tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188990862024-03-23T13:58:51.346-04:00Dave Moulton's Bike BlogDave Moultonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556183205157714280noreply@blogger.comBlogger273125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18899086.post-19128587429358996732008-07-19T13:57:00.002-04:002008-07-19T14:03:36.303-04:00Dave’s Bike Blog has moved<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaQ6OWeg7AuWQQT9X8c1IaWHMq8aRRDRgoPKoF8mrevh_mx-aVKb2NkMHHc5KWxkrZrmRup31Wy3LLcKgmpQErQsJV_V3ScK-jdOYR2oV8B7tm0ks5leSVPRbKQiB9kHsYy22D0Q/s1600-h/MovingGone.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaQ6OWeg7AuWQQT9X8c1IaWHMq8aRRDRgoPKoF8mrevh_mx-aVKb2NkMHHc5KWxkrZrmRup31Wy3LLcKgmpQErQsJV_V3ScK-jdOYR2oV8B7tm0ks5leSVPRbKQiB9kHsYy22D0Q/s200/MovingGone.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224786258093802914" /></a><br />I have out grown this space here and so have moved over to Square Space, my new address is:<br /><br /><a href="http://davesbikeblog.squarespace.com/">www.davesbikeblog.squarespace.com</a><br /><br />I am still “Dave’s Bike Blog” but at Squarespace instead of Blogspot. <br /><br />Squarespace and Blogspot sounds like a couple of cartoon characters.<br /><br />Please come over and check out the new Blog Site, it has many nice features, with more to be added later.</br></br></br>Dave Moultonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556183205157714280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18899086.post-43998180567045144612008-07-18T08:36:00.011-04:002008-07-18T09:35:51.752-04:00A restored 1977 English built frame<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiQWxZbU9SCQ5i8kazI1X2Z7EGZurJUej8CfkBrg6AMPvqxuZKSHQJVZFn2Ouzm3shKLKicB3X269Qi5zbUaHiALHyKyy-YBVvWEPEqSFqkvULXKH_LpciPE8iFL3CykT8WRH21Q/s1600-h/Dave+Moulton+2008+%231Crop.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiQWxZbU9SCQ5i8kazI1X2Z7EGZurJUej8CfkBrg6AMPvqxuZKSHQJVZFn2Ouzm3shKLKicB3X269Qi5zbUaHiALHyKyy-YBVvWEPEqSFqkvULXKH_LpciPE8iFL3CykT8WRH21Q/s400/Dave+Moulton+2008+%231Crop.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224332547915019458" /></a><br />I recently received a email with pictures from Rod Taylor, who lives in England. Rod is the original owner of a frame I built for him in 1977. In his message he wrote:<br /> <br /><em><strong>“Out of all my bikes, road, track, audax, touring, roadster, cyclo-cross, hybrid, mountain, my 1960 Dave Davey and 1977 Dave Moulton stand out as my favorites. <br /><br />Last year I gave the frames to <a target="_blank" href="http://www.daveyatescycles.co.uk/">Dave Yates</a> for renovation, the Dave Davey as a track bike was simpler to restore, but I took the decision to equip the Dave Moulton with the newer Campag gear. <br /><br />The rear ends were increased to 130mm and new gear brazings fitted. Although I was using the latest components to rebuild it, I didn't choose carbon parts as I believed Campagnolo Mirage alloy would be more in keeping.<br /><br />The finishing touches were added by employing a company in Cambridge to copy the transfers / decals, and the original orange Unica saddle has been retained. I am extremely pleased with the results of both machines, I love steel frames”</strong></em><br /><br />Thirty-one years old, in dog years that would be 217. I’m not sure what the ratio is for old bicycle frames. Maybe 2-1, sixty-two would be a reasonable guess. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghRtHslmuGtE5qn1rl0rIZArrbvUwrnHDyjsu2xB4W72GaeILLJEhObQtZaNeeQGRPN3drUlUh-mMxksZEzYAb9G0E9mdQa5q1dc0MLWmt053QYNILCTBnXio0UXpU5plukaPYlg/s1600-h/Dave+Moulton+2008+%232Crop.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghRtHslmuGtE5qn1rl0rIZArrbvUwrnHDyjsu2xB4W72GaeILLJEhObQtZaNeeQGRPN3drUlUh-mMxksZEzYAb9G0E9mdQa5q1dc0MLWmt053QYNILCTBnXio0UXpU5plukaPYlg/s320/Dave+Moulton+2008+%232Crop.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224334071365671506" /></a>I whole-heartedly approve of Rod’s decision to build this bike up with modern equipment and keep riding it. Rather than keep it as a museum piece. <br /><br />The interesting thing I notice is that the bike does not look odd, with the old frame and modern components. I have seen several Fuso bikes re-built this way.<br /><br />I think the reason is, by the mid 1970s I had established my own frame design, which at the time was out of sync with what other builders were doing. <br /><br />However, I stuck with what I believed in, and this would become the standard design I would use on my American built frames of the 1980s. (John Howard, Fuso, and Recherché.)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPFqsS5egjnKJmQZBgmjGMN8TPCCsBN4XjjonCH5Ik5EcTZPuwlO5W-C8o2A-IbUFAdmhLoq8tV-a-9YU4YQE4o7tW2UUv0huq7zAbb9zKsntThjiZUuYxOXBRcmeg3_lAYgHNgQ/s1600-h/Dave+Moulton+001Crop.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPFqsS5egjnKJmQZBgmjGMN8TPCCsBN4XjjonCH5Ik5EcTZPuwlO5W-C8o2A-IbUFAdmhLoq8tV-a-9YU4YQE4o7tW2UUv0huq7zAbb9zKsntThjiZUuYxOXBRcmeg3_lAYgHNgQ/s400/Dave+Moulton+001Crop.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224334835443146578" /></a> <br />An interesting footnote. Rod still has the original brochure from 1977 when he ordered the frame, he sent me a photocopy. <br /><br />Click on the picture to view a larger image. Look at item 2: Shot-in seatstays. This is what is referred to in the US as “Fast Back” seatstays. Of course, they are no faster; it is just another way to attach seatstays.<br /><br />The <strong>Dave Davy</strong> track frame (Mentioned above.) that Rod had restored along with the ‘dave moulton,’ <a target="_blank" href="http://www.classiclightweights.co.uk/builders/dave-davey.html">can be viewed here.</a> Scroll down the page to see pictures of this frame in white, along with photos of Rod Taylor riding the same bike in 1966 time-trials. <br /><br />This is on the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.classiclightweights.co.uk">Classic Lightweights UK</a> site; an interesting source for pictures and info on vintage British lightweights.</br></br></br>Dave Moultonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556183205157714280noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18899086.post-74223078575244783592008-07-14T06:00:00.003-04:002008-07-14T07:20:36.065-04:00Please don’t make the bicycle a political issueWhen Dan Schleifer sent me a link to a site called Tree Hugger, running a story called <a target="_blank" href="http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/07/why-do-republicans-hate-bicycles.php">“Why do Republicans Hate Bicycles,”</a> my first reaction was, “I am not going to touch this with a ten foot pole.”<br /><br />I am not a citizen of this country, therefore I cannot vote, and I usually stay as far away from politics as I can. My feeling is, I am a guest in the US, and as such it is not proper for me to voice an opinion on American politics.<br /><br />However, I will say this much. I hate extreme politics on both sides, and here you have the two extremes. On the one side, a site called “Tree Hugger” with the subtitle, “Unchecked Environmentalism.” (The very epitome of Liberalism.) <br /><br />On the other side, a video of a republican politician going off on an anti-bicycle rant, simply because the bicycle is seen as something “green” and left wing, and therefore is open to ridicule.<br /><br />The two extremes cancel each other out; people on opposite ends of the political spectrum reading the article and viewing the video are not going to move an inch towards each other’s point of view. In fact, stuff like this drives the two sides further apart.<br /><br />I hate that the bicycle is made out to be something political. I have stated here before, if automobiles ran on pixie dust and had zero carbon emissions, I would still ride a bicycle. I am a cyclist, and riding a bicycle is a love and a passion.<br /><br />Forget the burning of fossil fuel for a moment, even if we overcome that issue; the bicycle is still a more civilized form of transport. It eases congestion; one person on a bike is taking far less space on the road than one person in a car who is taking up the space of four to six people. <br /><br />It is less dangerous to other road users, and more bicycles on the road, with the resulting less cars would make it safer for everyone. It is a wonderful form of exercise, and it is fun. When is driving a car fun?<br /><br />These are the real benefits of cycling. Riding a bicycle to ease the dependency on foreign oil is not what the majority of Americans want to hear. If we think, everyone in the US is going to dump their cars overnight and start riding a bike, either to save the planet or save America, think again. It is not going to happen.<br /><br />Sell the idea that cycling is fun, and it is good for you, not keep cramming the green, environmentally friendly idea down people’s throats. All that does is it makes people feel guilty, and that makes them angry and sends them off on an anti-cycling rant like Representative Patrick McHenry.<br /><br />I am sure all republicans don’t hate bicycles; even George Bush rides one. But if the Democrats make cycling a political issue, then naturally the Republicans are going to oppose and ridicule the idea, because that is what politicians do. <br /><br />In the long run, is this going to help the cause of cycling?</br></br></br>Dave Moultonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556183205157714280noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18899086.post-16285902011372936682008-07-10T05:40:00.004-04:002008-07-10T06:35:54.788-04:00Tagged once moreI’ve been tagged again, this time by Ron over at <a target="_blank" href="http://cozybeehive.blogspot.com/2008/07/tagged-six-random-things-about-me.html">Cozy Beehive.</a> The idea is to write six random, unknown things about me. Then tag six other people to do the same.<br /><br />Here is my six:<br /><br />1.) As a child during the 1940s I lived in a house in England with no electricity and no water piped into the house. Water was brought in by bucket from a communal well outside. Lighting was by oil lamp and candles. My mother cooked with a coal fired range and baked wonderful pies and cakes. She did so without a thermometer on the oven. <br /><br />She ironed with a flat iron also heated on the stovetop. She would spit on the iron to test the temperature; the spit would boil and run off immediately if it was hot enough. She had a pair of flat irons; one would be heating while she ironed with the other for a minute or so before it cooled.<br /><br />2.) As an eighteen year old in the mid 1950s, an older drunk man, probably in his forties, picked a fight with me. I hit him and he fell backward through the plate glass window of a television shop. It was the early hours of Sunday morning and the noise was deafening. The last I saw of the drunk, he was lying on his back amongst the TV sets, with his legs in the air.<br /><br />I took off running, and was chased by two American Military Police, in a Jeep. They pulled along side me, and when they saw I was not an American Serviceman, they stopped and gave up the chase. I made it home without further incident. Later the local newspaper told the story of a broken store window mystery, and that nothing was stolen. There was no mention of the drunk guy; I guess he was not seriously hurt, and had left the scene.<br /><br />There was a large American Air Force Base, near where I lived and the Military Police would patrol the streets, but had no jurisdiction over the civilian populous. We called them "Snow Drops" because they wore white helmets, reminding us of a British wild flower that has white bell shaped petals and is called a Snow Drop.<br /><br />3.) When I built frames in Worcester, England, in the 1970s; I shared the business premises with a car body repair man named Roger Brown. Roger had lost an arm (Above the elbow.) as a child after falling from a tree. <br /><br />He would replace his prosthetic arm with a hook when he worked and there was not much that he couldn't do while working on cars, in spite of his handicap. However, he couldn't do some simple tasks, and would come to me, to roll up his shirt sleeve on his good arm, or to tie his shoe lace. We take for granted the simple every-day tasks that require two hands.<br /><br />4.) In 1980 while working for Paris Sport in New Jersey I had a job interview with Trek; they flew me out to their factory in Wisconsin. I didn't get the job, which turned out okay because later that same year I landed a job with Masi, in Southern California. I have nothing against Wisconsin, but I dislike very cold winters, and later when I started my own business, one of the reasons it was successful was because of my location in So. Cal.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjifOrBaKrt1wjDRw1IaJ7Inpx2_Z3EUqVcZL9kY7fmQrCtVPb3Pz4chOzs_PTK60mnLENcFLxpC6EWVa8vQxoSx44ILbVOIyybohc-EM2ynwOBeHAWc1Rn_AEin4igv3ggHMU8fw/s1600-h/fila_store_logo.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjifOrBaKrt1wjDRw1IaJ7Inpx2_Z3EUqVcZL9kY7fmQrCtVPb3Pz4chOzs_PTK60mnLENcFLxpC6EWVa8vQxoSx44ILbVOIyybohc-EM2ynwOBeHAWc1Rn_AEin4igv3ggHMU8fw/s400/fila_store_logo.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5221318812842839090" /></a>5.) In the late 1980s I was approached by <a target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fila_(company)">Fila,</a> the sports clothing company. They where interested in a line of bicycles with the Fila name on them. Two people from the company came to my shop to look at my operation, and we talked about my building these frames. They must have dropped the idea, I never heard back, and I don't recall anyone else making a Fila bike.<br /><br />6.) When I left the bike business in 1993 I took a job with a company that made bowling equipment. I designed metal furniture for bowling centers, also ball racks, and a ball return machine. I oversaw the manufacture of these and other equipment.<br /><br />There’s my six. It was extremely tough for me to come up with six stories that I had not previously written about. I was first tagged in <a target="_blank" href="http://davesbikeblog.blogspot.com/2006/12/ive-been-tagged.html">December of 2006</a> and then again just a year ago in <a target="_blank" href="http://davesbikeblog.blogspot.com/2007/07/tagged-again.html">July of 2007.</a> In addition, I have written about many of my life’s experiences elsewhere in this blog. Still others became part of my novel <a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0972669345/bridgebooks/102-3727064-5609769">Prodigal Child.</a><br /><br />If I am tagged again I may have no choice but to decline, as much as I would hate to do that. I am simply running out of stories. I am going to tag six people who have been kind enough to link to my blog and are listed on the side bar here.