Interesting little story about biking in Berkeley



On Mon, 14 Mar 2005 06:48:38 -0500, "Ken Marcet" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>Dosen't really have any "useful" info, but I did chuckle a couple of times.
>http://www.dailycal.org/article.php?id=17977
>Particularly when it came to the "what can brown do for you joke".

I thought there would be a good "what can brown do for you joke" - as
it is there is merely a commentary on the writer's perception of how
UPS is causing him issues. For good "what can brown do for you joke"s
see the opening to a Mad TV segment from a few months ago where they
tackled that tag line - hilarious.

Reminds me back some decades ago, on my first day on the Berkely
campus. I stopped in at the office of the group I would be working
with and parked my bike out front and locked it to the rack. Less
than 10 minutes later I returned to find my bike sans saddle and
seatpost, but a note in their place directing me to call Campus
police. Seems as soon as I entered the building some guy came and
took the saddle, the event was witnessed by someone looking out a
window on the 3rd floor who called campus police. Luck would have it
that a police car was right there, they responded and caught the perp
with saddle in hand. I had to wait a few hours for the PD to release
the saddle/post from evidentiary custody after the guy confessed to
the crime. Then I had to locate a bike shop to find a replacement
seatpost binder bolt since the perp had dropped it in some unknown
location. Too bad more folks are not looking out their windows on
campus ;-)

- rick
 
"Ken Marcet" wrote ...
> Dosen't really have any "useful" info, but I did chuckle a couple of
times.
> http://www.dailycal.org/article.php?id=17977
> Particularly when it came to the "what can brown do for you joke".
>
> Ken
Until the early '80s, UC Berkeley had a guarded bicycle parking area at
Moffitt Library. You locked your bike inside and got a claim check from the
attendant, which you had to show to get your bike back. Kept a few students
employed, and nobody ever got their bike stolen from that parking area. This
feature was gone by 1982 or 83, which is a shame.

Running a stop sign has gotten a lot more expensive since I was in Berkeley
:^).
--
mark
 
mark wrote:

> Until the early '80s, UC Berkeley had a guarded bicycle parking area
> at Moffitt Library. You locked your bike inside and got a claim check
> from the attendant, which you had to show to get your bike back. Kept
> a few students employed, and nobody ever got their bike stolen from
> that parking area. This feature was gone by 1982 or 83, which is a
> shame.

I'd like to see more "Bikestation" type units in such areas:

www.bikestation.com

Matt O.
 
On Mon, 14 Mar 2005 06:48:38 -0500, "Ken Marcet" <[email protected]> wrote:

>Dosen't really have any "useful" info, but I did chuckle a couple of times.
>http://www.dailycal.org/article.php?id=17977
>Particularly when it came to the "what can brown do for you joke".

Gee, isn't Berkeley supposed to be a veritable Mecca of liberal wisdom, all
alternative energy, alternative lifestyle and alternative mode of transportation
friendly? Lunatic Volvo drivers? Really. Could it be that people who know
they're unsafe behind the wheel favor cars with a reputation for safety, or does
the "safety" of that car give them license?

Either way there is a difference between theory and practice and among the
liberals it is a great one.

Ron
 
"RonSonic" <[email protected]> wrote

[snip]

Volvo drivers? Really. Could it be that people who know
> they're unsafe behind the wheel favor cars with a reputation for
safety, or does
> the "safety" of that car give them license?
>

That's certainly the reputation of Volvo drivers among cyclists here
in London UK

Jeremy Parker
 
On Sat, 19 Mar 2005 17:51:21 -0000, "Jeremy Parker"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
>"RonSonic" <[email protected]> wrote
>
>[snip]
>
>Volvo drivers? Really. Could it be that people who know
>> they're unsafe behind the wheel favor cars with a reputation for
>safety, or does
>> the "safety" of that car give them license?
>>
>
>That's certainly the reputation of Volvo drivers among cyclists here
>in London UK

They've been like that here forever.

Hey, are you guys plagued by the cell phone drivers as badly as we are? Absolute
nightmare attention all over and hands flapping as they talk. The hands-free
headset hasn't really helped.

Ron
 
>Either way there is a difference between theory and practice and among the
>liberals it is a great one.

Among many so-called "conservatives", also.


Chris Neary
[email protected]

"Prize the doubt, low kinds exist without"
- Inscription at Ramsmeyer Hall, Ohio State University
 
RonSonic wrote:

> Gee, isn't Berkeley supposed to be a veritable Mecca of liberal
wisdom, all
> alternative energy, alternative lifestyle and alternative mode of
> transportation friendly? Lunatic Volvo drivers? Really. Could it be
that people > who know they're unsafe behind the wheel favor cars with
a reputation for
> safety, or does the "safety" of that car give them license?

Yeah, but don't forget that the Bay Area is also home to a large
Asian-American population and as everyone knows, there's nothing more
dangerous than a four foot tall Korean woman driving an SUV.

> Either way there is a difference between theory and practice and
among the
> liberals it is a great one.

Sounds like the writer is also a little unfamiliar with what to do at a
stop sign, so I think he's hardly one to criticize other vehicles.

-Bill H.
 
