Done deal. There isn't much bike news now that Lance's ordeal has (it seems) come to an end. But, we get active around Tour d' France time and keep a running daily conversation going.
As we say, "welcome to the peloton"...
Posted on 11/10/2013 6:57:21 PM PST by nickcarraway
EVERYBODY who knows me knows that I love cycling and that I’m also completely freaked out by it. I got into the sport for middle-aged reasons: fat; creaky knees; the delusional vanity of tight shorts. Registering for a triathlon, I took my first ride in decades. Wind in my hair, smile on my face, I decided instantly that I would bike everywhere like all those beautiful hipster kids on fixies. Within minutes, however, I watched an S.U.V. hit another cyclist, and then I got my own front wheel stuck in a streetcar track, sending me to the pavement.
I made it home alive and bought a stationary bike trainer and workout DVDs with the ex-pro Robbie Ventura guiding virtual rides on Wisconsin farm roads, so that I could sweat safely in my California basement. Then I called my buddy Russ, one of 13,500 daily bike commuters in Washington, D.C. Russ swore cycling was harmless but confessed to awakening recently in a Level 4 trauma center, having been hit by a car he could not remember. Still, Russ insisted I could avoid harm by assuming that every driver was “a mouth-breathing drug addict with a murderous hatred for cyclists.”
The anecdotes mounted: my wife’s childhood friend was cycling with Mom and Dad when a city truck killed her; two of my father’s law partners, maimed. I began noticing “cyclist killed” news articles, like one about Amelie Le Moullac, 24, pedaling inside a bike lane in San Francisco’s SOMA district when a truck turned right and killed her. In these articles, I found a recurring phrase: to quote from The San Francisco Chronicle story about Ms. Le Moullac, “The truck driver stayed at the scene and was not cited.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
I see the testosterone runs high in those spandex panties.
So it's cool for you to force cars into oncoming traffic because of glass in your lane ? How about you stop and wait until it's clear to go around the glass ?
>>I see the testosterone runs high in those spandex panties.
Read back a few posts. I don’t ride with those guys. I wear normal clothes. I ride a bike for transportation, not for bragging rights for how far I rode and came back to the place I started.
Oh ok, you just brag about carrying a 9mm, spandex panties optional.
>>Oh ok, you just brag about carrying a 9mm, spandex panties optional.
No. I carry a 9mm when I ride because of what I’ve learned from bicycle threads on FR. I used to think that FR was full of good people, mostly Christian people, who respect others. But the bicycle threads have shown that the people who I thought were good become homicidal maniacs when they see a bicyclist. They want to hit you with their car, beat you, attack you with dogs, etc. These “good people” who pretend to be so righteous become worse than hoodied-up thugs when they encounter a bike. These bike threads really do reveal the lack of character that many people have.
But, the spandex pants are NOT optional. I don’t wear them—ever. If it helps you with your fantasy, I wear cargos because its easier to carry the gun that way.
Hmmm, this is why I ended up selling my motorcycle and why I only ride bikes off road. I was run off the road by oncoming traffic twice while riding a motorcycle...figured the 3rd time would be it and promptly sold my motorcycle.
I mountain bike and the only time my tires are touching pavement is leaving to hit a trail, coming back from a trail or when I’m crossing a road. Besides, pavement wears knobbies down quicker.
I DO NOT EVER RIDE in traffic...even if I have certain privileges granted by the DoT.
I understand both sides of the argument having been a victim of arrogant, idiot bike riders and auto drivers.
The idiots do no one any favors.
I see it as a backlash against the “Mass Resistance” types....
not all of them.
Just the ones who don’t seem to think that traffic signs and right-of-ways apply to them.
Agree 1000%
The “Mass Resistance” ones are the WORST type, they want to ride in car lanes and ignore traffic rules in the name of “saving the earth” or some dippy sh!t like that...
I am always amused when Savage complains about their antics.
I’m late to this thread. Still here, still riding, still racing triathlons but not as many per year. Please keep your cool out there riding and driving. There are already too many accidents.
Reminds me of my youth. We used to ride 20 miles round trip to the nearest mall that happened to have a Child World toy store and a Hobbytown. With money saved from our paper routes we would purchase toy guns and plastic tank and airplane models. We’d fill up on McDonalds and Orange Julius then ride home. We’d send the rest of the day playing guns and building models. Then late night Dungeon and Dragons sessions fueled by Mountain Dew. I was 10 years-old, 1980.
I hope my sons can experience that freedom too.
I am always armed, whether riding around town, or out on the road in my 'spandex panties'.
There was a sign at the entrance to the Poudre Trail: Caution: Mountain Lion Sighting.
So you bet I'm armed.
Thanks for showing up. Thought you’d find this interesting. Good to see you.
Kindly add me to your ping list.
Long time road/mtb’r here.
Or you could slow down a little until it was safe to pass and then everyone could get home in one piece. Quite often, there’s gravel or glass on the shoulder that makes it unsafe to ride on and trust me, the last thing I want to do is ride the line (or lane) and put myself into traffic and harms way.
Done deal. There isn't much bike news now that Lance's ordeal has (it seems) come to an end. But, we get active around Tour d' France time and keep a running daily conversation going.
As we say, "welcome to the peloton"...
That Huffy was far newer than my old Western Flyer.
My Father bought it used in the late 1930s. In 1953 my brother was using it on his newspaper route when a car backed into it. The car’s rear rode over the front wheel bending the fork but otherwise doing no harm. A couple of years before that, I was trying to ride it. I was only 4 and could not reach the pedals except standing on them. I fell with it and the end of the handlebar knocked out my two front teeth and cut my upper lip pretty badly.
Daddy got the driver to pay for the replacement fork. Around 1959 our cousins had 3 old Whizzer bicycle motors which did not work. They gave them to us and my Brothers and I made one working motor out of it.
That Whizzer motor ran great until I wrecked the bike. The reason for the wreck was the starter didn’t work. One had to push the bike until it started then jump on before it ran away. Well once I failed to jump on in time and the bike took off and ran into a tree.
We took the damaged Whizzer moto off and replaced a few spokes and it ran like new. After all of us kids left home the bike got left in a barn where it just sat for nearly 30 years. My parents sold their place along with the land as they wanted to return to where they grew up. They left the old bike behind.
I had checked it out and the tires were cracked but other than that it could have been put back on the road. That bike went through a tremendous amount of wear and played a roll in all our lives for many years.
Thanks! The last two TDF’s have been a bit of a drag for me with Sky’s dominance but Horner at the Vuelta was one of the best grand tours I have ever seen.
It is good to meet another Chris Horner fan. I rode with him in a criterium in Arizona when he was just a ‘kid’ working in a SoCal bike shop. He went away alone and lapped the field. I knew he would be around for a while. He’s still a stud at 42 when most guys are retired from riding and managing teams. I only spoke with him briefly, but he was a great guy and I hope he has made good money doing what he loves.
Um .... ok. I really have no clue what you mean by that.
If you’re a biker you’re gonna choose to risk a tire or your life and neither has shit to do with me. have a good one.
Both of you missed my point entirely.
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