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Bicycling Merit Badge

Old 10-10-19, 06:02 PM
  #26  
thumpism 
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Originally Posted by Da Tinker
I agree totally and think the white front reflector is the most worthless bicycle accessory ever. If you're riding at night, you need a headlight not only to see where you're going and to see possible hazards in the road in front of you, but also to be seen by other traffic and to comply with the law. I can see how it'd give non-savvy riders a false sense of security.
I agree but will relate this little tale. We're having a contractor do some work and I've been getting up at 0530 to take the dog to the park so that chore will be out of the way for the duration of the job. Yesterday I was headed home at about 0630 (still dark) when I spied a tiny speck of white on the shoulder ahead. It was a bike rider (this guy was not a cyclist) wearing all black and riding a black bike the wrong way, so into oncoming traffic (that's me). Had it not been for his white front reflector I would have seen nothing in my lane. That pitiful piece of crap might have saved his life.

Last edited by thumpism; 10-10-19 at 07:48 PM.
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Old 10-10-19, 06:26 PM
  #27  
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I'll be darned, never heard about this M/B when I was a scout. Turns out its been around since 1911.. I have not.

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Old 10-13-19, 04:15 PM
  #28  
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^^^^^me too^^^^^

As an Eagle Scout and avid childhood cyclist, I am presently asking myself why I didn’t seek to earn the cycling merit badge, one of the 57 original merit badges. Hindsight...

Last edited by Dr.Lou; 10-13-19 at 04:29 PM.
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Old 10-13-19, 10:28 PM
  #29  
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By coincidence I did a century just a couple of weeks ago that was tagging on with the Scouts 50 mile event. For them that meant one lap around Bear Lake which is half in Utah and half in Idaho. I did two laps around. Hat's off to those scouts out there. Mostly low end mountain bikes and the likes. A lot of them were suffering yet they still had an encouraging word for me as I passed by. Spent a lot of time encouraging them. Oh and I did see one teenager on a really nice Waterford bike. Had to give him a big thumbs up for that.
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Old 10-18-19, 08:59 AM
  #30  
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We'll be working on this merit badge next year. I can see the distance rides being an issue for a lot of my boys.
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Old 10-18-19, 09:07 AM
  #31  
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That's great, if you want to add something to the curriculum add maintenance. Changing a tire, lubing a chain, checking tire pressure, installing a bottom bracket (not really)....you get the idea.
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Old 10-18-19, 09:35 AM
  #32  
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I wonder if the Girl Scouts have a similar badge? The last time I was out on the Cape Code Rail Trail, I saw groups of boys with adult leaders and girls also with adult leaders out riding the path. I'm almost positive the boys were scouts. There were at least 2 groups of each. Nice path to do distance rides on. I got in my first 50+ mile ride that day.
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Old 10-19-19, 10:00 AM
  #33  
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Originally Posted by NomarsGirl
I wonder if the Girl Scouts have a similar badge? The last time I was out on the Cape Code Rail Trail, I saw groups of boys with adult leaders and girls also with adult leaders out riding the path. I'm almost positive the boys were scouts. There were at least 2 groups of each. Nice path to do distance rides on. I got in my first 50+ mile ride that day.
Girls can now join the boy scouts, or as it's now called, "Scouts BSA".

https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/01/us/bo...rnd/index.html
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Old 10-19-19, 11:21 AM
  #34  
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Originally Posted by katsup
Girls can now join the boy scouts, or as it's now called, "Scouts BSA".

https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/01/us/bo...rnd/index.html
Does that mean Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts are one organization now?
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Old 10-19-19, 11:48 AM
  #35  
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Originally Posted by skiahh
Interesting. Just looked up the requirements for this one. They emphasize ALL legal requirements; how many of us remove all the reflectors? And if you've done that, how do you explain it to the Scout?
Yep, and in my opinion, for all the fuss people make about the importance of lights, and the ever increasing lumen war, nothing lights up light headlights on reflective material. Reflective materials on spokes or tires could be naturally strobing. Recently I was curious why bike manufacturers don't use reflective paint, like on license plates and street signs. Maybe not feasible as a durable mixture, but I think that would be far better than lighting as a safety measure at night. If you want to add lights as well, that's fine but they don't need to be super novas.
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Old 10-19-19, 01:04 PM
  #36  
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Originally Posted by FiftySix
Does that mean Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts are one organization now?
I believe they are different organizations. From the article
In an updated statement on Friday, GSUSA said BSA's decision "does not change the position of Girl Scouts of the USA or our mission to serve girls, and girls only, and to foster their amazing leadership potential. We remain steadfast in our knowledge that Girl Scouts is the world's single best leadership development program for girls."
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Old 10-19-19, 03:56 PM
  #37  
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Originally Posted by katsup
Girls can now join the boy scouts, or as it's now called, "Scouts BSA".

https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/01/us/bo...rnd/index.html
These were separate groups I saw. Really I think they just need to make girl scouts better rather than allowing girls to join the boy scouts. It seems like every all Male group has been forced to go co-ed. The same is not true of groups for girls and women.
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Old 10-21-19, 03:50 PM
  #38  
Milton Keynes
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Originally Posted by jadocs
That's great, if you want to add something to the curriculum add maintenance. Changing a tire, lubing a chain, checking tire pressure, installing a bottom bracket (not really)....you get the idea.
Sadly, I don't think schools teach this in Driver's Ed much any more, but they should. Changing a tire, checking oil, topping off fluids, all important things to know but I don't think most drivers today know how to do them.
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Old 10-21-19, 07:06 PM
  #39  
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Hmm, went I went through Scouts I don't remember a Cycling merit badge. Have to go pull it out to see, but it may be because I earned Eagle in 1985..
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Old 10-21-19, 07:50 PM
  #40  
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i earned cycling merit badge on my way to Eagle Scout in 1993. I remember about halfway through my 50 mile ride the ball bearings felling out of my rear wheel. I took my dad's borrowed hybrid and finished the ride. I wrote my merit badge counselor when in 2016 I rode 6535 miles (most in a year so far) He was impressed.
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Old 10-22-19, 10:56 AM
  #41  
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Great post. I earned my Cycling merit badge on my trail to Eagle back in the late 1980's. I bought my first road bike, a Fuji Tivolli. Dawn blue. I made contact with a local counselor, as no on was signed up in our troop. I met him at a local bike ride and we worked on all the requirements. Later, after I earned my Eagle and turned 18, I stayed with my troop, became an Assistant Scoutmaster and signed up to be a counselor for the badge myself. Had a few scouts start out on the badge, but after the 15 mile ride they all dropped out.
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