Unless it's a motorcycle, what difference does that make?
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ The absence of accidents does not mean the presence of safety Army General Richard Cody +--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
... snip
I live in the desert, wasn't much farming where I live, it was all desert ranchland or wasteland. Try again.
What about my driving 45 in a 45 zone? While they are doing, to be generous, 20.
Why were the roads built? What was the intended purpose? Not what some activists got passed into law later, but the real, intended reason for building paved two lane roads?
Or, by your logic, I should be perfectly justified riding a 4 wheeler down that same road. After all, I'm a taxpayer who is using that road I helped build. Guess what, anybody doing that gets ticketed -- they have to ride those vehicles in approved areas.
That's funny, seems there are equal numbers of bicyclists out both Saturdays and Sundays.
Wouldn't do any good, the more developed areas nearby have bike lanes, bicyclists don't use any part of them other than the 3 inches closest to the automobile lane.
.. a tractor or a car with old folks are people out there using the road as intended -- the one is using it for livelihood, the other to get from place to place, and time has caught up with them vis a vis reaction times or just the way they always used to live. It may be an inconvenience, but it's unavoidable, they aren't out there deliberately inconveniencing others.
... and that illustrates my point regarding courtesy perfectly. That 2 minutes is *not* *your* two minutes to take away from me or any other person. Your two minutes, plus the half dozen to a dozen other yuppies out there in their oh-so-manly lycra-spandex bike suits each taking their two minutes starts adding up to a pretty decent chunk of time. Doesn't matter much though whether it's 30 seconds or two minutes, if you are needlessly inconveniencing someone else, it's still discourteous. As I mentioned above, other recreational riders have to pursue their fun in suitable places, why is this situation different, just because a few activists were able to convince some legislators?
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ The absence of accidents does not mean the presence of safety Army General Richard Cody +--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
I really like the moving sidewalks. I've always been a fast walker, get walking on one of those things and you can flat-out fly down the concourse :-)
Most airports I've been in have a "walk left, stand right" policy that most people are pretty good at following.
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ The absence of accidents does not mean the presence of safety Army General Richard Cody +--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+On Wed, 09 Feb 2005 22:20:56 -0700, the inscrutable Mark & Juanita spake:
Yeah, those are fun and can get up to 12mph. I walk fast, too, and get half my exercise that way. I walked while my parents rode a cart and we arrived, nearly half a mile later (LAX), at about the same time.
I've found that loud whistling moves people quicker than the repeated EXCUSE MEs and COMIN' THRUs.
but it is ok for other cars to inconvenience you as in traffic? cars and other motored vehicles cause far more delays then any amount of cyclists well ever do. plus more deaths more pollution more problems and more dependence on foreign oil.
Are you kidding? "Deliberately inconveniencing others"?
Few cyclists LIKE riding roads like you describe, but they HAVE TO in order to get to the more desirable roads. Many road cyclists go 50,60,
75, or more, miles on a good weekend ride. We would LOVE to stay out of your way, but often have zero choice when connecting one area to another.Should they load up the car and drive from 5 mile loop to 5 mile loop? Ride in circles on a running track?
Those suits are incredibly comfortable and functional. If you got out much, you'd see cross country skiers, ice skaters, climbers, and long distance runners in similar clothing. Even major league baseball, football, and basketball players are discovering how well this stuff works. As a 40 year old, 6'1", 230 pound man who also plays hockey, downhill mountain bikes, uses power tools, lifts weights, etc... I've never felt less than manly wearing jeans, hockey pants, or spandex bike shorts.
I guess my manlyness certainly doesn't come from my clothes, as I even feel manly naked! Besides, some of the women I ride with look incredible in those shorts.
FWIW, I frequently use my bikes as genuine transportation. I'm actually going somewhere else, including my office. I'm often dressed in spandex on these rides, too, for performance and comfort reasons. Maybe I should start wearing a sign stating my recreational vs. transportation intent?
Barry
*Paved* roads were originally built for bicycles since automobiles didn't need them paved.
Gerry
Maybe there are FEW alternative routes for them to get to or from their homes or their destinations. Could they be insensitive enough to be actually using bicycles for transportation?
They can't be very competent drivers. God help them if there happens to be a stationary object like a stopped car (fender bender?). Does your "sore spot" allow pedestrians or are those drivers incapable of slowing down even momentarily?
