RR: Fixed in Suburbia

On 2004-05-19, Jimbo penned:

Quoted message said:

We decided to ride to the pharmacy... That usually means we will be
riding to the Pharmacy and then somewhere else... but we leave the
"somewhere else" to fate. We took the back route... the plan was to
avoid all the traffic we could.... It turns out that near downtown
Babylon there are some old vestiges of what farm life was like 50
years ago... We found some great roads.. virtually devoid of Gas
guzzling SUVs, but with a small share of the white trash just to make
things fun... The weather was perfect... slight breeze... If the
trails would only dry up!!! We made our way there by way of several
diversions... Now what??? Too nice to turn around and go home... So we
decided to plot a safe route for Carla to commute to work... we took
off and did a little faster pedaling as we were playing beat the dark
(no lights) We were able to find a generally safe route that takes her
to her job... She is going to start commuting Friday... We have dubbed
it Fixie Friday... but I have a feeling it will be a full time thing..
She has a really nice commute... I am totally jealous.. My commute is
going to be a lot less scenic with a lot more suburban warriors to
deal with... Oh well. We arrived home with enough time for me to
wrestle out some dough for a home made pizza and a couple of
Warstiener Dunkles... We fell asleep on the couch shortly after...
Life is surely good

Nice!

I'm really leery of road riding, so a goal of mine has been to convince
Eric to ride my route to work with me some weekend and help me
understand the process. Unfortunately, he got really sick this week and
has been in the hospital, so that plan (along with several others) will
have to be put on hold for a bit. (He'll be fine, but he's not a happy
camper right this moment.)

I don't know a thing about bike lights, except that I should probably
have them if I commute. Is there such a thing as lights that basically
clip on and off, so that you don't need a tool to remove them? I'm a
lazy [censored].

--
monique

Monique Y. Mudama said:

I don't know a thing about bike lights, except that I should probably
have them if I commute. Is there such a thing as lights that
basically clip on and off, so that you don't need a tool to remove
them? I'm a lazy [censored].

Most lights nowadays come with "quick release"-type mounts, although many
people leave the mounts more or less permanently installed and simply
attach/remove the lights as needed. (Especially with the older,
NON-quick-release-type brackets.)

I've yet to do a road ride with lights (self-employed so no commuting), but
sometimes stick a "blinkie" on the little saddle-pack for extra
visi/noticeability.

If I WERE a bike commuter, I'd use a blinkie *all* the time, and probably
wear one of those ugly reflective vests, too.

Bill "screw fashion; survive!" S.

S o r n i said:

I've yet to do a road ride with lights (self-employed so no commuting), but
sometimes stick a "blinkie" on the little saddle-pack for extra
visi/noticeability.

I found a little clip-on one that clips neatly to a strap on the back of
my helmet. I think they're more noticeable the higher up they are. Also,
my wheezing adds an additional up-and-down motion which causes drivers to
become seasick and back off the pedal.

--
-BB-
To reply to me, drop the attitude (from my e-mail address, at least)

"Monique Y. Mudama" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

I don't know a thing about bike lights, except that I should probably
have them if I commute. Is there such a thing as lights that basically
clip on and off, so that you don't need a tool to remove them? I'm a
lazy [censored].

Daytime? Don't need lights. That makes this time of year pretty easy.

I take a "defense in depth" approach to lighting. I have a
battery-powered red LED mounted under my seat, and a yellow one
mounted on my headtube. These I just leave on the bike as a general
rule, although I can pull them off their mounts without tools, and
they fit in my pocket. These are enough for basic visibility on a lit
road if I get caught out later than planned.

For normal use, when I know I'm coming home after dark, I supplement
these with another LED clipped onto the "RokLok" thing on my Giro
helmet and a 10W Niterider Headtrip helmet-mount. The mounting clip on
the helmet is unobtrusive, and I just leave it there all the time. The
light clips on without tools, and I have a pouch on the shoulder strap
of my messenger bag that fits the little NiMH battery perfectly.
Halogen headmounts are pretty cheap these days, around a hundred
bucks, and are very effective in traffic.

Commuting to work comfortably is largely a matter of developing a
routine that works for you. How do you carry cargo? How do you cope
with bad weather? (One option here is don't ride if the weather might
be bad. I've gotten pretty good at making it back and forth in less
than perfectly copacetic circumstances.) Route finding is key, and it
may take quite a while before you figure out all the secret ways to
avoid the worst traffic situations. Even if you know an area like the
back of your hand by car, the unique capabilities of a bike change the
rules, and you might not realize all the options available until
you've been doing the ride for a while. The beautiful thing about
commuting is that you can optimize everything to one repetitive task,
and can therefore be unbelievably comfortable doing it.

Work to live. Live to ride. Ride to work.

CC

" S o r n i" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

If I WERE a bike commuter, I'd use a blinkie *all* the time, and probably
wear one of those ugly reflective vests, too.

Talk about the "Daily Fred". I'm convinced that those geeky vests just
clue drivers in that you're going to be passive in traffic. "Passive"
and "defensive" are two very different things.

But maybe I'm just rationalizing.

CC

Corvus Corvax said:

" S o r n i" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

If I WERE a bike commuter, I'd use a blinkie *all* the time, and
probably wear one of those ugly reflective vests, too.

Talk about the "Daily Fred". I'm convinced that those geeky vests just
clue drivers in that you're going to be passive in traffic. "Passive"
and "defensive" are two very different things.

But maybe I'm just rationalizing.

Yeah, you're probably right. I've been roadie-ing for almost a year now,
and although a bit tentative in traffic at first, now I just take the
freaking lane when necessary and ride pretty confidently. (And my only vest
is the plain black Pearl Izumi I bought in 1996 -- best damned piece of kit
for the money ever!) (I lied: I have a yellow one with fabric collar, too,
but hardly ever use it.)

Still, I imagine daily commuting -- especially in a downtown-type
environment -- would be a whole different kettle of fishsticks.

Bill "and I /do/ use a dorky mirror" S.

[email hidden] (Corvus Corvax) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

" S o r n i" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

If I WERE a bike commuter, I'd use a blinkie *all* the time, and probably
wear one of those ugly reflective vests, too.

Talk about the "Daily Fred". I'm convinced that those geeky vests just
clue drivers in that you're going to be passive in traffic. "Passive"
and "defensive" are two very different things.

But maybe I'm just rationalizing.

CC

There is a time for passive, a time for defensive, and a time for
aggressive. I think the right way to ride is "assertively",
"proactively".
In a world in constant flux, you're acting and reacting to a shifting
set of variables largely on instinct. Once you understand this, like
Lao Tse says, screaming at a cabbie becomes transcendence and simple
joy.
I rode a garbage picked Columbia POS 3sp with squealing brakes from
midtown to the Brooklyn Bridge to Crown Heights yesterday, shirtless
and shoeless, taking lanes and blowing kisses. In life, there is no
greater joy than pissing off idiots. Weee!
Beware smog!
/s