I am no longer a cyclist! Don't miss me too badly.
#26
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Too bad OP, but if you aren't feeling it anymore then time to do something else. Personally, in this area, I feel less safe walking than riding, which is saying a lot cause it is terrible for cyclist here.
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Sounds like you're an anti-advocate now which is fine, you have every right, but don't expect to be taken too seriously on a cycling forum. Tho your 50 years deserves respect.
I can't be hypocritical though, because I'm not that distant from your recent practices. 90% of my riding over the past 6 months at least has been commuting or utility and I also avoid the packed roads more often than not. So I'm not going to jump your case over it. But I will strongly suggest that your dangerous situation is not generally applicable and I have few misgivings about riding 5000-7000 miles per year in suburban Atlanta area.
I can't be hypocritical though, because I'm not that distant from your recent practices. 90% of my riding over the past 6 months at least has been commuting or utility and I also avoid the packed roads more often than not. So I'm not going to jump your case over it. But I will strongly suggest that your dangerous situation is not generally applicable and I have few misgivings about riding 5000-7000 miles per year in suburban Atlanta area.
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Buh bye.
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Wow, that's a surprise but I understand you're thinking. I walked to work for about 5 years and grew to really like it. It was faster than driving in the winter, and easier than bicycling. Enjoy the new job!
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I was feeling the bad driver issue as well on my commute (11 miles, only 2 on MUP)
So, I sold my house and moved adjacent to a very long MUP. I can commute again. I thought about moving close to work, but I hate the neighborhoods in the area, but now my commute is 18 miles on 90% MUP.
So, I sold my house and moved adjacent to a very long MUP. I can commute again. I thought about moving close to work, but I hate the neighborhoods in the area, but now my commute is 18 miles on 90% MUP.
#33
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Wow! Thanks everyone! I knew some people here might wonder what happened if I just disappeared so out of politeness I figured a "farewell" was in order after all these years.
For those who don't know, what eventually pushed me over the edge was about four years ago I had to drive a car regularly for work for about 6 months and this allowed me to keep up with moving auto traffic. What happened there? I already knew that virtually everybody used their phones while driving but I had no idea HOW LONG they looked at them between glances through the windscreen. Upon learning this, it was all downhill and I began planning the downgrade. It really angered me at first but you can't stop progress I guess so I just got over the anger. I can't say I never glanced at my phone behind the wheel but only to see who was calling. In the rare instance I needed to respond I just found a place to park. It was rude awakening to see motorists looking at their phones for 5 solid second, sometimes nearly 10. Just FYI folks, this is why the change.
Yes, I agree. I am an expert skater on blades, quads, and skate/longboards. People who know me personally call me MOE Brooks - "Master Of Everything". Very flattering. The last 100 feet to my new job is gravel. So just hopping off the board is easy. Also going for a lunch skate does not require a shoe change necessarily.
Funny you should say this. I just got these first of the year! Different spelling tho! ANTIK - pronounced the same.
G-Bomb Push/Pump setup. 100mm Flywheel wheels, Dont-Trip precision trucks. Got about $750US in it. Fantastic piece of sports equipment. I also use a land paddle with it for a good upper body workout. Great PT for my wonky baseball shoulders.
Here is the setup with my homemade fenders: Cheers!
(BTW...this photo was taken about 100 paces from my new workplace. This is a 1-mile loop path that is very skateable and will be my go-to for work breaks)
I've been working for bike shops since 1989 up until three days ago (mostly) with maybe 2 years doing other stuff. Tired of riding bikes, buying them, selling them, and talking about them. It was certainly past time for me to exit that industry. Retail brick and mortar bike shops are not enjoying themselves right now either just in general.
Yeah, the walking thing is fairly new and only because it is all through parks and only a short distance. I rode a bike past two days due to threatening weather. Rather get beaten up for 6 minutes each way than 20. Will walk for variety. Likely skate in on good days and bike on bad ones.
====================================
Thanks All! I really appreciate it!!! I will peek in on occasion and likely post now and then in Car Free. Also, I am not sitting in front of a computer half the day anymore, so that cuts out my Internet access when work gets slow or break time.