<br /><br /><a target="_blank" href="http://bikingbrits.blogspot.com/">Biking Brit</a><br /><a target="_blank" href="http://cycling-addict.blogspot.com/">Cycling Addict</a><br /><a target="_blank" href="http://danosmodernlife.blogspot.com/">Dano</a><br /><a target="_blank" href="http://moveitfredbybike.blogspot.com/">Movit Fred</a><br /><a target="_blank" href="http://www.somethingmaybe.com/">Something Maybe</a><br /><a target="_blank" href="http://www.ultrarob.com/blog/">Ultra Rob</a></br></br></br>Dave Moultonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556183205157714280noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18899086.post-84059520209031753482008-07-07T07:51:00.005-04:002008-07-07T09:25:03.605-04:00Is there a connection between technology and rudeness?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2ieGGRTkZG5dS8rfy7z4-STEuycdBVeRX3J8llLB5cEzk8_t80MhM8erkYS1nlaXYySHRSyStYMMIZxsNI62d5HxenVqME9Zksg53iepbwaqaXF26-Eik3MmyPvoURzH5fMayog/s1600-h/Rudeness.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2ieGGRTkZG5dS8rfy7z4-STEuycdBVeRX3J8llLB5cEzk8_t80MhM8erkYS1nlaXYySHRSyStYMMIZxsNI62d5HxenVqME9Zksg53iepbwaqaXF26-Eik3MmyPvoURzH5fMayog/s320/Rudeness.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220239867759782530" /></a>I own a cell phone with a cheap pre-paid plan. <br /><br />The phone stays turned off, until the rare occasion when I need to use it. I carry it for emergencies when I drive my car, or ride my bike.<br /><br />I have no desire to be in instant contact with everyone else on this planet; I have managed to come this far in my life without that option. <br /><br />On the other hand, I embrace the Internet; anyone can find me fairly easily and contact me by email, and many do. <br /><br />It keeps me extremely busy trying to respond them all, and I sometimes fail in the attempt. Which is one of the reasons I do not need the rest of my waking hours, to be spent with a cell phone in my ear.<br /><br />This is not just another "Old Man’s Lament" post about how things were better in my day. Things were not necessarily better in the old days; it is just that some of us, having lived a little longer, saw the changes take place and because of that can see both the positive and negative aspects resulting from change.<br /><br />Do cell phones and the Internet make us more sociable? I think the reverse is true. It enables us to be in contact with an ever-increasing number of long distance relationships, at the expense of those closer to us. <br /><br />It used to be a person would walk into a bar, order a drink, and then socialize with the bartender or others seated at the bar. Today a person walks into a bar, orders a drink, and immediately flips open a cell phone. <br /><br />They become oblivious to everyone around them as they hold a long distance conversation with someone maybe sitting alone in some other bar. The person will often finish their drink, and their conversation, then leave the bar having made no verbal or even eye contact with anyone there. <br /><br />Even in situations where there is an opportunity for chance encounters, they no longer happen. Two people in a Laundromat for example; in pre-cell phone times they would at least exchange a smile and a few words. <br /><br />Today, chances are at least one or even both are talking on cell phones. They are too busy socializing long distance, and totally ignore each other. Completely missing the opportunity to socialize face-to-face right where they are.<br /><br />Even though the Internet is my favoured medium; I am dismayed at the rudeness shown on Internet forums. If a person is rude to a stranger online simply because they can remain anonymous, is there a chance that rudeness will spill over into their every day lives? I can't see where being rude online helps a person with their social skills in interacting with others in day to day situations.<br /><br />The cyclist, who posts an angry comment on an Internet forum, is just as likely to get on his bike and flip a finger at the first motorist they perceived had made a wrong move. Both the cyclist and motorist do not see a fellow human being, but some anonymous figure; much like the one on the Internet. <br /><br />Much of the carnage on our roads today is caused by rude, angry people behind the steering wheel. Rude, angry cyclists are mostly a danger only to themselves. How did these people become so consumed by anger? It does seem to be a growing trend.<br /><br />When I started cycling, I was fortunate that I was able to join a cycling club. There were other members of the club, older and more experienced, who taught me all I needed to know about the bicycle and the skills required to ride it.<br /><br />Today, there are still such local clubs, but it seems most would prefer to go on Internet forums as their source of knowledge. The problem is the experienced people with knowledge to share do not go there because they are often treated with contempt and rudeness.<br /><br />There is now a whole generation for whom there has always been an Internet, and cell phones, and there has always been rudeness. Rudeness is accepted as the norm. One time when I protested the online rudeness, I was told, “It’s an Internet forum, what do you expect?” Actually, I expected politeness, how naive of me.<br /><br />Rudeness has no beneficiaries, either those dishing out the rudeness or the recipient. It makes people angry; the person being rude is angry because they see themselves as right in a situation and the other person is an idiot. And of course the recipient of the rudeness is also angry.<br /><br />Just as the person on their cell phone ignores the person standing next to them, there are some who will stumble on one article I have written here, and then shoot off some angry comment dismissing the article as “BS by an arrogant SOB.” This happened just last week on <a target="_blank" href="http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=434247">Bike Forums.</a><br /><br />If only the person, instead of responding in anger because they disagreed with my view, had taken a moment to peruse my profile, and learn a little more about me. Maybe if they had read a few more articles here, they may have actually learned something about bicycles. <br /><br />By being angry and rude, they missed an opportunity to improve their knowledge, simply because they did not take the time to get to know me.<br /><br />The Internet is a wonderful thing; however, it is an entity with very few rules and relies on human decency to operate smoothly. Human decency breaks down when people become detached from each other. <br /><br />Could the cause of this breakdown be over use of the Internet, and other technology like cell phones? Those of us online, find the thread that attaches us is extremely fragile to begin with. People are naturally social beings, and need that personal contact.<br /><br />Rudeness drives people apart; it isolates the person being rude. Are we in danger of becoming a race of rude, angry, and lonely people, with few social skills?<br /><br />Hang up the phone and look at the person standing next to you. Look at the author of what you are reading on your computer screen. It is entirely possible that he is not just some “Wanker” trying to push your buttons; he may actually have something worthwhile to say.</br></br></br>Dave Moultonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556183205157714280noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18899086.post-2822470090642970792008-07-02T20:23:00.008-04:002008-07-02T21:40:05.870-04:00Helmet Poll ResultAfter 15 days of voting, here are the results.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVIDuTERKm73JxOXIY8RpDxUolF1-kED_v2_c1rImNScH2QBfmwO1eYavC4gTcOt-W9ATdarmUgbOnL13KhOi1PYN-wtDuMsruvpKEraeYYBeT1-IKuYC_kpjtkvU1eeY0g67Oog/s1600-h/PollPieChart01a.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVIDuTERKm73JxOXIY8RpDxUolF1-kED_v2_c1rImNScH2QBfmwO1eYavC4gTcOt-W9ATdarmUgbOnL13KhOi1PYN-wtDuMsruvpKEraeYYBeT1-IKuYC_kpjtkvU1eeY0g67Oog/s400/PollPieChart01a.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5218577982900851074" /></a>Those who read this blog at least, wear a helmet all or most of the time; 13% don't<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmFuH3W3oL2JkM0SKavqoaomGlZT_j9LexQg7J1TYtJGjaJCkt7-5fImLPRKRNNsX8pmam-3m0SCYHpXod8rUK-Z_n3ZjLXPj7xTm3yo8U7hXZ8R567B7XPeXwRxPN6LExX0VYfQ/s1600-h/PollPieChart02a.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmFuH3W3oL2JkM0SKavqoaomGlZT_j9LexQg7J1TYtJGjaJCkt7-5fImLPRKRNNsX8pmam-3m0SCYHpXod8rUK-Z_n3ZjLXPj7xTm3yo8U7hXZ8R567B7XPeXwRxPN6LExX0VYfQ/s400/PollPieChart02a.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5218577648820955042" /></a>In retrospect, I probably should have left the “saves lives” option out, because it split the vote. If you add the top two together, most feel that a helmet gives considerable protection.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTv8G5fAhIDFlvg12R7ijMrt7C-YTFKZIlGlMaCoOIzdX8u2NQ7FWQgDBnrn8hwP-sGo_p_RsHx833DKtTzDT8TVjyXRjz6Ji8PwMfvJMb3Qb7gyOD7cb4ZdsYxYWpWztlDtKg2Q/s1600-h/PollPieChart03a.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTv8G5fAhIDFlvg12R7ijMrt7C-YTFKZIlGlMaCoOIzdX8u2NQ7FWQgDBnrn8hwP-sGo_p_RsHx833DKtTzDT8TVjyXRjz6Ji8PwMfvJMb3Qb7gyOD7cb4ZdsYxYWpWztlDtKg2Q/s400/PollPieChart03a.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5218577272411818914" /></a>Clearly, although many get passionate over the helmet issue, only a relative few want to make them mandatory. The majority feel it should be a personal choice.<br /><br />My thanks to all who participated, and commented.</br></br></br>Dave Moultonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556183205157714280noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18899086.post-41711076154449248912008-06-30T07:00:00.008-04:002008-06-30T08:56:34.577-04:00Cardboard Cycle, and a Bobby’s Bike Ban<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP_an-2zNc4qlbed3gnt8sTXXVDOZenm-88Vzh31cjz0iyLJ7j1C8YYlT8vyqDRX0Z_15RBV6xRkLGA1tQ-85j7B0EwiVxZVbvzvWPaVDIyzlbvmKdUtEeKO6IT7M8sfRuwCPAlA/s1600-h/cardboard-bicycle.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP_an-2zNc4qlbed3gnt8sTXXVDOZenm-88Vzh31cjz0iyLJ7j1C8YYlT8vyqDRX0Z_15RBV6xRkLGA1tQ-85j7B0EwiVxZVbvzvWPaVDIyzlbvmKdUtEeKO6IT7M8sfRuwCPAlA/s400/cardboard-bicycle.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217628066410399234" /></a><br />Two stories to emerge from England over the last few days:<br /><br />Phil Bridge, a 21 year old design student from Manchester, England, has designed the ultimate “Cheap” bike, made of cardboard.<br /><br />A cycle made from re-cycled material; you can’t get any greener than that. Phil hopes his bike will sell for around fifteen British Pounds. ($30.)<br /><br />The plan is that the bike will be so cheap, no one will steal it. Don’t count it, have you ever noticed that hotel coat-hangers are made without hooks, because people steal ’em. And if thieves don’t steal it, vandals might set fire to it. <br /><br />No doubt, the honeycomb construction will ensure a sweet ride. I am wondering, will it come in a box, and will the box cost more than the frame? Here’s an idea, the box could be the frame. Now that’s thinking outside the box.<br /><br />My apologies Phil for having fun with your project. As long as your business doesn’t fold, you’ll probably end up making a packet and retiring early.<br /><br />All joking aside, I congratulate Phil Bridge. Whether or not this project turns into a practical application, anytime someone brings the concept of the bicycle to the forefront of the daily news, this is a good thing. <br /><br />In addition, Phil has captured the media’s attention, and obtained worldwide publicity which, in of itself is a huge achievement.<br /><br />Read the story in the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2199633/Student-unveils-world's-first-cardboard-bicycle---which-works.html">Telegraph</a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnLwveyup6HMBRHRImhjPriqf16F08ewQGYWicBer5L7S4Rg9ds-sADVwRq-gT5Y97U1w6sP1eLdmT3R_4J6TDZRB3qQOD5pE4XUHUDd1JE_w7_AtWkQdaVG78Gs-Y8ZWxPoObyw/s1600-h/BobbysBikeBan.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnLwveyup6HMBRHRImhjPriqf16F08ewQGYWicBer5L7S4Rg9ds-sADVwRq-gT5Y97U1w6sP1eLdmT3R_4J6TDZRB3qQOD5pE4XUHUDd1JE_w7_AtWkQdaVG78Gs-Y8ZWxPoObyw/s320/BobbysBikeBan.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217628611116021042" /></a><strong>The second story could be straight out of a British police comedy movie.</strong><br /><br />It is a news item about a British Bobby banned from riding his bike. The reason, he hasn’t passed the cycling proficiency test; even though Officer Nick Barker (Right.) has ridden a bike without incident since he was a kid.<br /><br />It gets worse; it appears there are not enough police cars to go round, so Nick must ride the bus to patrol the three hamlets (Very small villages.) of Halstead, Knockholt and Badgers Mount, in Kent, in the South East corner of England.<br /><br />If Nick happens to be in Knockholt and an incident takes place in Badgers Mount, he is at the mercy of the local bus schedule.<br /><br />Let’s hope the crime rate is pretty low in this neck of the woods; never-the-less let Nick take his cycling proficiency course, and get him back on his bike pronto, before the local villains get hold of a bus time-table, and have a field day.<br /><br />This story in the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1029925/Force-bans-village-bobby-bike-passed-cycling-proficiency.html">Daily Mail</a></br></br></br>Dave Moultonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556183205157714280noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18899086.post-57295983388879379052008-06-27T06:43:00.002-04:002008-06-27T06:59:31.574-04:00Friday Fun: Limericks<em>I composed some limericks for your amusement, with a cycling flavor of course.</em><br /> <br />A professional golfer from Spain<br />Decided cycling would be his new game<br />He had a good year<br />'Til he slipped a gear<br />And dimpled his balls on the frame. <br /><br />A roadie pedaling hard as he could<br />Was passed by a "Fred;" that’s not good<br />Legs, hairy and pale<br />With a flapping shirt tail<br />And a dirty sweat shirt with a hood.<br /><br />Riding my bike, who would guess?<br />That I would come off second best<br />Got into a fight<br />With a girl at a light<br />Turned out, was a bloke* in a dress.<br /><br />*bloke = man<br /> <br /><em>This last one tells a story in four verses.</em><br /><br />A <a target="_blank" href="http://davesbikeblog.blogspot.com/2007/04/weight-weenie.html">weight weenie</a> said with a grin<br />My bike is the lightest it’s been<br />I’ve got ceramic balls<br />That weigh nothing at all<br />Then his bike blew away in the wind.<br /><br />It sailed ’cross the sky like a kite<br />Gave airline pilots a fright<br />Made the six o’clock news<br />And Larry King too<br />Spoke of a runaway satellite.<br /> <br />Landed in some Middle East Nation<br />They asked the US for explanation<br />But even Dick Cheney<br />Couldn’t explain the<br />Mysterious flying sensation.