[GuyContinental]

@pfunkallstar 25953 wrote:

Richard Nixon: My fellow Earthicans, we enjoy so much freedom, it’s almost sickening. We’re free to choose which hand our sex-monitoring chip is implanted in. !

I kid you not- the Texas GOP Platform doc has that covered too (in the Privacy section):

“We further oppose any national ID program, including the Real ID Act and the use of Radio Frequency Identification Chips (RFID) on humans.”

[GuyContinental]

@ShawnoftheDread 25602 wrote:

I almost called a pass walking down the street yesterday.

I laughed at this a few days ago and then did the same thing in a Costco today at lunch… worse I actually gave a hand signal too. Ironically, it was a pretty effective way to make a left with a cart into the snack aisle. I might have to keep this up!

[GuyContinental]

@Terpfan 25928 wrote:

Yep, today can only be a better commute relative to the jackaloons of yesterday.

No joke- what was with people yesterday? I had more car-craziness in one day than I usually get in a week. Was it the heat?

I will attempt to use the term “jackaloon” at least three more times today

[GuyContinental]

And to add perspective- a Strava day on Le Tour:

http://app.strava.com/runs/13899917

819w… wow

[GuyContinental]

@vvill 25912 wrote:

It’s one of my favourite features on Strava that if you happen to ride with/close to someone else who also uses Strava it shows up. Mostly useful for group rides, I suppose.

In races it’s pretty entertaining- on average I have “and 6 others” at W@W but the relative performance doesn’t often line up with actual race performance because of the variety of recording devices in use.

Ironically, because Strava encourages/forces real names (or abbreviated real names) it might be hard to ID we BA members who’s usernames don’t resemble their actual names (Guy is my middle name) without visiting the BA strava page. Consequently, I dumped my online username in my Strava profile to facilitate connecting with people (I’m lonely on my long & early opposite commute).

[GuyContinental]

@vvill 25904 wrote:

If you click through his name from the “Ridden by XYZ and 1 other” link you’ll be able to see their ride and where they overlapped.

This happened to me recently as well (“with 2 others”) I couldn’t figure out the overlap function and I sure as heck didn’t see two other riders at my pace either in front or behind me.

[GuyContinental]

@jrenaut 25871 wrote:

I wish we could tax use super-precisely without all the hassle. I mean, if you’re taking 8 people camping, for example, a Suburban is very environmentally friendly. A 150 mile roundtrip commute, even at 40mpg, isn’t. I use my bike, my feet, or the bus for most of my transportation. When I DO drive, it’s usually with four people in the car. To really influence behavior in a beneficial way, the tax has to take that sort of thing into account. And of course enforcing that become all but impossible.

Hence the gas tax route- ignore the vehicle, think of the gallons per passenger mile at a 10% tax on top of $4/gallon (and assume that everyone splits gas)-
1 person driving 100 miles in a 10mpg suburban = .1000 gppm = tax per passenger $4.00
8 people driving 100 miles in a 10mpg suburban = .0125 gppm = tax per passenger $0.50
1 person driving 100 miles in a 50mpg hybrid = .0200 gppm = tax per passenger $0.80
8 people driving 100 miles in two 50mpg hybrids = .0050 gppm = tax per passenger $0.20

8 people driving 100 miles in a 50mpg solient-green powered suburban = .0025 gppm = tax per passenger $0.10

The tax per mile scheme ignores the incentives to drive more efficient vehicles or cram more people into less-efficient vehicles. It also ignores the relative impact of the heavier vehicle on the road. Worse, since the tax is paid by the driver instead of at the pump it lessens the incentives to car-share on long trips. The Dutch deal with this with a combination of gas taxes and GVWR (vehicle weight) taxes.

[GuyContinental]

@MCL1981 25889 wrote:

Does anyone know of a rooftop rack that can clamp/attach to the typical rectangular rooftop OEM racks?

If you are talking about the side rails, both Yakima and Thule make racks that clamp directly to the bars and then use their strong as heck crossbars (this is a great solution).

If you mean the OEM crossbars, I’ll give you a qualified yes- both of the above make shaped and universal clamps (Yakima’s are called mightymounts) that then connect to the respective rack manufacturers’ bike racks. Three warnings- 1) Your OEM horizontal crossbars probably suck; depending on the car, don’t carry more than 50# up there 2) the online vehicle fittment guides on both websites are not so great for OEM racks. You’ll probably want to call them to confirm. 3) There is a universal Yakima “mightymount” that I had to use that was silly expensive ($20 each, $80 for 4)

Another option are “Rockymounts” racks which are designed to use basically any bar. If you don’t already have bike trays this is a great way to go- the racks are slightly cheaper and come in cool colors.

