Impressions from Bike to Work Day

"jcdill" wrote in message
...
On 12/05/11 9:03 AM, SMS wrote:

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.

You can also get it online at:

http://www.vta.org/schedules/VTA_Bike_Map.pdf

However, it still shows the Los Gatos Creek Trail on the wrong side of
the creek from Campbell Ave to Bascom. I reported this error to them
2 years ago. Bummed that they didn't fix it when they updated the
map.

jc

It's retaliation aimed at confusing people from the Sacramento area.
Ever ridden the American River Bike Trail? There's some pretty
convoluted stuff going on in places, and not much telling you which way
to go. The locals don't have any issues with it. Just like folk 'round
here don't have any problems with figuring out the Los Gatos Creek
Trail, but maybe we'll trap some of country folk. :-)

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

T0m Sherm4n wrote:

Çhâlõ Çólîñã wrote:
[...]
Can you imagine having a well-publicized "Drive To Work Day" where
Americans were supposed to make a big deal and ceremony out of using
their cars to go to work? *That might actually have a positive effect
on utilitarian cycling in terms of raised consciousness. *More than
likely it would just go over people's heads, though.

We need a "Dog-Sled to Work" day.

For people that live in Hellish climates that lack snow, such as Chalo,
there is the dog scooter:
http://www.pawtrekker.com/gallery/images/airedales2-full.jpg.

http://www.chalosulky.com/

From the former proprietor of Dogscooter.com.

Chalo

On 5/12/2011 5:05 PM, AMuzi wrote:
SMS wrote:
On 5/12/2011 11:25 AM, Lou Holtman wrote:

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?

Sadly, the bicycling environment in the U.S. is very different than
that in NL.


I think we are quite similar. Rubber side down, pedal faster = go
faster, etc.

It's the Aussies who have to hang on with one hand to keep from
falling off the earth.


Don't know for sure as I've never ridden in the Netherlands but one of
the metallurgists at work is from there. He bought his first bike
helmet after he moved here. He told me that the drivers were too crazy
for him. Case study of 1 but he's an avid cyclist and has been for many
years.

He also didn't like the roads here, especially after he hit a huge pot
hole and went over the bars. He was laughing that the helmet was
useless as his head was the only part of him without a road rash.

Anyway, my point is that the cycling culture of different places can
vary a lot so comparing small points without considering the whole is
not very useful.

But there is a trend in Montreal that is starting to concern me. I went
for a rec ride yesterday morning and in 2 hours I actually saw 3 bents.
Now I'm nervous.

On 5/12/2011 5:05 PM, Chalo wrote:
Lou Holtman wrote:
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!
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?
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

http://www.veloquebec.info/en/feria/...n-bike-to-work

Maybe but here it's used to publicize "Operation Bike to Work" which is
an ongoing year round attempt to motivate cycling to work instead of
driving.

On 5/12/2011 3:17 PM, SMS wrote:
On 5/12/2011 11:38 AM, Jay Beattie wrote:

Some guy was dogging me to work on a Scattante. I always wondered who
bought those things -- and now I know: its guys who are excited about
"being paced" by some old dude on a anchor-weight cross bike who is
just riding to work over the hills. -- Jay Beattie.

I'd say about half the bikes I saw today were commute type bikes where
the owner probably commuted regularly, and half were racing type bikes
of one sort or another where this was the once-a-year commute to get
yet another small canvas bag and a small Clif Bar. I was kind of
hoping that Apple would give a free iPad to every cyclist that stopped
at their campus on Infinite Loop, but no such luck (just kidding).


On my commutes, about half of the riders are on road bikes with back
packs (like me) and half are on touring type bikes with paniers. I
don't think that road bikes mean that you don't commute. For me, I have
a touring bike all set up to lug stuff. I thought I would use it for
commuting but I like the road bike better as it's more fun to ride. No
wheeljies yet though...

On Thu, 12 May 2011 20:03:49 -0700, SMS
wrote:

On 5/12/2011 5:49 PM, john B. wrote:

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" :-)

There were no restrooms at the energizer stations. They gave out water,
bananas, coffee, bagels, coffee cake, bike maps, and canvas bags, etc.,
depending on the station location and who sponsored it. They want to
create a supportive and fun atmosphere. Hopefully no one believed that
it would be hard to ride to work without the food and beverages along
the way.

Experienced cyclists may have difficulty understanding the fact that for
many people a five to ten mile ride to work is not a trivial ride. They
lack confidence, they lack the ability to repair their own bike, and
they don't know what the necessary equipment is other than a bike and a
helmet.


Well, that is what I get listening to Jute.

However handing out water, coffee and soft drinks might be construed
as a form of torture if no rest rooms are also provided... or at least
a large tree :-)

On May 12, 1:25*pm, Lou Holtman wrote:

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

Numbers: I see hundreds/thousands every day.
Helmets: none;
"Education"? Lots and lots.

Lights: almost exlusively dyno powered. Bikes less than 5 years old
almost all with dynohubs.
Another "IQ Test of Life" IMHO.

Trouble making: none. Cyclists deal with cars and vica versa.
With the observation that cyclists "have the right to be there", big
time, and far, far more than in the USA.
In my humble and limited observation, credit the cyclists not for
dealing with MV traffic, but pedestrians and especially newbie
tourists who don't know what the red pavement is for; "ahem" said the
past offender.

Bikemap: ?? to go to work?
Well, maybe the first time or two?
--D-y

Per john B.:
However handing out water, coffee and soft drinks might be construed
as a form of torture if no rest rooms are also provided

Every time I see clips on TV of huge demonstrations (as in people
as far as the eye can see) I have to wonder where they're all
meeting the inevitable needs.
--
PeteCresswell

On 5/13/2011 4:59 AM, Duane Hebert wrote:

Anyway, my point is that the cycling culture of different places can
vary a lot so comparing small points without considering the whole is
not very useful.

There have been several of us here that have been patiently trying to
explain that to a few people for many years.

On 5/12/2011 10:17 PM, Mike Jacoubowsky wrote:
wrote in message
...
On 12/05/11 9:03 AM, SMS wrote:

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.

You can also get it online at:

http://www.vta.org/schedules/VTA_Bike_Map.pdf

However, it still shows the Los Gatos Creek Trail on the wrong side of
the creek from Campbell Ave to Bascom. I reported this error to them
2 years ago. Bummed that they didn't fix it when they updated the
map.

jc

It's retaliation aimed at confusing people from the Sacramento area.
Ever ridden the American River Bike Trail? There's some pretty
convoluted stuff going on in places, and not much telling you which way
to go. The locals don't have any issues with it. Just like folk 'round
here don't have any problems with figuring out the Los Gatos Creek
Trail, but maybe we'll trap some of country folk. :-)

Yes, the ARBT can be confusing at times, but the map appears to be
accurate. What the map doesn't tell you is where to leave the trail to
find various services. I.e. at one place on the trail, just over the
levee there's an REI and a Costco and some restaurants, but you'd never
know they were there.