Cheers! I love my new job and situation.
For those who don't know, what eventually pushed me over the edge was about four years ago I had to drive a car regularly for work for about 6 months and this allowed me to keep up with moving auto traffic. What happened there? I already knew that virtually everybody used their phones while driving but I had no idea HOW LONG they looked at them between glances through the windscreen. Upon learning this, it was all downhill and I began planning the downgrade. It really angered me at first but you can't stop progress I guess so I just got over the anger. I can't say I never glanced at my phone behind the wheel but only to see who was calling. In the rare instance I needed to respond I just found a place to park. It was rude awakening to see motorists looking at their phones for 5 solid second, sometimes nearly 10. Just FYI folks, this is why the change.
Funny you should say this. I just got these first of the year! Different spelling tho! ANTIK - pronounced the same.
Here is the setup with my homemade fenders: Cheers!
(BTW...this photo was taken about 100 paces from my new workplace. This is a 1-mile loop path that is very skateable and will be my go-to for work breaks)
====================================
Thanks All! I really appreciate it!!! I will peek in on occasion and likely post now and then in Car Free. Also, I am not sitting in front of a computer half the day anymore, so that cuts out my Internet access when work gets slow or break time.
Cheers! I love my new job and situation.
Last edited by JoeyBike; 05-10-19 at 06:54 PM.
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#35
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I know a guy that also recently gave up cycling because distracted soccer moms, mini vans and cell phones.
He's now totally obsessed with swimming. Whatever you get into, have fun!
He's now totally obsessed with swimming. Whatever you get into, have fun!
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Two wheels good. Four wheels bad.
#36
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Hope your friend doesn't get obsessed with fear about the "warfare" between sharks and swimmers.
#37
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Auto manufacturers need to stop putting those stupid infotainment systems into their vehicles and they also need to design and install software which prevents cell phone usage while driving. If the laws don't work then we need to find draconian ways to deal with the problem. It's not just drivers, many pedestrians do the same thing.. I see pedestrians miss their green light because they're staring at their phones and completely unaware that the lights at an intersection have changed. When I drive my car or ride my bike my cell phone is in my pocket and turned off.
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#38
bocobiking
I love road cycling; been doing it avidly for 46 years. Currently, I ride about 5000 miles a year, and attribute my good health to the bike.
Recently, my doctor was gently trying to suggest that cycling might be too dangerous given the traffic. I asked, is it worse for my health to keep riding or to stop riding? At 72, I can't imagine stopping; too risky.
Recently, my doctor was gently trying to suggest that cycling might be too dangerous given the traffic. I asked, is it worse for my health to keep riding or to stop riding? At 72, I can't imagine stopping; too risky.
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#39
Me duelen las nalgas
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Since then I've usually carried a camera or phone with video capability to record such shenanigans. Eventually, between drivers texting and blasting through crosswalks while pedestrians have the walk signal, etc. I'll have a nice compilation of murderous imbeciles rampaging in public. It couldn't be much worse if the zoo just released all the rhinos, lions, tigers and bears to roam the city.
#40
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It couldn't be much worse if the zoo just released all the rhinos, lions, tigers and bears to roam the city.
Happily my city has, and still is, ramping up cycling infrastructure and attracting plenty of cyclists to fill the void of the few or us freaking out. Many of the cyclists I observe look like savvy riders but too many really worry me. They either don't concern themselves with worry, or they believe in Guardian Angles. I worry too much and do not have a superstitious bone in my body. I don't believe in luck and know that no one is looking out for my well being besides me.
#41
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Yup. If I'm not riding or walking I take the bus. It's easy to see into other vehicles and I see far too many drivers messing with their phones. The worst example was a young man with a baby in a car seat, blasting through heavy downtown traffic with his eyes glued to the phone, never looking up at all.
Otherwise I think you just might be doing a tad bit of exaggerating or imagining what you think you saw.
#42
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Any pictures of the crash that must have occurred with such inattention, or was the young man a passenger in the vestigial driver's seat of one of those self-driving autonomous vehicles that have been hyped to the heavens on the Internet.
