; and nowadays, my smart phone app. Not that any of them have been perfectly accurate, of course! I probably have the advantage of living in a place with two very distinct seasons, one when it rains and one when it doesn't, although it does rain infrequently during the dry season and the sun does shine some days in the rainy season, but still I can fairly well tell whether it is going to rain during my morning ride or not. At least well enough to rationalize by saying, "Well, I'm usually right" :-) (But I will admit to carrying a rain cape on my Sunday rides - usually a couple of hours minimum.) -- cheers, John B. |
AG: Seasons changing?
On Thu, 29 Sep 2016 20:28:13 -0300, Joy Beeson
wrote: I usually look west. Double-take this morning: I checked the radar and just had time to think "the rain has almost blown over" before I noticed that the animation was moving right to left. The rain had just begun. Just checked the full-resolution mosaic loop. Man, that's one big cyclone! The center of rotation is in western Kentucky, and there's a blob in the Atlantic headed for Maine. My screen isn't big enough for me to get a clear idea of what is going on out west. Duh! Click on the full-width version. No wonder I couldn't tell: there aren't enough clouds out that way to tell which way the wind is moving. Things are really soggy on the Gulf coast from the Mexican border to Florida. Probably goes further south, but this map doesn't get data from Mexico. Our weather usually comes from Chicago, coming straight down US Route 30. US Routes were before the Interstate, and were merely routes marked along pre-existing roads. Of course, marking them increased the traffic and today many are built up to Interstate standards. At least US 30 between Chicago and Fort Wayne is, except for the "controlled access" aka "Chinese Wall" aspect. -- joy beeson at comcast dot net http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/ The above message is a Usenet post. I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site. |
AG: Seasons changing?
On Fri, 30 Sep 2016 13:48:00 +0700, John B.
wrote: (But I will admit to carrying a rain cape on my Sunday rides - usually a couple of hours minimum.) I wonder what became of my rain cape? I last remember seeing it hanging in the entry hall of our previous house, sticking to the hook because the waterproofing was rotten. I wore it only once, for about five seconds. I had it in my pannier, it started to rain, I stopped and put it on, attempted to look back before starting off, and took it off again. My current plan for dealing with rain is "get wet". I'm thinking I should inspect all my summer jerseys and retrofit them, where necessary, with pockets that will safely hold my glasses. I should also put a spectacle-cleaning rag into a snack bag and stash it in my emergency kit. Last time I got caught in a downpour, the one in my back pocket got soggy. On the other hand, a plastic bag would wear into leaks before the next emergency. My plan for winter rain is "stay home" or if that fails, "call a taxi before a passer-by calls an ambulance". I do have a windbreaker that will shed rain if worn over a wool jersey. And, groan, I'm going to start carrying it everywhere real soon. -- joy beeson at comcast dot net http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/ The above message is a Usenet post. I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site. |
AG: Seasons changing?
On 9/30/2016 2:48 AM, John B. wrote:
On Thu, 29 Sep 2016 23:12:20 -0400, Frank Krygowski wrote: On 9/29/2016 7:57 PM, John B. wrote: On Thu, 29 Sep 2016 10:28:42 -0400, Frank Krygowski wrote: On 9/29/2016 3:41 AM, John B. wrote: On Wed, 28 Sep 2016 22:33:37 -0300, Joy Beeson wrote: Love today's Yehuda Moon (yehudamoon.com): two panels: 1) "I love bad weather gear." 2) "I love how it looks hanging in my closet." I liked that :-) I always carry rain wear with me on any ride over a few minutes. And hope not to have to use it :-) Yesterday's grocery run: The ride started with me saying "Come on, ride with me. There's only a 15% chance of rain. And the sun doesn't set for an hour." The ride ended with both of us sprinting home through a downpour, generator headlights supplementing the illumination of the lightning flashes. It gets amazingly dark under a thunderhead. Fortunately, the computer screen verified that there was only a 15% chance the incident had actually happened. She forgave me. Errr.... Can't you just look up when you go out doors and get an idea of what the weather will be? If it were that easy, we wouldn't have weather forecasters. I once bought a pretty little book, _Instant Weather Forecasting_ by Alan Watts. It features lots of basic explanation of weather phenomena, followed by a couple dozen photos of different cloud types. Each photo has an explanation of what would cause that cloud type, and what weather could be expected. BTW, I first came across the book in the 1970s, and figured the knowledge would be very useful on long bike tours. In practice, when I started doing long bike tours, I found it far easier to check the newspapers; then later, the Weather Channel; and nowadays, my smart phone app. Not that any of them have been perfectly accurate, of course! I probably have the advantage of living in a place with two very distinct seasons, one when it rains and one when it doesn't, although it does rain infrequently during the dry season and the sun does shine some days in the rainy season, but still I can fairly well tell whether it is going to rain during my morning ride or not. At least well enough to rationalize by saying, "Well, I'm usually right" :-) (But I will admit to carrying a rain cape on my Sunday rides - usually a couple of hours minimum.) Related: Our club's ride this morning was canceled because of the rainy forecast. I slept in as a result. So it's been perfectly dry all morning. :-/ -- - Frank Krygowski |
AG: Seasons changing?
