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Hi all,
We have a double-wall bike box down here at the BikeTexas office that we need to get rid of. It is free for the taking.
We also have some other, non-bike boxes of various sizes that are up for grabs.
Call our office at 476-7433 and ask for Lynn if you want any of them. We're open 9 - 5.
I've always thought it was a no-brainer. I'm actually a bit shocked to hear that they currently allow unlicensed drivers to, illegally because they are unlicensed, drive away. For the police to allow illegal activity to continue simply doesn't make sense.
I tried the Ride Report app for several weeks. I thought that in addition to helping out with data collection, it would be great to have an automatic log of how many miles I ride.
Unfortunately, the app did not work very well for me. Well over half of my trips were misclassified regarding my mode of travel, and a lot of bike trips simply didn't record at all. I've stopped using it and gone back to Strava.
I LOVE the Strava heatmap. I could stare at that thing all day long.
FrankenBike Austin is back at BikeTexas for Bike Month! Come check out our new location at 3301-B East 5th Street, at the corner of 5th and Allen. There is plenty of room for everyone, so bring it if you got it!
We're delighted to also have live music provided by local band Climate Change. Stop by from 10-4 for live music and the coolest bike swap around.
FrankenBike is a free bike swap meet held once a month that is open to anyone who wants to buy, sell, or trade bicycles and bicycle-related gear or parts. Bring your tents, chairs, and stuff and join the fun!
Will do. Feel free to drop by and say Hi if you're at Frankenbike tomorrow.
The boxes are gone.
I rode the 801 bus downtown the other day and amused myself by looking to see how many drivers were texting. My estimate was over 1/3. This changed, however, when we got to the Drag: all of the cellphones got put away very fast! It was pretty congested and I guess they all felt the need to perk up and pay attention.
Bingo. Before my injury when I was able to run, my training loop included Guadalupe from 51st to Koenig (which I ran very late at night or very early morning), and around 51st St. the sidewalks are DARK, broken, and often littered with debris.
I run in that area and I agree about the sidewalks. They're even worse in Highland. Parked cars, broken pavement, untrimmed trees and shrubs, animal feces, poor lighting, trash, mud, you name it. I don't feel obligated to run on sidewalks like this. I keep an eye out for bikes but I'm more concerned about SUVs.
Runners in the bike lane bug me when I'm riding my bike, but not nearly as much as motor vehicles, both illegally parked and moving. Passing a runner means going a whole 3 feet out of my way. I've crossed mountain ranges on my bike. I think I can pass a few runners ;)
Whoops! I can see an "email" link at the left side of each post, therefore I assumed everyone could. I'll email you; I'm not comfy broadcasting my personal email address on an open-to-the-public board.
I need to rent or borrow a flatbed bike trailer to haul a sofa on. The sofa is 34 inches on its shortest side, and the flatbed that I own is only 22 inches across.
I live near Lamar & 2222 and would like to not have to tow the trailer home more than 10 miles.
I'm planning to give away the sofa so I would like to keep this on the cheap side. I might ask the sofa recipient to split the cost with me if I have to rent. I'm also willing to trade services and bake some cookies or a lasagna or whatever in exchange for use of the trailer.
Email me if you're interested. You can also email if you're interested in the sofa and willing to haul it yourself. It's not in great shape but it is structurally rock solid and clean, and would be great for someone who is in college or just starting out and needs something besides the floor to sit on.
Lynn
I live across the street from Reilly Elementary, and that school zone makes me really nervous on school mornings. I either bike commute or walk and take the train, and I have to leave right during rush hour. There's just way too much going on - heavy moving traffic with lots of turning vehicles and too many drivers on their cell phones, cars and SUVs waiting at the curb with lights on and engines running, and a busy pedestrian crossing + jaywalkers (only one crosswalk on Denson, and it's at the busy intersection with Guadalupe). It's hard to keep track of everything, especially when it's dark out. My biggest fear is that I'll be hit by a turning car while I'm walking to the train station. I can't fathom anyone sending their kid alone through that mess.
Most of the time I feel like my neighborhood is very pedestrian and bike friendly; that's why we bought our house there. It's just the school zone that's bad during rush hour.
Could anyone tell me where I could complain about being harassed and buzzed by a city bus driver? I have the route, coach number, location, time, etc.
I have a flatbed that I use for groceries and general hauling. I really like the flexibility of a flatbed combined with bungee cords. I purchased mine cheap on Craigslist and fixed it up; I have some photos on my blog here: http://titianknitter.wordpress.com/2010 … ler-rehab/.
