Addiction LXXV
#2726
• —
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Land of Pleasant Living
Posts: 12,219
Bikes: Shmikes
Mentioned: 59 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 10152 Post(s)
Liked 5,843 Times
in
3,147 Posts
#2727
smelling the roses
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Tixkokob, Yucatán, México
Posts: 15,320
Bikes: 79 Trek 930, 80 Trek 414, 84 Schwinn Letour Luxe (coupled), 92 Schwinn Paramount PDG 5
Mentioned: 104 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 7081 Post(s)
Liked 901 Times
in
612 Posts
I would say Mexico is past that. The poorer parts of Belize certainly are not! That said, the population of Tixkokob is heavily slanted toward the very thin. Would that change with a living wage?
#2728
• —
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Land of Pleasant Living
Posts: 12,219
Bikes: Shmikes
Mentioned: 59 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 10152 Post(s)
Liked 5,843 Times
in
3,147 Posts
I don't know, but I think bad, food-like, products follow the money pretty closely around those parts. Wasn't it Colombia, where activists tried to take on the soft drink industry and ran into real trouble?
Of course, that's no argument against a living wage.
Of course, that's no argument against a living wage.
#2729
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 39,220
Mentioned: 211 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18403 Post(s)
Liked 15,495 Times
in
7,317 Posts
It's almost that time of the year again. Made in America music festival time. Traffic nightmares not far from my house already starting due to street closures for setup. When I get back from Brooklyn early Saturday evening the streets outside the fenced in venue will be teeming with intoxicated knot heads from the 'burbs and S. Jersey. Many of the girls are barely dressed. No way their parents let them out of their houses looking like that.
I'll be driving SAG for our club's Brooklyn ride Sunday morning and staying up there over night, so at least I will miss the second day of annoyance.
I'll be driving SAG for our club's Brooklyn ride Sunday morning and staying up there over night, so at least I will miss the second day of annoyance.
#2730
smelling the roses
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Tixkokob, Yucatán, México
Posts: 15,320
Bikes: 79 Trek 930, 80 Trek 414, 84 Schwinn Letour Luxe (coupled), 92 Schwinn Paramount PDG 5
Mentioned: 104 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 7081 Post(s)
Liked 901 Times
in
612 Posts
Coca Cola is the national drink of Central America. I can't speak to South America. There are efforts being made, in the schools, to demonize it. The children of my right hand man are not allowed either soft drinks nor store-bought fruit juice. His generation, however, drinks it for breakfast and lunch, at least. Industrial food is cheap and addictive here too, just like everywhere else. That can't be said for Belize, where everything is expensive. There they have to rely on the longer lasting, more intense flavors, such as Cheese Whiz. I had a bag of baked Lays in my hands (briefly), that cost something like 5 US dollars. Regular gas costs nearly US$6/imperial gallon. Here it is somewhat under $4.
#2731
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: TC, MN
Posts: 39,516
Bikes: R3 Disc, Haanjo
Mentioned: 354 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 20808 Post(s)
Liked 9,450 Times
in
4,668 Posts
Took the kids on a ~12 mile round trip to a playground and lunch. It was in my friend's neck of the woods, so she loaded her kids in the e-cargo bike (I'm envious) and met up with us. The boy was dragging by the time we got home, but he did a pretty good job on his longest day of riding (I think) so far. The girl zonked out in the trailer on the way back.
#2732
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Silver Spring, MD
Posts: 1,439
Bikes: Yes please
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 536 Post(s)
Liked 308 Times
in
199 Posts
My friend who lives (and commutes) in DC has one and for that type of city driving it's almost a necessity.
Good luck finding the $120 price, unless you troll scambay or CL for a gently used one, I believe MSRP is $200 and you are unlikely to find it for less than 180....that said, if you DO find it on the cheap please let me know about it!
Good luck finding the $120 price, unless you troll scambay or CL for a gently used one, I believe MSRP is $200 and you are unlikely to find it for less than 180....that said, if you DO find it on the cheap please let me know about it!
if you have unused airline miles, I’d recommend checking their rewards web site to see if they carry/include Garmin products as well.
