Caulfield: I know how to prevent concussions in football: giant rubber helmets with squeakers. Frazz: That provides more protection? Caulfield: That makes it more appealing to go out for cross country.
One thing you forget to mention, Neb, is all the folks here in the Pacific Northwest who park in the bike lanes, even though it’s illegal, and also the fact that the street sweeper move all the gravel and broken glass out of the street and deposit it on the bike lanes! Many’s the time I’ve had to ride in the street because of all the garbage in the bike lane or parked cars. The other problem is that most of the bike lanes go from nowhere to nowhere and it’s rare for them to extend from – say – residential areas to grocery stores or something useful like that. The one near my house starts a half mile from the college and entends to a quarter mile short of downtown, and you have to cross a four lane highway to get there. Could have been planned much better. And if you balance out all the stone bicyclists with all the drunk and cell phone distracted drivers, the drivers come out looking much the worse.
I LOVE this strip! and I have solid rubber tires…lots of stickers around here…don’t worry, guys, with the coming price of gasoline we’ll we’ll see ‘way more Americans riding…it’ll be nice to see Americans who able to stand on their own two legs, yes?
Oh…and the football comment? absolutely right on. When we admire guys who run into one another…yeah, I know…that;’s what we get…sidebar: I pursued the bumping sports for training actively until sixty…I hurt a lot.
As an active cyclist, I can assert that we don’t wear helmets to keep us invincible, we wear them to, hopefully, keep us alive and without brain damage. Though I know one who suffered mild damage and another who was in a coma for several days, but is now ok, and a third who was in hospital for several weeks after a dog ran out into the peloton. All three would probably be dead without their helmets.
Of course, you would not be allowed to ride with us without a helmet, as our club forbids it.
And, as for automobiles, we had two fatalities in the county last year, both the drivers’ faults. We are also routinely “buzzed” by hostile motorists. We even had a car deliberately slam on his brakes to cause an accident during an organized event ride.
I think one of the biggest problems with bikes is that they aren’t treated like they have to follow the rules of the road or even common curtisy. I see them riding on the side walk terroizing moms with stollers, dog walkers, and joggers out for a run/walk. It wasn’t as much of an issue out West but here the traffic signals aren’t even a suggestion as far as the bike riders are concerned, they blow through stop signs (and several red light runners too!), cross 5 lanes in the middle of the block (that happened 3 hours ago…), go the wrong way down 1 way streets, and I’ve seen a grand total of 3 out of over 100 use hand signals. .Now some of it when a guy’s gotten so many DUIs they won’t let him have a license, he hops on a bike and wanders around drunk on it. Just 3 days ago I had a guy WOBBLE down the middle (on the double yellow line) of a VERY narrow 4 lane road, not a block from the interstate in the business district (read very congested) before he randomly tuned right (as in the direction) across two lanes in front of a tow truck. Can you say “death wish”? But enough of it is college students who can’t afford a car or people who thought “hey, I’m gonna try riding to work to save a penny and get in shape” and didn’t bother to even look at good routes and now they’re running late and think “If I stop at this sign I’ll lose my momentum!” if they even think at all.
Where I live, a bicycle is considered a vehicle and as such must obey the laws and rules of the road. Around here, they don’t. They frequently ride on the wrong side of the road; they frequently ride in the travel portion of the roadway when there is room to ride in a bike lane; they try to ride their bikes through intersections, especially major intersections, instead of getting off their bikes and walking them through the intersections, as the law requires. That assumes they even stop at the intersections, including the major ones; more than once I’ve had to avoid a bicyclist running a red light or stop sign because he thinks the laws of the road do not apply to him.
When riding with one or more companions, they frequently fail to fall into single file when an auto overtakes them from behind. This is a particular sore spot for me, as my path to work frequently takes narrow back roads, where two bikers in particular treat the road as if it is theirs and none others’; they dare autos to hit them. Catch them in the wrong place on the road, and you take your life into your hands trying to get around them.
Does that mean that all drivers around here are simon-pure? Of course not. But around here, the bicyclists bring a lot of trouble onto their own heads by ignoring the law, intentionally or otherwise.
Varnes almost 12 years ago
Squeakers? Haven’t a clue. But I really like the idea of big rubber helmets, though….
KenTheCoffinDweller almost 12 years ago
Like the baby’s squeeze toy that squeaks when squeezed. Everytime the helmets hit something they would squeak.
chireef almost 12 years ago
they already have those giant foam hands why not helmets too?
