Bikers - use the BIKE path!

A few things - my side mirror is about helmet high, and according to Harry Hogge, "Rubbin's racin."

Beemn, bikes are worse for the environment than SUVs, cars and trucks.

Excuse me? And how is this?

Excuse me? And how is this?

The short of it is that it takes far more land to grow food to fuel the cyclist than it does oil to fuel the vehicle, esp. since oil is drilled rather than grown. Also, the CO2 given off by the cyclist (in the form of heavy breathing) is more per mile than the CO2 from vehicles.

:confused:
The problem here would be that the fuel we use in our cars is not a renewable resource, whereas food crops can grow back and keep contributing to the well-being of society.
As for cyclists giving off more CO2, I'd like to see the proof behind that. Even if it's true, there are far more cars out there than bikes, so this doesn't strike me as a very valid argument.

Oil is a renewable resource, it just takes longer to renew. Also, no one has proven that it is running out anytime soon...

There are more cars than bikes because more people know that cars are far more efficient than bikes for transportation. This part of the discussion should be on the other board.

Personally, I don't see road bikes on 30A as the problem around here. The people who don't regularly ride bicylces, but get on them for easy transport to the beach, on their once a year trip to SoWal, are a huge problem. Driving through WaterColor, I've often seen kids under 10 yrs of age, riding down both lanes of the road, all going in the same direction. Their helmets are usually loosely fitted, hanging on the side of their head. The "adults" are just as bad, though there are always exceptions to the rule.

I think that even for a regular cyclists, visiting the area, the rules are confusing. I've never lived in another town where riding bikes on the sidewalk was legal, and often you will see signs posted alerting people, "no bikes allowed on sidewalk." That rule is for the safety of the public. Here in SoWal, the mulit-purpose path (technically, it is not a bike path) crosses 30A in several places, and the cyclist by law, is to dismount the bicycle and cross. When traveling through Seaside, on 30A, the bike path disappears into a sidewalk. That is a huge problem in my opinion, and I don't know why Seaside has been allowed to not extend the multi-purpose path. For those regular riders from other areas, it can be very confusing.

Again, I don't think that the road cyclists are the problem, but there are plenty of problems that I have with the majority of people on bicycles around here -- the biggest problem is that they don't know, and don't follow the rules. Rather than wanting to run them over, I just breathe deeply and remember that I am at the beach, and making it to an appointment on time, might mean leaving a little bit earlier, rather than running over a person.

I encourage everyone to breathe deeply and focus on driving while you are on 30A. Let's remember some basics, no matter if we are in our car or on our bikes, like stopping for people waiting to cross the busy 30A. Let's give people the benefit of the doubt, and realize that they are trying to be on vacation and trying to keep up with little johnny and little suzie who have just darted across the street on their tiny bicyles, against their parents' wishes. The taking of one's life is serious, and no appointment is worth that time which you might spend in jail. About two years ago, a customer of mine, while driving his truck on 30A, killed a man on a bicycle, who darted out in front of his truck, and let's just say that his life is forever changed.

Slow down, breathe deeply when getting stressed, and remember that the life you save might be someone you know or love.

While we are on the subject, can someone please explain to me why riders wear the tight logo spandex shirts when they are clearly NOT on some sort of bike team? I love seeing these- especially on people that look like they went out and bought all the "right" clothes for an occasional bike ride.:floor:

Tight's pretty much necessary once you get past a certain speed because the wind will turn a looser fitting shirt into a parachute behind you. Bright colors are good because it makes you more visible to other cyclists and drivers. Logos because it's fun to have Ben & Jerry's or the Cookie Monster on your back

Though you actually do lose style points for wearing the pro kit unless you've got some sort of legit connection to the team, and only a total poseur would wear a plain yellow jersey with the exception of Lance when he used to come down to visit with Sheryl

Thanks for posting this. When I first took up the sport I thought the shirt and shorts were stupid and the people wearing them were wannabys blah blah blah. I resisted wearing all that stuff until I realized they serve a purpose. The shirts as mentioned above are bright for a reason. So you can be seen and guess what all you enviro types ..... they have pockets so responsible bikers can stuff their trash instead of tossing it on the side of the road. The shorts..... well all I can say is trying riding a bike for 20, 30, 50, 100 miles without them. Good luck having feeling in your junk again :lol:

While we are on the subject, can someone please explain to me why riders wear the tight logo spandex shirts when they are clearly NOT on some sort of bike team? I love seeing these- especially on people that look like they went out and bought all the "right" clothes for an occasional bike ride.:floor:

The short of it is that it takes far more land to grow food to fuel the cyclist than it does oil to fuel the vehicle, esp. since oil is drilled rather than grown. Also, the CO2 given off by the cyclist (in the form of heavy breathing) is more per mile than the CO2 from vehicles.

Yeah but what's with the advertising and logos. What is wrong with a plain shirt? Well, maybe beer logos are OK.:roll:

What's with people wearing their favorite team jersey at a football or basketball game??? What about the NASCAR fans wearing their favorite driver's numbers and sponser shirts??? At least bikers are acutally participating in the sport they are passionate about. Not just sitting on the bench or lazyboy fantacising about participating.

Easy answer -- people follow the dumb masses. People want to be cool, like all the other cool people. It all starts when advertisers pay cyclists big money to place their logo on the cyclists's outfit. The advertisers do this because they know that the cyclist look cool, get a lot of tv time in big races, and the bottom line is that they sell product! The avg cyclists, wanting to be like the pros, goes out and spends $85 for a jersey, and basically pays to advertise for the companies with the logos on the jerseys. :funn: -- Silly kids! There was a time in my life when I duck taped over all of the brand names on my bike and parts. If a company wanted to pay me to advertise, that is fine, but I'm not paying extra just to advertise for them. Show me the money. ;-) I do like the feel of some of the materials of the jerseys, but I go for the plane jane. I need a hyper green jersey which is the color which I think is the most visible. Most of mine just blend into the color of the asphalt.