Less Dorky Mirror

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

Quoted message said:

maxo said:

Bill said:

This sounds like a good case for riding on the wrong side of the road.

There is never a reason for riding against traffic. You're only

confusing

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

the motorist, egregiously breaking the law, and adding to the potential
impact speed vs. subtracting from it.

Survival is a real good reason.

Quoted message said:

Please refrain from riding until you can wrap your head around this.
Seriously--no offense meant at all.

If you rode around Beale AFB in northern California you would see what I
mean. The roads are seriously bicycle unfriendly. Between big trucks,
rednecks, and fly boys there are a lot of drivers who could care less
about giving bicycles part of their road.
Bill Baka

Quoted message said:

😄

Bill,

There's no sound logic to your argument whatsoever. Large log trucks and
rednecks will overtake you much more rapidly and with much less reaction
time when you're on the wrong side of the road.

I live in a county where the #1 economic activity is logging. The #2
activity is watching NASCAR. The roads are the worst I've seen anywhere and
I've lived pretty much all over the country. It seems I have everything to
deal with that you do. I would NEVER ride on the wrong side of the road.

Bob C.

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

Quoted message said:

Michael said:

Which is less dorky: a mirror on the helmet or a mirror
on the handlebars?

All mirrors are dorky! ;-)

Agreed...but, better a live dork, than a dead duck!

GG

Quoted message said:

jeverett3<AT>earthlink<DOT>net http://home.earthlink.net/~jeverett3

maxo said:

Bill said:

It has kept me alive and unhit since I started doing it

Are you sure it wasn't wearing the same underwear everyday or some other
superstitous falsehood?

Look, I got yelled at by an older fellow on a bike a couple weeks ago, and
by the looks of his gear I assumed he's been in the saddle a number of
years--I turned into the alley to get to my garage [in a car of course]
and he was riding on the wrong side of the road and had just turned onto
the street we were sharing. He wiped out pretty hard from his brakes
seizing, but no major damage was done. There was no way I could have seen
him because of his behaviour and an inch more and I would have perhaps
killed the guy. He layed into me with this anti-motorist rant, not knowing
that I cycle many more miles than I drive per year--I responded that this
ain't Britain and if he continues to break the law in such fashion I won't
have any sympathy if I kill him next time. Such is the law of Darwin.

So much for making friends with the dogs...er wrong thread.

Bet he'd like you if he knew you though. ;-)

-B

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

This sounds like a good case for riding on the wrong side of the road.

This is why it is called THE WRONG SIDE of the road.

It's W-R-O-N-G. and you know it.

Pat in TX

Quoted message said:

Look, I got yelled at by an older fellow on a bike a couple weeks ago, and
by the looks of his gear I assumed he's been in the saddle a number of
years--I turned into the alley to get to my garage [in a car of course]
and he was riding on the wrong side of the road and had just turned onto
the street we were sharing. He wiped out pretty hard from his brakes
seizing, but no major damage was done. There was no way I could have seen
him because of his behaviour and an inch more and I would have perhaps
killed the guy. He layed into me with this anti-motorist rant, not knowing
that I cycle many more miles than I drive per year--I responded that this
ain't Britain and if he continues to break the law in such fashion I won't
have any sympathy if I kill him next time. Such is the law of Darwin.

I wish I could have seen that! I always want to yell at these idiots but
never have the chance.

Pat in TX

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

Quoted message said:

Which is less dorky: a mirror on the helmet or a mirror
on the handlebars?

I've resisted mirrors all my life, but I must ride a two lane
road with a 55 mile an hour speed limit with absolutely no
paved shoulder. I hug the white line right now, looking back
sometimes but with the chance of going into the road or into
the gravel.

Thanks,

Mike

I tried a Bell handlebar mirror on my straight bar hybrid and it was a real
POS. Vibrated like crazy and was hard to keep in adjustment. Now that I
have a real road bike I use a Third Eye mirror that clips onto my glasses
and wouldn't go out without it...most of my normal ride is quiet country
road, but there's a section of 2-lane 55MPH busy road that I just can't keep
swiveling my neck around on...that and the fact of an old high school high
jump injury (30 years ago) cut down my neck mobility. The Third Eye isn't
real obtrusive on the road, but I wouldn't be trying to pick up chicks in a
bar with it clipped on. :-)

psycholist said:

Bill,

There's no sound logic to your argument whatsoever. Large log trucks and
rednecks will overtake you much more rapidly and with much less reaction
time when you're on the wrong side of the road.

