Bicycle Prudence

[dgs49]

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/loc ... ge-646172/

(Pittsburgh bicyclist killed by hit&run driver)

The story that I (think I have) linked was very striking to me for a couple of reasons. First, it took place on the doorstep of a house that I lived in for a couple years back in the 70's, but also because I was riding my bike on that very same street not two weeks ago.

The street is Penn Avenue, which has some local history, as it is part of the Great Penn-Lincoln parkway. If I'm not mistaken, it was the first road to span the entirety of Pennsylvania.

Penn Avenue in this section of town is a heavily travelled four-lane road with intersections every couple hundred yards, about half of which have traffic lights. During the work week there is no parking on either side during business hours and there are usually two lanes of traffic going in each direction. During business hours, there is NO ROOM for a bicycle or pedestrian on the street. There are occasional gaps in the traffic due to the stop lights, but these people are going to and from work, and they are usually going at at least 35 mph. This accident took place in the early morning, so traffic was probably relatively light and faster than it would be later in the morning. (During non-business hours parking is allowed, there is one lane of traffic in each direction, and there is arguably room enough for a bicycle, provided no one opens their car door).

BUT when I was on that street a couple weeks ago, I judged that it was not safe to ride in the street and I was riding the sidewalk. As any biker knows it is no fun riding the sidewalk - there are not only pedestrians, but the quality of the pavement is relatively terrible, with cracks, spalled concrete and overhanging tree branches - but in spite of those inconveniences I was simply too intimidated to venture out onto the street with my bike.

Old people (like me) tend to be more cautious than younger folk. In my 40's when I rode on Penn Avenue I usually took my chances riding in the street, like this guy did.

Is this possibly an advantage to being old and easily intimidated?

[Big RR]

I'm not sure about Pennsylvania, but in many states it is illegal to ride on the sidewalk.

[dgs49]

I'm not sure about Pennsylvania either. I know I get irritated at bicyclists on the sidewalk when I'm walking. But this was an extreme situation.

Ironically, on that same ride a couple weeks ago I had a car driver yell at me to "Get on the sidewalk!" because I was slowing him down. PA has a new law requiring car drivers to give bicycles 4 ft of clearance.

No question that bicyclists should avoid this particular street, especially since it is in a grid where there are side streets that are much safer.

I wonder if that's a possible solution; simply make some streets off-limits to bikes?

[dales]

In more progressive states (ie: CALIFORNIA) there are what is known as "bicycle lanes".

[loCAtek]

In CA, it is also legal to ride on the sidewalk; everybody knows how much safer that is.
To be more polite (to pedestrians), my bike has the 'ping-ping' bell, to let them know I'm coming, and as I pass, I always say; 'Sorry... excuse me...'

I f I don't want to be polite, and instead want scare the living bageezus out of someone, I stealth pedal up as close as possible to them and

...hit the air horn!

BEEEP!!!



I've found that horn to be an indispensable life-saver, as the most common excuse for collisions is; 'I didn't see them.' ...then, you're damn well gonna hear me!
Just had that confirmed the other day on the train, where a fellow rider w/bicycle was saying he liked my horn, but he wished he could carry the three foot long 'BOAT Air Horn'. to let cars know he was there... that may have prevented his getting a concussion and being sent to ER by a blind driver.

[rubato]

As someone who was an avid cyclist for decades I have to say that some streets are so dangerous for bicycles they just have to be avoided. Mission street between King and Almar is a local example. The traffic density, speed, poor sightlines, and lack of space means there is no reasonable compromise.

Highway 9 between Felton and Santa Cruz is another.

Both of these were too dangerous to try back in the 70s and 80s and are much worse now.

yrs,
rubato

[Gob]

We're very well served by a off road cycle and footpath network here.

[rubato]

Denmark and Holland have had very good bike paths separated from streets for decades, since the 70s. They're cheap to build and maintain, get cars off the street and reduce parking problems.

yrs,
rubato

[Gob]

Interesting article on the benefits of cycling.

