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Get a bike to save the planet

#61
Coming into this convo as a pedestrian, cyclist, motorcyclist and driver, I don't even know what to say to anyone on any side of the fence anymore. There's just so much nonsense out there...

But I'll say this: if anyone demands respect out on the roads, it sure as sh!t doesn't work that way. And behaving like a moron sure won't get you that respect, regardless of what you put your foot on to "go".
 
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#62
If I wanted to ride a bike daily, I'd just move to the Netherlands:

dutch-bikes-e1350142102180.jpg

Oh, I'd also be "going green" in the cafés as well :woot:
 
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#64
I respect those who bike, although there is much of the US where that's not a very practical method of getting around, either because of traffic patterns or distances to be traversed.

However, I have a six-inch steel plate in my left leg from a motorcycle accident, and I have come within inches of getting my head run over when a 10-speed bike dumped me into a traffic lane. After due reflection, I have no interest in exposing myself to vehicular traffic more than necessary since too many drivers are inattentive morons who drive down the middle of bike lanes and have only marginal awareness of traffic or their road position. When I see video of bike riders weaving through heavy traffic or riding alongside strings of cars, the two words which occur to me are "death wish."

I will commute with plenty of sheet metal around myself, with AC in the summer and heat in the winter, and four wheels to provide traction and stability. I will also bike, but only on bike trails where I have no automotive traffic to deal with. Unfortunately the trails don't exist to get me to work and back.
 
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#65
When I was younger (late 30s) I biked to work every day. It kinda sucked at -30C (-40C wind chill which is -40F) but you get to work more energized. Now I bike whenever I can (for example today), but not in bad weather.

On, the one hand, it is sad that so many people see rude cyclists all the time, on the other hand, it is great to know so many places have so many cyclists! Ottawa is getting more cyclists, but I see thousands of rude drivers for every rude cyclist.
 
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#66
Gaolee said:
The bicycle commuters and bicycle as transportation types are a lot different from the weekend peloton of spandex warriors.
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Yep

In my experience , the dangerous ones are :
- The weekend spandex type who's running in peloton in the middle of the roads , these are pissing off motorists.
- The tourists or "sunny sunday" biking type with no experience on how to behave by bike. They're the one doing stupid , unattended moves.

In 30 years of biking , I never had an accident.And I bike A LOT.

25 years ago , when I started riding in the winter , I looked like an extra terrestrial but now , a lot more people are winter commuting by bike. The city around here is even starting to remove the snow on the bike lanes since last year.
Things get better.
Slowly
 
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#67
two fingers said:
I couldn't disagree more. Bikes make things much worse in my view. Most cities are not set up to allow for widening lanes to allow for the barely-a-trickle bike traffic. The few who do ride in my town cause more accidents than they prevent. One guy actually takes up a full lane riding a recumbent trike at about 20mph during rush hour on the three busiest to streets here. He has an awful attitude and flips off every third motorist by zooms past him.

On the secondary roads just outside of town groups of cyclists ride side by side taking up whole lanes at 25 mph in a 55mph zone. Same entitled attitude. I was behind a group once and the "leader" actually slowed down and got beside my car and threatened me with my children in the back seat. After I passed them I pulled over and had my wife drive away with the kids. Needless to say he didn't want to stop and talk then.

Don't be a jerk and hinder the rest of us. Get your exercise at home or at the gym and out of our way. We need to get kids to school and get to work without playing chicken with slow two wheelers.

Thanks.

Glad I could clear that up. Go save some body else's planet. :thumbsup:
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I don't have anything against cycling in general. I still ride my 1988 Schwinn that I got new. My daughter and I love to ride. The thing is, it's turned into an elitist activity. At least here anyway. We have a couple bike paths, and zero bike lanes. Here I try to teach my daughter how we are supposed to follow the rules of the road and stop at stop signs and look, and over many years I have yet to see even ONE other cyclist stop at a stop sign. They just blow past us at full speed. They cut between lines of cars, cut in front of oncoming traffic. They ride side by side in the lane, not in single file along the edge like they are supposed to.

As far as saving the planet, the thing is that most of the cyclists here are on vacation, they got here by driving 300 miles or more at 80 mph in their expensive SUVs. That's one plus to having snow on the ground 8 months out of the year, it kinda puts the brakes on cycling.

If we really want to save the planet, a good start would be correcting the economy so you can actually afford to live in the town where you work.

Fat Freddy said:
Once a month, I like to rent a bigass truck and go cyclist hunting....:D
Click to expand...