Likes For kissTheApex:
Likes For gnome:
#2734
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 2,537
Bikes: yes
Mentioned: 18 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1281 Post(s)
Liked 643 Times
in
329 Posts
Being a first generation American family we regularly travel overseas to visit family, which results in accumulation of airline miles. Through those I was able to get an edge and the Varia. Varia radar doubles as a bike light and almost all of my rides being solo I find it a very comforting tool.
if you have unused airline miles, I’d recommend checking their rewards web site to see if they carry/include Garmin products as well.
if you have unused airline miles, I’d recommend checking their rewards web site to see if they carry/include Garmin products as well.
Likes For ksryder:
#2735
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: TC, MN
Posts: 39,516
Bikes: R3 Disc, Haanjo
Mentioned: 354 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 20808 Post(s)
Liked 9,450 Times
in
4,668 Posts
#2736
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: TC, MN
Posts: 39,516
Bikes: R3 Disc, Haanjo
Mentioned: 354 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 20808 Post(s)
Liked 9,450 Times
in
4,668 Posts
I guess that my main hesitation on the Varia is... is it a nice-to-have alert or does it give you something actionable? I tend to ride on the shoulder, out of traffic as much as practical, but I'll move in to the lane to avoid hazards, debris, etc (as long as I'm not jumping in front of vehicles moving twice as fast as me). For owners of these units, do you feel that it's solid enough that you can feel comfortable riding further in to the lane, possibly on the smooth passenger side tire track, and only move off when alerted? Or do you still reside mostly on the shoulder and just have piece of mind when moving out for whatever reason? Just curious as to how the info is put to use.
#2737
• —
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Land of Pleasant Living
Posts: 12,219
Bikes: Shmikes
Mentioned: 59 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 10152 Post(s)
Liked 5,843 Times
in
3,147 Posts
I guess that my main hesitation on the Varia is... is it a nice-to-have alert or does it give you something actionable? I tend to ride on the shoulder, out of traffic as much as practical, but I'll move in to the lane to avoid hazards, debris, etc (as long as I'm not jumping in front of vehicles moving twice as fast as me). For owners of these units, do you feel that it's solid enough that you can feel comfortable riding further in to the lane, possibly on the smooth passenger side tire track, and only move off when alerted? Or do you still reside mostly on the shoulder and just have piece of mind when moving out for whatever reason? Just curious as to how the info is put to use.
#2738
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Silver Spring, MD
Posts: 1,439
Bikes: Yes please
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 536 Post(s)
Liked 308 Times
in
199 Posts
I guess that my main hesitation on the Varia is... is it a nice-to-have alert or does it give you something actionable? I tend to ride on the shoulder, out of traffic as much as practical, but I'll move in to the lane to avoid hazards, debris, etc (as long as I'm not jumping in front of vehicles moving twice as fast as me). For owners of these units, do you feel that it's solid enough that you can feel comfortable riding further in to the lane, possibly on the smooth passenger side tire track, and only move off when alerted? Or do you still reside mostly on the shoulder and just have piece of mind when moving out for whatever reason? Just curious as to how the info is put to use.
i always keep it in the flasher mode, and haven’t followed a rider with it, but some say it starts flashing more frequently when a car is behind. There are also riders that claimed they keep its light off and it comes on when it detects a car, but I’m told that function only works with Garmin head units.
If there’s not much of seat post showing, especially with a saddle bag, mounting can be challenging, but there are 3D printed adapters that attach to the loop of the saddle bag..
Likes For kissTheApex:
#2739
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: TC, MN
Posts: 39,516
Bikes: R3 Disc, Haanjo
Mentioned: 354 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 20808 Post(s)
Liked 9,450 Times
in
4,668 Posts
i find myself riding mostly on the smooth track (passenger side as you mentioned) and only move to the shoulder when I hear the quadruple beeps the head unit sounds when radar detects something. There are some false positives, such as when it detects cars on the freeway when I exit an underpass, or similar cross traffic after a stop sign/light, and when a driver doesn’t pass but hover at your speed, it can “undetect” a previously detected car, but by that time you can hear the car and already know they’re behind you.
i always keep it in the flasher mode, and haven’t followed a rider with it, but some say it starts flashing more frequently when a car is behind. There are also riders that claimed they keep its light off and it comes on when it detects a car, but I’m told that function only works with Garmin head units.
