I've been thinking a lot about this as I ride the bike path, and watch other riders, runners, skaters, dog walkers, etc. on the path at night and on the weekends. I've come to the conclusion that SPEED, while highly desireable, is not the same as GOOD.
My Personal GOOD BIKER MANIFESTO:
1. Have agility on the bike. They can use their weight to make small moves, can ride in a very straight line, etc. When small children ride, their bike follows their eyes as they look around. By the time you have your first "real" bike, you should be past this stage.
2. Have awareness. They know where other riders are, they are looking at the road ahead to identify obstacles before they have to SLAM on their brakes, they anticipate the actions of others on the road/ bike path.
3. Good riders can FIX their own bikes. That means that they have a patch kit, spare tubes, etc. IF people can fix their own bike, they're more likely to pay attention to it, check it out before and after a ride, etc. And, since this might be time-consuming, they have a LIGHT in case it gets dark while they're fixing two flats in 1 ride.
4. It would be nice if everyone "out there" had basic manners and courtesy. It's not always easy. There's a lot of hostility on the path and it's hard not to let it escalate.
I was riding behind a runner on Saturday. He was running in the MIDDLE of the path - not anywhere near the right SIDE. So, since I was riding in a straight line, i started to overtake him on the right. Just as I did, he starts to veer on to the right. So, who's at fault ? Yes, he was right that I should have "Passed on the left". But what about the rule that "slow traffic on the right" ? Should I have had to move fro the far right into the left lane just to pass him, because he's in the middle ?
It's not easy out there, even if you start out with the best intentions.
This bike started out as a Schwinn Essence.... sometime in the mid- to late-1980's, Schwinn made the "Essence" as a women-specific mountain bike. It was never very comfortable, and I never did any serious mountain-biking - just off-road and trails. So, I converted it sometime around 2003-2004. I didn't ride it much, but after the bike room was flooded slightly last weekend, and I had to clean off a lot of stuff, I decided to clean it up and ride it around to the store, post office, etc. I might use it for commuting, but I'm not sure about the wear-and-tear on my laptop
2. replaced the straight mountain handlebars with the "albatross" model from Rivendell Bike Works. Added cork hand grips - no more gloves !
3. replaced the seat with a leather Brooks saddle.
Original pink paint, with some updates.
This is a picture of the trench that I'm slowly digging in an effort to rid the back yard of excess rainwater. A rain garden is in the works, but it won't be enough. The trench is running down the middle of a berm, which we had to put in as part of the garage effort. It has never worked, so I'm going to level out the berm, put the trench in and channel the water out to the street. Like all of our neighbors.
We have clay soil, so rainwater doesn't sink into the soil.... it just runs off. So, during the summer we have flash floods..... I took this picture last week during a storm that lasted about 1/2 hour.
Entered the ZIPCAR Low Car Diet competition. Get away from your car - bikes, transit passes, etc.