<br /><br />The CIA probed the mystery<br />And George Bush had to go on TV<br />Let this be a lesson<br />A weight weenie’s obsession<br />Could’ve started World War III.</br></br></br>Dave Moultonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556183205157714280noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18899086.post-20268385152588546272008-06-26T09:29:00.008-04:002008-06-26T20:44:59.048-04:00Dear PennyI came across this rant from someone in England, and decided to post my response. Here is the original piece and my reply:<br /><br /><strong>“Dear Mr. Cyclist,<br /><br />Please learn how to ride your bike on the roads. <br /> YOU ARE NOT A CAR!<br /><br />Good for you being out riding your bike at 7.45am, Yay for the environment and Yay for your health and fitness, but there is no Yay for me being late to work, because I can’t drive around you. You are not doing the speed limit, you have space to ride your bike quite happily over to the left WHERE YOUR MEANT TO BE!<br /><br />This is England, we have little roads that sometimes means it is impossible to get past you bikers when there is constant traffic on the other side of the road and when you are so far out that we have to actually drive on the other side to get past.<br /><br />Kind Regards!<br /><br />The Red Micra crawling behind you this fine morning.”</strong><br /><br /><br />Dear Penny in your red Micra,<br /><br />You just don’t get it do you. It is precisely because I do know how to ride my bike that I am riding out here a short distance from the edge of the road.<br /><br />Oh I could ride on the extreme edge of the road, amongst all the broken glass and other crap people throw from their cars. Then you could speed on by at 60 mph. as if I didn’t exist.<br /><br />But what if at the precise moment you pass, I come across a large pothole, a storm grate, or a fallen limb from a tree. Where do I go? Do I swerve into your path; do I hit the obstruction and risk falling under your wheels? Will you be able to stop at 60 mph, I doubt it.<br /><br />I am not riding out here just to piss you off; I am riding out here because on this particular piece or road it is unsafe to pass me, unless you do it carefully. That means slowing down, waiting for a small gap in opposing traffic, and simply driving around me.<br /><br />And no, you don’t have to go into the opposing lane to pass. If you include the short distance I am from the edge of the road, I am about four or five feet wide, and seven feet long, and traveling at 20 mph. It is not like passing a London Transport Bus; you will be past me lickidy-split and on your merry way.<br /><br />Count how many times you are delayed and it is not a cyclist. On the Motorway (Freeway.) for instance; no cyclists there. How often do you have to sit behind someone waiting to turn? Do you get your knickers in a twist, and curse at the driver for being so inconsiderate as to stop in front of you while he waits to turn into his own driveway.<br /><br />I will be always be considerate to you as long as doing so doesn’t endanger my life, that’s where I draw the line. If I am passing a row of parked cars for example, I am not going to ride within five feet of them. Drivers have been known to open their doors, knocking the cyclist in front of your red Micra speeding by.<br /><br />So if I am in the middle of the lane at that point, I am sorry it is such an inconvenience for you to slow, signal, and move over to the other lane.<br /><br />You would do well to remember I am a fellow human being, cut me I bleed; run over me and I squish and my bones break. I am someone’s son, someone’s father, someone’s husband. These people would miss me terribly.<br /><br />Oh, and if I should make you late for work. I am sorry, but I am not responsible for poor planning on your part. Try leaving home a few minutes earlier. You may get delayed by a traffic accident, road repairs, any number of reasons. It is all part of driving on the roads today. <br /><br />Get used to it, and get over yourself, just because you are in a motorized vehicle and mine is pedal-powered. Does that make you more important that me, or my life any less valuable.<br /><br />Regards,<br /><br />Dave Moulton<br /><br />(Unofficial spokesman for cyclists.) <br /><br /><br /><em><strong>Footnote: Within minutes of posting my comment Penny deleted her post, and posted an apology here. See the first comment.<br /><br />Thank you Penny.</br></br></br></strong></em>Dave Moultonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556183205157714280noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18899086.post-30479651156178657412008-06-23T10:45:00.008-04:002008-06-23T19:15:28.057-04:00Bike lanes may disappear on Coleman Blvd.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF86c8hfZGsTRkCSySpvNS-2vIpEW2LodF7P00fpBqGFdBUyY_kVoMKDT8xe4okkm-sq2bDDN46xq0sVwTVJCwplUmXTsA4f_SZW4ODqguhEjx6rO8C9Pc8CV1jepFRu8pA62T2g/s1600-h/CooperRivBrdg03.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF86c8hfZGsTRkCSySpvNS-2vIpEW2LodF7P00fpBqGFdBUyY_kVoMKDT8xe4okkm-sq2bDDN46xq0sVwTVJCwplUmXTsA4f_SZW4ODqguhEjx6rO8C9Pc8CV1jepFRu8pA62T2g/s400/CooperRivBrdg03.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215088783651183826" /></a><br />The people of my home town of Charleston, South Carolina, are proud of the new Cooper River Bridge. (Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge.) Opened in 2005, it is a beautiful structure, and connects the Charleston Peninsula with Mount Pleasant on the east side.<br /><br />The new bridge replaced two older bridges (Since demolished.) built in 1929 and 1966. The old bridges were narrow and with no provision for pedestrians or bicycles. <br /><br />Cyclists on the Charleston side, wishing to ride in the Mount Pleasant area, would have to transport their bikes across by car, and vice-versa. Commuting by bicycle or even walking the four miles across was not an option.<br /><br />In the initial planning stages, the new bridge was also to be for motorized traffic only. However, local cycling advocacy groups, along with pedestrian and running groups successfully petitioned for a separate bicycle/pedestrian path to be added.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjESYXScbjE6Xi3y3TS83PijxCILSOrGGKUeyWFWDr4ilYj4jxJW9tsx76XnGqvuQipRU0OlJX2ELrre_1SDZ0274GBeRZYzindfc5VW-BlG-l9eE4i9vMbkoYCyrU-P_h3Tcqk2Q/s1600-h/CooperRivBrdg01.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjESYXScbjE6Xi3y3TS83PijxCILSOrGGKUeyWFWDr4ilYj4jxJW9tsx76XnGqvuQipRU0OlJX2ELrre_1SDZ0274GBeRZYzindfc5VW-BlG-l9eE4i9vMbkoYCyrU-P_h3Tcqk2Q/s320/CooperRivBrdg01.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215093556367877426" /></a>This is a tremendous triumph for these advocacy groups, because since it opened the path is used by hundreds of pedestrians, runners, and cyclists, every weekend. <br /><br />Walking or riding the bridge is now one of the “must do” things for visitors to Charleston. The only way to really appreciate the view of the harbor and the old city of Charleston, is on foot or by bicycle.<br /><br />The picture at the top shows the bridge from Charleston Harbor side, looking inland. The pedestrian/bike path can be seen on the near side. There is a cement barrier between the path and the motorized traffic, which is four lanes in either direction.<br /><br />Recently the City of Charleston, built a bike/pedestrian path on Bay Street, leading onto the bridge path entrance.<br /><br />On the Mount Pleasant side the path emerges on Coleman Blvd. This is a wide road, with a bike lane, two lanes of traffic each direction, and a center turn lane. Coleman Blvd. is the direct route to the beach communities of Sullivan’s Island, and The Isle of Palms.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQO405d56LesezA_OzVgjdR5YHkvLGnyvPhOZAxUmFYzyLsoi82RwDEA3-1CRLjNNNmkzM2Pf-NdF0qw-_5fBJJg6pT5OpaNNB-HEvNsJkfxKbqAY-AxInEo82wMtdr6Ms9uhOgw/s1600-h/ColemanBlvdMap01.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQO405d56LesezA_OzVgjdR5YHkvLGnyvPhOZAxUmFYzyLsoi82RwDEA3-1CRLjNNNmkzM2Pf-NdF0qw-_5fBJJg6pT5OpaNNB-HEvNsJkfxKbqAY-AxInEo82wMtdr6Ms9uhOgw/s400/ColemanBlvdMap01.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215090506081779922" /></a>Some disturbing news has just come from the City of Mount Pleasant. Together with the South Carolina Department or Transport, they are planning to remove part of the bike lane from Coleman Blvd. and reroute cyclists onto side streets.<br /><br />The reason; to allow parallel parking of cars on Coleman Blvd. Once again, making provision for automobiles is more important than people. Pushing cyclists off onto side streets will only reinforce the average motorists view, that cyclists don’t belong on Coleman Blvd.<br /><br />I rode Coleman Blvd. on Sunday, and I fail to see why they need to park cars on this particular road. It is a normal business district that you would see in any American city, and every business has its own ample parking lot.<br /><br />Local bicycle advocacy groups are asking that they keep the bike lanes along side the parked cars. My personal view is that this is a bad idea. I must emphasize this is my view and not that of any other group.<br /><br />This would not be a problem but for a certain number of drivers who can’t seem to exit a vehicle without flinging the door open with complete disregard for the passing cyclist in the bike lane.<br /><br />This negligent action usually results in the death of the cyclist as he is knocked from his bicycle into the adjacent traffic lane and under the wheels of a passing vehicle. Two such deaths have occurred this month in <a target="_blank" href="http://www.suntimes.com/news/transportation/998873,CST-NWS-bike11.article">Chicago,</a> and in <a target="_blank" href="http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/19887644.html">Moorestown, New Jersey.</a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKfsYNrXC2yclTp-O2VWNYm-rYsr2-P0E1lprn8FdoXV8F84GoYBZOMKqmaBPMc_ez_GgmbJMdai0KCTOvZKFfyMApwfdAawYkqYFTPl8HchjYTY05dHHH1VgXu3zJ-bqsG_Ahtg/s1600-h/door-zone-1.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKfsYNrXC2yclTp-O2VWNYm-rYsr2-P0E1lprn8FdoXV8F84GoYBZOMKqmaBPMc_ez_GgmbJMdai0KCTOvZKFfyMApwfdAawYkqYFTPl8HchjYTY05dHHH1VgXu3zJ-bqsG_Ahtg/s400/door-zone-1.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215095469702145826" /></a>The City of Chicago, which is trying very hard to encourage bicycle riding, has taken criticism for bike lanes next to parked cars. On their own <a target="_blank" href="http://www.cityofchicago.org/Transportation/bikemap/doorzone.html">city website,</a> they have posted a safety tip urging cyclists to use the outside edge of the bike lane, leaving at least a four feet door zone. (Left.) <br /><br />The Charleston area has precious few bike lanes as it is, we cannot afford to loose what we have. Mount Pleasant’s plans are a huge step backwards. We have this beautiful bridge with a bike path, encouraging people to ride over to Mount Pleasant. Cyclists need to be accommodated when they get there.<br /><br />Here is an idea for the city planners. If you must park cars on Coleman Blvd. put a four foot “Door Zone” next to the parked cars. (Clearly marked “Door Zone.”) If necessary make the bike lane only eighteen inches or two feet wide at the point. <br /><br />I feel this makes more sense than making a five-foot bike lane, then advising cyclists (On some obscure website.) to only use the outside one foot of the lane. Coleman Blvd. is a wide road; if necessary make the traffic lanes narrower and lower the speed limit. <br /><br />It is my understanding that this whole parking cars issue is because of plans to make Mount Pleasant a new and vibrant town center. Lowering the speed limit and enforcing it, would ensure that motorist do not simply speed through on their way to the beach. And in doing so completely miss your new and vibrant town center. <br /><br /><br />More on the Coleman Blvd. plans <a target="_blank" href="http://charlestonmoves.blogspot.com/2008/06/more-on-colemantext-of-memo-to.html">here.</a><br /><br /><br /><em><strong>Footnote:</strong></em> In the top picture you can just see the two old bridges behind the new; as mentioned in the article, these have been demolished.</br></br></br>Dave Moultonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556183205157714280noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18899086.post-32989236352521457682008-06-20T06:27:00.005-04:002008-06-20T07:05:42.289-04:00Why do cyclists shave their legs? The only explanation you will ever need<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiY7TWh6pfhyphenhyphenFSbdNgEb3saIZMkRBZvaxXajjj39Wh38jKNkFfP-EHZV_HOtzPvLwZJenJctf4M7_n-yo80VasLItypjUjs2jcGIKcVQbOf4r459AHWLFTkzAJsxNc1xLbUU-O7g/s1600-h/CoppiLegs.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiY7TWh6pfhyphenhyphenFSbdNgEb3saIZMkRBZvaxXajjj39Wh38jKNkFfP-EHZV_HOtzPvLwZJenJctf4M7_n-yo80VasLItypjUjs2jcGIKcVQbOf4r459AHWLFTkzAJsxNc1xLbUU-O7g/s400/CoppiLegs.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5213908743778796930" /></a><br />It’s hotter’n hell, 90 degrees (32 C.) and we are going out for the evening. My wife is wearing long pants.<br /><br />“Aren’t you going to be hot?” I ask. “Why don’t you wear a dress or shorts?”<br /><br />“I can’t, I haven’t shaved my legs.”<br /><br />End of questioning, no further explanation needed. <br /><br />My lovely wife doesn’t want to be the only one in a roomful of ladies with silky smooth legs, while she is sporting stubble. Even though I would have to get down on my knees with a magnifying glass to find a tiny emerging follicle.<br /><br />This is exactly the same reason why cyclists shave their legs, No one wants to go out on a group ride and be the only wooly mammoth in the pack. <br /><br />Even if I am riding alone, I still shave my legs; I never know who I might meet on the road. Shaved legs simply look better on a cyclist. Some call it vanity, frankly I find that an affront to my pride. <br /><br />I started racing in 1952 and that’s when I started shaving my legs. The European professional riders shaved their legs because they were riding the big stage races like the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia. <br /><br />Stages were long back then, sometimes in excess of 180 miles. (289.6 km.) They needed some serious massage therapy at the end of each day in order to have the leg muscles supple and relaxed ready to go again the next morning. It is neither comfortable for the cyclist or the masseuse to be massaging hairy legs.<br /><br />The long, smooth legs in the picture at the top belonged to <a target="_blank" href="http://davesbikeblog.blogspot.com/2008/01/fausto-coppi-il-campionissimo.html">“Il Campionissimo”</a> Fausto Coppi. I was no different from any other cyclist of the 1950s; we all wanted to emulate the great professional riders of that era. So we shaved our legs.<br /><br />Shaved legs are faster; it is psychological. Like polishing the engine on a hot rod car; you can’t see inside the engine but you polish the outside. The cyclist is the “engine” of his bike; you can’t see the heart or the lungs inside, but by making the legs smooth and clean so you see every vein, sinew, and muscle, it is a definite psychological boost.