Bicycling.com: BIKETOWN

"Ablang" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I wish I could get one of those bikes to change my life with.

http://bicycling.com/biketown

Seem to me that all of the cities listed are larger cities, that have
problems with traffic congestion and smog / pollution.
Ken

Yeah, I'd take a free bike any day.

But I kind of object to the idea that someone has to GIVE these people
a bike before they're supposedly willing to "change their life". If
they really want to ride a bike, why not go on Ebay, or go to a thrift
store and just buy one? How much are we talking about here? $150 to
get started, maybe? I know you could pick up a decent, used road bike
for that (or less) if you look around a bit.

How motivated can a person be if they say "Oh, I absolutely want to
change my life. But first, you have to give me a $600 bike (or
whatever it costs) and THEN I'll do it. Otherwise I'm just gonna sit
right here on this couch with a beer in one hand, the remote control in
the other, and watch CSI."

Don't get me wrong - I like that they're promoting bicycling. I just
suspect that the people writing in want a handout more than a chance to
change their lives. On top of that, I bet a lot of them are regular
readers of Bicycling magazine and already HAVE a bike somewhere -
buried in the attic, collecting dust.

-Bill H.

Ablang said:

I wish I could get one of those bikes to change my life with.

http://bicycling.com/biketown

Charlotte? Come on... It has a great downtown and great downtown
neighborhoods, but the majority of the population lives out in the sprawly
suburbs. You know, the ones you get to via narrow roads full of harried,
distracted, annoyed commuters. Think Atlanta but not as huge. If you lived
downtown you could have a great lifestyle biking locally, but "real" riding is
sorely lacking. I like Charlotte a lot, but I can think of a dozen cities in
the southeast that are more bike friendly.

Who pays who for this publicity? It sure isn't journalism.

Washington sucks too. One reason they have such huge clubs is that people are
scared to death to ride alone. With a few notable exceptions, there aren't that
many places to ride comfortably or safely WRT the size of the city. Older
neighborhoods are fine, but the rest of the sprawl-hell (worst in the country
IMO) is about as bike-hostile a place as you'll find. The sad thing is, NoVA is
a lot like Orange County, CA in every other way. The difference is the three
extra feet of asphalt CA adds to their roads. VDOT is just gittin' to
unnerstand bah-sickles. And now, faced with gridlock, people are starting to
see urban planning isn't a communist plot after all. Too bad the damage has
already been done.

I do agree with Orange County being great for bike commuters. Because of the
wide roads and extensive network of bike paths, it's easy to get from anywhere
to anywhere else. Some of the paths let you avoid intersections, so you can
ride non-stop for miles. During rush hour, this is faster than driving. In
recent years I've noticed a lot more bike commuters. In some places there's a
steady stream. The weather is certainly amenable year round. The only place
with better weather would be San Diego.

Speaking of which, where's San Diego on this list?

Matt O.

Bill H. said:

Yeah, I'd take a free bike any day.

But I kind of object to the idea that someone has to GIVE these people
a bike before they're supposedly willing to "change their life". If
they really want to ride a bike, why not go on Ebay, or go to a thrift
store and just buy one? How much are we talking about here? $150 to
get started, maybe? I know you could pick up a decent, used road bike
for that (or less) if you look around a bit.

How motivated can a person be if they say "Oh, I absolutely want to
change my life. But first, you have to give me a $600 bike (or
whatever it costs) and THEN I'll do it. Otherwise I'm just gonna sit
right here on this couch with a beer in one hand, the remote control
in the other, and watch CSI."

Don't get me wrong - I like that they're promoting bicycling. I just
suspect that the people writing in want a handout more than a chance
to change their lives. On top of that, I bet a lot of them are
regular readers of Bicycling magazine and already HAVE a bike
somewhere - buried in the attic, collecting dust.

I agree.

I've noticed a syndrome with a lot of people, whereby they think if they could
acquire a certain *thing,* it would change their life. Whether it's a new bike,
a car, a camera, a guitar, a sailboat, a pair of shoes, or whatever, it never
seems to have the desired effect. Unless the wheels are already in motion, so
to speak, the new thing will fall by the wayside.

Of course, Buycycling magazine's whole theme is the "new thing" myth.

Matt O.

"Matt O'Toole" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Bill H. said:

Yeah, I'd take a free bike any day.