There have been several locals in the news who have done just that. They're still looking for one in particular.
 
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#69
tlc1976 said:
I don't have anything against cycling in general. I still ride my 1988 Schwinn that I got new. My daughter and I love to ride. The thing is, it's turned into an elitist activity. At least here anyway. We have a couple bike paths, and zero bike lanes. Here I try to teach my daughter how we are supposed to follow the rules of the road and stop at stop signs and look, and over many years I have yet to see even ONE other cyclist stop at a stop sign. They just blow past us at full speed. They cut between lines of cars, cut in front of oncoming traffic. They ride side by side in the lane, not in single file along the edge like they are supposed to.
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It'll be the same thing when she learns to drive a car: How to explain that you're supposed to obey the speed limit and stop at stop signs, when none of the other drivers do. I've had this conversation with my kids: "Just because everybody else is an idiot doesn't mean you need to be one."

But if she gets in the habit of staying safe on her bike, maybe some of those habits will translate to driving. And maybe she won't want to drive as much. A lot of the teenagers among my kids' circle of friends are ambivalent about driving. They all got their drivers licenses, but are happy getting around by bike, walking, bus, etc.

Learning those habits early is a good thing. The US has something like twice the rate of traffic deaths as other civilized countries, so it's not like putting 4000 pounds of steel around us is all that reassuring.
 
#71
bluesblaster said:
its not really about anyone demanding respect so much as a common sense to weight ratio. Use your head, pay attention, don't be a cocky A hole, there's enough room for everyone to get where there going.
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Hailing from Minnesota (Twin Cities - land of roads with wide shoulders) I used to dream of living in Florida where I could enjoy cycling year round.

Well, reality is that they don't need wide roads for snow drifts in the winter time so on some parts we're left with just a few inches beyond the white line - and that's it. I've cycled in Pensacola and in some places it was a little hairy but here in Jacksonville you'll get yourself killed, no matter how 'alert' you may be. I could ride to work - it's about 13 miles - and do it in about 40 minutes or so, but one stretch of road is so precarious I would be risking the loss of my family's dad (me) if I did.

There are some places with paths and small bike lanes but not into the city. When I go riding with my son we do it at night, usually late, when traffic is at a minimum. With the invention of the fat tire bike, I wouldn't mind moving back up north to enjoy riding year round.

Raz
 
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#72
I see more and more fat tire bikes, not really my thing but it seems to be getting popular. Im sure it goes through the snow better than the skinny tires. Im more of a summer rider, skinny tire guy.
 
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#73
Ridding a bicycle is fine and dandy until you get hit by a car........................like what happened to me about 3 years ago. I almost died, saving the planet!

Not to be a "Debbie Downer" but riding a bike is not gonna save the planet. If we humans want to save the planet, then we have to go total primitive in life style and nobody is going to do that!

Start with throwing your smart phone away.
 
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#77
fokof said:
Lots of fun !View attachment 1111174 View attachment 1111179
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Man, I so miss the snow! I know, I sound insane, but 22 years of 95+ degrees and 100% humidity are wearing on me bad. I don't remember exactly the year but I rode my Cannondale road bike every month except January - and didn't that month because it was too darn cold. Had very little snow that year, must have been '89 IIRC. Doesn't seem that long ago. :rollno:
 
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#78
I LOVE biking. It's one of my favorite things to do, and I'd like nothing more than to bike commute to work, shopping, to see shows, etc.

But I won't. Every couple of months another cyclist is either maimed or killed in a traffic accident where a driver either didn't see them, didn't react in time, or, in a few extremely unfortunate circumstances, decided it'd be "cool" to haze someone on a bicycle (yeah, we've had some of those). There are far more ghost bikes chained to lightpoles around town than I'm comfortable with. So I stay off the streets for the most part, and confine my riding to the bike paths in the parks, and suburban side streets where no one drives. And there aren't many "safe" bike routes that can get me where I need to go, so I don't take my chances.

With the current state of bike-friendly commute options in my town, I keep my cycling squarely in the "recreation" box. No commuting for me, thanks.
 
#80
what I don't get is these people that insist on flirting with danger, riding along with traffic where there is no lane or shoulder for them to ride in while traffic zooms along at 40-50 mph just inches away. To me they seem lacking in some kind of sense of self preservation, sure its "legal" for them to do that, but it reminds me of the old saying " just because you can doesn't mean you should"

In these days of inattentive driving it makes this practice even more precarious IMO
 
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