<br /><br />Professional cyclists today shave their legs for the same reason as their predecessors, and road cyclists of all levels, from amateur racers to weekend warriors follow suit. End of story, there should be no further explanation needed. <br /><br />Fellow cyclists understand, but non-cyclists question this practice. We come up with all kinds of creative reasons for shaving our legs. We pretend that it is in case we fall and get road rash.<br /><br />Sure with hair free legs it is easier to clean and dress wounds, but that is not why we shave our legs. A lady known only to me as “Jan” commented on a recent post. “If you fall and get road rash on your legs, wouldn’t you also scrape up your arms?” Good point, cyclists rarely shave their arms. (That would be weird.) <br /><br />If someone asks me, “Why do you shave your legs?” I answer simply, “It’s traditional.” That is the only answer I need. No one questions it or doubts my word. After all, if something is traditional, who am I to break with tradition?<br /><br />Professional racing cyclists have been shaving their legs for at least 100 years, that’s probably longer than ladies have been shaving their legs. So the practice definitely qualifies as a tradition.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU6rdTtEDJ9wgQFlVKnv-EI761bxrm05jLItkT81jrU43ONeNvuTH5LneK2pBjAIgpmWyuiVH13865MrH1tdL0o9a2KrHDSFv5klbSYTNTs9_EibkaHOGMor2NpNEWsyJs9SslKg/s1600-h/RunningBulls.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU6rdTtEDJ9wgQFlVKnv-EI761bxrm05jLItkT81jrU43ONeNvuTH5LneK2pBjAIgpmWyuiVH13865MrH1tdL0o9a2KrHDSFv5klbSYTNTs9_EibkaHOGMor2NpNEWsyJs9SslKg/s320/RunningBulls.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5213909266142541762" /></a>Think of it like the running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain; when someone asks, “Why would you run down the street in front of a herd of stampeding bulls?”<br /><br />“It’s traditional.” <br /><br />“Oh well, that explains it. No further explanation needed.”<br /><br />Or, “Why are you taking that dead pine tree into your house at Christmas.”<br /><br />“It’s traditional.”<br /><br />You see how it works; it doesn’t matter how bizarre or irrational the act, just say, “It’s traditional,” and it is immediately accepted.<br /><br />It is so easy. No more excuses, no more lies about road rash or guilt feelings over vanity. The answer is, “It’s traditional.” <br /><br />No further explanation is needed.</br></br></br>Dave Moultonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556183205157714280noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18899086.post-19172600426213684742008-06-18T05:41:00.002-04:002008-06-18T06:12:01.262-04:00Helmets: Now you can vote<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMwkmtwzz96AHcoEFadPX18JKVCIe8pzNjatOMmOFhwjkKwQ3z7Pjn82mxSkkTLupq08C6RmbpT2WhHvLrC1Wu7PXkBRI3wIE0T2hn22aHldxWfaqMGcPppd2e3inBcn_OhSHVoA/s1600-h/HelmetLegs.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMwkmtwzz96AHcoEFadPX18JKVCIe8pzNjatOMmOFhwjkKwQ3z7Pjn82mxSkkTLupq08C6RmbpT2WhHvLrC1Wu7PXkBRI3wIE0T2hn22aHldxWfaqMGcPppd2e3inBcn_OhSHVoA/s320/HelmetLegs.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5213162045106067906" /></a><br />After the first three comments on my last “Dispelling the Myth” post, I posted my own comment saying I hoped this wasn’t going to turn into yet another helmet discussion.<br /><br />Then I thought “To hell with it,” deleted my comment, stepped back and let the discussion grow legs and go wherever it wanted.<br /><br />I am now glad that I did because it turned out to be a highly civilized, intelligent debate. I enjoyed reading all the comments, and I would like to thank all who took the time to post. <br /><br />I hope no one lost sight of the theme of the original post; the “Myth” is that cycling is dangerous. With or without a helmet, it is not as dangerous as some think it is.<br /><br />If someone wants to ride a bike for no other reason than a transport to and from work, or wherever he or she needs to go. And they choose to do so in regular clothes and no helmet, they should be encouraged, not discouraged. <br /><br />In many cases drivers will give such a person more room because they are not sure how experienced they are.<br /><br />If you look to the right hand side-bar of this page and scroll down a bit, you will see I have added a “Helmet” poll.<br /><br />I plan to leave it there for a while, the more people participate, the more accurate it will be. I will then post the results as a separate blog, and it will be here permanently.</br></br></br>Dave Moultonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556183205157714280noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18899086.post-64092078087154200712008-06-16T07:18:00.003-04:002008-06-16T07:55:29.768-04:00Dispelling the mythI have just read a wonderful pro cycling article in the British Medical Journal. (BMJ) It came out last December so you may have already seen it. If not, there is a link at the end. <br /><br />What makes this piece different is that it is not written by a cycling advocacy group, but is an article for doctors by an independent writer pointing out the health benefits of cycling, and how these benefits far outweigh the slight risk of riding on the road. <br /><br />This is a view that I strongly agree with. If cycling is ever to become popular again in the western world, the myth that cycling is dangerous must be dispelled.<br /><br />The BMJ article comes out against helmet use on the grounds that it gives the impression that cycling is more dangerous than it really is. I am inclined to agree to a certain degree. I wear a helmet, but it is my choice; I am opposed to helmet use being mandatory, especially if it stops people from cycling. <br /><br />The article points out, when helmets were made compulsory in Australia, hospital admissions from head injury fell by 15-20%, but the level of cycling fell by 35%. Ten years later, cycling levels in Western Australia are still 5-20% below the level they were before the introduction of the law yet head injuries are only 11% lower than would be expected without helmets. <br /><br />At the same time, 17 times more motorists than cyclists died of head injuries in Australia during 1988, and yet no one is advocating mandatory helmets for motor vehicle drivers. <br /> <br />The BMJ article refers to the inherent risks of road cycling as trivial. Of at least 3.5 million regular cyclists in Britain, only about 10 a year die in rider only accidents where there is no other vehicle involved. Compare this with about 350 people killed each year by head injuries after falling down steps or tripping. (Total cycling fatalities in the UK in 2005 were 148.)<br /><br />Another study estimated that out of 150,000 people admitted to hospital annually with head injuries in the United Kingdom; road cyclists account for only 1% of this total, yet 6% of the population are regular cyclists and a further 5% are occasional cyclists; 60% of admissions were alcohol related. Maybe we need helmets for walking drunks.<br /><br />Finally, the BMJ article touched on a point that is the crux of the whole road death issue. In 1983, compulsion to wear seatbelts cut deaths among drivers and front seat passengers by 25%. Up until 1983, there had been a long established trend of declining deaths in car accidents. This reversed and just six years later by 1989 death rates among car drivers were higher than they had been in 1983. <br /><br />Evidently, the driving population "risk compensated" away the substantial benefits of seatbelts by taking extra risks, at the same time putting others in more danger. This period saw a jump in deaths of cyclists. <br /><br />Although temporary, the jump was followed by a decline and can be explained by cyclists having adapted to a more dangerous road environment through extra caution, or simply giving up cycling. <br /><br />It is no coincidence that the long decline in cycling in the UK began in 1983. Between 1974 and 1982 cycling mileage in Britain increased 70%, but there was no increase in fatalities until the seatbelt law was introduced in 1983.<br /><br />The civilized world should be outraged at the appalling casualty rate on our roads. It is the drivers of automobiles who are doing all the killing. In particular, aggressive drivers are the problem, speeding, running red lights, and taking all kinds of other risks.<br /><br />In many cases, an aggressive driver is an angry driver, and I have heard it said that an angry driver is as much danger as a drunk driver. However, aggressive driving does not carry the social stigma that drunk driving does. It is time that it did; a dead person is just as dead whether killed by an aggressive driver or a drunk one. <br /><br />Aggressive driving is unnecessary; it is just a habit, the sad this is, it has become accepted as the norm. Driving aggressively may only take five minutes off an average thirty-mile trip. Aside from the danger, there’s the mental stress, the wear and tear on the vehicle, and the gas wasted. Is it really worth it?<br /><br />In spite of this, it has been proven that experienced cyclists are still safe because they become street smart, and ride defensively. Just as good, defensive drivers stay out of trouble. Inexperienced riders need to seek advice on safe riding practices, and get out there and ride. Like all skills there is no substitute for actually doing it.<br /><br />It is a myth that cycling is dangerous, and car driving is safe. That seat belts save lives, because indirectly seat belts have lead to more deaths due to unsafe driving practices. However, we cannot go back. Making seat belts optional would claim more innocent lives, and would not stop aggressive driving.<br /><br />I will go out on a limb here and state that it is also a myth that helmets save cyclists lives, because it is mostly the experienced bike riders who wear the helmets. It is experience that protects a cyclist’s life; but like the seat belt situation, we cannot go back. I for one will continue to wear my helmet.<br /> <br />Read the BMJ article <a target="_blank" href="http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/321/7276/1582">here</a></br></br></br>Dave Moultonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556183205157714280noreply@blogger.com39tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18899086.post-35456740963211391332008-06-13T10:28:00.010-04:002008-06-13T11:59:52.588-04:00Looking one way, driving another<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXGplI2HSJUDJoIRkbopSBGCESuoZvqjtwX1iGymaD_-1ILYJHjH1V4ekpf07hkqWBLkYYQZv9V7X_i0JQ2nZzkSvZ8E7rVehZlSwLK0E34NRxma4MQaPjBGATegBR8vYUswWHpA/s1600-h/LookDrive01.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXGplI2HSJUDJoIRkbopSBGCESuoZvqjtwX1iGymaD_-1ILYJHjH1V4ekpf07hkqWBLkYYQZv9V7X_i0JQ2nZzkSvZ8E7rVehZlSwLK0E34NRxma4MQaPjBGATegBR8vYUswWHpA/s400/LookDrive01.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5211374133148318274" /></a><br />A cyclist is about to ride across a busy main highway; there are two lanes westbound, and two lanes eastbound, with a center median or possibly a turn lane.<br /><br />There is no traffic light, and only a two-way stop; cross traffic does not stop. The cyclist’s plan is to wait for a gap in eastbound traffic, then ride halfway to the relative safety of the center median.<br /><br />At the same time the cyclist arrives at the south approach stop sign, a car arrives way across on the opposite north side. The car driver plans to cross over the eastbound side and make a left. He does not see the cyclist because he is looking to the left for westbound traffic. (Top picture.)<br /><br />There is a gap in traffic so the driver does a rolling stop and continues across the two westbound lanes. He still does not see the cyclist because he is now looking to the right for a gap in eastbound traffic.<br /><br />Meanwhile the cyclist saw a gap in eastbound traffic, and also did a rolling stop. This is his first big mistake and things will only get worse from this point on. He is now in the middle of a two-lane highway and he sees the car for the first time. (Picture below.)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKW34kk0op56YT5UXNj-zdsfqTj-6Fd17fmugeaAJqD5tWp3KH3TjLKmLKcIw8cyNj2BFQGyVtz-1uvttNzWOmHRpLDv3WVjCtnfGRF1uX6Ci6ISDidwWJREknLE0DCPvrtk6M2w/s1600-h/LookDrive02.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKW34kk0op56YT5UXNj-zdsfqTj-6Fd17fmugeaAJqD5tWp3KH3TjLKmLKcIw8cyNj2BFQGyVtz-1uvttNzWOmHRpLDv3WVjCtnfGRF1uX6Ci6ISDidwWJREknLE0DCPvrtk6M2w/s400/LookDrive02.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5211373860058468274" /></a><br />The cyclist is completely screwed at this point, he cannot stop in the middle of the highway with traffic bearing down on him at 60 mph. He should be waving frantically and shouting at the top of his lungs, trying the get the driver’s attention.<br /><br />The car driver has still not seen the cyclist because he is continuing to look to the right. The driver has seen the same gap in eastbound traffic that the cyclist saw, and he starts to accelerate. <br /><br />He may glance forward to the southbound approach, but sees no one there because the cyclist has left that spot, and in all probability is in the driver’s blind spot caused by the door pillar and his driving mirrors. The driver is already turning while accelerating, still not looking ahead, and will only realize the cyclist is there when he runs over him. (Below.) <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipTKPxNZQ7lIxcU0SC3mMkkcwRgI59FKBXfVYjr4ueDggSg8kdI8JeMM1U7y0cLYFmrRngDtWlQYfHvc1QIAQfvDwaLeiBeTS3d7kokz8aNCeC5t8ZFCN8xGmYyv126aHZG8VCug/s1600-h/LookDrive03.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipTKPxNZQ7lIxcU0SC3mMkkcwRgI59FKBXfVYjr4ueDggSg8kdI8JeMM1U7y0cLYFmrRngDtWlQYfHvc1QIAQfvDwaLeiBeTS3d7kokz8aNCeC5t8ZFCN8xGmYyv126aHZG8VCug/s400/LookDrive03.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5211373622961568482" /></a><br />Who is at fault? The car driver of course for failing to see the cyclist, but this is of little consolation the cyclist at this moment. This is sloppy and aggressive driving that is all too common on roads to day. However, cyclists cannot afford to be sloppy.<br /><br />Had the cyclist come to a complete stop and assessed the whole situation before crossing he would have seen the car on opposite side. He should have not only been looking for a gap in traffic on his side, but also looking at the traffic on the opposite westbound side.<br /><br />If there was westbound traffic, this would be his safety buffer and the car opposite would not pull out and he would have time to get to the center median. <br /><br />If the car starts out from the opposite side at the same time the cyclist does, there is no way the cyclist can beat the car to the center. Cars are faster, and the above scenario is very possible. <br /><br />Don't count on drivers using turn signals; don't assume a car is going straight just because his turn signal is not on.