If there’s not much of seat post showing, especially with a saddle bag, mounting can be challenging, but there are 3D printed adapters that attach to the loop of the saddle bag..
i always keep it in the flasher mode, and haven’t followed a rider with it, but some say it starts flashing more frequently when a car is behind. There are also riders that claimed they keep its light off and it comes on when it detects a car, but I’m told that function only works with Garmin head units.
If there’s not much of seat post showing, especially with a saddle bag, mounting can be challenging, but there are 3D printed adapters that attach to the loop of the saddle bag..
#2740
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Silver Spring, MD
Posts: 1,439
Bikes: Yes please
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 536 Post(s)
Liked 308 Times
in
199 Posts
Gplama has has a video review on the tube site that might be in conditions closer to hat you’re looking for, so if you’d like to watch it I think it might give you a better idea.
Likes For kissTheApex:
#2741
smelling the roses
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Tixkokob, Yucatán, México
Posts: 15,320
Bikes: 79 Trek 930, 80 Trek 414, 84 Schwinn Letour Luxe (coupled), 92 Schwinn Paramount PDG 5
Mentioned: 104 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 7081 Post(s)
Liked 901 Times
in
612 Posts
It's almost that time of the year again. Made in America music festival time. Traffic nightmares not far from my house already starting due to street closures for setup. When I get back from Brooklyn early Saturday evening the streets outside the fenced in venue will be teeming with intoxicated knot heads from the 'burbs and S. Jersey. Many of the girls are barely dressed. No way their parents let them out of their houses looking like that.
I'll be driving SAG for our club's Brooklyn ride Sunday morning and staying up there over night, so at least I will miss the second day of annoyance.
I'll be driving SAG for our club's Brooklyn ride Sunday morning and staying up there over night, so at least I will miss the second day of annoyance.
#2742
• —
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Land of Pleasant Living
Posts: 12,219
Bikes: Shmikes
Mentioned: 59 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 10152 Post(s)
Liked 5,843 Times
in
3,147 Posts
I haven’t been riding roads with that kind of speed limits since I’ve had it so I can’t comment on that, but I’m mostly on 35 mph roads where people tend to go around the speed limit. The advertised detection distance is 150 yards, and I’ve had cars that far back detected on straight roads. At 45-50 mph, they’re close to 25 yards a second, so one would have seconds to react. At my current level, I don’t think I’d feel comfortable, but I’m a ham fisted, sausage fingered guy, so take it with a grain of salt.
Gplama has has a video review on the tube site that might be in conditions closer to hat you’re looking for, so if you’d like to watch it I think it might give you a better idea.
Gplama has has a video review on the tube site that might be in conditions closer to hat you’re looking for, so if you’d like to watch it I think it might give you a better idea.
#2743
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: TC, MN
Posts: 39,516
Bikes: R3 Disc, Haanjo
Mentioned: 354 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 20808 Post(s)
Liked 9,450 Times
in
4,668 Posts
State Fair day! It's a vest and arm warmers kind of morning... too bad I'm not riding.
...but I'm still tempted to wear the vest.
...but I'm still tempted to wear the vest.
Likes For WhyFi:
#2744
smelling the roses
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Tixkokob, Yucatán, México
Posts: 15,320
Bikes: 79 Trek 930, 80 Trek 414, 84 Schwinn Letour Luxe (coupled), 92 Schwinn Paramount PDG 5
Mentioned: 104 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 7081 Post(s)
Liked 901 Times
in
612 Posts
This discussion has been enlightening. Is there nowhere to ride without traffic?