In the end, I don't think that buying a cheap trailer and fixing it up saved any money over buying something new, or used in good condition, would have been. However, I got exactly what I wanted and I enjoyed the project.
I definitely notice a difference in how the bike handles when I tow. There is a little resistance against leaning into turns. However, when I'm hauling, I'm not generally concerned with speed or cutting sharp corners, so it's OK. I don't pedal any harder; I just use a lower gear. My experience has been that cars give me lots more room than normal when I'm towing.
If you think that you will haul lots of heavy stuff, you might look into how much of a load your rear wheel and tire will handle. Also note that it's much easier to hitch the trailer to the bike when the trailer is *empty!* Attach first, then load.
My insurance agent has always asked how many miles per year that my husband and I drove each of our cars, and classified the cars accordingly. I agree, however, that lower mileage doesn't seem to equal a low insurance rate.
I recently sold my car, so we are now a one-car household. My husband was less than enthusiastic, but saying that I would join the carshare seemed to ease his mind considerably. Pointing out how much we spent on maintenance for my car during the first 6 months of this year also helped, particularly after I indexed that number to the total number of days I was driving and determined that renting or taking taxis would have been cheaper.
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/n … rking.html
"And bicyclists will really like it because you get that eye contact," Baker said.
Drivers make eye contact and then proceed to pull out in front of me all the time. Why am I supposed to like this?
I was looking at that route on the map. Couldn't figure out why Duval west of 183 is marked in red on the bike map. I've gone to Walgreens up there a few times, and to Chuy's, and always thought that it was OK. Maybe it gets really busy during rush hour?
I'm looking for some route advice for getting from my home, which is 1/2 mile west of 183 and about 50 yards south of 360, to the ACC Northridge campus at Metric and Stonehollow.
It's easy enough to get there taking the bus from the Arboretum to Metric, but I'd really like to get the exercise and I dislike being constrained by the bus schedule. I've been on Braker Lane a bit, to get to the Domain, but the fast traffic and lack of a shoulder or bike lane make me a bit nervous. Any suggestions?
Anyone out there more optimistic than that?
You called?
I've noticed that while I am on my bike, at least 99 out or every 100 drivers are quite courteous - they wait extra long to pull out of drives until I've passed, make eye contact and wave me through at intersections, don't get on my case at all when I'm crawling up a hill and holding them up, etc. I smile at them, and they smile back! The instant I get into my car and pull out of my driveway, however, at least 50 of those drivers turn into absolute jerks. I can't even think of the last time that anyone voluntarily allowed me to merge onto the highway. Heaven forbid they should reach their destinations 3 seconds late! My husband was rear-ended in his car last week when he slowed down to observe a yield sign - the other driver was not expecting him to slow and voluntarily give right-of-way. I don't even want to think about the parking lot wars - have you ever seen two drivers be nice to each other over a parking spot? When my husband and I moved here two years ago, I started forming the impression that most of the folks here are maniacs, based on the way they drive. Getting a bike this spring and putting in lots of urban miles has changed my view of the people here, just because so many of them suddenly are so nice.
Yes, I'm aware that I'm being a touch optimistic. However, riding around town with this mindset has been the heck of a lot more fun than hunkering over the handlebars feeling like "they" are out to get me was. I still attempt to practice the best defensive riding I can, but now I try to focus on all of the nice folks out there instead of the few unhappy ones. Yes, there are incidents of motorists purposefully running down cyclists and pedestrians. There are also "road rage" incidents on our highways and in our parking lots involving car vs. car that we don't hear of at all anymore, because they have become so mundane.
I don't think that the animosity between bikes and cars we are discussing here is simply a case of "us vs. them." I think that it is a smaller part of a larger problem on our roads, and that as a nation we have become impatient, selfish drivers, far too ready to both give and receive appalling displays of temper at the smallest imagined slight. We talk a lot here on this list about driver education regarding cyclists, but in my opinion what we really need is a national change of mind and heart regarding our manners on the road towards *everyone.*
The store on Anderson Lane doesn't have racks anywhere close, either. The last time I was there I locked up to a railing. I hadn't realized that I could just walk my bike in - I'll have to remember that!
Strip malls in general seem to lack racks.
I've gone over the dam on the sidewalk without incident. That part of the hike-and-bike trail has been very quiet the few times I've been out there.
I usually wear shorts, sandels, and a tee shirt but I have a costume tux jacket with long tails and a nice top hat that I wear for special occasions.
He also tips his hat in a very suave manner!
Anyone know what is the deal with Steck? My trip to the hardware store this afternoon was a bit more exciting than I could have hoped for! Is this fine gravel some part of the paving process that I'm unfamiliar with?
Lynn
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