<br /><br />The cyclist may miss the gap in traffic, and have to wait a little longer, but let the car drivers be in a hurry, a cyclist cannot afford to rush. <br /><br />Vehicles turning in front of cyclists is the most common bicycle/vehicle accident on roads today and will continue to be if people drive in one direction, while looking in another.<br /><br />Sloppy, bad driving is not going away anytime soon, so always be on the lookout for situations like this one. Think ahead, ride smart, and ride defensively.<br /><br /><br /><em><strong>Footnote: Written for US readers. For UK readers and others who ride on the left side of the road, read left for right, and right for left. If possible, copy the pictures and flip to a reverse image. <br /><br />Readers have asked me in the past, what do I use to make the drawings? I use MS Visio for the line drawings, save the picture as a JPEG, then fill in the colors with Photoshop.</strong></em></br></br></br>Dave Moultonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556183205157714280noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18899086.post-36606670886414516272008-06-11T05:33:00.006-04:002008-06-11T06:50:24.944-04:00New South Carolina Laws to Protect CyclistsMark Sanford, Governor of my adopted home state of South Carolina, signed a new bill into law yesterday, clarifying that cyclists have as much right to the state's roads as motorists do.<br /><br />Motorists will be required to keep a safe distance between the motor vehicle and the cyclist. As I see it, there is no three-foot passing law that other states have enacted, but I guess at least if a motorist hits a cyclist he can’t argue that he was at a safe distance.<br /><br />There are provisions for fines of up to $1,000 if a cyclist is seriously injured.<br /> <br />It is now a misdemeanor to harass, yell at, honk at, or throw and object in the direction of a cyclist. Punishable by a $250 fine, or 30 days prison, or both.<br /><br />Cyclists are required to use a bike lane where provided, but may move into the road to avoid a hazard. Cyclists are not required to use a separate multi-use bike path, and can opt to ride on the road.<br /><br />A cyclist can ride on the shoulder of the road, or the road, but is not required to ride on the shoulder.<br /><br />Cyclists are not allowed to ride <em><strong>more</strong></em> than two abreast on public roads, which means they can ride in twos if circumstances allow. (This has been the law in SC all along and remains the same.)<br /><br />A cyclist is no longer required to have a bell on their bike. (Someone should get a no-bell prize for that one :) I guess if it is a misdemeanor to honk at a cyclist, it is only fair that cyclist should not be allowed to ring their bell in anger.<br /><br />Cyclists should signal a left turn by extending their left arm straight out, and in the case of a right turn, may signal with the right arm straight out. In other words, point in the direction they intend to go.<br /> <br />I am pleased, as this is what I have been doing all along. It seems to make more sense than signaling a right turn with your left arm at a 90 degree angle pointing upwards. <br /><br />This bill has been kicking around since 2004. Sadly, it was the deaths of two cyclists that spurred it on. The new bicycle safety legislation was signed into law yesterday, Tuesday, June 10th, 2008, the day after Rachel Giblin’s birthday and the day before Tom Hoskins’ birthday. Rachel would have been 17. Tom would have been 50. Both died in vehicle-bike crashes.<br /><br />South Carolina is unfortunately seventh in the nation when it comes to cycling fatalities, a horrible record. It saddened me when my local paper, the Post & Courier, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.charleston.net/news/2008/jun/09/measure_reinforces_bicyclists_rights_roa43900/">printed this story</a> on Monday and many hateful comments from readers were posted.<br /><br />It only goes to show when people can no longer discriminate on the grounds of race, religion, or sexual orientation, they can improvise and still find someone to hate. <br /><br />I am not a Lance Armstrong wannabe, I was racing bikes before Lance Armsrtong’s parents were born. I just want to ride my bike and come home safely, as we all do. I have a wife and also two daughters who love me, and would miss me. <br /> <br />I don’t expect attitudes to change overnight, however, this is a huge step forward. Every time another state passes laws like these, it makes it a little easier for the remaining states to follow suit.</br></br></br>Dave Moultonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556183205157714280noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18899086.post-49935460257429389302008-06-09T05:45:00.012-04:002008-06-09T13:04:28.571-04:00The West Ashley Greenway<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-fzp7GyO_IZCFfdGU68V_wcX0J_AfaaRZw6sbu9fjRoeMSZLyat_swFekB451E44cyFI8NeVnebtc2FTOaPH2GeCUmOWgVw1euFnv_r-OlOdGRyWyQGESrJZ1sMbc9di3WHftQQ/s1600-h/West-Ashley-Greenway.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209818948094641106" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-fzp7GyO_IZCFfdGU68V_wcX0J_AfaaRZw6sbu9fjRoeMSZLyat_swFekB451E44cyFI8NeVnebtc2FTOaPH2GeCUmOWgVw1euFnv_r-OlOdGRyWyQGESrJZ1sMbc9di3WHftQQ/s400/West-Ashley-Greenway.gif" border="0" /></a><br />I recently learned of <a target="_blank" href="http://www.sctrails.net/trails/">SCtrails.net</a> which lists all the Biking and Hiking Trails in the State of South Carolina.<br /><br />On this website, I discovered the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.sctrails.net/trails/ALLTRAILS/Railtrails/WestAshGreenway.html">West Ashley Greenway,</a> which runs from the Windermere district, just over the Stono River from James Island, to Main Road on Johns Island. I had heard of this trail, but I did not realize it was so long. (10.5 miles.)<br /><br />On Sunday I decided to check it out and picked up the trail at about the half way point about a mile from my home. I headed west towards Main Road; there was no one else on the trail at 7:00 am. The first part of the trail was hard packed dirt and grass, easy riding on my road bike; I stopped to take a few pictures.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaCYQMc9emcaPXpMjeNdzVN7A6ct1KAkDzQduE95MvuscFZW8OkRZEoIGSe45S6heglGPSdSm6Ay1dDaVsv20wh1QCOW6Qirv8YlknaTwsU0VxNlcpY6VVTGXqyHxcbn_mMUFf3w/s1600-h/WestAshleyGreenway01.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209818228437417586" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaCYQMc9emcaPXpMjeNdzVN7A6ct1KAkDzQduE95MvuscFZW8OkRZEoIGSe45S6heglGPSdSm6Ay1dDaVsv20wh1QCOW6Qirv8YlknaTwsU0VxNlcpY6VVTGXqyHxcbn_mMUFf3w/s400/WestAshleyGreenway01.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDI_KDC5GzL1BjlNVNOfnGCStJctvcV9OG6kbaHW57ij4pEbJhyphenhyphen_CndHqE8m7VdwMYNYHnUculX2LQFlGJHP8pN-G_Lk9vaqkoxXnvRJhTzBH26-pNk290pfQDYJ4eo5e0w8zbsg/s1600-h/WestAshleyGreenway02.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209817866875289458" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDI_KDC5GzL1BjlNVNOfnGCStJctvcV9OG6kbaHW57ij4pEbJhyphenhyphen_CndHqE8m7VdwMYNYHnUculX2LQFlGJHP8pN-G_Lk9vaqkoxXnvRJhTzBH26-pNk290pfQDYJ4eo5e0w8zbsg/s400/WestAshleyGreenway02.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCgykoXCsjg0cy_4oFIy49unI_PZf_NtbSvgdqXmBmNF6paNSqesM7HwTeXG11xR-Lq4sp79FbaIY58TUgRn7L2mkkujlTAjQNxdjiDM0AA1UD5rFvSxqM4B4byO3AyCSdmnAE8w/s1600-h/WestAshleyGreenway03.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209817524589436258" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCgykoXCsjg0cy_4oFIy49unI_PZf_NtbSvgdqXmBmNF6paNSqesM7HwTeXG11xR-Lq4sp79FbaIY58TUgRn7L2mkkujlTAjQNxdjiDM0AA1UD5rFvSxqM4B4byO3AyCSdmnAE8w/s400/WestAshleyGreenway03.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />As I neared Main Road the trail went over some marshes; the last mile was loose stones and a little tough, but still ridable. (See below.)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZXR0YV8s7SeuyFxVkOkeLsbqU6XyVGD89QOijAmiRYCVbaAMqIbHOhEXvOilWM1KmNP7xygOitpZWIStjsUtK_jlyIBO8Z1QMiNgRI_O8BZF-2RCj9J5QhXfbN081Nw58wMdbtA/s1600-h/WestAshleyGreenway04.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209817169604775554" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZXR0YV8s7SeuyFxVkOkeLsbqU6XyVGD89QOijAmiRYCVbaAMqIbHOhEXvOilWM1KmNP7xygOitpZWIStjsUtK_jlyIBO8Z1QMiNgRI_O8BZF-2RCj9J5QhXfbN081Nw58wMdbtA/s400/WestAshleyGreenway04.jpg" border="0" /></a> The trail emerged under the railroad bridge on Main Road, just before the Stono River Bridge. There is easy access onto the Stono Bridge without having to cross Main Road, and even on the way back, you make a left at the foot of the bridge, and keep going left under the bridge (See below.) to the access road on the opposite side that takes you back to the trail head.<br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAKR2VQcUoKHkSa2XY2qJLTYo6JjzyaglFLXVpcDeo_E0P4Bd8MR-XYjrkPSESSgNk6_7bLOi7OzFFyzYxsPDZzBbTlidQn9_GTRCn-myC8I2oa-2750X_a4iedpPweo98Dm4AZA/s1600-h/WestAshleyGreenway05.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209816646393770306" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAKR2VQcUoKHkSa2XY2qJLTYo6JjzyaglFLXVpcDeo_E0P4Bd8MR-XYjrkPSESSgNk6_7bLOi7OzFFyzYxsPDZzBbTlidQn9_GTRCn-myC8I2oa-2750X_a4iedpPweo98Dm4AZA/s400/WestAshleyGreenway05.jpg" border="0" /></a> The trail was once an old railroad line and runs parallel with Savannah Highway (Route 17.) Savannah Highway is the main road South out of Charleston and has very heavy traffic. I will only ride it on the weekends when the traffic is a little lighter.<br /><br />The trail enables me to bypass Rte.17 altogether. Main Road is also a busy two-lane highway that leads to Kiawah Island and Seabrook. Not good for riding, however, the Stono River Bridge has a wide shoulder, and once over the bridge it is only a short distance to a light where a right turn takes you onto Chisolm Road.<br /><br />Chisholm is a road that goes nowhere; it just does a ten-mile loop and then joins back up with Main Road. As a result the only traffic on this road are local residents, and they are so used to seeing cyclists that they always give plenty of room when passing.<br /><br />The road has a nice surface and much of it is shaded by trees on both sides, giving respite from the summer heat. (See picture below.)</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7OstQ1MgZo_9Z9kq5LfhIKFtO1aBbb-ZkEwPiWroEZlVlo49KjYe0WBJ-p6EM9N_Q9rn6RgTZJQZYunx_gm0WNtzHIqM2V-YnmE3Vj7hN7-0Nxl9b7LmWSmSmm28k9c3666fQZA/s1600-h/WestAshleyGreenway06.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209816288550049266" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7OstQ1MgZo_9Z9kq5LfhIKFtO1aBbb-ZkEwPiWroEZlVlo49KjYe0WBJ-p6EM9N_Q9rn6RgTZJQZYunx_gm0WNtzHIqM2V-YnmE3Vj7hN7-0Nxl9b7LmWSmSmm28k9c3666fQZA/s400/WestAshleyGreenway06.jpg" border="0" /></a></p><p>On the weekend it is not unusual to see as many cyclists on this road as cars. Many local cyclists drive out there, then park and ride their bikes. I hate to do that on principal, plus we are a one-car family, so tying up the vehicle while I ride my bike would be a little selfish.<br /><br />I am excited about the Greenway Trail because for me it makes riding Chisolm a possibility during the week and not just weekends. I actually enjoyed riding it, took me back to my old cyclo-cross days.<br /><br />The European pros know from experience of riding on cobblestones, the faster you ride over rough ground the more comfortable it is. I rode this trail using the highest gear I could handle. A high gear gives more traction, and when you are pushing hard your weight is on the pedals rather than the saddle. Arms bent and holding the bars loosely allows the bike to float over the rough ground.<br /><br />The only time I will not be able to ride this trail is when the ground is wet; I will also have to clean my bike a little more often. This is a chore I could do without; I would rather ride my bike than clean it. Oh well.</br></br></br>Dave Moultonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556183205157714280noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18899086.post-20769547463262874012008-06-06T07:49:00.006-04:002008-06-06T11:02:04.882-04:00A Million Bucks? What a Crock*<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzOk0YdBneiThyphenhyphenxaUnt8GinPAyHqSuVGdro_5MLRAGcXGEB5bEHqDkPFTrqBi1835zPLIejjKTUgU6gcccAqcZaF5Y28NJla97l0dDPuf8ZU6-Xf5A52mXOhCC8a2FKHA71DyxaQ/s1600-h/kogaSuperbike.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzOk0YdBneiThyphenhyphenxaUnt8GinPAyHqSuVGdro_5MLRAGcXGEB5bEHqDkPFTrqBi1835zPLIejjKTUgU6gcccAqcZaF5Y28NJla97l0dDPuf8ZU6-Xf5A52mXOhCC8a2FKHA71DyxaQ/s400/kogaSuperbike.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208735517718610034" /></a><br />This is a bike that Koga has developed for Dutch Olympic hopeful Theo Bos. Koga claims they have spent a million US dollars developing <a target="_blank" href="http://www.seekhub.net/gizmos-toys-gadgets/the-1-million-superbike/">this special one off bike.</a> <br /><br />I’m sorry I don’t buy it, all I see is just another carbon fiber bike. If this was new technology I might be convinced, but CF bikes have been around for twenty years or more, they were built for the Olympics in the 1980s.<br /><br />It’s a bicycle fer Cri-sakes, not a Formula One race car; where do you get a million bucks. Give us a breakdown of where the million dollars went.<br /><br />What about truth in advertising? Because this is what it is. You build a one off bike, and then you think of a number. Okay, a million dollars is a nice round figure.<br /><br />Next, put out a press release saying you’ve spent a million developing this special bike that is so light a fart would blow it away. <br /><br />The press and the general media, knowing sod all about bikes goes with the story.<br /><br />When it comes to bicycle racing it is the strongest rider that will win every time. If Theo Bos is the best rider he would still win on a stock bike that anyone can buy. <br /><br />Can’t Koga see that? If Bos were to win on one of their stock bikes, it would in the end sell more bikes. Because what they are saying is, our stock bikes are not good enough for the Olympics we have to spend a million dollars.<br /><br />The smart thing to do would be to pay Theo Bos a million dollars if he wins the gold on a stock bike.<br /><br /><br /><br />* UK translation: What a Crock = What a Load of Bollocks!<br /><br /><strong>Footnote from Dave: Ooops! Koga not Kona, mistake edited. See first comment. Thanks Darren</strong></br></br></br>Dave Moultonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556183205157714280noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18899086.post-59991395631102538532008-06-04T05:23:00.006-04:002008-06-04T07:44:13.525-04:00Graffiti<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2T7LHoVEFRBnObtMn32o19rr335KP9Xi-OhtbFcDeIuuNdcNASU0XvVLIdwuRPCY0FC5ZGoAXf5FKJf1zD2xRo8tP-WPfeg193aaCjBuX6taedvmdbStJIqNvM4q6POuG1m4rZw/s1600-h/Graffiti.