On Friday, September 30, 2016 at 10:58:26 AM UTC-4, Joy Beeson wrote:
On Fri, 30 Sep 2016 13:48:00 +0700, John B. wrote: (But I will admit to carrying a rain cape on my Sunday rides - usually a couple of hours minimum.) I wonder what became of my rain cape? I last remember seeing it hanging in the entry hall of our previous house, sticking to the hook because the waterproofing was rotten. My father used to ride with a rain cape while commuting to work. I tried it and found I got just as wet under it as in the rain, but I was riding nearly half again as fast as he would. I wore it only once, for about five seconds. I had it in my pannier, it started to rain, I stopped and put it on, attempted to look back before starting off, and took it off again. My current plan for dealing with rain is "get wet". That is almost a direct quote from a parade instruction in the Canadian army. I'm thinking I should inspect all my summer jerseys and retrofit them, where necessary, with pockets that will safely hold my glasses. I wear road jerseys, and they all have pockets suitable for glasses, but generally I put them in a glasses case in my pack. (I am far-sighted and can both drive and cycle safely without corrective lenses, but I like to wear wrap-around sports glasses to keep the wind out of my eyes so they water less.) I should also put a spectacle-cleaning rag into a snack bag and stash it in my emergency kit. Last time I got caught in a downpour, the one in my back pocket got soggy. On the other hand, a plastic bag would wear into leaks before the next emergency. My plan for winter rain is "stay home" or if that fails, "call a taxi before a passer-by calls an ambulance". I do have a windbreaker that will shed rain if worn over a wool jersey. And, groan, I'm going to start carrying it everywhere real soon. I feel your pain, Sister. Autumn in Eastern Ontario tends to be damp and cool, degenerating to icy and cold. I will mount my dirt board and start carrying my wet weather gear at all times by the middle of October. For now, I find that the forecast radar picture I see on the weather network allow me reasonably determine whether or not I will need the gear. -- Andrew Chaplin SIT MIHI GLADIUS SICUT SANCTO MARTINO |
AG: Gloom, drip, and thunderstorms on me
I spent my writing time finalizing the September Beeson Banner, so there's no post. The whole week was rained out, so I don't even have a ride report. I did walk a little more than a mile on Thursday, and climb a steep hill. I plan to take pretty much the same walk tomorrow, climb a flight of stairs, and approximate a few pushups. I wonder how many people in the world do pushups only when wearing an ankle-length dress. In last week's post, I said "buffer" where I should have said "drafts folder". Half-baked embryonic posts don't buffer anything. I calculate that if I come back from the dump tour by way of Wooster and Sprawlmart, it will be twenty-two miles. I plan to do that next Tuesday. (I dump plastic bags at Owen's, old magazines at the emergency room, and unwanted whatevers at Goodwill, then have lunch at Panda Express. This trip I mean to go to The Pillbox before stopping at the hospital, and price heavy-duty walkers. My light-duty walker no longer does the job.) Yay! This year I heard about the fall nature hike *before* it happened! After reading the press release, I went to Facebook and "Like"d The Center for Lakes and Streams' "event", in the hope that the spring hike will show up on my newsfeed. But Facebook's newsfeed is somewhere between flaky and malevolent, so I'm not counting on it. The press release said the event will be cancelled in case of inclement weather, but Weather Underground says that Saturday will be suitable for taking city folks for a stroll in the woods. Of course, that is subject to change. Modern forecasting is pretty good on the sequence of events for the coming week, but often a bit off on the timing -- and rain is predicted for the previous day. "Thunderstorms" in the subject line is a gross exaggeration. We've had some thunder, and we've had some pouring rain, but there hasn't been enough wind to take a limb off the willow. Did have a breeze stiff enough to make me refrain from hanging out the rest of the laundry after I managed to pin a king-size sheet to the line, but no thunder or rain on that day. -- Joy Beeson joy beeson at comcast dot net http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/ |
AG: The quickest way to go fast
Sometimes when you're ambling along pedalling slowly and admiring the scenery, you suddenly want to go as fast as you can, perhaps to catch up with someone, perhaps just because you feel like it. The fastest way to get into high gear starts with shifting *down*. Shift down until you are spinning just a little faster than you prefer, then shift up one notch and work hard until you are spinning as fast as you were in the lower gear, repeat until you reach the desired speed. -- joy beeson at comcast dot net http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/ The above message is a Usenet post. I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site. |
AG: Seasons changing?