I live in a county where the #1 economic activity is logging. The #2
activity is watching NASCAR. The roads are the worst I've seen anywhere
and
I've lived pretty much all over the country. It seems I have everything
to
deal with that you do. I would NEVER ride on the wrong side of the road.

Bob C.

Bob,
Opinionated group we have here. I just rode 2 miles on the left for a very
good reason, I was riding into the sun so cars coming from behind would
not be able to see me in the glare. Left side they could see me fine, so
no problem. Did I mention that I only do this on country roads that
average about 2 cars per minute? In town there is always somewhere safe to
ride on the proper side. As for the rest of the group, all I am saying is
that the law is not always the best thing to obey under ALL circumstances
when it comes to riding a bike. I do what is needed for 'situational
awareness', including listening to the cars in my vicinity and not a
radio, whoops, that was another post, but relevant to my style of riding.
I am just in favor of rider safety, not motorist pacification.
Bill Baka

--
Using M2, Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/m2/

"Bill" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

If you rode around Beale AFB in northern California you would see what I
mean. The roads are seriously bicycle unfriendly. Between big trucks,
rednecks, and fly boys there are a lot of drivers who could care less
about giving bicycles part of their road.
Bill Baka

Read long enough in here, and you'll find that same statement voiced about
any city you can name.

Cicninnati, Virginia Beach, Boston, Phoenix, and now "around Beale AFB".

Don't let them "give" you your part of the road...take what you need (and no
more)

Pete

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

Quoted message said:

psycholist said:

Bill,

There's no sound logic to your argument whatsoever. Large log trucks

and

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

rednecks will overtake you much more rapidly and with much less reaction
time when you're on the wrong side of the road.

I live in a county where the #1 economic activity is logging. The #2
activity is watching NASCAR. The roads are the worst I've seen anywhere
and
I've lived pretty much all over the country. It seems I have everything
to
deal with that you do. I would NEVER ride on the wrong side of the

road.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Bob C.

Bob,
Opinionated group we have here. I just rode 2 miles on the left for a very
good reason, I was riding into the sun so cars coming from behind would
not be able to see me in the glare. Left side they could see me fine, so
no problem. Did I mention that I only do this on country roads that
average about 2 cars per minute? In town there is always somewhere safe to
ride on the proper side. As for the rest of the group, all I am saying is
that the law is not always the best thing to obey under ALL circumstances
when it comes to riding a bike. I do what is needed for 'situational
awareness', including listening to the cars in my vicinity and not a
radio, whoops, that was another post, but relevant to my style of riding.
I am just in favor of rider safety, not motorist pacification.
Bill Baka

Bill,

Reading your post reminded me of all the times I've gone ahead and zipped
through a stop sign or done something similar with the rationale being that,
"hey, those cars won't know what to do with me at a 4-way stop" or some such
thing. And it's really true, unfortunately. The mere presence of a bike
can fluster some motorists completely. Even though I ride 10,000 miles or
more a year, when I'm in the car and I encounter a cyclist, I can appreciate
the motorists' dilemma in many cases.

All that is to say, though I've never ridden on the other side of the road,
I have exercised "situational awareness" plenty of times and blown through a
stop sign just to get away from an encounter with cars. So I guess I do
know where you're coming from.

I've been caught riding into a rising or setting sun a time or two and never
considered using the other side of the road. As I can do a 50 mile ride
where I live and maybe see 5 cars, that might be a trick worth trying in a
pinch.

Peace.

Bob C.

Tom Keats said:

You say it's a 2-lane. I assume the lanes are narrow.
Those are the most uncomfortable roads to ride on, when
the traffic is thick. If there are plentious opportunities
for traffic behind you to pass you, I'd say take the lane.
If there isn't, and there's nowhere to ditch, I'd say find an
alternate route. If there's no alternate route, I don't know
what to say.

Try to wobble. An ordinary bicyclist is nearly invisible (see other
thread), but a wobbling bicyclist might suddenly wobble out in front of
you and scratch your paint.