***FWIW EMS has a 20% off sale on Thule right now; REI will have one on Yakima at some point. Both are high quality but proprietary mounts make them less than interchangeable

[GuyContinental]

I cringe at the administrative and privacy issues tied up in that one. IMO a gas tax plus hefty access tolls (i.e. bridges) does away with both of those issues while capturing out of towners and aligning incentives. But no, we don’t do meaningful gas taxes that would disincentivize low MPG and high weight vehicles around here.

On a side note I had cause to read the TX GOP platform document this morning, a related section caught my eye under the “Economy” section:

Transportation Fuel Taxes – We call for all transportation and fuel taxes collected to be used for road construction, improvement and maintenance only. We resolve that tax revenue derived from gasoline taxes should only be used for highway construction and not be diverted to any other use, including mass transit and bicycle paths

It’s quite the read. LINK

[GuyContinental]

@Nuke 25838 wrote:

Also, someone asked about newborns. Confirm with a pediatrician if you disagree, but infants should not be riding on a bike until at least they can hold there head up. One year plus seams to be the standard recommendation.

I had a trailer all rigged up with an automotive car seat but even so our pediatrician gave me an earful about the jostling combined with the head position resulting from the helmet. Despite the security of the seat and the roll cage on the trailer I wasn’t willing for the guy to go helmet less… I backed down and stayed married. We started when he had clear and unambiguous neck control at about 14 months.

Yes, somehow indigenous people and our own ancestors survived strapped to backs and jostled all over the place but the infant mortality rate was awfully high.

[GuyContinental]

@Tim Kelley 25710 wrote:

+1 for Chariot. We’re very happy with ours.

The only small drawback I’ve had it when I’ve taken it out on group hill rides–when climbing or sprinting out of the saddle and really rocking the bike back and forth the “ball and socket” connection between trailer can be a little jerky and the stroller will buck forward and back a little bit. A smoother power transfer like during a seated climb is just fine.

I went for a ride with a friend and his Chariot 2 this w/e and he had the identical complaint- lots of surging.

2-wheel trailers sketch me out a bit so I went with the WeeHoo iGo and iBert combo (way to much “i” marketing in this segment). Little dude (1) loves the iBert and the slightly larger dude really likes the open feel of the iGo (but pines for his iBert). The single wheel performs great on or off road but the whole set up (even with the new, lighter “pro” model) is ridiculously heavy (heavy enough that my w/e ride destroyed my BB). If I can get the older one to actually pedal (forward…) I have hopes that I won’t have to bust 9000w to get up the Custis anymore. Time will tell and the little buggers are just going to get heavier.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1375[/ATTACH]

[GuyContinental]

There is definitely still activity out there- a bobcat was cruising down the trail this morning but no detours were posted. Also, although I hope (and expect) that they do a resurface, the trail really wasn’t damaged too badly- the Reston – Herndon section is in far worse repair.

[GuyContinental]

I love the idea of a “bike bus” but imagine that few things would piss off the other trail users more…

[GuyContinental]

@jrenaut 25612 wrote:

Shoot, I guess that means I have to keep logging my rides after we hit 10,000. Good for Clif, though. I might have to go buy a bar or two.

CLIF is legitimately very cool- I had some cause to spend time in their corporate offices in Berkley a few years ago. Let’s just say that they are bike friendly with cash incentives for riding, a bike garage nearly 100m long and a wellness program that includes on-site personal trainers that will walk by your desk and “suggest” that you cancel that 3pm meeting and go for a ride/workout. Turnover is virtually 0 and everyone looks happy in that smug, “I work for a lifestyle company” sort of way. Sigh…

[GuyContinental]

@mstone 25572 wrote:

Quote Originally Posted by lordofthemark View Post
What would you say to someone who wants to do a short commute, mostly short weekend rides, an occasional longer weekend ride, and who already has a mountain bike for dirt and gravel trails?

use the mountain bike for the short commute, buy whatever you want for whatever kind of weekend ride you plan to do

I concur- use the MTB for most things and get something fun with drop bars for those longer rides (or else you probably won’t do them). The catch there is if your MTB is not exactly bike rack fodder (i.e. it’s nice) then it’s not a good candidate as it will get damaged and could get pillaged. FWIW I don’t subscribe to the “one bike to do it all” theory and instead roll with the “right tool for the job” theory and have lots of bikes (and an understanding wife):

Road Bike for daily commuting and and long rides
CX for adventures, wet weather commuting, commute detours, kid-hauling and traveling
SS MTB for w/e riding and racing
FS MTB for travel MTB, marathon & adventure races and what passes for hard biking around here (rarely used)
1×9 MTB beater for daily kick-around riding (and bike racks), errands and some kid-hauling

(and I want a Tandem for mass-family riding)

Although if I found myself living someplace where one bike was the limit, it would be a CX with a second set of wheels for long rides.

[Author]

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