Picking up pills again. I think this time it will stick. Dressing, I selected a long-sleeved T-ahirt to wear under my jersey, picked up my "taxicab" (merchant's name for the color) jersey. Hmm .. . . this is sleazy-thin and I don't like the way the wrists puff. And it looks as though I washed it after the last time I wore it. I moved it from current shirts to the section marked "summer" and put on my double-knit spring/autumn jersey. (I derive much amusement from changing from long summer sleeves to above-the-elbow sleeves when the weather turns cool. Thumb-tested my tires -- the back one is |
AG: Seasons changing?
Disregard previous message. And why did it send when I hit the shift key? On Wed, 12 Oct 2016 13:16:38 -0300, Joy Beeson wrote: Picking up pills again. I think this time it will stick. Dressing, I selected a long-sleeved T-ahirt to wear under my jersey, picked up my "taxicab" (merchant's name for the color) jersey. Hmm . . . this is sleazy-thin and I don't like the way the wrists puff. And it looks as though I washed it after the last time I wore it. I moved it from current shirts to the section marked "summer" and put on my double-knit spring/autumn jersey. (I derive much amusement from changing from long summer sleeves to above-the-elbow sleeves when the weather turns cool. Thumb-tested my tires -- the back one is |
AG: Seasons changing?
Picking up pills again. I think this time it will stick. Dressing, I selected a long-sleeved T-shirt to wear under my jersey, picked up my "taxicab"-color linen jersey. Hmm . . . this is sleazy-thin and I don't like the way the wrists puff. And it looks as though I washed it after the last time I wore it. I moved it from current shirts to the section marked "summer", and put on my double-knit spring/autumn jersey. (I derive much amusement from changing from long summer sleeves to above-the-elbow sleeves when the weather turns cool. Thumb-tested my tires -- the back one is NOT flatter than a flitter. (See "Tour d'Nothing Went Right" on my Web site.) Changed the water in the bottles, reached for my do-rag, reflected that something wrapped around my neck wouldn't be at all amiss, and took the do-rag inside and threw it into the hamper. I think it will make it into the drawer next Monday! On the other hand, the Tuesday after next is predicted to have a high of 76F, and to be the only dry day in a long rainy spell. -- Joy Beeson joy beeson at comcast dot net http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/ |
AG: Halt!
Halt is a topic I'd nearly forgotten about; soon after we moved, I mislaid my Halt and never got around to buying another can of dog repellent. Unlike Upstaters, Hoosiers love their dogs too much to train them to chase vehicles. I think the difference is that in the Capital District, the majority of the houses in the countryside were occupied by city folk who moved into the country to be free of tiresome restraints (and are shocked to learn that they are not allowed to store their cars in the public roadway). Around here, people fleeing the city cluster around our many lakes and leave the farmland to farmers. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Halt is not a weapon. It works by distracting the dog's attention. Most of the time, distracting his attention is quite enough. He's lying around feeling bored out of his skull when he sees something moving on the road. All Right! Chasing that will give him a chance to burn the carbon out of his carburetor. Ouch! This isn't any fun at all; I'll just roll around in the ditch and whimper for a while. If you manage to get him before he's had any fun, he may decide that chasing vehicles isn't something he wants to do -- or, at least, that chasing *your* vehicle isn't any fun. Way back when, I was riding to Altamont along the base of the Eastern Cliffs of the Helderbergs. I saw two dogs come bellowing down a long, steep driveway on the Helderberg side of the road. They caught up with me, got sprayed, dropped back, and I went on my way. On my return trip, I saw the same two dogs come bellowing down the same long driveway. When nearly to the bottom, they slammed on the four-paw brakes, turned around, and ran back up the driveway. I don't recall ever seeing those dogs again. On the other hand, there was a dog who lived in a dip in a road that I used fairly often. He'd had a little fun before he got sprayed, and came to regard Halt-bearing cyclists the way Hillary regarded Mount Everest. How long can he dodge the Halt? How much grief can he cause before the game ends? He was quick to see that forcing one to brake just before climbing a long steep hill was *really* aggravating, and could be done without coming into range. For a dog that's been trained in hand-to-fang combat, or a bitch who thinks you are after her pups, Halt is no use at all. I once saw a dog who had been sprayed so many times that her eyes were swollen shut, and she was still out in the road feeling around for someone to bite. -- joy beeson at comcast dot net http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/ The above message is a Usenet post. I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site. |
AG: Halt!
