do you ride a bicycle?

[hotfoot]

just wondering how many people on this board ride them.

[Ag Au]

nope, this city scares me. i am barely a good defensive walker. but i would like to get the nerve up someday. it would make trips to the market so much faster. those heavy ass flower pots i lugged home the other day sure made me rethink things. any useful city biking tips would be appreciated.

[mrjohnchimpo]

believe it or not, i do, but only in forest preserves or around just my neighborhood. not on any busy streets.

[bangg trimm]

i bike to get around. sometimes i take the bus or snag a ride with someone. it's really fun. i did so less when in nyc, but it was always rejuvenating to take neighborhood rides and see what you could see.

that's the best part of changing up transportational modes.. you get to see different parts or aspects of the place you're in.

[slam]

after a year of being too scared to take my bike out on the city streets, i was finally ready to start biking, but then my bike got stolen.

fortunately, bike-nut paul helped me put together a bike from scratch, so i'm going to start making my first tepid rides this weekend!

[larryhead]

The thought of biking around Chicago terrifies me... I've seen people bail badly in traffic and some friends on this board (like the Wolf) that have been in way too many fucked up accidents to keep me far away. :)

Shit.. this past weekend heading over the BBQ, we saw some poor woman collide hard with another rider and get wrapped around two bikes on the pavement... I thought she broke her leg and called 911 because she couldn't get up, but after a bit she decided she was OK and could make it home, fortunately.

So yeah.. No thanks.

Plus I haven't been on a bicycle in like... 8 years... I'm pretty doubtful I'd even remember how to ride one.

:hide:

[larryhead]

after a year of being too scared to take my bike out on the city streets, i was finally ready to start biking, but then my bike got stolen.

fortunately, bike-nut paul helped me put together a bike from scratch, so i'm going to start making my first tepid rides this weekend!


You are a brave soul.. good luck and god speed!

:biker:


What about you hotfoot, do you ride a bike.. I don't remember.. you seem like the type though. Bike folk... a whole separate culture within the culture. :upsidedown:

[MigueL]

Davis is like the bike capitol of the US and we have bike lanes on every street. I think like 50% of the people here ride a bike. Laura and I just got bikes and I have been riding it everywhere. Mostly I ride just for pleaser through the hundreds of bike paths that connect the dozens of parks in this city. It had been like 10 years or more since I last rode and I must say I love it. Beats the hell out of walking everywhere. I like not spending money on gas also since its like $3.50 a gallon here. I can see why people wouldnt want to ride in big cities I would be scared also but here there is no speed limit over 35 so its not a big deal. Theft is a problem but I keep my stuff locked up real tight :headbang:

[paul]

Well, since Slam called me out, I guess I have to respond... Hell yeah! I ride a bike.

I've been doing it for pretty much 6 years, as my primary mode of transportation. I don't have a car, and ride the CTA maybe a few times a month. I also work at home, which makes things easy. I ride a fixed gear road bike most days, and have a mountain bike with a rack and basket for going to the store. I have a few others that are old ones I work on for fun, and ride only every once in a while.

I've taken a few spills on slick pavement, and one hard fall where I broke a helmet during a race, but those were pretty much me taking risks or being dumb. And still, I got up and walked away from all of those with just some scrapes and bruises.

I did have one accident with a car when I first moved here though... I was riding on some little street south of belmont, going west, over by Illinois Masonic Hospital. A lady turned left in front of me all of the sudden, and I slammed into her car and rolled over the hood.

I bounced right up. I was furious! After screaming a little, then calming down, I learned that she was turning left into the hospital, because her husband had just had a heart attack, and had just been taken there in an ambulance!

I figure she was distracted by thinking about that, and just didn't see me because I was dressed in dark clothes and it was almost night, and I didn't have any lights and only one little reflector on my bike. She appologized profusely, and I said "sorry" for yelling, and got her info. Her insurance replaced my front wheel, which was damaged in the accident. I had a sore knee for a few days too. I don't know what happened with her husband.

I think bike riding in a big city is pretty safe. Accidents happen, but a lot of them would be avoidable if people would be a little more careful and pay attention to what they were doing. People should wear their damn helmets, not listen to headphones in traffic, and not ride the wrong way down the street. Staying off really busy or narrow streets helps a lot too. Since I got lights for riding at night, and started figuring out good routes to place, I have not even been close to a serious accident in years.

*knock* on wood

Yeah, I hate riding my bike along the lake front in the summer. It's too bad, it could be cool, but there are way too many people who don't know what they're doing and are just learning how to ride or rollerblade, combined with too many weekend warriors who think the lakeshore path is a racetrack. I've seen some spectacular collisions out there too. It's great going out there to ride late at night though.

[hotfoot]

You are a brave soul.. good luck and god speed!

:biker:


What about you hotfoot, do you ride a bike.. I don't remember.. you seem like the type though. Bike folk... a whole separate culture within the culture. :upsidedown:

yeah, i ride a bike.

the reason i bring this up is that i've this year the increase in bicycle ridership has been noticeable. it seems like half the city's riding.

[professor booty]

"I love to ride my bicycle, I love to ride my bike."--Freddy Mercury

soon i will be able to bike to work...woo hoo! Minneapolis has good trails and greenways. I might just bike out to a little lake in the burbs this afternoon to get my swim on.

professor

[Diamond Vision]

Last time I tried to ride a bike I broke my hand.

My friend Kelly used to try to ride a bike and smoke cigarettes at the same time... she never got the hang of it.