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2T7LHoVEFRBnObtMn32o19rr335KP9Xi-OhtbFcDeIuuNdcNASU0XvVLIdwuRPCY0FC5ZGoAXf5FKJf1zD2xRo8tP-WPfeg193aaCjBuX6taedvmdbStJIqNvM4q6POuG1m4rZw/s400/Graffiti.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207954865066175682" /></a><br /><a target="_blank" href="http://www.freep.com:80/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080603/NEWS07/80603058/1009/NEWS07">A car collides into cyclists participating in a race in Mexico's northern border city of Matamoros on Sunday. One rider died, ten are injured.</a><br /><br />This is extreme ugliness, man made ugliness as it always is. How can I write about a such a tragedy in a positive light? The answer is I can’t, but I can at least try. <br /><br />A man paints a building pristine and white, and along comes a graffiti artist in the night and creates ugliness on one tiny corner of the building.<br /><br />The owner of the building must go out the very next day and paint over the offending graffiti. If he doesn’t other graffiti artists will come and before long the beauty of the building will be destroyed.<br /><br />For most reading this, the incident didn’t even happen in our country, so we can’t protest to our government. All we can do is paint over it and not allow it to spoil the beauty of the thing we love, namely cycling.<br /><br />That doesn’t mean we ignore it and pretend it didn’t happen. The man who has to go out and repaint his building is neither ignoring it, nor pretending it didn’t happen. But he must deal with it, what else can he do?<br /><br />Those who knew the cyclist that died will suffer the most, along with the people injured and their friends and relatives. Those of us who didn’t know them personally will suffer to a lesser degree, but never-the-less suffer.<br /><br />Those completely detached from our sport will read the report and look at the sensational picture above and simply remark, “Will you look at that.” <br /><br />Just as someone detached will drive by a building covered in graffiti and make a similar remark. One block further on they have forgotten about it. Those who care will not forget.<br /><br />I hope no one comments here that graffiti has a beauty of its own. I am not writing about graffiti, it is just a metaphor. There will no doubt be those who even see beauty in the above picture as the riders and their bikes fly through the air in some grotesque ballet.<br /><br />That is if they forget at the precise moment the camera froze this moment in time, someone died, and others were experiencing extreme physical pain. <br /><br />The picture is ugly, the incident was ugly. It is impossible to write about such ugliness and make it pretty, any more than it is possible to write about it and make it go away.</br></br></br>Dave Moultonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556183205157714280noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18899086.post-44576895343308034732008-06-02T04:58:00.016-04:002008-06-02T13:11:36.390-04:00James Starley: Father of the Bicycle Industry<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikiE5G_dCGnzwOcTBUdq21Z4YVTo5gCL05v1Ul6dvNOMr_nyq1ug4nK1x920r7cfRksuEtXe3VgrwTMiHG45cdFEDi6wdTcq4ymtNC37-7xDdq4BdZ9pfpRRgfWdbidq0DsILhLg/s1600-h/JamesStarley01.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikiE5G_dCGnzwOcTBUdq21Z4YVTo5gCL05v1Ul6dvNOMr_nyq1ug4nK1x920r7cfRksuEtXe3VgrwTMiHG45cdFEDi6wdTcq4ymtNC37-7xDdq4BdZ9pfpRRgfWdbidq0DsILhLg/s400/JamesStarley01.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207206344113598434" /></a><br /><a target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Starley">James Starley</a> (1830 - 1881) is considered to be the "Father of the Bicycle Industry." Born in Albourne, Sussex in the South of England, James Starley (Above.) left home at eighteen years old and took a job as a gardener.<br /><br />Starley was a mechanical genius who gained a reputation for mending clocks and inventing useful gadgets. It is interesting how chance meetings in a person’s life can not only change the course of that individual’s life, but in this case change the course of history.<br /><br />Starley’s employer, John Penn, bought an expensive sewing machine for his wife, which broke down. James of course fixed the problem and, what is more, envisioned improvements to the mechanism. <br /><br />Penn knew Josiah Turner, one of the partners of the makers of the sewing machine, and in due course Starley was taken on as an employee at the London sewing machine factory.<br /> <br />His talent was such that Turner and Starley started their own sewing machine company around 1861. The pair moved to Coventry, in the West Midlands of England, because of the abundance of skilled machinists there. Coventry had previously been known for its clock making industry.<br /> <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmw-C2R-Wwcqauajg2fvgtEhMj1vEM7_Bdy-N7RRLffP9YI2cOm2peKnP-_2EwpdKyP4HbemXRpABkuxIHN04VAZLg9gAx9rsLq7vYf3WF7kwKYwPpJltxzrABDWTftHmXoqOR0A/s1600-h/JamesStarleyVelocipede.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmw-C2R-Wwcqauajg2fvgtEhMj1vEM7_Bdy-N7RRLffP9YI2cOm2peKnP-_2EwpdKyP4HbemXRpABkuxIHN04VAZLg9gAx9rsLq7vYf3WF7kwKYwPpJltxzrABDWTftHmXoqOR0A/s400/JamesStarleyVelocipede.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207207035603333106" /></a><br />Once again a chance happening steered the company in a new direction. Turner's nephew brought a French Velocipede, (Above.) commonly known as a boneshaker to the factory in 1868, Starley again saw room for improvement and the company soon started making bicycles.<br /> <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglmzUx4lo5Vf2UnmjI4kA-iV5BcM68UvLh9EIrxD9mh_tuF1TdCxOjuSJk01kqBkOb0jHXHbqKeyGwrVYUEJ9kVX_8eM_8aNfciBwiCc5UEXMcCQCcjdg1p2p6TmxX-1UWlrLnow/s1600-h/JamesStarleyAriel.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglmzUx4lo5Vf2UnmjI4kA-iV5BcM68UvLh9EIrxD9mh_tuF1TdCxOjuSJk01kqBkOb0jHXHbqKeyGwrVYUEJ9kVX_8eM_8aNfciBwiCc5UEXMcCQCcjdg1p2p6TmxX-1UWlrLnow/s400/JamesStarleyAriel.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207207585359147010" /></a><br />They built a bicycle called the “Ariel,” meaning “Spirit of the Air.” (Picture above.) The machine was lighter than the old Velocipede with a tubular steel frame and wire-spoke wheels that were far lighter than the old solid compression spoke wheels. James Starley later invented tangent or cross spoke wheels that were patented in 1874. Tangent spokes are still used today.<br /> <br />The Ariel evolved into the Ordinary or Penney Farthing bicycle, as the front wheel became larger in a quest for speed. James Starley would later partner with William Hillman to produce the Ordinary bicycle and also tricycles.<br /> <br />Steering problems, while riding a side-by-side tricycle tandem, caused by the unequal power input of the ageing James on one side and his stronger son on the other that prompted James Starley to invent the differential drive in 1877. This also solved the problem of the different speed of the inside and outside wheels when cornering. The differential was ready and waiting when the motor car needed the device.<br /><br />Also brought into the bicycle manufacturing business was James Starley's nephew <a target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Kemp_Starley">John Kemp Starley</a> who would later start his own company in partnership with William Sutton. The early tricycles that John Starley worked on with his uncle were lever driven; later models were chain driven.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1mnrRP-M3LMlG93IV0f0qvNOaAFDdzqbWgS5BZivXQHFKXYVIPzbkyz_Vo1d068R0tI9wh9jvZFtrT4x2W5qdnTOzA1NEfWwoTu9kWljzSmiqV5Hr6kAuoV9ZuxXr4zaHrAA9lQ/s1600-h/JohnStarleyRover.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1mnrRP-M3LMlG93IV0f0qvNOaAFDdzqbWgS5BZivXQHFKXYVIPzbkyz_Vo1d068R0tI9wh9jvZFtrT4x2W5qdnTOzA1NEfWwoTu9kWljzSmiqV5Hr6kAuoV9ZuxXr4zaHrAA9lQ/s400/JohnStarleyRover.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207208581791559698" /></a><br />This chain drive would feature in John Kemp Starley’s “Rover” (Above.) safety bicycle first built in 1884. The Rover had 26 inch wheels that are still a standard size today, and although the frame did not have a seat tube, the diamond shape is basically the same as bicycles built today.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq5Y1OZK1Zaty5b7dA59EsMWzHobWxlTTexlEjgRBpYd1JhoE3HT2Gs6E2YJJ3NDsr6jTh8mrqcYetuKa-YpgrNVLQsasHl9TN3FDo654yogGIWMEjD8MXCpQBBrhLJLFEMObCHg/s1600-h/JamesStarley03.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq5Y1OZK1Zaty5b7dA59EsMWzHobWxlTTexlEjgRBpYd1JhoE3HT2Gs6E2YJJ3NDsr6jTh8mrqcYetuKa-YpgrNVLQsasHl9TN3FDo654yogGIWMEjD8MXCpQBBrhLJLFEMObCHg/s400/JamesStarley03.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207209354885672994" /></a>The name Rover had been previously used on a James Starley tricycle, (Left.) however, the name really suited the new bicycle as it freed the people to “rove” all over the countryside. <br /><br />Others had experimented with chain-driven "safety bicycles" but the Rover was really the first practical model. It made its mark to the extent that "Rover" means "bike" in some countries such as Poland.<br /><br />In due course, motor-driven bicycles became motorcycles and were followed by motor cars. John Kemp Starley experimented with an electric tri-car around 1888 but the petrol-driven Rover 8 h.p. car was released in 1904, two years after his death.<br /><br />The Rover car company still exists. (Although throughout the years, it has been under different ownership.) Today they produce the Land-Rover.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5gj7IJ55x_mJ4FVA3YIYxw7HEST3EsZjbu6q0kxzyHnTC0OjgeFCxwJoL3GfrbWC2Um4URqy8kAQLfjNOIbBtiYSAt5r_NtzNrb5oVGGvi50d2Y_ptrvuLRv4pCf9qM6o4mMItA/s1600-h/HillmanMinx.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5gj7IJ55x_mJ4FVA3YIYxw7HEST3EsZjbu6q0kxzyHnTC0OjgeFCxwJoL3GfrbWC2Um4URqy8kAQLfjNOIbBtiYSAt5r_NtzNrb5oVGGvi50d2Y_ptrvuLRv4pCf9qM6o4mMItA/s400/HillmanMinx.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207210759339978802" /></a><br />William Hillman who partnered with James Starley to build bicycles, also went on to produce cars and for many years Hillman was a famous British name in automobiles.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRvZOuB1ZEynEvQUvkt15eO2SDRRYZMEnIxGPmH4qnsf6d1sd6PsVVBbRbh8a59J7E80QIzLonNnTGlFHRDfxPNZv4iehSmvNC6RPOeXHAVY8GKEyF7PG3KvqixlxKTOXwcmW3Lw/s1600-h/Ariel02.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRvZOuB1ZEynEvQUvkt15eO2SDRRYZMEnIxGPmH4qnsf6d1sd6PsVVBbRbh8a59J7E80QIzLonNnTGlFHRDfxPNZv4iehSmvNC6RPOeXHAVY8GKEyF7PG3KvqixlxKTOXwcmW3Lw/s400/Ariel02.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207212576111145042" /></a>And the first bicycle Starley produced, the <a target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariel_%28car%29">“Ariel” became a famous British motorcycle.</a> <br /><br />Motorcycle enthusiasts will remember the Ariel 1000 Square Four from the late 1940s, early 1950s. (Pictured left.)<br /><br />John Kemp Starley’s Rover set the standard design for the bicycle that has remained basically the same since. However, it was his uncle James Starley who paved the way for the “Safety Bicycle” with his use of chain drive. This, along with his other inventions and production methods, makes him the Father of the Bicycle Industry. <br /> <br />Assorted Starley bicycles can be seen in Coventry’s excellent <a target="_blank" href="http://www.transport-museum.com/">Transport Museum.</a> The City of Coventry is well worth a visit for this museum and for the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.coventrycathedral.org.uk/">beautiful cathedral.</a></br></br></br>Dave Moultonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556183205157714280noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18899086.post-87485797251165614002008-05-30T05:25:00.004-04:002008-05-30T06:08:05.781-04:00What brings them here?This blog gets around 1,200 hits a day now. Many people find it via a Google search. Here are some of the more unusual phrases that people have used to arrive here.<br /><br /><strong>When can you shave your legs as a cyclist?</strong><br />Any day that has an “R” in it. That way you avoid stubble on a Sunday.<br /><br /><strong>Geek forearm numbness</strong><br />Try changing hands<br /><br /><strong>Wheelbarrow effect</strong><br />The next big thing after the greenhouse gas effect<br /><br /><strong>Beautiful Amazon bike snob</strong><br />I guess if you are a beautiful Amazon, you can be any kind of snob you want<br /><br /><strong>How heavy is a Dutch bike?</strong><br />Beats me; that’s kinda like asking how long is a piece of string?<br /><br /><strong>A man was riding up hill on his bike, yet he was walking</strong><br />Is this a trick question? Yet was the name of his dog<br /><br /><strong>Bottom bracket education</strong><br />Set your sights a little higher; go for a top bracket education<br /><br /><strong>Dave’s auction income</strong><br />Not very much<br /><br /><strong>Gay torn jeans blog</strong><br />This blog has many facets, but that’s not one of them. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that.)<br /><br /><strong>How do you fix a bike?</strong><br />You remove its nuts<br /><br /><strong>My head is loose; can I still ride my bike?</strong><br />Yes, just don’t ride over any bumps<br /><br /><strong>What does one-way road mean?</strong><br />Here’s a clue; if everything is coming towards you, you are on one and going the wrong way<br /><br /><strong>Diamondback approach</strong><br />My advice, don’t approach a diamondback<br /><br /><strong>Can I ride further on a regular bike than on a stationary bike?</strong><br />Duh, let me get back to you<br /><br /><strong>Pictures of little men on bicycles</strong><br />Are you the same person looking for the gay torn jeans blog?</br></br></br>Dave Moultonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556183205157714280noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18899086.post-54703595957514753182008-05-27T06:52:00.003-04:002008-05-27T07:32:36.080-04:00PassionCycling is a passion; or rather, it can become one. Passion is one of those words that is not easy to explain, although <a target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passion_(emotion)">Wikipedia</a> has an explanation as good as any I’ve seen.<br /><br />It has to be experienced to really know what it is. Cycling has become a passion when someone rides a bike for no other reason than to experience the joy of riding a bike. If you have a passion for something in life, you are truly living. Without passion, a person is simply existing.<br /><br />People who say, “Cyclists shouldn not be on the road because it is dangerous,” just don’t get it. It is like telling a surfer it is dangerous to go into the ocean because of shark attacks, the surfer who is passionate about surfing is not going to stop.