On 10/15/2016 9:12 PM, Joy Beeson wrote:
Halt is a topic I'd nearly forgotten about; soon after we moved, I mislaid my Halt and never got around to buying another can of dog repellent. Unlike Upstaters, Hoosiers love their dogs too much to train them to chase vehicles. I think the difference is that in the Capital District, the majority of the houses in the countryside were occupied by city folk who moved into the country to be free of tiresome restraints (and are shocked to learn that they are not allowed to store their cars in the public roadway). Around here, people fleeing the city cluster around our many lakes and leave the farmland to farmers. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Halt is not a weapon. It works by distracting the dog's attention. Most of the time, distracting his attention is quite enough. He's lying around feeling bored out of his skull when he sees something moving on the road. All Right! Chasing that will give him a chance to burn the carbon out of his carburetor. Ouch! This isn't any fun at all; I'll just roll around in the ditch and whimper for a while. If you manage to get him before he's had any fun, he may decide that chasing vehicles isn't something he wants to do -- or, at least, that chasing *your* vehicle isn't any fun. Way back when, I was riding to Altamont along the base of the Eastern Cliffs of the Helderbergs. I saw two dogs come bellowing down a long, steep driveway on the Helderberg side of the road. They caught up with me, got sprayed, dropped back, and I went on my way. On my return trip, I saw the same two dogs come bellowing down the same long driveway. When nearly to the bottom, they slammed on the four-paw brakes, turned around, and ran back up the driveway. I don't recall ever seeing those dogs again. On the other hand, there was a dog who lived in a dip in a road that I used fairly often. He'd had a little fun before he got sprayed, and came to regard Halt-bearing cyclists the way Hillary regarded Mount Everest. How long can he dodge the Halt? How much grief can he cause before the game ends? He was quick to see that forcing one to brake just before climbing a long steep hill was *really* aggravating, and could be done without coming into range. For a dog that's been trained in hand-to-fang combat, or a bitch who thinks you are after her pups, Halt is no use at all. I once saw a dog who had been sprayed so many times that her eyes were swollen shut, and she was still out in the road feeling around for someone to bite. Having lived backwoods in a semi-civilized southern state, I had tons of unwanted experience being chased by loose dogs. I now live in a state where dogs are a very, very rare problem. Nonetheless, I don't recall finding a dog I couldn't train. Down south, I used rocks with Halt as a backup. Up here, Halt alone has almost always been sufficient. The key, I think, is repeated lessons. If a dog comes out to chase me (now a rare event), I'll spray it. Then I'll turn around and ride past it again to give another dose if needed. And I'll come back another day, and repeat as necessary. They all seem to learn eventually. -- - Frank Krygowski |
AG: Halt!