What do you see as its "intended purpose"? Are you saying that bicyclists were never part of the purpose and that it's OK to "penalize" them instead?
By substituting "drivers" and "bicyclists", I'm hoping to show you that hurtling along in 4000 lbs. of steel and glass should require the "wisdom and courtesy" you are seeking.
You resent "taking away time". What might they lose, twelve seconds per cyclist? Maybe a whopping twenty seconds? Their dinners will still be hot. Their TV show (Dr. Phil?) will still be on. They won't be losing several hours a day from their busy lives, will they?
You need to get some perspective IMNSHO.
Sorry, I think you have a hard on against bicyclists and are trying to rationalise your dislike with a weak arguement.
Bicyclists are not all tree-hugging, yoghurt-eating, Birkenstock-wearing nancy boys or superhuman athletes like Lance Armstrong, they are everyday brothers, sisters, moms, dads, sons, daughters... Cut them some slack.
Gerry
Paved roads were originally built for Romans - at least in my neighbourhood.
The real shame is that where they have actually created intelligently designed bike lanes, it's not too far behind that some dim bulbs get together and manage to convince legislators to pass bylaws restricting cyclists to bike lanes only.
Gerry
How long have you had this fascination?
Gerry
Yeah, I live on the outskirts of a city that people built in the desert. They wanted to mine the ores nearby and found a reasonably green area between the Catalina and Tucson mountains, along a river bed. Rocky hills plus river bed = winding roads. The city of Tucson is around 800k people this time of year (snowbirds + college students + gem & mineral show attendees + permanent residents)
Obviously the point was wasted on you. You obviously feel that a conveyance that can at best, travel about half the speed of normal traffic has every bit as much right to use as much of the road as it wants to regardless of who it inconveniences.
... snip
If they are on the shoulder, well away from cars, doesn't bother me a bit.
In actuality, the inconvenience is only a secondary consideration in this whole discussion. My main issue is frankly the safety issue. It just seems totally irrational to me that people, for enjoyment, put themselves in a position where they are doing half the speed of the prevailing traffic, put themselves in situations where they may not be seen by that traffic, and are the ones who are going to lose, and lose bigtime, if they wind up interacting in a negative way with that traffic. I don't want to be the person that such an event happens to; the circumstance where one must make a a split second choice between driving over a slow-moving bicycle 2 feet into the right lane on a curve or swerving left into the oncoming path of another vehicle and causing a head-on collision --- that bothers me.
At the same time, other folks who have riding hobbies somehow manage to pack up their vehicles or animals and drive someplace that accomodates those vehicles in a safe manner.
I've said my peace on this issue.
... snip
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ The absence of accidents does not mean the presence of safety Army General Richard Cody +--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
my bike is my transportation. I even haul all of my lumber on a trailer. and I am lucky in that I don't have to travel busy roads (G) but hey thick of all the tool money you would Dave if you did not drive.
Steve,
I recognize that for some people a bicycle is their sole transportation. That's a somewhat different situation. However, I would hope that people in that situation also recognize that there are routes that really are not a safe place to ride for that transportation.
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ The absence of accidents does not mean the presence of safety Army General Richard Cody +--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
It don't go no lower than the big super spinny pedal 13,000 times per one revolution of the wheel gear, and that ain't low enough for my knees.
"Steve Knight"
Think of the additional money you would have if you had better transportation.
You know, I'm a little miffed that nobody commiserated with me about walking my ass off on those stairs, and still having the damn love handles.
On the day she went in for some test thing, I walked the entire perimeter of the hospital property, in the snow, about 27 times. Must have been five miles or better. At a really good "heart pumping cardio pace." But still bupkis. I haven't lost one ounce. Dammit.
How is having a car and paying all those huge expenses going to get me more money?
Steve, prestige, man, prestige! It's priceless, so the cost is irrelevant.
I just love being asked "How long 'till you get your license back?" by the counter clerk when I make a beer or wine run by bicycle. I explain that the DUI folks ride bikes with the drop bars flipped downside up.
I've also been handed business cards for towing companies when riding to Auto Zone for oil change supplies. I've never seen a car yet that needed to be towed, but was repairable with 5 quarts of Mobil 1 and an oil filter!
Barry
On Thu, 10 Feb 2005 19:41:04 GMT, B a r r y vaguely proposed a theory ......and in reply I say!:
remove ns from my header address to reply via email
And tho do _ewyou_ thweety!
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