Impressions from Bike to Work Day

On Fri, 13 May 2011 09:40:06 -0400, "(PeteCresswell)"
wrote:

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.

I suspect that off camera somewhere that there are lines and lines of
porta-potties.

On Fri, 13 May 2011 12:58:01 -0700 (PDT), Andre Jute
wrote:

On May 13, 1:29*pm, john B. wrote:
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.

The truth, the right info, and entertainment besides.

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 :-)

Downtown Palo Alto? No fields to make a field call in. Sounds like
masochism to me to take the drinks they're handing out. Not much fun
cycling if you're trying into hold your knees together.

Andre Jute
Look up my family in the Encyclopedia Britannica

Jute:

jute, Hindi pat, also called allyott, either of two species of
Corchorus plants—C. capsularis, or white jute, and C. olitorius,
including both tossa and daisee varieties—belonging to the hibiscus,
or mallow family (Malvaceae), and their fibre. The latter is a bast
fibre; i.e., it is obtained from the inner bast tissue of the bark of
the plant’s stem. Jute fibre’s primary use is in fabrics for
packaging a wide range of agricultural and industrial commodities that
require bags, sacks, packs, and wrappings. Wherever bulky, strong
fabrics and twines resistant to stretching are required, jute is
widely used because of its low cost. Burlap is made from jute.

On 5/13/2011 2:58 PM, Andre Jute wrote:
[...]
Look up my family in the Encyclopedia Britannica

Or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jute.

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

On 5/13/2011 5:29 AM, john B. wrote:

Well, that is what I get listening to Jute.

Wow, there's at least one person that hasn't filtered him out!

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 :-)

No soft drinks (if that means soda). Water, OJ, and coffee is what I
saw. If you need a restroom after those, it's not going to be an
immediate need, presumably you'll be at work by then.

On May 13, 2:51*pm, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On May 13, 7:59*am, Duane Hebert wrote:







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

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.

I'm sure that there are significant differences between the
Netherlands and Montreal, or Madison, or Ohio. *I haven't cycled in
the Netherlands, but my daughter has. *She described how weird it was
to have motorists yielding to her wherever she rode, even when they
had the right of way, as far as she could tell. *We could use more of
that latter bit.

And yes, someone who learned to ride in a mostly segregated
environment, with extreme deference from motorists, would certainly
feel uncomfortable with our more mixed environment and less
cooperative motorists.

But I'd say the better solution would be to learn the appropriate
traffic techniques for cycling. *Learn to watch for our potholes,
too. *The plastic hat is more of a talisman than a solution. *They
really haven't proven to be very effective, you know.

My helmet has prevented scalp laceration, skull fracture, brain death,
cancer, lupus, HIV -- and unknown numbers of broken legs. It looks
good, feels good -- and darn it, people like it.

I am now going to ride home through the hills on narrow roads with
cars and do more elevation gain than a commuter in Amsterdam does in
a year. -- Jay Beattie.

On May 12, 9:58*pm, "Mike Jacoubowsky"
wrote:

Most all of this nonsense is reactionary to that absurd lawsuit
back-in-the-day against the shop and Raleigh bicycles when someone was
injured riding at night without lights and the lawyers (using John
Howard as an expert witness) successfully claimed that the shop should
have warned the guy that riding at night without lights is dangerous.

This sounds like a reference to the Derby Cycles (assoc. with Raleigh)
case in which John Forester testified on the basis that the reflectors
with which the bike was equipped were ineffective in the circumstances
of this accident (and in many other circumstances) but that the
presence of the reflectors may give the impression that the bike is
intended to be ridden at night as sold despite the lack of necessary
lights. AFAIK, John Howard was not involved in the case.

Locally it got worse; Garner's Bike Shop (which no longer exists) was
successfully sued because of a quick release issue on a 9-year-old bike.
Supposedly a safety device had not been installed which may have
prevented the wheel from becoming loose if not installed properly. Word
on the street was that it wasn't even the original wheel on the bike
when it happened. Whatever, shop owners got very concerned when Garners
ended up losing the lawsuit for $3 million. Responsibility was split
between Garners and Merida, the manufacturer.

John Howard was involved in the quick-release case and testified that
such releases can vibrate loose in normal use over time (something I
have never observed in my years of riding). Therefore we now have the
'lawyer lips' on all newer bikes as sold - but not on any of mine.

Way way way back in the day, some shops routinely removed wheel
reflectors from higher-end road bikes. Anybody doing that these days is
absolutely nuts.

Agreed. I've had this conversation with the owners of Green Gear
(Bike Friday). They cited an exemption from the California law
regarding mandatory reflectors on bike sales since they are a small,
largely custom manufacturer. My response was that such an argument is
unlikely to carry any weight with a jury and a single sizable lawsuit
could easily put them out of business - and result in my losing their
lifetime warranty support. I thought it would be advisable for them
to at least offer a set of reflectors and get a specific release from
any buyer who didn't want it included.

There is, however, no mandatory requirement for adult helmet use on test
rides. Some shops will claim their insurance companies require it, but I
think that's a dodge.

Agreed. Glad to see you're honest about your policy instead of hiding
behind a false insurance claim, although I disagree with the need for
the requirement. But again, a specific release from the test rider w/
o helmet would probably be prudent given the liability issue.

On 5/13/2011 1:47 AM, Çhâlõ Çólîñã wrote:
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.

butbutbut, those pictures are not as funny as being pulled by Airedales!

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

On 5/13/2011 6:59 AM, Duane Hebert wrote:
[...]
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.

Bunch of degenerates, I say.

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

On 5/13/2011 11:41 AM, SMS wrote:
On 5/13/2011 7:20 AM, Duane Hebert wrote:
On 5/13/2011 9:49 AM, SMS wrote:
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.

I know. For the most part I've given up on that. As long as it doesn't
affect us here, it doesn't really bother me.

Fortunately, most of the people making decisions here in Montreal, don't
make them based on what they read in non-moderated news groups.

Of course even those that keep repeating the whole Netherlands schtick
are well aware of why it has no validity in other places, they just do
it because it fits their agenda, and they hope that those that lack any
critical thinking skills will be taken in by it.

The Netherlands has different laws of nature? Or is Scharf just his
normal delusional self?

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

On 5/13/2011 4:51 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On May 13, 7:59 am, Duane wrote:

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

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.
I'm sure that there are significant differences between the
Netherlands and Montreal, or Madison, or Ohio. I haven't cycled in
the Netherlands, but my daughter has. She described how weird it was
to have motorists yielding to her wherever she rode, even when they
had the right of way, as far as she could tell. We could use more of
that latter bit.

And yes, someone who learned to ride in a mostly segregated
environment, with extreme deference from motorists, would certainly
feel uncomfortable with our more mixed environment and less
cooperative motorists.[...]

I think riding in the Netherlands urban areas would be horrible - who
wants to be in a pack of bicycles moving 10-15 kph?

Riding in traffic in the US can be an exciting adrenaline rush. Whee!

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