On Sunday, October 16, 2016 at 9:30:29 PM UTC-4, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 10/15/2016 9:12 PM, Joy Beeson wrote: Halt is a topic I'd nearly forgotten about; soon after we moved, I mislaid my Halt and never got around to buying another can of dog repellent. Unlike Upstaters, Hoosiers love their dogs too much to train them to chase vehicles. I think the difference is that in the Capital District, the majority of the houses in the countryside were occupied by city folk who moved into the country to be free of tiresome restraints (and are shocked to learn that they are not allowed to store their cars in the public roadway). Around here, people fleeing the city cluster around our many lakes and leave the farmland to farmers. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Halt is not a weapon. It works by distracting the dog's attention. Most of the time, distracting his attention is quite enough. He's lying around feeling bored out of his skull when he sees something moving on the road. All Right! Chasing that will give him a chance to burn the carbon out of his carburetor. Ouch! This isn't any fun at all; I'll just roll around in the ditch and whimper for a while. If you manage to get him before he's had any fun, he may decide that chasing vehicles isn't something he wants to do -- or, at least, that chasing *your* vehicle isn't any fun. Way back when, I was riding to Altamont along the base of the Eastern Cliffs of the Helderbergs. I saw two dogs come bellowing down a long, steep driveway on the Helderberg side of the road. They caught up with me, got sprayed, dropped back, and I went on my way. On my return trip, I saw the same two dogs come bellowing down the same long driveway. When nearly to the bottom, they slammed on the four-paw brakes, turned around, and ran back up the driveway. I don't recall ever seeing those dogs again. On the other hand, there was a dog who lived in a dip in a road that I used fairly often. He'd had a little fun before he got sprayed, and came to regard Halt-bearing cyclists the way Hillary regarded Mount Everest. How long can he dodge the Halt? How much grief can he cause before the game ends? He was quick to see that forcing one to brake just before climbing a long steep hill was *really* aggravating, and could be done without coming into range. For a dog that's been trained in hand-to-fang combat, or a bitch who thinks you are after her pups, Halt is no use at all. I once saw a dog who had been sprayed so many times that her eyes were swollen shut, and she was still out in the road feeling around for someone to bite. Having lived backwoods in a semi-civilized southern state, I had tons of unwanted experience being chased by loose dogs. I now live in a state where dogs are a very, very rare problem. Nonetheless, I don't recall finding a dog I couldn't train. Down south, I used rocks with Halt as a backup. Up here, Halt alone has almost always been sufficient. The key, I think, is repeated lessons. If a dog comes out to chase me (now a rare event), I'll spray it. Then I'll turn around and ride past it again to give another dose if needed. And I'll come back another day, and repeat as necessary. They all seem to learn eventually. With what do you spray it? Your water bottle? -- Andrew Chaplin SIT MIHI GLADIUS SICUT SANCTO MARTINO |
AG: Halt!
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AG: Halt!
On Sun, 16 Oct 2016 21:30:24 -0400, Frank Krygowski
wrote: The key, I think, is repeated lessons. When I lived in The Capital District of New York, Martin Road, Picard Road, and New Salem Road formed a triangle that would have been quite nice to ride around, were it not for a dog that lived in a dip on Picard Road. When I got my first can of Halt, I went dog hunting. I came down the hill at high speed, the dog ran out to attack, I sprayed and missed but got past him and climbed the other hill. So I turned around and repeated the whole sequence. The third time I passed, he didn't get close enough that I could take a shot. I kept riding back and forth through the dip, he kept attacking with less and less fervor. When I passed by and he feebly lifted his head off his front paws and emitted a dutiful "woof", I went home. I never had any more trouble with that dog. I'd never sprayed him, but he'd learned that chasing me was really, really *boring*. -- Joy Beeson joy beeson at comcast dot net http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/ |
AG: Halt!
Joy Beeson wrote:
On Mon, 17 Oct 2016 14:18:28 -0700 (PDT), wrote: With what do you spray it? Your water bottle? That can work, actually. If you have no Halt and you think a dog may attack, fill your mouth with water. If the dog does attack, spit in his face. The odds are that this has never happened to him before, and he will sit down to think it over. Even a water bottle will do. I learned that trick many years ago in the old rec.bicycles newsgroup (before it was re-organized into the sub-groups we have now). For many dogs, a blast of water is unexpected, and the relative chill (even from a warm bottle) is often enough to jar them just enough. I've never had to use that on my bike, but not too long after I learned that I had problems with a neighbor with an untrained dog, an overgrown puppy. I got really annoyed when the dog would bark at me when I would walk through my back yard. One time, I went after the dog with the garden hose, and that really got the dog's attention. After that, if the dog even slightly growled at me, when I would make a move for the faucet, the dog would quickly retreat, with tail between legs. I considered my back yard to be mine, and when I established that with the dog, I never had further problems. One consideration for using water over some sort of chemical is that if you inflict pain on the animal, that may cause the animal to remember you as the source of that, and become more aggressive, in the future. The water has the advantage of simply being unexpected, and a moment of cold discomfort. Smith |
