Tag: commuting

Terrorists don’t scare city cyclists. We already have to deal with cars.

“If there’s one group of road users virtually immune to being cowed by a lowly act of terrorism involving a motor vehicle, it’s cyclists. We’re reminded every day—through rolled-down car windows, on too-narrow roads, via social media—that we “share” the roads with people who actively hate us and that our interests (including safety) come behind theirs. Every one of us knows what it’s like to stare death in the grille. Daily riders have all had drivers aim their cars at us as if they were about to plow us down, whether because of run-of-the-mill inattention or out-and-out road rage. This reality is priced into our decision to ride.” Eben Weiss alias Bike Snob NYC offers the urban cyclist’s perspective on the latest terrorist threat.
www.washingtonpost.com

Why you hate cyclists

“I’m an asshole cyclist. I’m that jerk weaving in and out of traffic, going the wrong way down a one-way street, and making a left on red. I’m truly a menace on the road.” Jim Saska is owning up to some pretty bad behaviour when on two wheels, but insists that he is not the reason you hate cyclists.
www.slate.com

Bicycle weight and commuting time: randomised trial

“Evidence based cycling is not high on the bicycle salesman’s agenda. No one will tell you how much more efficient one bicycle is over another; they just say it is better.” Steel or carbon? Jeremy Groves buys a new bike in the hope of saving up to five minutes on his daily commute…
www.bmj.com

With thanks to Lutz Meißner

How to ride a bike forever

The following article by Grant Peterson was first published in the 1994 Bridgestone Bicycle Catalogue.

Ride when you like

Don’t ride out of guilt over last night’s meal. Don’t be a slave to your bike, or else you’ll resent it, and feel guilty whenever you think about it or look at it. Soon you’ll be avoiding it altogether. If all your rides are like a swimmer’s workout, you’ll burn out on bikes as fast as swimmers burn out on laps. Ride when you want to ride.

Go slowly

Don’t push yourself too hard, physically or mentally. Don’t ride with racers or obsessive aerobicizers. (If you’re a racer, don’t race with riders, let them be.) Learn to relax on your bike. Of course your bike can be a tremendous tool to build cardiovascular fitness, but why let that get in the way? Unless you race, you can rely on something else, like running, to get fit and lose weight. Running is more efficient for this anyway.

Go short

A ten-minute ride is always worth it, even though it won’t elevate your heart rate to your ‘target training level’ and keep it there for twelve minutes. (Or is it supposed to be eleven? Or fourteen?)

Don’t keep track

If you never use an on-board computer or a heart rate monitor, you can ride with us any time. Avoid ‘logs’. Forget the graphs and the home computer programs. Keep your bicycle free of extraneous wires and LEDs. You don’t need them.

Own more than one bike

This is not a commercial message! Runners have learned that nothing improves a run as much as a new pair of shoes, or shorts, or socks, or something. Bikes, unfortunately, cost a lot more, but the effect is the same. Make your bicycles so different that your experience on one is unlike the other—a mountain bike and a road bike, a multispeed and an single speed, or a clunker, or a recumbent. For some people, even different handlebars are enough of a change, It’s worth a try.

Learn how to fix your bike

Learn to fix a flat. Learn how to install a wheel. Learn how to adjust derailleurs. It’s all easy, and you’ll never feel at ease on a bike if you’re at its mercy. Being able to fix your bike will give you enormous confidence and satisfaction, not to mention self-sufficiency.

Don’t chase technology

You will never catch it, and if you pursue it year after year it will break your wallet in half. Some wonderful things have happened to bicycles in the last fifteen years, but so have a lot of dumb things. You don’t need a fancy machine with the latest equipment to enjoy something that is so joyous and simple. A simple, reliable bike will do.
www.sheldonbrown.com

© Bridgestone Cycle USA
15021 Wicks Boulevard
San Leandro
California 94577

The spectral memorials that haunt our roads

“It would be unfortunate if the proliferation of ghost bikes frightened off nervous waverers, because there is quite a lot of evidence that the more cyclists there are, the safer cycling becomes. But if white bikes grab the attention of motorists, give them pause and remind them to take care, they will mark the past and help safeguard the future.” Geraldine Bedell reports on the phenomenon of the white bike reaching the UK.
www.theguardian.com