Impressions from Bike to Work Day

On May 12, 11:25*pm, James wrote:
On 13/05/2011 7:05 AM, Chalo wrote:

Bike To Work Day is a nominally harmless but actually
counterproductive annual custom in *the United States. *The subtext of
this event is, "on this _one day_ out of the year, let's do something
really silly and _ride our bicycles_ to work! *We can even wear some
of those funny stretchy clothes like Lance Armstrong! *Don't forget to
wear your helmet!"

snip

You're jealous of those with the physique of lithe young girls, who can
ride bicycles with wheels that come with lashings of European mystique
without destroying them.

JS.

I ride on plenty of Euromystique: custom made Exal of Belgium rims,
custom made Sapim spokes with a special elbow for Rohloff, lightweight
balloons and ultralight tubes by Schwalbe of Chermany, very cushy, and
I'm only two to the Chalo, AND I HAVEN'T DESTROYED THE WHEELS YET!
Must be something wrong with me. Maybe I don't ride hard enough
through the potholes -- not even one pair of snakebites in 4400km.
They'll throw of the Masochist Roadies' Club. Oh, woe. -- Andre Jute

Andre Jute writes:

On May 12, 11:24Â*pm, SMS wrote:
On 5/12/2011 3:21 PM, Ben Pfaff wrote:

Mike's Bikes here in Palo Alto made me sign a waiver like that to
*buy* a bike from them. Â*It's a page long. Â*I couldn't believe
it.

Seems to be S.O.P. for bicycle shops these days. The last two new
bicycles I bought the shop had something similar.

And you signed, Ben/Scharfie? Real people would laugh in their faces,
and tell them to grow up, and remember their place on the food chain.

My 3-year-old daughter would then have been very disappointed to
hear that she could not have the bike that we promised her for
her birthday. At the time she was in fact already riding the
bike around the shop, dodging people's legs and store displays.
--
Ben Pfaff
http://benpfaff.org

On 5/12/2011 5:06 PM, Ben Pfaff wrote:

My 3-year-old daughter would then have been very disappointed to
hear that she could not have the bike that we promised her for
her birthday. At the time she was in fact already riding the
bike around the shop, dodging people's legs and store displays.

The form makes the shop happy. In reality it does not relieve them of
the responsibility to properly assemble the bike or exempt them from
lawsuits caused by improper assembly. If there are shops that didn't
require the form I might favor them, but the reality is that finding a
bicycle with the proper fit and features often narrows things down so
much that there are not a lot of choices.

On Thu, 12 May 2011 15:43:39 -0700 (PDT), Andre Jute
wrote:

On May 12, 7:25*pm, Lou Holtman wrote:
Op 12-5-2011 18:03, SMS schreef:





Numbers: Seemed like there were a lot more people riding this year.
Maybe it's the price of gasoline. Ran into several people I knew (not
literally).

Lighting: Big change from last year. A lot more daytime lighting,
probably 20% of bicycles I saw had a front flasher going, and 40% had a
rear flasher. I saw one other bicycle (besides mine) with a dynamo
light, but other than that it's very much a battery driven world around
here.

Helmets: I did not see a single cyclist at any of the energizer
stations, or on the road, that was not wearing a helmet. So while there
is no adult MHL in most of the U.S., at least in areas where the people
are highly educated, helmet usage is extremely high. Good to see that
the facts regarding helmets are getting out despite the best efforts of
a few people!

Trouble-making: Called the Sunnyvale police about a car parked in the
bicycle lane. Didn't wait around to see if they got there in time. I
have all the police non-emergency numbers for Bay Area cities programmed
into my phone and I don't hesitate to use them when I see something like
this. It was very annoying and dangerous because you had a lot of
cyclists in the bike lane having to swerve out into traffic to get
around this car.

For Bay Area people, the May 2011 Santa Clara County bicycle map is
available and was being distributed. This map is generally only updated
every couple of years, and there were many changes from the previous
one. I think VTA will mail you one if you call them. The 2010 San Jose
Bikeways map was also being given out.

Best bicycle I saw was a triple Bike Friday where the owner was taking
his two small children to their elementary school three miles from their
home.

Went to the Apple and HP Energizer stations. Alas this is the last year
for the HP station as they have sold all their buildings in my area to
Apple and are moving out. Unlikely that Apple will continue the HP
station and have two stations next year.

WTF is Bike to work day? Here people get to work by bike every day.

Numbers: I see hundreds/thousands every day.
Helmets: none;
Lights: almost exlusively dyno powered. Bikes less than 5 years old
almost all with dynohubs.
Trouble making: none. Cyclists deal with cars and vica versa.
Bikemap: ?? to go to work?