AG: One Way
I usually take the Beyer Farm Trail home from downtown --it's scenic and puts in a little extra distance-- but last Saturday I wanted to stop at Zale's, so I stayed on Fort Wayne Street. I caught myself drifting too far to the right, then thought that because Fort Wayne is a one-way street that's wide enough to divide into three lanes, it would be safe to ride in the "please pass me" position. !! NOT AT INTERSECTIONS IT AIN'T !! Luckily, the driver who wanted to turn right was smarter than I was, and no reportable incident occurred. -- Joy Beeson joy beeson at comcast dot net http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/ |
AG: One Way
On Sat, 22 Oct 2016 23:22:14 -0300, Joy Beeson
wrote: I usually take the Beyer Farm Trail home from downtown --it's scenic and puts in a little extra distance-- but last Saturday I wanted to stop at Zale's, so I stayed on Fort Wayne Street. I caught myself drifting too far to the right, then thought that because Fort Wayne is a one-way street that's wide enough to divide into three lanes, it would be safe to ride in the "please pass me" position. !! NOT AT INTERSECTIONS IT AIN'T !! Luckily, the driver who wanted to turn right was smarter than I was, and no reportable incident occurred. Satchel Page once said, "Don't look back. Something might be gaining on you", but I don't think he rode a bicycle. My philosophy has always been, "look back to see what is gaining on you.... so you can avoid it" :-) -- cheers, John B. |
AG: One Way
John B. wrote in
: On Sat, 22 Oct 2016 23:22:14 -0300, Joy Beeson wrote: I usually take the Beyer Farm Trail home from downtown --it's scenic and puts in a little extra distance-- but last Saturday I wanted to stop at Zale's, so I stayed on Fort Wayne Street. I caught myself drifting too far to the right, then thought that because Fort Wayne is a one-way street that's wide enough to divide into three lanes, it would be safe to ride in the "please pass me" position. !! NOT AT INTERSECTIONS IT AIN'T !! Luckily, the driver who wanted to turn right was smarter than I was, and no reportable incident occurred. Satchel Page once said, "Don't look back. Something might be gaining on you", but I don't think he rode a bicycle. My philosophy has always been, "look back to see what is gaining on you.... so you can avoid it" :-) They've got mirrors for that. ;) -- Andrew Chaplin SIT MIHI GLADIUS SICUT SANCTO MARTINO (If you're going to e-mail me, you'll have to get "yourfinger." out.) |
AG: One Way
On Sun, 23 Oct 2016 14:23:22 -0000 (UTC), Andrew Chaplin
wrote: John B. wrote in : On Sat, 22 Oct 2016 23:22:14 -0300, Joy Beeson wrote: I usually take the Beyer Farm Trail home from downtown --it's scenic and puts in a little extra distance-- but last Saturday I wanted to stop at Zale's, so I stayed on Fort Wayne Street. I caught myself drifting too far to the right, then thought that because Fort Wayne is a one-way street that's wide enough to divide into three lanes, it would be safe to ride in the "please pass me" position. !! NOT AT INTERSECTIONS IT AIN'T !! Luckily, the driver who wanted to turn right was smarter than I was, and no reportable incident occurred. Satchel Page once said, "Don't look back. Something might be gaining on you", but I don't think he rode a bicycle. My philosophy has always been, "look back to see what is gaining on you.... so you can avoid it" :-) They've got mirrors for that. ;) Yes they do. But why? After all one has to go out and buy a mirror. Than one has to mount the mirror; bar end, helmet, clip on. Then the mirror has to be correctly adjusted. Or one can simply turn one's head a bit :-) -- cheers, John B. |
AG: Riding on the verge
Always leave yourself room to dodge to the right (or left on the other side of the pond) -- but there *are* times when you want to ride as far to the right as possible, so how far to the right *is* possible? It's fairly obvious that you need to inspect the roadway ahead, and have faith that it won't narrow suddenly, break up at the edge, be covered with sharp debris, have potholes or deliberate holes or sunken or raised drains and so forth, but you also have to be constantly aware of what you'll land on if you fall off the pavement. Is it good, firmly-packed gravel you could ride slowly on until you come to a place where you can get back on the road? Is it, at least firm enough that you can stay upright long enough to brake to a safe stop? Is it loose gravel that would guarantee a crash? If so, how wide is it and what's on the other side? On can steer across loose gravel if there's a firm, safe surface wide enough to catch a semi-controlled bike on the other side -- and if it's narrow enough that your wheel will be back on a firm surface before the gravel can steer the bike out from under you. Is your worst worry that you'll leave tire tracks on someone's nice lawn? If so, will the lawn end before the situation you are riding on the verge for ends? The *last* thing you want is a sudden need to move *left*! If you fall off the road, will you roll down a 100% slope held in place by head-size rocks, with a barbed-wire fence at the bottom? A curb at the edge of the road should be given at least half a meter of respect, a full yard if you haven't had a *lot* of experience and some training. If you touch a curb, you go down. No matter how good your bike handling is, a ridge that is almost parallel to your path will steer the bike out from under you -- and there's no guarantee that you'll fall *away* from the traffic. (When I touched a curb, I fell into the road, but by pure luck *behind* the left-turning truck I was dodging. Purtnear had three hear attacks, though: me, the driver, and a witness.) Is that nice wide dirt shoulder really a dirt shoulder, or is it a field of potholes hidden under loose sand? -- joy beeson at comcast dot net http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/ The above message is a Usenet post. I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site. |