Otherwise I think you just might be doing a tad bit of exaggerating or imagining what you think you saw.
Otherwise I think you just might be doing a tad bit of exaggerating or imagining what you think you saw.
I have my doubts.
Maybe you're just imagining you like to bike but really prefer trolling bike forums and exhausting the litany of logical fallacies.
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#43
Rhapsodic Laviathan
Ehhh.... seems like an excuse to stop riding or something. Almost quitter talk. But I feel you. Personally I like the thrill of battling the streets. My take is I'm sick of riding as a neccesity and with my moms car I don't need to. Car free is god damned effing miserable. Cycling is and shouldn't be no more than a hobby for me. I always hated needing a bike and relying on our crappy busses, which will be running their horrid a/c this summer. I haven't touched my bike since like december. I've actually tried to reduce the stable some. Trying to get down to like six, but I want my dads bike since he passed in Janurary.
#44
Senior Member
G-Bomb Push/Pump setup. 100mm Flywheel wheels, Dont-Trip precision trucks. Got about $750US in it. Fantastic piece of sports equipment. I also use a land paddle with it for a good upper body workout. Great PT for my wonky baseball shoulders.
Here is the setup with my homemade fenders: Cheers!
(BTW...this photo was taken about 100 paces from my new workplace. This is a 1-mile loop path that is very skateable and will be my go-to for work breaks)
land paddel wise, self made or kahuna big stick? if using kahuna how do you like it? it always seemed kinda flimsy to me
#45
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Fortunately I have lightly traveled rural gravel roads near where I can hear a vehicle coming for a distance but there is always a risk. I stay off the main highway or any road with high traffic. Most vehicles are people who live in the area and over the years they have become use to seeing me on my gravel bike. I use a red blinking light and high vise jerseys to be visible.
#46
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Sounds like a good title for a sequel to "I, Robot." Too bad Asimov passed.
#47
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Some cities are less safe for cyclists than others.
Road cycling in Las Vegas is terminal, for an example.
NOLA is probably high on the Terminal List.
edit: FWIW - just saw a clickbait list of states with motorist fatalities - though not cycling statistics, it may be indicative.
Five worst states are: 5) LA, 4) KY, 3) WV, 2) MS, 1) SC.
Southern states seem to be the worst for driving fatalities.
Road cycling in Las Vegas is terminal, for an example.
NOLA is probably high on the Terminal List.
edit: FWIW - just saw a clickbait list of states with motorist fatalities - though not cycling statistics, it may be indicative.
Five worst states are: 5) LA, 4) KY, 3) WV, 2) MS, 1) SC.
Southern states seem to be the worst for driving fatalities.
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Last edited by Wildwood; 05-13-19 at 12:02 PM.
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#48
Newbie
What's to say? I'm not a recreational rider much at all, but I've been riding bicycles for over 50 years. I've always done "utilitarian" cycling for the most part, and I like walking more than any other form of travel. I can't walk as far as I often need to go, and I've never had the time to go everywhere on foot.
I've seen every kind of driver mistake and misbehavior but never collided with a car.
I still consider myself as much a cyclist as anyone on a bicycle. My current riding is short distances, mostly, and I take the bus if that's a better bottom line. (I'm also car-free, as I have been much of my life.) So long as I have a bicycle and ride it, I'm a cyclist.
I've seen every kind of driver mistake and misbehavior but never collided with a car.
I still consider myself as much a cyclist as anyone on a bicycle. My current riding is short distances, mostly, and I take the bus if that's a better bottom line. (I'm also car-free, as I have been much of my life.) So long as I have a bicycle and ride it, I'm a cyclist.
Last edited by foothillbilly; 05-13-19 at 11:32 AM. Reason: Improve wording and add facts
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#49
Senior Member
Over the past 3 years I have gradually given up recreational cycling entirely, sold the road bike and several others, and strictly used my bike for getting to work, doctor visits, grocery, etc. 100% utilitarian cycling. I have been car-free since 1989 as well.