Lou

You have to forgive them. They're Americans. They need someone to tell
them to go to the lavatory, and to put a map to the toilets in their
hand, and then they send a memo before they go and also when they
return. That screed above is just Scharfie's memo about his toilet
call at Apple, suitably padded to make a big impression on his boss.
His fellow-workers will admire Scharfie tremendously for the length to
which he has drawn out stopping off at Apple for a ****. -- Andre Jute


Is that what an "Energizer station" is? I thought it was a place to
charge one's batteries. And here I always thought of it a "the pause
that refreshes" rather then the "stop that charges your batteries" :-)

On May 12, 2:45*pm, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On May 12, 3:13*pm, Jay Beattie wrote:





On May 12, 11:25*am, Lou Holtman wrote:

Op 12-5-2011 18:03, SMS schreef:

Numbers: Seemed like there were a lot more people riding this year.
Maybe it's the price of gasoline. Ran into several people I knew (not
literally).

Lighting: Big change from last year. A lot more daytime lighting,
probably 20% of bicycles I saw had a front flasher going, and 40% had a
rear flasher. I saw one other bicycle (besides mine) with a dynamo
light, but other than that it's very much a battery driven world around
here.

Helmets: I did not see a single cyclist at any of the energizer
stations, or on the road, that was not wearing a helmet. So while there
is no adult MHL in most of the U.S., at least in areas where the people
are highly educated, helmet usage is extremely high. Good to see that
the facts regarding helmets are getting out despite the best efforts of
a few people!

Trouble-making: Called the Sunnyvale police about a car parked in the
bicycle lane. Didn't wait around to see if they got there in time. I
have all the police non-emergency numbers for Bay Area cities programmed
into my phone and I don't hesitate to use them when I see something like
this. It was very annoying and dangerous because you had a lot of
cyclists in the bike lane having to swerve out into traffic to get
around this car.

For Bay Area people, the May 2011 Santa Clara County bicycle map is
available and was being distributed. This map is generally only updated
every couple of years, and there were many changes from the previous
one. I think VTA will mail you one if you call them. The 2010 San Jose
Bikeways map was also being given out.

Best bicycle I saw was a triple Bike Friday where the owner was taking
his two small children to their elementary school three miles from their
home.

Went to the Apple and HP Energizer stations. Alas this is the last year
for the HP station as they have sold all their buildings in my area to
Apple and are moving out. Unlikely that Apple will continue the HP
station and have two stations next year.

WTF is Bike to work day? Here people get to work by bike every day.

Numbers: I see hundreds/thousands every day.
Helmets: none;
Lights: almost exlusively dyno powered. Bikes less than 5 years old
almost all with dynohubs.
Trouble making: none. Cyclists deal with cars and vica versa.
Bikemap: ?? to go to work?

Same here. *This is the morning commute in PDX.http://www.flickr.com/photos/pdx-hob...//www.flickr.c...

Are you sure? *That looks much more like the Bridge Ride - one of
those pay-to-ride-your-bike events, the kind where you have to sign a
waiver saying "I know riding a bike is really dangerous. *I will never
ever take off my helmet."

Of course it was the Bridge Pedal -- not even Holland uses interstate
highways for bike lanes. And it is dangerous! Gawdamighty, its like
riding in a cattle drive downtown on the narrow streets near the
starting line with endless dorks who ride once a year. I'm amazed
there isn't more carnage. http://www.flickr.com/photos/tholub/3829791787/
Moooooo! And this is just one waive of riders -- there are multiple
waives with different colored vests. Those are just the blue vest
guys. 20,000 riders -- count 'em. -- Jay Beattie.

On May 12, 6:39*pm, Jay Beattie wrote:
On May 12, 2:45*pm, Frank Krygowski wrote:





On May 12, 3:13*pm, Jay Beattie wrote:

On May 12, 11:25*am, Lou Holtman wrote:

Op 12-5-2011 18:03, SMS schreef:

Numbers: Seemed like there were a lot more people riding this year.

On 5/12/2011 6:44 PM, Jay Beattie wrote:
On May 12, 6:39 pm, Jay wrote:
On May 12, 2:45 pm, Frank wrote:





On May 12, 3:13 pm, Jay wrote:

On May 12, 11:25 am, Lou wrote:

Op 12-5-2011 18:03, SMS schreef:

Numbers: Seemed like there were a lot more people riding this year.
Maybe it's the price of gasoline. Ran into several people I knew (not
literally).

Lighting: Big change from last year. A lot more daytime lighting,
probably 20% of bicycles I saw had a front flasher going, and 40% had a
rear flasher. I saw one other bicycle (besides mine) with a dynamo
light, but other than that it's very much a battery driven world around
here.

Helmets: I did not see a single cyclist at any of the energizer
stations, or on the road, that was not wearing a helmet. So while there
is no adult MHL in most of the U.S., at least in areas where the people
are highly educated, helmet usage is extremely high. Good to see that
the facts regarding helmets are getting out despite the best efforts of
a few people!

Trouble-making: Called the Sunnyvale police about a car parked in the
bicycle lane. Didn't wait around to see if they got there in time. I
have all the police non-emergency numbers for Bay Area cities programmed
into my phone and I don't hesitate to use them when I see something like
this. It was very annoying and dangerous because you had a lot of
cyclists in the bike lane having to swerve out into traffic to get
around this car.

For Bay Area people, the May 2011 Santa Clara County bicycle map is
available and was being distributed. This map is generally only updated
every couple of years, and there were many changes from the previous
one. I think VTA will mail you one if you call them. The 2010 San Jose
Bikeways map was also being given out.