--
Cheers,
Bev
********************************************************************
Organized people will never know the sheer joyous ecstasy of finding
something that was believed to have been irretrievably lost.
-- D. Stern

Michael said:

About the dork factor: You don't see the guys on the Tour de France
using mirrors. I'm just saying...

Ah, those Tour de France guys are just a bunch of dorks. You don't
believe it? Just wander into the local NASCAR bar and ask the guys there.

But about the mirrors: I make my own eyeglass mirrors. My technique
for _slightly_ reducing dorkiness is to make them as small as feasible -
roughly 1/2" x 1" mirror surface - and to have them sort of a light grey
color so they're a tad less visible.

Another possible technique is to go for maximum dorkiness. Maybe hang
streamers on it? Fashion's pretty incomprehensible anyway. You might
find yourself a fashion leader.

--
--------------------+
Frank Krygowski [To reply, remove rodent and vegetable dot com,
replace with cc.ysu dot edu]

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

Quoted message said:

Michael said:

About the dork factor: You don't see the guys on the Tour de France
using mirrors. I'm just saying...

they don't ride in traffic so it doesn't apply 😉

I've seen plenty of clubbers around here using mirrors for safety in the
paceline--most of them using a small convex rectangular bar-end in the
drops. I don't know what brand or I'd steer you toward it.

snip

Quoted message said:

😄

Third Eye makes a bar end mirror that I've used on several different bikes
with drop bars that works very well. No vibration problems and clear view
to the rear. Does not extend beyond the bike. Allows you to keep track of
what's coming and "manage" the safe use of your space.
<http://www.excelsports.com/new.asp?page=8&description=Bar+End+Mirror&vendor
Code=Thirdeye&major=3&minor=4>
Bill (not the wrong side of the road idiot)

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

Quoted message said:

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

Quoted message said:

Michael said:

About the dork factor: You don't see the guys on the Tour de France
using mirrors. I'm just saying...

they don't ride in traffic so it doesn't apply 😉

I've seen plenty of clubbers around here using mirrors for safety in the
paceline--most of them using a small convex rectangular bar-end in the
drops. I don't know what brand or I'd steer you toward it.

snip

Quoted message said:

😄

Third Eye makes a bar end mirror that I've used on several different bikes
with drop bars that works very well. No vibration problems and clear view
to the rear. Does not extend beyond the bike. Allows you to keep track of
what's coming and "manage" the safe use of your space.

<http://www.excelsports.com/new.asp?page=8&description=Bar+End+Mirror&vendor

Quoted message said:

Code=Thirdeye&major=3&minor=4>
Bill (not the wrong side of the road idiot)

This works better http://tinyurl.com/3yf9b

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

Quoted message said:

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

Quoted message said:

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

Quoted message said:

On Mon, 21 Jun 2004 15:06:55 +0000, Michael wrote:

> About the dork factor: You don't see the guys on the Tour de France
> using mirrors. I'm just saying...

they don't ride in traffic so it doesn't apply 😉

I've seen plenty of clubbers around here using mirrors for safety in

the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

paceline--most of them using a small convex rectangular bar-end in the
drops. I don't know what brand or I'd steer you toward it.

snip

Quoted message said:

😄

Third Eye makes a bar end mirror that I've used on several different

bikes

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

with drop bars that works very well. No vibration problems and clear

view

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

to the rear. Does not extend beyond the bike. Allows you to keep track

of

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

what's coming and "manage" the safe use of your space.

<http://www.excelsports.com/new.asp?page=8&description=Bar+End+Mirror&vendor

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Code=Thirdeye&major=3&minor=4>
Bill (not the wrong side of the road idiot)

This works better http://tinyurl.com/3yf9b

That's the one I wrote about and said it was by Rhode Gear. Oops. This is
a very good mirror!

Bob C.

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

Quoted message said:

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

Quoted message said:

Michael said:

Which is less dorky: a mirror on the helmet or a mirror
on the handlebars?

It's all about how you pull it off--only you can make it "dorky".

Y

Snip

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Take concept, apply to helmet mirror.

Thanks, everyone, for the information. The riding tips are especially
helpful.

About the dork factor: You don't see the guys on the Tour de France
using mirrors. I'm just saying...

