Uzytkownik "The Danimal" <dmocsny@mfm.com> napisal w wiadomosci
news:cac1ad88.0411280625.2a7f0ab8@posting.google.com...
> "mrs.turtoni" <mrsturtoni@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:<9vGdnQQJpee8tzTcRVn-qw@comcast.com>...
> > Somebody actually thinks about some of your short novels.
> > In lieu of the jewelry my husband was planning as a
> > Christmas gift, I asked for a bicycle.
>
> Practical advice:
>
> 1. Read a book about bicycling. It's a lot more complex and
> subtle than a beginner is likely to appreciate. For example:
>
>
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0671870750/qid=1101649330/sr=2-2/ref=pd_ka_b_2_2/103-7887055-5905437
> Sloane's Complete Book of Bicycling: The Cyclist's Bible (25th
> Anniversary Edition)
> by Eugene Sloane
>
> 2. Join your local bicycle club. They can show you where to ride,
> and how to ride. Most importantly, you will meet serious bicyclists
> who have overcome the local obstacles to bicycling in your area.
> Whatever those obstacles happen to be, they are probably serious
> (if you see more cars than bikes where you live, the proportion
> indicates your probable difficulty).
>
> 3. Study maps. Your choice of routes is more important than your
> choice of bike. Ask your club or bike shop if they have bicycle
> route maps for your area. If you simply blunder out into traffic
> with no knowledge of your local routes from a bicycling perspective,
> you may have a very unpleasant experience.
>
> 4. Giving a bicycle as a gift is somewhat difficult, because
> you'd like to have a competent mechanic fit the bicycle to
> the recipient.
>
> 5. Bicycles and associated gear (helmet, shorts, shoes) are
> generally cheapest just after Christmas. Rather than actually
> give the bicycle itself as a Christmas gift, if you feel you
> must have that ritual, it would be smartest to exchange a
> token of some sort to represent the gift, and then go take
> a trip to the bike shop together for your selection, purchase,
> and fitting.
>
> 6. Shoes: I recommend "mountain bike" shoes with recessed SPD
> cleats even if you intend to ride solely on pavement. "Road"
> shoes are much harder to walk in, and are best reserved for
> the fantasy world of elite racing in which the pampered athlete
> always has his team car following closely behind, with his
> mechanic and his apres-race clogs. In the real world, you will
> have to dismount your bicycle occasionally and walk on
> rough surfaces (construction zones, etc.), or enter food
> stores and negotiate their slick linoleum floors.
>
> 7. Another major factor is the weather. If your area has winters,
> you probably don't want to start riding during one. Cold-weather
> riding is something of an advanced skill, requiring considerable
> understanding of how to dress, and knowledge of other aspects
> of bicycling so you don't have to learn those other things
> under the added stress of a raw, biting day.
>
> 8. Spinning bikes are an excellent way to build and maintain
> fitness, and get used to the pedaling motion before you introduce
> the dynamic complications of moving through the real world.
>
> 9. Dress conspicuously. Shorts, tights, and shoes should be
> black, because they will eventually run into greasy chains
> and such, but your upper body is more out of grime's way
> and should be the brightest thing in a motorist's field of
> view. Your outside layer (jacket or jersey) should be fluorescent
> yellow or orange. A bicyclist at 300 feet appears no larger than
> your thumb at arm's length. A motorist can close that gap in
> 3 seconds. In normal-colored clothing you will be incredibly hard
> to see against the visual clutter on the roadway. You need to be
> as bright as possible. Not only do day-glo colors make you stand
> out, but they also make it clear that you get it.
>
> 10. Be aware of what you can't see. The secondary roads popular
> with bicyclists because of their low traffic tend to have more
> hills, intersections, and turns with poor sight lines. Assume the
> worst about anything you can't see, and keep your speed so your
> stopping distance is less than your sight line (that is, so you
> can always stop at a point you can see when you start braking).
>
> 11. This is war. In war there are casualties. Never surrender.
> If motorists give you a hard time, at any time, calmly ask
> them why they are supporting terrorism.
>
> -- the Danimal
Good article. A lot of people are particularly unaware of the need to build
the bike around their own physique (your point 4), with the result that some
people give it up after experiencing unnecessary discomfort.
Uncle Davey
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