On 19 Mar 2005 22:33:04 -0800, "Bill H." <[email protected]> wrote:

>RonSonic wrote:
>
>> Gee, isn't Berkeley supposed to be a veritable Mecca of liberal
>wisdom, all
>> alternative energy, alternative lifestyle and alternative mode of
>> transportation friendly? Lunatic Volvo drivers? Really. Could it be
>that people > who know they're unsafe behind the wheel favor cars with
>a reputation for
>> safety, or does the "safety" of that car give them license?
>
>Yeah, but don't forget that the Bay Area is also home to a large
>Asian-American population and as everyone knows, there's nothing more
>dangerous than a four foot tall Korean woman driving an SUV.
>
>> Either way there is a difference between theory and practice and
>among the
>> liberals it is a great one.
>
>Sounds like the writer is also a little unfamiliar with what to do at a
>stop sign, so I think he's hardly one to criticize other vehicles.

There is that. My rule is that if I don't see the cop I deserve the ticket.
Otherwise, do any of us stop for all of them?

Ron
 
In article <[email protected]>,
RonSonic <[email protected]> writes:

>>Sounds like the writer is also a little unfamiliar with what to do at a
>>stop sign, so I think he's hardly one to criticize other vehicles.
>
> There is that. My rule is that if I don't see the cop I deserve the ticket.
> Otherwise, do any of us stop for all of them?

A couple of years ago while riding around, I came up to a
low-traffic 4-way stop intersection, simultaneously with
a bike patrol cop (a 'real' VPD constable, not a rent-a-cop)
coming the other way on the same street. So I studiously did
everything right -- signalled, put my foot down, came to a
full stop. He just rolled it and kept going, like any other
typical rider.


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
 
I used to live and ride in Berkeley.

Berkeley is a special place in the universe. Both extremes of human
intelligence find their places in close proximity there. On one hand,
you have students who are bright enough to get into UCB, but somewhat
deficient in walking-around sense. A pair of these, who wandered into
the street like cows in Delhi, got me a ticket for "failure to yield
to a pedestrian". As I explained to the "officer" as he was writing
the ticket, had I ACTUALLY failed to yield to the pedestrians, the
pedestrians would have been UNDER my car. My one consolation was that
they jumped about 10 feet into the air when I slammed on the brakes
and leaned on the horn.

Meanwhile, people are dealing drugs on the street on Telegraph ave., a
block away. Thank god for the berkeley PD!

At the other extreme are the "maniac" volvo drivers who cruise down
the street at 5 mph- I guess they drive volvos and go slow because
they are concerned about getting into wrecks. They brake for no
apparent reason, and seem to be telepathically linked to pedestrians a
half block away- they will stop before the pedestrian even realizes he
wants to cross the street.

I shopped for a house there once. THAT was an eye opening experience.
It seems the students at UCB, make up a sizeable political force.
They want low rents, so they voted for rent control. The result is
"mixed" neighborhoods where weeds grow 6 feet high in some yards
(rented by students) and very nicely trimmed lawns in others. Real
estate prices are typical Cal-idiculous. Hah!
 
On Sun, 20 Mar 2005 16:43:31 -0800, [email protected] (Tom Keats) wrote:

>In article <[email protected]>,
> RonSonic <[email protected]> writes:
>
>>>Sounds like the writer is also a little unfamiliar with what to do at a
>>>stop sign, so I think he's hardly one to criticize other vehicles.
>>
>> There is that. My rule is that if I don't see the cop I deserve the ticket.
>> Otherwise, do any of us stop for all of them?
>
>A couple of years ago while riding around, I came up to a
>low-traffic 4-way stop intersection, simultaneously with
>a bike patrol cop (a 'real' VPD constable, not a rent-a-cop)
>coming the other way on the same street. So I studiously did
>everything right -- signalled, put my foot down, came to a
>full stop. He just rolled it and kept going, like any other
>typical rider.

I'm not surprised. If it's a stop I have to make, I'll practice a short track
stand, if longer and it's feasible I'll ride a circle or figure 8 to kill time
without having to dab.

Ron
 
In article <[email protected]>,
RonSonic <[email protected]> writes:
> On Sun, 20 Mar 2005 16:43:31 -0800, [email protected] (Tom Keats) wrote:

>>A couple of years ago while riding around, I came up to a
>>low-traffic 4-way stop intersection, simultaneously with
>>a bike patrol cop (a 'real' VPD constable, not a rent-a-cop)
>>coming the other way on the same street. So I studiously did
>>everything right -- signalled, put my foot down, came to a
>>full stop. He just rolled it and kept going, like any other
>>typical rider.
>
> I'm not surprised. If it's a stop I have to make, I'll practice a short track
> stand, if longer and it's feasible I'll ride a circle or figure 8 to kill time
> without having to dab.

Well, that experience pretty well reaffirmed my sense that
cyclists are /usually/ under the cops' radar. Although
around here they have been known to do one-month, so-called
'saftey blitzes' -- targeting unhelmeted riders (MHL here),
etc. Pedestrian Safety Month is a good one; it would more
aptly be called 'Blame the Peds for Getting Hit Month'.


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
 
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