During the past couple of years I have been searching for a new job closer to home. Landed one and started yesterday. Now I work ONE MILE from my home - a 20 minute walk or about 10 minutes on a longboard (giant skateboard). If I ride a bike it takes about 5 minutes to make the trip. So I am no longer a bike commuter! My walking/skating route passes through the campus of a community college (looks like a park), then I cross one street to enter City Park where I now work. My commute is literally 99% through parks.
I gave up unnecessary cycling a couple of years ago due to the current cellphone-while-driving mayhem. Now I don't have to do ANY cycling outside of a couple of MUPs and parks. Even to get to the grocery. Doctor visits will still require a nice 30-minute bike ride across town on back streets and trails.
I used to LOVE cycling. I have commuted to jobs as far as 18 miles each way and toured self-contained across the USA five times. I could not count the numbers of local tours I used to ride along with road bike training rides. Thanks to the prevalence of rumble strips on our nation's highways and motor vehicles commonly too wide for a normal highway lane, along with all of the electronic distractions, I gave up touring several years ago. Regular news reports of touring cyclists getting hozed out there on the roads has only reinforced my concerns.
Unless something changes at this job I am officially OUT! No longer defined a "cyclist", just a dude who bikes to the grocery 1-mile away on an MUP. I have a wealth of knowledge from my 50+ years of cycling to share but I doubt you folks will be hearing from me very much in the future. I no longer have a passion for exposing myself to imbeciles behind the wheel nor the desire to encourage others to take the chance.
Be careful out there folks! The roads have become stoopid crazy. I will not miss the mayhem and stress. Something else is going to have to kill me.
During the past couple of years I have been searching for a new job closer to home. Landed one and started yesterday. Now I work ONE MILE from my home - a 20 minute walk or about 10 minutes on a longboard (giant skateboard). If I ride a bike it takes about 5 minutes to make the trip. So I am no longer a bike commuter! My walking/skating route passes through the campus of a community college (looks like a park), then I cross one street to enter City Park where I now work. My commute is literally 99% through parks.
I gave up unnecessary cycling a couple of years ago due to the current cellphone-while-driving mayhem. Now I don't have to do ANY cycling outside of a couple of MUPs and parks. Even to get to the grocery. Doctor visits will still require a nice 30-minute bike ride across town on back streets and trails.
I used to LOVE cycling. I have commuted to jobs as far as 18 miles each way and toured self-contained across the USA five times. I could not count the numbers of local tours I used to ride along with road bike training rides. Thanks to the prevalence of rumble strips on our nation's highways and motor vehicles commonly too wide for a normal highway lane, along with all of the electronic distractions, I gave up touring several years ago. Regular news reports of touring cyclists getting hozed out there on the roads has only reinforced my concerns.
Unless something changes at this job I am officially OUT! No longer defined a "cyclist", just a dude who bikes to the grocery 1-mile away on an MUP. I have a wealth of knowledge from my 50+ years of cycling to share but I doubt you folks will be hearing from me very much in the future. I no longer have a passion for exposing myself to imbeciles behind the wheel nor the desire to encourage others to take the chance.
Be careful out there folks! The roads have become stoopid crazy. I will not miss the mayhem and stress. Something else is going to have to kill me.
You be careful walking. Twice last year while walking I had to jump out of the way of distracted cell phone using automobile drivers. I've even seen distracted cyclists. You could be run into by a fast moving eBike or even an eScooter.
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#50
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land paddel wise, self made or kahuna big stick? if using kahuna how do you like it? it always seemed kinda flimsy to me
I still consider myself as much a cyclist as anyone on a bicycle. My current riding is short distances, mostly, and I take the bus if that's a better bottom line. (I'm also car-free, as I have been much of my life.) So long as I have a bicycle and ride it, I'm a cyclist.
If I can't walk through a community college and a deserted park at 7 a.m. weekdays and 3:30 p.m. when the campus is empty and everyone else is still at work, then I should hang up my shoes as well. But I do get your point. NOTHING is 100% safe. But at least I am out of the stream of auto traffic except for crossing ONE street! Carefully!