[TriLUG] [OT] TriLUGger on the news

[tomed at bellsouth.net]

With all the talk of blood and guts, I thought I'd propose the following
for those thinking of trying a bicycle commute.

Don't start with a commute. Start with something less ambitious, but
just as useful.

I hear from time to time that a huge percentage of all trips taken by
automobile are with the driver alone, from the driver's home to a
destination within 2 miles.

So think of your home as the center of a circle with a 2 mile
radius. What's within the circle? If you live in a gigantic burb,
maybe only houses. But maybe there are lots of destinations.

Groceries, hardware, dentist, doctor, favorite bar, Trilug
meetings.

This type of trip can actually be faster and more convenient on a bike,
especially if parking is an issue.

With a minimal outlay, you can haul groceries and other stuff. I suggest
using the bike you probably already have. Put a rack on the back, and
get 2 shopping panniers (basically boxes with hooks on the side.) 
Nashbar.com has nice shopping panniers at about $20.00 each. If you
need to buy a rack as well, your total outlay will be under $60.00
Also, perhaps, an inexpensive cable lock that will fit around light
poles, etc, since most places don't have bike racks.

Plan your routes to your favorite destinations carefully. Don't worry
about using the most direct route. Go with a longer route if it's more
comfortable and bike friendly.

Turn it all into a game, a what-can-I-do-with-my-bike sort of game.
Similar to the what-can-I-do-with-Linux game.

If you start using your bike regularly, and it works for you, that
would be the time to start planning commute strategies.

Tom Ed

At Tue, 22 May 2007 15:37:03 -0400,
Warren Myers wrote:
> 
> I try to ride as much as possible in daylight - and I have a headlight and
> rear flasher for night riding.
> 
> I've seen the aftermath of some pretty nasty collisions, and am happy I
> haven't ever been in one.
> 
> WMM
> 
> On 5/22/07, Scott Chilcote <scottchilcote at earthlink.net> wrote:
> >
> > Dave Sorenson wrote:
> > > It's been my experience at numerious accident scenes that that is how
> > > L.E.O.'s interperet the law. YMMV. I however choose to ride as far to
> > > the right as possible when I'm riding as I know which vehicle will "win"
> > > when a bicyclist trys to enforce their "right" to use the road. It
> > > probably comes from seeing too much blood and brain tissue on the
> > > road... I don't miss that part of the job.
> > >
> > > Be safe!
> > >
> > > Dave
> >
> > It may seem like a lot of blood and brain tissue to an emergency
> > responder, but out of the millions of people who travel our roads well
> > under 1000 cyclists are killed every year.  The majority of those are
> > not serious bicycle commuters.  An average of 16.5 cyclists per million
> > die every year in the U.S.; for motorists, it's 19.9 motorists per
> > million.
> >
> > The most dangerous situation for bicyclists appears to be riding in the
> > late evening without lights and reflectors - and none of the serious
> > cyclists I know do that.
> >
> > Some interesting information regarding the safety of bicycle commuting
> > is here:  http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/health/risks.htm
> >
> > But on the other hand, there's no reason to relax, either.  Ken Kifer,
> > who compiled the information on that web page, was killed while cycling
> > by a drunk driver.
> > --
> > Scott C.
> >
> >
> > --
> > TriLUG mailing list        : http://www.trilug.org/mailman/listinfo/trilug
> > TriLUG Organizational FAQ  : http://trilug.org/faq/
> > TriLUG Member Services FAQ : http://members.trilug.org/services_faq/
> >
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> http://warrenmyers.com
> "God may not play dice with the universe, but something strange is going on
> with the prime numbers." --Paul Erdős
> "It's not possible. We are the type of people who have everything in our
> favor going against us." --Ben Jarhvi, Short Circuit 2
> -- 
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