Best bicycle I saw was a triple Bike Friday where the owner was taking
his two small children to their elementary school three miles from their
home.

Went to the Apple and HP Energizer stations. Alas this is the last year
for the HP station as they have sold all their buildings in my area to
Apple and are moving out. Unlikely that Apple will continue the HP
station and have two stations next year.

WTF is Bike to work day? Here people get to work by bike every day.

Numbers: I see hundreds/thousands every day.
Helmets: none;
Lights: almost exlusively dyno powered. Bikes less than 5 years old
almost all with dynohubs.
Trouble making: none. Cyclists deal with cars and vica versa.
Bikemap: ?? to go to work?

Same here. This is the morning commute in PDX.http://www.flickr.com/photos/pdx-hob...//www.flickr.c...

Are you sure? That looks much more like the Bridge Ride - one of
those pay-to-ride-your-bike events, the kind where you have to sign a
waiver saying "I know riding a bike is really dangerous. I will never
ever take off my helmet."

Of course it was the Bridge Pedal -- not even Holland uses interstate
highways for bike lanes. And it is dangerous! Gawdamighty, its like
riding in a cattle drive downtown on the narrow streets near the
starting line with endless dorks who ride once a year. I'm amazed
there isn't more carnage. http://www.flickr.com/photos/tholub/3829791787/
Moooooo! And this is just one waive of riders -- there are multiple
waives with different colored vests. Those are just the blue vest
guys. 20,000 riders -- count 'em. -- Jay Beattie.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Should be "wave" -- too much law for today. And look at all those
helmets Frank. Scary isn't it? -- Jay.

That's a lot of silent votes for compulsion LOL.

On 5/12/2011 11:03 AM, SMS wrote:
[...]
Helmets: I did not see a single cyclist at any of the energizer
stations, or on the road, that was not wearing a helmet. So while there
is no adult MHL in most of the U.S., at least in areas where the people
are highly educated, helmet usage is extremely high. Good to see that
the facts regarding helmets are getting out despite the best efforts of
a few people!

Propaganda often works.

Trouble-making: Called the Sunnyvale police about a car parked in the
bicycle lane. Didn't wait around to see if they got there in time. I
have all the police non-emergency numbers for Bay Area cities programmed
into my phone and I don't hesitate to use them when I see something like
this. It was very annoying and dangerous because you had a lot of
cyclists in the bike lane having to swerve out into traffic to get
around this car.[...]

Eliminate the bicycle farcility (sic), and this problem would not exist.

--
Tºm Shermªn - 42.435731,-83.985007
I am a vehicular cyclist.

On 5/12/2011 5:53 PM, André Jute wrote:
On May 12, 11:24 pm, wrote:
On 5/12/2011 3:21 PM, Ben Pfaff wrote:

Mike's Bikes here in Palo Alto made me sign a waiver like that to
*buy* a bike from them. It's a page long. I couldn't believe
it.

Seems to be S.O.P. for bicycle shops these days. The last two new
bicycles I bought the shop had something similar.

And you signed, Ben/Scharfie? Real people would laugh in their faces,
and tell them to grow up, and remember their place on the food chain.

Bloody hell!

Have to agree with Jute on this one.

The last time I bought a new bicycle [1], the shop owner [2] let me ride
the bike outside on the street while he did the pre-sale paperwork. No
mention of wearing a foam hat (which I did not).

[1] http://www.flickr.com/photos/19704682@N08/sets/72157619269876565/.
[2] http://www.yellowjersey.org/muzi.html.

--
Tºm Shermªn - 42.435731,-83.985007
I am a vehicular cyclist.

On May 12, 9:44*pm, Jay Beattie wrote:
On May 12, 6:39*pm, Jay Beattie wrote:

Of course it was the Bridge Pedal -- not even Holland uses interstate
highways for bike lanes. And it is dangerous! *Gawdamighty, its like
riding in a cattle drive downtown on the narrow streets near the
starting line with endless dorks who ride once a year. I'm amazed
there isn't more carnage. *http://www.flickr.com/photos/tholub/3829791787/
Moooooo! *And this is just one waive of riders -- there are multiple
waives with different colored vests. *Those are just the blue vest
guys. *20,000 riders -- count 'em. *-- Jay Beattie.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Should be "wave" -- too much law for today.

I like the original version. They signed waivers, didn't they?

My daughter and her husband planned to do it one year. I think they
registered and began the slow-motion crawl over one or two bridges,
then they abandoned. They said it's one of those ideas that looks a
lot better on paper than in real life.

Many years ago, I took part in a few rides that had mass starts. They
were much smaller, only a few hundred riders, but it was enough to
make me swear off them.

*And look at all those helmets Frank. *Scary isn't it?

Well, I might add a 20,000 rider, wall-to-wall newbies, 2 mph (or
less) event to those few circumstances that fall within the limited
protective capacity of a bike helmet. But from what I hear, there
wasn't room to fall down anyway, so they're really not needed.

- Frank Krygowski