#2745
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Silver Spring, MD
Posts: 1,439
Bikes: Yes please
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 536 Post(s)
Liked 308 Times
in
199 Posts
Even though ugh they may get a bit repetitive, those two give me 25+ miles to play with, which is where my stamina level is at this point coming back from a long break and health issues.
Once beach drive reopens, I have a nice 45-50 mile route that includes Ross drive and LDS climbs, but at this point I don’t have my climbing legs (however tiny they are).
Depending on timing of your ride start, I’d be happy to lend you the radar, if you’d like to try it.
#2746
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 39,220
Mentioned: 211 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18403 Post(s)
Liked 15,495 Times
in
7,317 Posts
Happy National Cherry Turnover Day.
#2747
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 39,220
Mentioned: 211 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18403 Post(s)
Liked 15,495 Times
in
7,317 Posts
#2748
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 2,537
Bikes: yes
Mentioned: 18 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1281 Post(s)
Liked 643 Times
in
329 Posts
Yeah, that’s my question too. I ride a lot of narrow roads with bad pavement and I pick my position strategically and tactically. If the road is wide enough to stay out of the way I do. I also hear about 99% of approaching traffic and look back a lot. I can’t imagine what I’d do with more information.
I haven’t been riding roads with that kind of speed limits since I’ve had it so I can’t comment on that, but I’m mostly on 35 mph roads where people tend to go around the speed limit. The advertised detection distance is 150 yards, and I’ve had cars that far back detected on straight roads. At 45-50 mph, they’re close to 25 yards a second, so one would have seconds to react. At my current level, I don’t think I’d feel comfortable, but I’m a ham fisted, sausage fingered guy, so take it with a grain of salt.
Gplama has has a video review on the tube site that might be in conditions closer to hat you’re looking for, so if you’d like to watch it I think it might give you a better idea.
Gplama has has a video review on the tube site that might be in conditions closer to hat you’re looking for, so if you’d like to watch it I think it might give you a better idea.
On the first generation model, the lights on the actual unit would light up when a car was coming. If you are following someone with a Varia, that can be sort of useful but you have to be looking at your buddy's tail light at the right time. However, it seemed to give 4-5 seconds of warning time when I happened to notice.
I don't recall if the new generation lights up when it detects traffic or not.
When the person with the Varia calls out "car back" it seems like there might be even more time, as if it alerts on the computer before the lights activate.
It seems like a perfect device for our particular usage -- country roads where there is not much traffic, but you want to know about it when there is. For riding in city conditions where there is constant traffic, I think it's less useful.
With the employee discount it's pretty low risk so I'll probably order one next week or so.
#2749
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 2,537
Bikes: yes
Mentioned: 18 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1281 Post(s)
Liked 643 Times
in
329 Posts
There are a lot of people who are, like, *really* into the Kansas State Fair but I find it underwhelming. Also I have no interest in seeing Poison or Whitesnake or whatever has-been 80s band rehash their 3 hits.
#2750
• —
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Land of Pleasant Living
Posts: 12,219
Bikes: Shmikes
Mentioned: 59 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 10152 Post(s)
Liked 5,843 Times
in
3,147 Posts
Im usually on Sligo Creek pkwy looping between university and nw Hampshire blvds and/or Sligo-forest glen-beach drive to garret park.
Even though ugh they may get a bit repetitive, those two give me 25+ miles to play with, which is where my stamina level is at this point coming back from a long break and health issues.
Once beach drive reopens, I have a nice 45-50 mile route that includes Ross drive and LDS climbs, but at this point I don’t have my climbing legs (however tiny they are).
Depending on timing of your ride start, I’d be happy to lend you the radar, if you’d like to try it.
Even though ugh they may get a bit repetitive, those two give me 25+ miles to play with, which is where my stamina level is at this point coming back from a long break and health issues.
Once beach drive reopens, I have a nice 45-50 mile route that includes Ross drive and LDS climbs, but at this point I don’t have my climbing legs (however tiny they are).
Depending on timing of your ride start, I’d be happy to lend you the radar, if you’d like to try it.