Cyclist0108

How do you avoid heal-strikes?

cooker

For me, my rear rack has adjustable posts that can be lengthened a bit to keep loads up a bit higher, and adjustable connectors to the seat stays so I get the racks as far back as I can, and I mount the panniers (in my case) as far back on the racks as I can.

ironwood

I enjoy watching the cars trying to park at the supermarket the day before Thanksgiving and Xmas Eve. The line is out onto the street. Most of the customers could have walked there in les time than it takes to find a parking space.

I-Like-To-Bike

What application did you use to arrive at this factoid? Did you conjure the customers' traveling distance to and from the store and their physical condition while you were "watching" them and counting how many shopping bags they carried?

cooker

This sort of thing has actually been the subject of research, as cited in the book "Freakonomics". In that case it referred to parking on the periphery of a mall instead of circling to find a spot near the door.

I-Like-To-Bike

"This sort of thing" in this case at the supermarket as reported in this thread sounds more like stereotyped conjuring based on the preconceived bias of the "watcher", rather than any sort of "research."

cooker

No, it sounded like common garden hyperbole, as found in everyday speech, not meant to be taken literally.

I-Like-To-Bike

Is this "common garden hyperbole" another term for idle chit chat, gossip or BSing, and was not the subject of research, as cited in the book "Freakonomics"? Was your reference to the book "Freakonomics" also not to be taken literally?

cooker

As you know, hyperbole is a rhetorical device where you exaggerate from the facts for dramatic effect. So yes there are situations where people demonstrably waste time circling or queueing for parking.

I-Like-To-Bike

Would that be like situations where people "demonstrably waste time" bicycling to a destination when they could have driven there in a much shorter time, or a situation where people "demonstrably waste time" bicycling to a grocery store numerous times instead of just making one trip with a vehicle with much more cargo capacity?

Pejoratively claiming that other people are "wasting time" when they make different decisions or have different values about how to use their time is rather judgemental, doncha think?

ironwood

Bicycling or walking to a store is not wasting time. I have this decidedly subversive , anti- american belief that regular exercise is important, and that walking or biking to do errends counts as exercise. Furthermore, biking to various places in my town is often quicker than driving. I know someone who drives to a gym to walk on a treadmill. Others drive to a gym and ride a stationary bike. Others just drive everywhere and get no exercise. I know fewer of the latter group my age now, for some reason they seem to be disappearing.

I-Like-To-Bike

So what? Do any of those people ask for or indicate that they care about your personal opinion on the subject? Does a smug description of your "beliefs" make those "beliefs" about what activity and set of values "wastes time" or not, superior or more important than the beliefs and set of values of other people who don't share your concern about where, when, how or if to exercise, shop, or transport themselves or any combination of such activity.
Other people might even think that watching how other people shop or exercise (or not), and posting hyperbole as a rhetorical device in order to exaggerate for dramatic effect is a "waste of time" and downright creepy.

khyricat

I am looking forward to biking to the store come spring, but will still drive- mostly because I drive by it anyway on my way home from the 42 plus mile commute that I have no plans to change to a bike... so why not stop when I need things...

I-Like-To-Bike

To keep some LCF-type from "watching" you in the parking lot and posting about your failure to follow his example of a righteous bicycling-exercise-shopping regimen?

cooker

Everybody has to do what works for them.

Machka 

I've swung by my little local grocery store a couple times lately on the way back home from a run ... during my cool-down walk.

Many people walk to that store.

Many people exercise. In fact there's a steady stream of people who go by our place walking, jogging, cycling, on skateboards, etc.

But on the other hand, we drive to the gym ... especially on days with less that ideal weather conditions.

Roody

I also find being carfree a great way to incorporate exercise into my daily life, especially errands and chores. It's convenient, inexpensive and fun.

It seems odd that we would have to explain, justify, or rationalize this on a carfree forum, but trolls evidently don't hibernate in the winter...

ironwood

Some people watchNASCAR races; others watch demolition derbies; still others watch golf or curling; Why there is even someone in Indianapolis who plans to build a park so people can wach cars on the interstate https://www.indianapolismonthly.com/n...park-the-idle/ . I just like seeing people stuck in traffic jams. I enjoy walking past someone in a $60,000 Mercedes SUV; going into the store; doing my shopping; coming out and seeing the same car stuck, waiting for a parking place.

Maelochs

I respect your art but .... I find that there is too much risk, and if i have to hold the bags in place, how do i use hand signals? And suppose i have to ride more than a short distance and might want to shift my hands? I guess I am not a good enough artist.

I think people can know about and consider your method but also need to consider the potential downsides.

Anyone who has had a bag hit the spokes ..... well why spoil the experience for those yet to be so blessed?

Maelochs

You forget, being a resident of a civilized region, that many of us are Americans.

350htrr

and... there's what can be considered a fail... many other countries are civilised too, and don't hand out plastic bags willy-nilly, unless you want/need them, then you pay for them, or start to use re-usable bags...

Maelochs

While I don't want to weigh on on the specifics of parking and walking ... the whole "holier than others" thing is a bit much. Probably every one of us has a "carbon footprint" very near in size to all those drivers ... and some or all of them might be as healthy or healthier .... and in any case, if part of a person's life is denigrating imaginary strangers to boost one's self esteem, why not address the problem directly?

I am Not a better human being because I ride a bike. People who need to think they are ... well, i guess I will let them be.

I find plastic shopping bags are pretty useful because A.) I can refuse them when I want and accept them when I want and B.) they are waterproof, lightweight, and compressible. i tend to carry a bunch in a pocket of a pannier in case it rains.

For about 15 years I commuted during rainy season with everything double-bagged and in a large, heavy-wight plastic bag and never had seepage or condensation. I learned later that individually bagged stuff like that with no excess air space, was why everything stayed dry. (I used to laugh when all these "seasoned tourers" would claim there was no way to pack gear so it stayed dry.)

If I had to pay for plastic bags I would, now and then, simply because they always seem to get used.

As for shopping .... look at video from India, or Vietnam, or something if you want to see some crazy loads on a bike.

I find front and rear panniers and a flat-topped front and rear rack and some bungees ... You could carry a bean-bag chair, or a couple of those 36-packs of toilet paper or a dozen rolls of paper towels (I hate it that my wife buys them ... but she drives a car everywhere too ) can be stacked and wrapped in a sheet or something .... i carry a few big, empty cloth or nylon bags with me for big trips because i can bungee a light load of tremendous bulk across the top of the rear panniers (Like a cubic yard of laundry.)

Much as I love doing it that way ... the common sense portion of my brain says a trailer is the better option.

Maelochs

No sir ... what is a "Fail" in this case was that you failed to comprehend that I said it was more civilized Not to hand out plastic bags.

Maybe instead of looking for somehwere to atatck, look for some way to understand.

Logic train (chugga chugga) Matchka comes from a place which doesn't hand out plastic bags. Matchkla comes form a place which is civilized. I come from America, where frequently stores give away plastic bags two at a time. By contrast, America is less civilized.

Get it this time?
Chugga chugga ... (pardon me ... I cannot wait to get old to act senile.)

350htrr

Then I guess we both failed to understand what the other was saying... We actually seem to have agreed... But let our fist impression's prevail, in what we read... as explained in your post #72, your post in # 70 "seemed to say differently"......

Maelochs

Awesome ... if I cannot communicate clearly I can at least blame the other party ... except in cases like this where the other party seems to be a decent human being and I have to admit that I don't always make my points clearly.

I call it "artful conversation." Others call it "deep confusion." As long as we both end up laughing ... We Win!