Inspirational heroes at the peak of their physical fitness, boasting wardrobes of brightly coloured, skin-tight outfits. Not Spiderman or Superman - but elite cyclists.

Both groups have their fair share of imitators - though cycling has middle-aged men in lycra rather than children in costumes.

The triumph of Bradley Wiggins at the Tour de France and the anticipated success in the velodrome at the Olympics are expected to increase the number of people taking to two wheels.

But cycling is already booming in the UK.

British Cycling said it had "never been in better health" after the publication of the latest statistics on the number of people taking to two-wheeled exercise.

But how good is cycling for our health, especially if we've not done that much exercise in a while?

Or would we be fitter and indeed safer pumping some iron in the gym or splashing around in the pool?

Comparing exerciseIf a person weighing 160 pounds (11st 6lb, 72.5kg) exercised for one hour, they would burn:
219 calories doing Tai Chi
292 calories on a leisurely bike ride under 10 mph (16kmh)
365 calories doing weights
402 calories in aqua-aerobics
606 calories running at 5mph
Source: Mayo clinic

Take the number of calories burned: on the face of it, cycling is not off to a winning start.

"If you compare intense running with intense cycling, you will burn more calories running, as you are shifting your body mass," said Prof Jamie Timmons, from Loughborough University.

"However, it is like comparing apples and oranges."

The problem with simply comparing calories is that it assumes anyone can just get up and decide to exercise without any consequence.

Running may be better at shifting your body mass, but that body mass is also being thrust into the ground with every step, pounding your joints.

Prof Timmons says this is where cycling, as a low-impact sport, comes into its own, particularly when people are starting out.

Around 70% of body weight goes through the saddle and handlebars instead of through your ankles. And to put it politely, the bigger you are, the more important that will be.

"You will be able to do more intense cycling and avoid injuries, as you're not pounding into the ground," said Prof Timmons.

Dr Simon Kemp, from the Faculty for Sport and Exercise Medicine, is the type of cyclist who does legs of the Tour de France and readily clocks up 100-mile rides.

He says one of the advantages of cycling is that it offers more scope for improvement than other forms of exercise, such as swimming, which is "technically demanding to do it well".

"You can commute to work at 60% of your maximum heart rate, which is a relatively low-intensity activity, or at the top end you can do legs of the Tour de France."

Of course, any form of exercise has health benefits. But several studies have shown that cycling specifically does the trick.

A study of 30,640 people living in Copenhagen showed that people who did not cycle to work were 39% more likely to die during the 15-year study.

Dr Kemp said: "There's very strong evidence for people with very low initial physical fitness that it can result in significant reductions in cardiovascular-disease mortality."

There have also been studies around reducing body fat, better sleep and lowering the risk of Type 2 diabetes.

Cycling is also one of the easiest forms of exercise to fit into daily life.

If you swim, you have to head to the pool; a bit of weight-training probably needs a visit to the gym; but cycling to work can become part of a daily routine.

As a report by the now defunct Cycling England concluded: "Cycling is one of the most appropriate types of physical activity for the majority of the population as it can be easily incorporated into daily life, can be carried out at different intensities and has few side-effects."

Cycling is not without risks, but Dr Kemp cautions that these tend to be for the elite athletes.

Spending so much time in the saddle can lead to a loss of sensation in the genitals and there have been suggestions of lower sperm counts in elite male cyclists.

Being on the road, however, clearly runs the risk of an accident. This graphic of every death on every road in the UK between 1999 and 2010 showed cyclists had a higher casualty rate than pedestrians.

There is also a "twin peaks effect" with most being killed during the morning and evening rush hours.

Dr Kemp said the benefits outweighed the risks and that "from a public health perspective as a way to make the whole population more healthy, it is a very easy sell".

Prof Timmons said: "There's not a magic exercise out there. Do the exercise you enjoy the most and the exercise most likely to fit into your life."

