ELF pedal electric car on W&OD

[Rockford10]

@vern 128581 wrote:

There is a guy that I see almost every morning jogging between Gallows and Virginia Lane on the WOD who jogs whilst wearing khakis. He is much too thin to be Dismal, but maybe he is Dismal’s accomplice in crime.

The one with the white undershirt with all the holes in it? And the big headphone cans?

[kcb203]

@SolarBikeCar 128320 wrote:

@kcb203 128301 wrote:

Anytime you’re exceeding 25 mph you’re breaking the law:QUOTE]

No. At speeds above 25 I convert into a moped under Virginia law. I am not permitted on a MUP at that speed, true, but I can ride on roads (which is the only place I’ve been able to achieve speeds above 25 anyway).

And my car becomes a big skateboard when I shift into neutral, shut off the engine, and stand on the hood.

I’d like to see the ELF convert into a moped at 25 mph. I imagine it’s something like this:

http://cdn.smosh.com/sites/default/files/legacy.images/smosh-pit/062011/transformer-IRL.gif

[americancyclo]

@SolarBikeCar 128553 wrote:

In July Park maintenance did stop me to say that motorized vehicles were not allowed. I appealed to the Park Manager to correct his false assumption that the ELF is a moped instead of an electric-assist bicycle. Since then many times I have pedaled slowly past the same Park Maintenance guys in defiance and each time they declined to again remind me of the “no motorized vehicle” rule.

A month later a safety patrol cyclist did stop me to tell me that I was the subject of debate about my use of a MUP but the conclusion was that I was a legal user. His “friendly” suggestion was that I slow down in the more crowded portions of the trail but otherwise enjoy it and I could “open it up” on the empty sections between Vienna and Reston because the 15 mph speed limit of years ago was repealed (for better or worse).

Trail Patrol is a volunteer group sponsored by the Friends of the W&OD which is a citizen-driven advisory body, not an enforcement arm of the NVRPA. Trail Patrol and FOWOD are not in the business of regulating Virginia’s parks.

[vern]

@Rockford10 128602 wrote:

The one with the white undershirt with all the holes in it? And the big headphone cans?

Yes!!!

***and no, I feel no shame over a tangential post(s) on this thread that was long ago derailed.

[ShawnoftheDread]

The banned guy struck me as an obvious troll rather than a serious supporter of the ELF. And suggesting it was a user created to make ELF supporters look (even more) like idiots is not an accusation of a “conspiracy” in either the legal or popular uses of the word.

[lordofthemark]

@ShawnoftheDread 128615 wrote:

The banned guy struck me as an obvious troll rather than a serious supporter of the ELF. And suggesting it was a user created to make ELF supporters look (even more) like idiots is not an accusation of a “conspiracy” in either the legal or popular uses of the word.

As the first to suggest that he was not a serious ELF supporter (see my reference to Poe’s Law) I think he was more than someone trolling for fun or to make ELF look bad – there was too much of a certain view of economics and trade, which I have seen before, and was passionately argued, that I think at least on those issues he was a genuine crank.

[dplasters]

@americancyclo 128608 wrote:

Trail Patrol is a volunteer group sponsored by the Friends of the W&OD which is a citizen-driven advisory body, not an enforcement arm of the NVRPA.

Curiosity, does anyone know who is the enforcement arm of the NVRPA? Got some slow golfers at Brambelton sometimes.

[PotomacCyclist]

@ShawnoftheDread 128615 wrote:

The banned guy struck me as an obvious troll rather than a serious supporter of the ELF. And suggesting it was a user created to make ELF supporters look (even more) like idiots is not an accusation of a “conspiracy” in either the legal or popular uses of the word.

I’ve met people in real life who sound a lot like the banned guy. Same catch phrases, same rants, same code words, same biases, same arguments, same apocalyptic paranoia and worldview, and some of the same exact language. Yes, he came across as unbalanced but there are people who really do speak like that and who really do believe that stuff. I’ve heard this sort of stuff from certain individuals over a period of months. I know others from school. I’ve worked around many people like this, for extended periods of time (months and years). I’ve worked at some places very heavily dominated by conservative ideologues. A relative or two even sounds like that guy in some sentences, but not in others. That’s why I don’t automatically think he’s a troll. Because I’ve heard very similar rants in real life many times. I’ve heard many people with the habit of calling every single person who opposes any of their points a Communist or Commie or similar terms. Over and over and over again. I’m sure you know people like this too. It’s not exactly unheard of. This forum tends to be calmer than most, so we don’t usually see that stuff here.

I’ve also read similar thoughts and rants on other forums as well as from some commentators and professional cranks. (One of the op-ed writers at The Washington Times comes to mind. He has written pieces that are very similar stylistically to the banned user, although he is more anti-environmentalist but also anti-cyclist.) There are A LOT of people who really are like that. I can think of several people [not on this forum] that I’ve met who would actually post those types of messages. (In my younger days, I might have even touched on some of those passages and uttered a phrase or two close to some of those lines, but hopefully not too close to the banned guy. I was not always a bike enthusiast, not until about seven years ago.)

[consularrider]

Will no one rid me of this turbulent thead? :rolleyes:

[mstone]

@consularrider 128635 wrote:

Will no one rid me of this turbulent thead? :rolleyes:

Hey, at least it’s keeping the crazy all in one place.

[DismalScientist]

PC,
If you read his posts more carefully, you would have realized that his argument was almost purely mercantilist with dose of conspiracy. He never called anyone a Commie besides the Chinese government. His arguments were purely political and economic and he didn’t say anything racist. Personally, I disagree with his arguments, but these arguments are made on both sides of the conventional political spectrum.

[Crickey7]

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[Tim Kelley]

Fun fact while doing monthly reports:

Total unique visitors to the forum was up 30% over last year, due in part to this thread!

[dkel]

@Tim Kelley 129093 wrote:

Fun fact while doing monthly reports:

Total unique visitors to the forum was up 30% over last year, due in part to this thread!

I hope you’re not implying we should try to attract more weirdos.

(Cuz we have enough already!)

[jrenaut]

Let’s just try to attract more of our sort of weirdo.

[Author]

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