<br /><br />It is not that cyclists and surfers are crazy, foolhardy, with little regard for their life. In fact, the opposite is true; if one has a passion for life, the last thing that person wants is to end it. On the other hand, if one cannot engage in their passion, they are no longer living anyway. Life becomes a pointless existence. <br /><br />Passion can include anger, especially if someone suggests I should not pursue my passion, which happens to be riding my bike on the road. It is a road bike after all, and just as a surfer must surf in the ocean, a road bike must be ridden on the road. <br /><br />On a website named <a target="_blank" href="http://www.bikeiowa.com/asp/hotnews/newsdisplay.asp?NewsID=3056">Bike Iowa,</a> is a strange piece by a no doubt, very educated man. He is <a target="_blank" href="http://policy.rutgers.edu/faculty/pucher/">John Pucher, PhD,</a> professor of urban planning and transportation in The Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University in New Jersey.<br /><br />His advice starts: “Exercising outdoors is great fun and good for your health, but it can also be downright dangerous. Hundreds of thousands of walkers, runners and cyclists are injured on our roads each year, and thousands are killed.”<br /><br />A strange way to encourage people to ride bikes in Iowa. (I’m assuming that is the purpose of a website named “Bike Iowa.”) Later he gives this advice to cyclists: “Whenever possible, ride on a trail, paved shoulder, bike lane or bike route, or on a traffic-calmed street, where there are fewer cars and speeds are low.”<br /><br />Professor Pucher seems to favor segregation of bicycles and automobiles judging by articles he has published; however, is segregation the answer? You cannot segregate the whole country, or a whole city for that matter, automobiles and bicycles have to come together at some point. How can people learn to coexist by segregating them?<br /> <br />Spending millions of dollars on special bike paths, only reinforces the view that cyclists don’t belong on the road. The moment you build a bike path, it is then taken over by joggers, moms with baby strollers, dog walkers, and the rest. I am not suggesting these people don’t have rights also, but where do you stop the segregation? <br /><br />Professor Pucher also states, “Walking and cycling can be made safe; they are roughly five times safer in the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany.” The difference is due to safer facilities and more considerate driving and not safer behavior by pedestrians and cyclists though of course, we can all start there.”<br /><br />The reason cycling is safer in the Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany is because there are more cyclists. Granted you have to make the roads safer to encourag people to ride, to get more cyclists on the road. <br /><br />The problem today in the USA automobile drivers are not thinking about cyclists, and are surprised every time they come upon one. When you have nearly as many bicycles on the road as cars, a motorist cannot help but be aware of cyclists.<br /><br />More bikes, less cars; everyone slows down and they still get to their destination quicker because of less congestion. Another factor in the Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany is that almost everyone driving a car, at some time other rides a bike; hence the more considerate driving.<br /><br />Professor Pucher would appear to be a friend of cycling, but is he passionate about cycling? On the other hand, is he just passionate about urban planning? <br /><br /><br /><br /><br />I found the article via <a target="_blank" href="http://mybicyclinghobby.blogspot.com/2008/05/safety-alert-for-walkers-runners.html">this post</a></br></br></br>Dave Moultonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556183205157714280noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18899086.post-42219312425476165532008-05-22T08:35:00.003-04:002008-05-22T11:59:01.149-04:00A short story: AJ, the cyclist, and a large brown dogDriving his old Ford truck on Rural Route 61; AJ was rolling along at about sixty, his usual 5 mph over the speed limit. Some distance three cars were ahead of him. As they approached a bend in the road, he saw the brake lights come on. <br /><br />As he caught up and took his place behind the other three, he noticed a lone cyclist up ahead. "Damn cyclist," he mumbled, "Why do they have to ride in the middle of the road?"<br /><br />Actually, the cyclist wasn't in the middle of the road, he was about two feet out from the edge of the lane, but with traffic approaching from the opposite direction, the lead car driver was being cautious.<br /><br />The opposing traffic passed and the first three cars went around the cyclist. AJ realized he would have to wait as another vehicle was coming towards them. "Damn it," he cussed again.<br /><br />The car passed and AJ when around the cyclist. He thought about honking his horn just to show his displeasure at the delay, but instead he just hit the gas pedal hard and roared by in a demonstration of raw power.<br /><br />A few miles further on he saw brake lights again, and as he caught up to the same three cars, he saw them stop, then one by one swing clear over to the opposing lane. As the last car completed this maneuver, he saw the reason. <br /><br />A large brown dog was trotting along the edge of the road. Strangely, AJ showed no anger or frustration this time. Just fear that the animal would suddenly dart across the road in front of an approaching van.<br /><br />He stayed back some distance so as not to startle it, and when the van had passed, he took a wide sweep around the dog as the other drivers had done. He even considered stopping to pick it up, he had thought about getting a dog, but it probably belonged to someone living close by.<br /><br />Some nine months earlier AJ had taken early retirement when the company he worked for had been making cutbacks. He and his wife had bought an old farmhouse on about eight acres in a rural area. He had bought the old truck to haul lumber and other materials. This particular day he was on his way to pick up some fence posts from a farming supply depot, some fifteen miles along Route 61.<br /><br />AJ picked up the fence posts and as he pulled out from the supply depot. The road was clear except for a cyclist, the same one he had seen earlier. He waited for him to pass; now there was traffic coming in the opposite direction. "Damn it, that's the second time you've held me up today," he complained to himself, wishing the cyclist could hear him.<br /><br />AJ turned towards home. Some four or five miles into the return trip, the old truck spluttered, and then stalled. He was on a downgrade so he was able to coast then pull onto a patch of dirt at the side of the road. After several unsuccessful attempts to start the engine, he got out of the truck, lifted the hood, and stared at the engine.<br /><br />He was not even sure why he was doing this, he had no tools with him, and even if he had, he would not know where to start. He had been an accountant all his life, and had absolutely no mechanical knowledge. He reached in his back pocket for his cell phone, it was not there.<br /><br />Then he remembered he had left the phone charging overnight in the kitchen. It was not in its usual place on the dresser with his wallet and change. "Now what?" he mumbled as he looked up and down the road. Nothing but farmland and open fields in either direction.<br /><br />There was no alternative but to walk, and he had to walk on the road, tall grass and weeds at the side made it impossible to walk there. There was a white fog line painted on the edge of the road and no more than a few inches of paved road beyond that; AJ started to walk along this white line. He could have crossed over and walked facing the oncoming traffic, but he was hoping someone would stop and offer him a ride.<br /><br />He had not walked far when he heard a car coming; he turned and waved a thumb. The car roared on by without even slowing. He walked on and the same thing happened again. He quickly realized his chances of getting a ride were slim. He was not particularly well dressed, and he never stopped to pick up hitchhikers.<br /><br />He stopped pausing and turning every time a car approached from behind, it was pointless. For a while, he walked with his left thumb out, but then discontinued that as he resigned himself to a long walk home.<br /><br />He noticed when there were no cars coming towards him, cars would swing over to the other side to pass. However, when there was traffic in both directions, they passed by a 60 mph with no thought of slowing down, often missing him by inches.<br /><br />At one time, a large eighteen-wheeler went by, and although it missed him by at least two feet, its shear size, and those huge wheels, gave AJ the scare of his life. And the back draft almost blew him off his feet.<br /><br />He must have walked at least five or six miles and was by now in a trance like state when he heard a cheery “Good morning.” The same cyclist he had seen twice before that day sped silently by him. <br /><br />Somewhat startled AJ didn’t respond immediately, then called out, “Do you have a cell phone?” The cyclist had gone on by and did not understand what AJ had said. Then sensing it was a call for help, the cyclist slowed.<br /><br />He looked back over his shoulder for traffic. It was clear and he did a U-turn and rode back to AJ. “Do you need help?” he asked. “Yes, do you have a cell phone?”<br /> “I do,” answered the cyclist as he came to a stop and reached into his rear pocket for the phone.<br /><br />“Thank God,” AJ said as he took the phone. “I broke down miles back and I must have walked for over an hour.” Just then, a car approached, “Here, let’s get off the road,” AJ said, “These damn cars won’t give you an inch.” <br /><br />“Tell me about it,” said the cyclist. “That’s why I always ride about two or three feet from the edge of the road. It forces drivers to slow and make a conscious effort to pass me. Otherwise they just blow by as if I wasn’t there, missing me by inches.”<br /><br />“What motorists don’t realize is, if I ride on this white line,” the cyclist stomped on the line with his heel to emphasize. “There are large pot-holes or places where the road simply disappears; not to mention tree braches and other debris lying at the edge. If I come up on one of these obstacles, either I hit it, with the risk falling into the road, or I swerve out into the road. With cars passing within inches at a high rate of speed, both could be deadly.”<br /><br />AJ was inclined to agree with the cyclist but didn’t answer as he felt rather hypocritical in view of his previous attitude. The cyclist continued, “That’s why I ride out there, the inside wheels of the cars having worn it smooth. It is safer, and people can see me.”<br /><br />AJ called his wife and told her what had happened. “Help is on the way,” he said as he handed the phone back to the cyclist. “Thank you so much,” he added. He looked at the cyclist for the first time and was surprised that he was an older man, maybe about his own age. Earlier when he saw him, he imagined him to be much younger.<br /><br />“Do you need a drink?” The cyclist offered AJ his water bottle. “Thanks, I will.” As AJ took a drink, the large brown dog appeared, wagging his tail and slinking down at AJ’s feet. ”Do you think he needs a drink too?” the cyclist asked.<br /><br />“Probably,” AJ answered, “I saw him earlier on my way out here.” AJ cupped his hands together as the cyclist poured some water for the dog to drink.” The dog lapped up the water.” Looks like you found yourself a dog.” <br /><br />"It would seem like it.” AJ answered as the cyclist mounted his bike again and pushed off. “Thank you again,” AJ called out as he pulled away. “Glad to be of help,” the cyclist called back.<br /><br />AJ slipped his belt from his pants and looped it around the dog’s collarless neck. “Here boy, let’s sit under this tree and wait for Momma.”<br /><br /><br /><br /><em><strong>Footnote: The above is a short work of fiction, one that could take place anywhere in the US. (Or the world.)<br /><br />Just a different way to get the safety message across. Also, to explain to motorists that we ride a certain way in the interest of our own safety.</strong></em></br></br></br>Dave Moultonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556183205157714280noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18899086.post-5177923809747642482008-05-19T03:28:00.009-04:002008-05-19T04:05:41.194-04:00What if gas were $10 a gallon?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJAGTasz087AKcz0dKuRSifwn27QnRlOjvQf7auGvFAC_RDAiyK657ypLPm0jDuYL5dbLkk_M2ylMI66EExFz4Ta_j6PTuvSpT1k0ZTf_PhfhmIovfTzgLCfgobHT4DT7MqCwoHQ/s1600-h/Gas$10.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJAGTasz087AKcz0dKuRSifwn27QnRlOjvQf7auGvFAC_RDAiyK657ypLPm0jDuYL5dbLkk_M2ylMI66EExFz4Ta_j6PTuvSpT1k0ZTf_PhfhmIovfTzgLCfgobHT4DT7MqCwoHQ/s320/Gas$10.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201987975422793394" /></a><br />An article on MSN Money Central began as follows:<br /><br /><strong>...."In four years, U.S. gas prices have doubled to more than $3.70 a gallon, and crude oil has tripled to around $125 a barrel. <br /><br />Allowing for inflation, that's higher than prices were during the 1978–83 oil shock that triggered a recession and sky-high interest rates. <br /><br />But . . . What if gas cost $10 a gallon?<br /><br />Thousands of truckers would go bankrupt. Airplanes would sit idle in hangars. Restaurants and stores would shut down. Car-pooling, hybrid vehicles, scooters and inline skates would swing into vogue." </strong><br /><br />I find it strange that the writer would mention inline skates and miss the obvious choice in human power vehicles, namely the bicycle. As for truckers going bankrupt, some will, but goods will still need to be shipped whatever the cost. <br /><br />There will be rising prices and inflation, which will affect everyone; however, those who can run a tight budget and spend less on gas, will fair better. Some low-income families will not be able to run a car.<br /> <br /><strong>...."According to Todd Hale, a senior vice president for consumer researcher Nielsen, at $10 a gallon, the average family's gas bill would leap from 16% of its retail spending to about 40%. <br /><br />People would drive less, yes. But many have to drive to work or the supermarket, and they'd cough up the cash -- screaming all the way -- and cut back elsewhere." </strong><br /><br />Yes, many will still drive and even some will still drive SUVs; they will become even more of a status symbol. There will be more compact cars or the road, and a lot more motorcycles, scooters, and mopeds. <br /><br />Not everyone will ride a bicycle, but for those of us who do, share the road will be a lot easier. <br /><br />Public Transport will make a comeback, which will ease congestion further. Even long before gas reaches $10, we will see less joy riding in cars on the weekends, leaving roads less congested and more pleasant for bike riding.