But he warned: "You might look a bit silly in lycra."

[loCAtek]

We're very well served by a off road cycle and footpath network here.

Google will do that too, but many important things e.g.: the courthouse, the DMV, the employer, etc.; aren't too near those kinds of paths.
As I was saying to my boss yesterday, the train covers the major routes, and the bus covers the minor ones; for the rest of way, you have to bike (the city streets).

[rubato]

Interesting article on the benefits of cycling.

Comparing exerciseIf a person weighing 160 pounds (11st 6lb, 72.5kg) exercised for one hour, they would burn:
219 calories doing Tai Chi
292 calories on a leisurely bike ride under 10 mph (16kmh)
365 calories doing weights
402 calories in aqua-aerobics
606 calories running at 5mph
Source: Mayo clinic

Take the number of calories burned: on the face of it, cycling is not off to a winning start.

10 mph is VERY YERY slow on a bicycle. 15 mph is loafing without special effort on the flats with no wind. But on the whole it is true that running burns more calories / hour. But a complete comparison would also include the difference in impact on knees, hips, feet, the ability to sustain an exercise regimen and which is a reasonable alternative to other transportation.

Put altogether cycling is cheap, easy and a good deal.


yrs,
rubato

[loCAtek]

lycra, lycra, lycra...


Don't do lycra, nor spandex neither, because absolutely you look silly in it. I bike to work in my work pants, which get as torn up by the gears and the friction, as well as the hard labor; so I wish I could compromise and wear this 'active wear';






I hear they're re-marketing ...but at the same [too damn high] prices.

[Jarlaxle]

In more progressive states (ie: CALIFORNIA) there are what is known as "bicycle lanes".

They have those in Boston, too. The cyclists ignore than in favor of using the regular traffic lanes and sidewalks.

[dales]

In Boston, cars have been known to use the sidewalks.

I have an old friend from New England and he's told me horror stories of Boston drivers (when I used to bitch about California drivers).

[Joe Guy]

lycra, lycra, lycra...

Any bicyclist wearing lycra is a target and should be run over by a car or shot in the ass with a pellet gun.

Bikers that wear regular clothing are just normal people trying to get from here to there and should be respected.

[rubato]

lycra, lycra, lycra...

Any bicyclist wearing lycra is a target and should be run over by a car or shot in the ass with a pellet gun.

Bikers that wear regular clothing are just normal people trying to get from here to there and should be respected.

And when we're done we'll go after the football players wearing tights, surfers in rubber suits and tennis players in shorts; what are they thinking!

yrs,
rubato

[Joe Guy]

And when we're done we'll go after the football players wearing tights, surfers in rubber suits and tennis players in shorts; what are they thinking!

We will when the football players, surfers and tennis players start wearing those clothes to play on the streets.

When did it become a requirement to wear bike racing outfits to ride a bike up and down city streets?

It looks silly.

[Gob]

Any bicyclist wearing lycra is a target and should be run over by a car or shot in the ass with a pellet gun.

Seconded.

[The Hen]

Whenever the Hatch spies a cyclist who is brazen enough to be riding with a Yellow leaders shirt on she always winds down the window and shouts the encouraging line "GO CADEL!!!!".

I love that kid.

[Lord Jim]

A lot of adult bicyclists (not all, but many) are pompous, self-righteous, me-first twits with a huge sense of entitlement, who figure the whole world is supposed to get out of their way and make accommodations to them because they are somehow "morally superior"...

And the more they are decked out like they're at the Tour de France, the greater their level of pomposity, self-righteousness, and twitery is likely to be...

When most folks see a pompous, self-righteous, me-first twit with a huge sense of entitlement, their natural impulse is to want to hit them in the face with a custard pie....

However when rube sees a pompous, self righteous me-first twit with a huge sense of entitlement, he sees a kindred soul, a compadre; he feels completely simpatico.... hence his defense of the breed.....