But I kind of object to the idea that someone has to GIVE these people
a bike before they're supposedly willing to "change their life". If
they really want to ride a bike, why not go on Ebay, or go to a thrift
store and just buy one? How much are we talking about here? $150 to
get started, maybe? I know you could pick up a decent, used road bike
for that (or less) if you look around a bit.

How motivated can a person be if they say "Oh, I absolutely want to
change my life. But first, you have to give me a $600 bike (or
whatever it costs) and THEN I'll do it. Otherwise I'm just gonna sit
right here on this couch with a beer in one hand, the remote control
in the other, and watch CSI."

Don't get me wrong - I like that they're promoting bicycling. I just
suspect that the people writing in want a handout more than a chance
to change their lives. On top of that, I bet a lot of them are
regular readers of Bicycling magazine and already HAVE a bike
somewhere - buried in the attic, collecting dust.

I agree.

I've noticed a syndrome with a lot of people, whereby they think if they

could

Quoted message said:

acquire a certain *thing,* it would change their life. Whether it's a new

bike,

Quoted message said:

a car, a camera, a guitar, a sailboat, a pair of shoes, or whatever, it

never

Quoted message said:

seems to have the desired effect. Unless the wheels are already in

motion, so

Quoted message said:

to speak, the new thing will fall by the wayside.

Of course, Buycycling magazine's whole theme is the "new thing" myth.

I agree, but the whole "change my life" thing kind of goes along with all
the reality T.V. shows that I see ads for all the time you know "Extreme
Makeover" "The Biggest Loser" etc. But if the people that get these free
bikes really wanted to change their lives they would go to the local place
pawnshop, goodwill, salvation army etc and buy a bike for $50.00 and start
riding and start changing their lives without thinking about winning some
dumb contest.

Ken

Quoted message said:

Matt O.

Bicycling Mag is not all that bad for my family. I am trying to get the
rest of them interested in cycling and they do read it. I wouldn't say
we are affected by the promotional aspect of it. The three of us who
ride all bought or fixed up used bikes and our clothing is more
functinal than fashionable. Besides, if you could design your idea of a
perfect biking magazine, what would yours have in it? Mine would have
more tech articles, but I would still want to know about the new models
coming out, even if I had no plans to buy one.

Matt O'Toole said:

Quoted message said:

I agree.

I've noticed a syndrome with a lot of people, whereby they think if they could
acquire a certain *thing,* it would change their life. Whether it's a new bike,
a car, a camera, a guitar, a sailboat, a pair of shoes, or whatever, it never
seems to have the desired effect. Unless the wheels are already in motion, so
to speak, the new thing will fall by the wayside.

Of course, Buycycling magazine's whole theme is the "new thing" myth.

Matt O.

In article <[email hidden]>,

catzz66 said:

Besides, if you could design your idea of a
perfect biking magazine, what would yours have in it?

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Lots of local interest content, a legal column, a tech
column, recipes, comic strips, classifieds, op/eds &
letters, articles about travel and touring, helpful
hints, tricks & tips ...

Vancouver had such a magazine just a short while back.
I miss it. Local publications are much more interesting
than regional or national ones. I guess it's easier to
tailor content for smaller readerships.

cheers,
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

catzz66 said:

Besides, if you could design your idea of a
perfect biking magazine, what would yours have in it?

"Perfect" means something different to everyone, and the more narrow
you focus your attention on any one thing (tech, new models, reader
responses) the less overall appeal you'll likely have.

That being said, I think regional and/or local zines make a lot of
sense, especially in places where the regional rider demographics are
somewhat the same (e.g. Touring bike riders in the Pacific Northwest,
Mountain bikers in Moab, etc).

My ideal mag would have some local content (local trails, information
on local bike clubs, and supported by ads from local bike shops, etc).
I'd also like to see articles on "fixer-uper bikes" or a kind of "Pimp
My Bike" column, where they take one thrift-store special and
completely overhaul it - new paint job, tires, updated components...the
works. I think that would be kind of cool.

I suppose the magazine could show some new stuff as well, but it
certainly wouldn't be the focus. I think doing features of real riders
(not another Lance Armstrong PR mag) would be nice as well.

-Bill H.

"Bill H." <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

catzz66 said:

Besides, if you could design your idea of a
perfect biking magazine, what would yours have in it?

rec.bicycles.misc has a pretty good selection of articles. You'd just need
to add some pictures.

--
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Claire Petersky
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