Quoted message said:

Best,
Mike

And you don't seem them with lights or a spare inner tube or even a
reflector. They are elite professional atheletes. It's a bit like
you don't see an Olmypic runner carrying a water bottle and a rain
coat the way a jogger in the neighbourhood may. Or NASCAR drivers
probably don't have a coffee holder in the car.

BTW I like helmet mirrors or even better if you can find it, a
California company makes a small mirror that affixes to the lens of
your sunglasses. Very convenient and, I suppose, no dork factor at
all.

J Kane
Perth Ontario

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

Quoted message said:

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

Quoted message said:

Michael said:

Which is less dorky: a mirror on the helmet or a mirror
on the handlebars?

It's all about how you pull it off--only you can make it "dorky".

Y

Snip

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Take concept, apply to helmet mirror.

Thanks, everyone, for the information. The riding tips are especially
helpful.

About the dork factor: You don't see the guys on the Tour de France
using mirrors. I'm just saying...

Quoted message said:

Best,
Mike

And you don't seem them with lights or a spare inner tube or even a
reflector. They are elite professional atheletes. It's a bit like
you don't see an Olmypic runner carrying a water bottle and a rain
coat the way a jogger in the neighbourhood may. Or NASCAR drivers
probably don't have a coffee holder in the car.

BTW I like helmet mirrors or even better if you can find it, a
California company makes a small mirror that affixes to the lens of
your sunglasses. Very convenient and, I suppose, no dork factor at
all.

J Kane
Perth Ontario

In article <[email hidden]>,

The Real Bev said:

Try to wobble. An ordinary bicyclist is nearly invisible (see other
thread), but a wobbling bicyclist might suddenly wobble out in front of
you and scratch your paint.

LOL

I guess that's one way to effectively widen one's bike.

I do find it interesting though, that while so many riders are
quick to suggest taking the lane and occupying space, so many
are also loathe to widen their bikes with wider handlebars, let
alone adding a handlebar mirror to 'em, and occupying space.
And yet, some go for those dookie li'l orange pennants on bendy
sticks protruding horizontally leftward from the rear rack.

Another option to 'the wobble', is to lower your saddle as far is
it will go, wear those old fashioned, grey, grotty sweats, and
stick your knees out at 45 degree angles (which adds further width
to bike & rider.) Actually, I've seen many riders like that, goin'
ta beat hell. Maybe they're onto something. Fabrizio doesn't like
'em, 'cuz they do so well.

cheers,
Tom

--
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Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

JRKRideau said:

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

Quoted message said:

About the dork factor: You don't see the guys on the Tour de France
using mirrors. I'm just saying...

And you don't seem them with lights or a spare inner tube or even a
reflector. They are elite professional atheletes. It's a bit like
you don't see an Olmypic runner carrying a water bottle and a rain
coat the way a jogger in the neighbourhood may. Or NASCAR drivers
probably don't have a coffee holder in the car.

Are you sure?

I mean, all they're doing is driving a car. How hard could it be?
Heck, I wouldn't be that surprised to see them sipping coffee with one
hand while talking on a cell phone. ;-)

--
--------------------+
Frank Krygowski [To reply, remove rodent and vegetable dot com,
replace with cc.ysu dot edu]

They also make mirrors that mount on sunglasses, as well as ones that
replace the bar-end plugs in your drops.

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

Quoted message said:

Which is less dorky: a mirror on the helmet or a mirror
on the handlebars?

I've resisted mirrors all my life, but I must ride a two lane
road with a 55 mile an hour speed limit with absolutely no
paved shoulder. I hug the white line right now, looking back
sometimes but with the chance of going into the road or into
the gravel.

Thanks,

Mike

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

Quoted message said:

Bill said:

Quoted message said:

There is never a reason for riding against traffic. You're only

confusing

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

the motorist, egregiously breaking the law, and adding to the potential
impact speed vs. subtracting from it.

Survival is a real good reason.

Sorry man, THERE IS NEVER A REASON TO RIDE AGAINST TRAFFIC.

Survival is not a reason, doing it increases your odds of getting
smooshed. If you feel that you must ride against traffic to be safe, then
you're being illogical and should walk, rather than both break the law and
risk harm to yourself and others.

That is one of the stupidest replies I've ever seen. Are you serious that
you advocate someone placing themselves in a life-threatening situation just
to avoid breaking the law?