AG: Riding on the verge
Joy Beeson wrote:
Always leave yourself room to dodge to the right (or left on the other side of the pond) -- but there *are* times when you want to ride as far to the right as possible, so how far to the right *is* possible? This is part of why I get so annoyed at riders who ride against traffic. If you're riding that way, then if there's obstruction in front of you, there's often *no* escape route. If riding on a road with a curb, that's usually enough to prevent you from getting to the sidewalk, and the only other option is to move directly into traffic that's coming the opposite way. It's fairly obvious that you need to inspect the roadway ahead, and have faith that it won't narrow suddenly, break up at the edge, be covered with sharp debris, have potholes or deliberate holes or sunken or raised drains and so forth, but you also have to be constantly aware of what you'll land on if you fall off the pavement. Yep. "As far to the right as possible" is a good guideline, but for motorists that don't ride, often aren't aware of what kinds of hazards lurk at the side (and away from where car tires normally go). The most common is sand and gravel and glass, pushed by normal vehicle activity, but there's a lot of other stuff as well. Rough pavement (including bumps caused by heat buckling and tree roots) are there, stuff that's more likely to be mashed down by the weight of cars, in the path of normal motor traffic. And motorists generally have no clue about just how evil drains are. Another dynamic is the difference between paved and soft shoulder. Some of the places I ride have gravel shoulders where there might be an inch or two of pavement outside the fog line, and places where sand/gravel overlaps the fog line, because the road isn't frequently swept. Rumble strips and raised reflectors also add interesting challenges. One place I ride has is improved one side of the road (in front of a subdivision, where the developer did all the necessary improvements -- two lanes of traffic, space in the middle for an eventual left turn lane, curbs and even a bike line), but on the unimproved side, it's a single lane, a soft gravel shoulder, and beyond the shoulder, a concrete irrigation ditch (normally dry) that's fairly substantial. If you go off the road there, you'll end up at bottom of the ditch. A further challenge for a road like that is gravel driveways that are perpendicular to the road -- for a lot of the driveways, exiting traffic manages to push gravel from the drive out a foot or two into the road, where it's necessary to swerve toward the center of the road to avoid the gravel. I also have occasional problems with sloppy landscaping -- trees or bushes that aren't trimmed and overlap the bike lane. Yet another place to move left, at least temporarily, to avoid a hazard. [ ...] If you fall off the road, will you roll down a 100% slope held in place by head-size rocks, with a barbed-wire fence at the bottom? Tumble-and-roll technique is something I've never tried to learn. And there's a difference how you do it, depending if you have old-style toe clips and straps (and how tightly you have the straps pulled, especially if you have cleats underneath), and more modern clipless pedals. A curb at the edge of the road should be given at least half a meter of respect, a full yard if you haven't had a *lot* of experience and some training. If you touch a curb, you go down. No matter how good your bike handling is, a ridge that is almost parallel to your path will steer the bike out from under you -- and there's no guarantee that you'll fall *away* from the traffic. See above. As noted, there's a difference between the motorist's and cyclist's perceptions of "as far to the right as practical", because there's too many hazards that are real dangers to a cyclist that most motorists have never considered. Smith |
AG: Aerobraking
Got a long steep downhill and you don't want to ride the brakes? Sit up straight and spread yourself out, and everyone on the drops will shoot ahead. -- joy beeson at comcast dot net http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/ The above message is a Usenet post. I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site. |
AG: Auto Cars
I happened to walk through the living room during an enthusiastic description of an autonomous car, and overheard the line "It's best on a crowded road or straight-line driving on a deserted road." Exactly what one would expect: if you can't have the road all to yourself, the next-best thing is a road so crowded that nobody can do anything you don't expect. In terms of safety, that is. I don't *like* constant noise. But Center Street is more relaxing than energetically communicating with every car that overtakes me on Pierceton Road. But for a pleasant ride, I'll take Crystal Lake. Next Wednesday, I plan to ride CR N 175 E. Pity I have to go through Sprawlmart to get to it. Or I could take Old 15, but getting to *that* involves a stretch of SR 15. -- joy beeson at comcast dot net http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/ The above message is a Usenet post. I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site. |