Randy B Premium Member almost 12 years ago
The helmet should look and sound ridiculous.
Dampwaffle almost 12 years ago
One thing you forget to mention, Neb, is all the folks here in the Pacific Northwest who park in the bike lanes, even though it’s illegal, and also the fact that the street sweeper move all the gravel and broken glass out of the street and deposit it on the bike lanes! Many’s the time I’ve had to ride in the street because of all the garbage in the bike lane or parked cars. The other problem is that most of the bike lanes go from nowhere to nowhere and it’s rare for them to extend from – say – residential areas to grocery stores or something useful like that. The one near my house starts a half mile from the college and entends to a quarter mile short of downtown, and you have to cross a four lane highway to get there. Could have been planned much better. And if you balance out all the stone bicyclists with all the drunk and cell phone distracted drivers, the drivers come out looking much the worse.
tigre1 almost 12 years ago
I LOVE this strip! and I have solid rubber tires…lots of stickers around here…don’t worry, guys, with the coming price of gasoline we’ll we’ll see ‘way more Americans riding…it’ll be nice to see Americans who able to stand on their own two legs, yes?
Oh…and the football comment? absolutely right on. When we admire guys who run into one another…yeah, I know…that;’s what we get…sidebar: I pursued the bumping sports for training actively until sixty…I hurt a lot.
Seed_drill almost 12 years ago
Nab,
As an active cyclist, I can assert that we don’t wear helmets to keep us invincible, we wear them to, hopefully, keep us alive and without brain damage. Though I know one who suffered mild damage and another who was in a coma for several days, but is now ok, and a third who was in hospital for several weeks after a dog ran out into the peloton. All three would probably be dead without their helmets.
Of course, you would not be allowed to ride with us without a helmet, as our club forbids it.
And, as for automobiles, we had two fatalities in the county last year, both the drivers’ faults. We are also routinely “buzzed” by hostile motorists. We even had a car deliberately slam on his brakes to cause an accident during an organized event ride.
water_moon almost 12 years ago
I think one of the biggest problems with bikes is that they aren’t treated like they have to follow the rules of the road or even common curtisy. I see them riding on the side walk terroizing moms with stollers, dog walkers, and joggers out for a run/walk. It wasn’t as much of an issue out West but here the traffic signals aren’t even a suggestion as far as the bike riders are concerned, they blow through stop signs (and several red light runners too!), cross 5 lanes in the middle of the block (that happened 3 hours ago…), go the wrong way down 1 way streets, and I’ve seen a grand total of 3 out of over 100 use hand signals. .Now some of it when a guy’s gotten so many DUIs they won’t let him have a license, he hops on a bike and wanders around drunk on it. Just 3 days ago I had a guy WOBBLE down the middle (on the double yellow line) of a VERY narrow 4 lane road, not a block from the interstate in the business district (read very congested) before he randomly tuned right (as in the direction) across two lanes in front of a tow truck. Can you say “death wish”? But enough of it is college students who can’t afford a car or people who thought “hey, I’m gonna try riding to work to save a penny and get in shape” and didn’t bother to even look at good routes and now they’re running late and think “If I stop at this sign I’ll lose my momentum!” if they even think at all.
K M almost 12 years ago
Where I live, a bicycle is considered a vehicle and as such must obey the laws and rules of the road. Around here, they don’t. They frequently ride on the wrong side of the road; they frequently ride in the travel portion of the roadway when there is room to ride in a bike lane; they try to ride their bikes through intersections, especially major intersections, instead of getting off their bikes and walking them through the intersections, as the law requires. That assumes they even stop at the intersections, including the major ones; more than once I’ve had to avoid a bicyclist running a red light or stop sign because he thinks the laws of the road do not apply to him.
When riding with one or more companions, they frequently fail to fall into single file when an auto overtakes them from behind. This is a particular sore spot for me, as my path to work frequently takes narrow back roads, where two bikers in particular treat the road as if it is theirs and none others’; they dare autos to hit them. Catch them in the wrong place on the road, and you take your life into your hands trying to get around them.
Does that mean that all drivers around here are simon-pure? Of course not. But around here, the bicyclists bring a lot of trouble onto their own heads by ignoring the law, intentionally or otherwise.
prrdh almost 12 years ago
Wrap their heads in whoopee cushions.