<br /><br /><strong>...."Taxis and FedEx would be strictly for the well-heeled. And home pizza deliveries would cease. Pizza delivery drivers also pay for their own gas. "It'd be brutal," says Joseph Miller, an assistant manager at a Domino's Pizza in Seattle. "I would think we wouldn't have any drivers."</strong><br /><br />Pizza can be delivered by bicycle. All kinds of restaurant food is already delivered by bicycle in New York City, and in other large cities; it is the most efficient way in many cases. In fact, as less people drive to eat out, restaurants will be forced to consider other alternatives.<br /><br />In many parts of the world, Europe and Japan for example, gas is already close to $10 a gallon. People still survive, and adjust to their economies. By the time gas reaches $10 in the US, $10 will be worth a lot less in terms of what it will buy. <br /><br />American consumers have been spoiled for so many years by cheap gas, welcome to the real world.<br /><br /> <br /><a target="_blank" href="http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/SaveonaCar/WhatIfGasCost10DollarsAGallon.aspx">Read the complete article</a></br></br></br>Dave Moultonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556183205157714280noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18899086.post-63076206508428589492008-05-16T09:17:00.003-04:002008-05-16T09:41:47.782-04:00Einstein letter sold at auction<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvYRCUxihTMKO19PKd88v8xVvL4SzfNCJ5jKUY7i40eLPmiaklISwWHukEEtX_vmJ7HgiRxOVBcgU0sDDVKD6MrDlzHijmtPVGCm08bna5wF6UChyQEvm8a_0e1jA5txfA17T4Ng/s1600-h/einstein-velo.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvYRCUxihTMKO19PKd88v8xVvL4SzfNCJ5jKUY7i40eLPmiaklISwWHukEEtX_vmJ7HgiRxOVBcgU0sDDVKD6MrDlzHijmtPVGCm08bna5wF6UChyQEvm8a_0e1jA5txfA17T4Ng/s320/einstein-velo.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5200964540550731410" /></a><br />A letter in which <a target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein">Albert Einstein</a> dismissed the idea of God as the product of human weakness and the Bible as collection of honorable but "pretty childish" stories, has sold at auction in London for more than US $400,000.<br /><br />Einstein wrote the hand written letter in German on January 3 1954 (A year before his death.) to the philosopher Eric Gutkind who had sent him a copy of his book <em>Choose Life: The Biblical Call to Revolt</em>. <br /><br />The letter went on public sale a year later and has remained in private hands ever since.<br /><br />Einstein, who was Jewish and who declined an offer to be the state of Israel's second president, also rejected the idea that the Jews are God's “Chosen” people.<br /><br />He wrote, "For me the Jewish religion like all others is an incarnation of the most childish superstitions. And the Jewish people to whom I gladly belong and with whose mentality I have a deep affinity have no different quality for me than all other people. As far as my experience goes, they are no better than other human groups.”<br /><br />Einstein’s parents were not religious but he attended a Catholic primary school and at the same time received private tuition in Judaism. This prompted what he later called, his "religious paradise of youth", during which he observed religious rules such as not eating pork. This did not last long though and by 12 he was questioning the truth of many biblical stories.<br /><br />He later wrote, “The consequence was a positively fanatic [orgy of] freethinking coupled with the impression that youth is being deceived by the state through lies; it was a crushing impression”<br /><br />In his later years he referred to a "cosmic religious feeling" that permeated and sustained his scientific work. In 1954, a year before his death, he spoke of wishing to "experience the universe as a single cosmic whole". He was also fond of using religious flourishes, in 1926 declaring that "He [God] does not throw dice" when referring to randomness thrown up by quantum theory.<br /> <br />John Brooke of Oxford University, regarded as a leading expert on the scientist, said. “His position on God has been widely misrepresented by people on both sides of the atheism/religion divide but he always resisted easy stereotyping on the subject.<br /><br />Like other great scientists he does not fit the boxes in which popular polemicists like to pigeonhole him," said Brooke. "It is clear for example that he had respect for the religious values enshrined within Judaic and Christian traditions ... but what he understood by religion was something far more subtle than what is usually meant by the word in popular discussion.”<br /><br />Despite his categorical rejection of conventional religion, Brooke said that Einstein became angry when his views were appropriated by evangelists for atheism. He was offended by their lack of humility and once wrote. "The eternal mystery of the world is its comprehensibility."<br /><br /><br />Footnote: <br /><br />I post this piece because it is current, and because Einstein is one of my heroes. He was not only brilliant but he was “cool.” I also draw comfort from the fact that people disagreed with his views, and still do.<br /><br />It serves to make me realize that if people argued with Albert Einstein, one of the greatest minds of all time, what chance do I have. A humble artisan who made a few bicycle frames.<br /><br />People talk of “Reality.” What is that? You can point to the “Empire State Building” or “The Whitehouse,” and say, “That is reality.” However, when it comes to abstract things, like the mind, thinking, God, (whoever He, She, It might be.) I feel one should keep an open mind.<br /><br />I think it is highly probable that people experience different realities. I do not mind that others disagree with me, but when people tell me outright I am wrong, I shake my head in amusement and say to myself, “Do you walk in my shoes, are you inside my mind, can you see what I see?” <br /> <br /><a target="_blank" href="http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2008-05-16-britain-einstein_N.htm">Story USA Today</a><br /><a target="_blank" href="http://www.relativitybook.com/resources/Einstein_religion.html">Partial translation of the letter</a></br></br></br>Dave Moultonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556183205157714280noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18899086.post-42710551299955034192008-05-14T06:07:00.003-04:002008-05-14T06:54:22.155-04:00More thoughts on thinkingThis piece is a follow-up to my last post about negative thinking. The reason I know a little about the subject is not from anything I read in a book, but from experience. <br /><br />Believe it or not but I was once a very negative person. I believed in Murphy's Law, “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.” Along with that other little philosophical gem, “Shit Happens.”<br /><br />I will give you an example; sometime in 1986 I was painting a custom frame. I was spraying a candy-apple red over a white base. The nature of this paint is that it is semi transparent, and you see the base color through the top color. Like looking at the apple through the candy coating; hence the name.<br /><br />It is absolutely essential to spray the paint on evenly or the result will be light and dark patches because of the varying thicknesses of paint. I had just started spraying the red coat when I became aware of a large black fly buzzing around inside the totally enclosed paint booth. <br /><br />I couldn't stop painting and catch the fly or open the door to let him out, because to do so the paint would dry on the half finished frame and there would be streaks where I started painting again because the dry paint would not flow in with the wet paint. I had no choice but to keep going. I kept telling myself, "That damn fly is going to land on the frame, I just know it." <br /><br />The fly did not just land on the wet paint so maybe I could have carefully lifted him off leaving only six tiny footprints. No, he flew right in front of the paint gun, into the stream of paint, and ended up "splat" in the middle of the top tube. <br /><br />With any other type of paint the fly could have been picked off, and after the paint had been oven cured it could have been sanded smooth and touched up. With candy-apple paint the whole frame had to be stripped of paint, down to the bare metal, re-sandblasted, and repainted from scratch. This involved many hours of work.<br /><br />At that time my ex-wife and I were going to marriage counseling, and that same evening I was talking to the female councilor, telling the same story I have just outlined here. She listened, and when I was though venting, she said, “Can't you see you created that to happen by your negative thinking?" <br /><br />She pointed out a framed quotation she had hanging on the wall of her office. It was from Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, it read, "Nothing is good or bad, that thinking made it so."<br /><br />It was an epiphany, a light bulb went on in my head, I thought about the huge space the fly had in the paint booth and what were the chances of it flying between the paint gun and the frame within seconds of my negative thought. In addition, a top tube is only one inch wide, the fly could have easily gone over or under and not landed smack in the middle.<br /><br />In the days that followed I went back to work a changed man. I recognized my negative thoughts and replaced them with good positive thoughts. About a week later the power of positive thinking was demonstrated to me in a very dramatic fashion.<br /><br />I had to go to the bank to deposit some checks and get back to my shop as quickly as possible as I was expecting a visitor. It was 4 pm. in the afternoon in a town in Southern California, the traffic was horrendous. <br /><br />I came out of the bank and as I walked to my car I was thinking, "I'll never make it out of here." I had to cross four lanes of traffic to make a left turn, with no traffic light. Then I told myself, "Don't think that way, there will be a gap in traffic."<br /><br />I pulled out of the parking lot and on to a four lane highway there was not a car in sight in either direction. I made a joke about it, I leaned forward in my seat and looked up at the sky and said, "Thank you God, I just needed a space to get out, you didn't have to clear the whole fucking town." <br /><br />As I drove towards my shop, cars came towards me and from behind and I was back in normal rush hour traffic. Those who have read my novel, <em>Prodigal Child</em>, will recognize this story. The story is true, although in the book, a work of fiction, the location is changed.<br /><br />That single event had a profound affect on me. I have never had the power of positive thinking demonstrated to me in such a dramatic fashion since. However, I can assure you positive thinking continues to provide parking spaces and gaps in traffic when I need them.<br /><br />I still ride my bike defensively and always stay alert on the roads; there are also certain roads that I will only use at weekends when traffic is lighter. I think positive but I don't act stupid.<br /><br />I can tell by some of the comments that some do not fully understand this concept. It is not “Blame the Victim.” A person holding a fear of being robbed, is clearly not to blame if they are then robbed. However, a positive thought may have prevented this outcome.<br /><br />It is not religion, it is the way the Universe works; it is Metaphysics. Having said this, even the medical profession accepts that prayer can help a sick person heal. What is a prayer? It is a positive thought; a statement of an outcome made with the quiet knowing that it will be so.<br /><br />This is where the faith comes in. It is not the blind faith of religion, but confidence in the outcome of the positive thought. Without that, the positive thought will not work, but then again, without the faith in the outcome, it is no longer a positive thought. <br /><br />Not only must we be aware of our own positive and negative thoughts, but those of others around us. Show me a person experiencing a string of misfortune, like illness, accident, car trouble, a victim of crime, etc., and I can practically guarantee that person has some other crap going on in their life. <br /><br />For example, a divorce or break up of a relationship, trouble at work with a co-worker, conflict with a family member; anywhere there is conflict and a lot of negativity flying around. The good news is if you are aware of this, your own positive thoughts will cancel out the negative ones of others.<br /><br />I care about cyclists, and it bothers me when I read about people taking abuse on the roads. Especially when I know that a change in attitude will make a huge difference in rectifying the problem. It will not happen overnight, like any learning process, it takes time and effort.<br /><br />For close to fifty years, my philosophy in life was this: "Life is a bitch, and then you die." I lived a life of pain, suffering, misfortune, failed relationships, etc. etc. I got what I expected from life, and as Shakespeare said, "Thinking made it so." <br /><br />The course of my life was changed for the better by a chance comment by a female marriage councilor, whose name I don't even remember. I pass on my experiences that it may cause others to think on their thought process. That is all; I am not trying to convert anyone to anything.<br /><br />Doug commented on <a target="_blank" href="http://davesbikeblog.blogspot.com/2008/05/fear-and-negativity-dont-even-think.html">my last post</a> with a story about a dog who chased a group of cyclists, the dog bit the one woman who held negative thoughts about dogs. This story is similar to my story about the fly in the paint booth, the fly and the dog both did exactly what we thought they would.<br /><br />If a cyclist has negative thoughts about other road users, there a plenty of drivers out there who hate cyclists; the two are going to be drawn to each other. Call it Karma, call it Bike-ma if you wish, but it is the way this Universe works.<br /><br />Reverse the polarity; change your thinking from negative to positive and you will no longer draw the bad stuff towards you. You will not eliminate the assholes; you will just not attract them to you. Not only will you be helping yourself, but helping the cause of all cyclists.<br /><br />Cyclists are constantly calling for change. <a target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gandhi">Mahatma Gandhi</a> said, "Before you can change the world, change your own thinking."</br></br></br>Dave Moultonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556183205157714280noreply@blogger.com19