AG: Auto Cars
On Sun, 06 Nov 2016 22:50:23 -0400, Joy Beeson
wrote: I happened to walk through the living room during an enthusiastic description of an autonomous car, and overheard the line "It's best on a crowded road or straight-line driving on a deserted road." Exactly what one would expect: if you can't have the road all to yourself, the next-best thing is a road so crowded that nobody can do anything you don't expect. In terms of safety, that is. I don't *like* constant noise. But Center Street is more relaxing than energetically communicating with every car that overtakes me on Pierceton Road. But for a pleasant ride, I'll take Crystal Lake. Next Wednesday, I plan to ride CR N 175 E. Pity I have to go through Sprawlmart to get to it. Or I could take Old 15, but getting to *that* involves a stretch of SR 15. There was an article in the news last week. Singapore has been testing the self driven autos for some time and it was reported that one of the test vehicles had hit a taxi. No details. |
AG: Changing seasons
I dug out a thicker pair of sweat pants and wore my windbreaker today, but I'm still wearing the thinner pair of gloves and my cotton-and-linen scarf. It's thicker and fuzzier than the cotton scarf and the linen scarves, but I've yet to break out the silk and the wool. I haven't completely broken the habit of drying my hands on my clothes -- a damp jersey isn't as desirable as it was in August. I *have* acquired the habit of making sure I have plenty of paper napkins and paper towels to blow my nose on. I was gratified that the hills on 350 S aren't as steep as I remembered them. Perhaps I haven't been neglecting exercise as much as I thought. -- joy beeson at comcast dot net http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/ The above message is a Usenet post. I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site. |
AG: Changing seasons
On Saturday, November 12, 2016 at 8:25:04 PM UTC-8, Joy Beeson wrote:
I dug out a thicker pair of sweat pants and wore my windbreaker today, but I'm still wearing the thinner pair of gloves and my cotton-and-linen scarf. It's thicker and fuzzier than the cotton scarf and the linen scarves, but I've yet to break out the silk and the wool. I haven't completely broken the habit of drying my hands on my clothes -- a damp jersey isn't as desirable as it was in August. I *have* acquired the habit of making sure I have plenty of paper napkins and paper towels to blow my nose on. I was gratified that the hills on 350 S aren't as steep as I remembered them. Perhaps I haven't been neglecting exercise as much as I thought. -- joy beeson at comcast dot net http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/ The above message is a Usenet post. I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site. The problem is that even in very cold weather you sweat like a horse when climbing. And then you cover your glasses completely over with sweat and it gets in your eyes and burns like the devil. I went up a 16% grade yesterday because there was a rest stop at the top. That allowed me to wash everything off. Then on the coast downhill at 10% I was fast enough to stay ahead of the traffic and with bright colors on the side traffic couldn't make out what I was. Then it got hot and I had the worst of all possible worlds. |
AG: I did it again.
It would seem that riding too far right is a habit that can never be completely conquered. This incident was weeks ago, but I'm just now getting around to writing it up. I was riding west on Arthur Street, approaching the intersection with Park. When I got close to the intersection, I moved right because I intended to turn right when I got there. It did not enter my muddled head that the car behind me might also intend to turn right. Having been invited to do so, he overtook me and swerved to the right. By great good fortune he had one of those blinky things on his front fender, and I was still several feet from the intersection, so ordinary braking avoided the collision. I wonder what the blinky things are for? They are life-savers for cyclists, but it's received wisdom that one protects bike riders by forbidding them to ride bikes, not by giving them information. From a report of a recent Traffic Commission discussion of whether to recommend an ordinance to allow golf carts in Warsaw: quote Shuter agreed with Beam, adding, “I’ve been sitting on this board for 25 years, and in all reality I think this is a step backwards for the city. We do not allow any other off-road vehicles on city streets that you don't have to register through the BMV like ATVs and things like that. I don’t think it’s safe – 250 to 300 pound vehicle versus a 4,000 pound vehicle. I’ve focused my entire career on safety.” He said golf carts on city streets don’t belong in a city the size of Warsaw, a class 3 city. Klondaris argued that there are bicycles and mo-peds on city streets and “golf carts are here.” Shuter said that as far as mo-peds go, the state has usurped the city’s authority on those; and it’s not safe to ride a bicycle on city streets, which is why he’s passionate about side paths, trails and greenways. /quote -- joy beeson at comcast dot net http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/ The above message is a Usenet post. I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site. |
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