Comments on: 08/18/2008 – Where She Learned Some Things

By: paul

paul — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 20:29:39 +0000

Sheldon is a hero, simply that.

By: JohnB

JohnB — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:30:09 +0000

Scott, good to find another cyclist who takes the lane at stops rather than splitting! I know someone who was in a crash recently because he was filtering up on the right of stop-and-go traffic, and didn’t see a turning car that the stopped cars next to him had waved through. The driver did not see him, either. (He’ll be okay, but he has medical expenses and is pursuing a court case.)

By: Tom Revay

Tom Revay — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:13:07 +0000

pedally — What’r'ya? A wimp? C’mon, if you really wanted to ride, you’d happily use the The ShelBroCo Bicycle Chain Cleaning System. AND you’d ride on a ShelBroCo RealMan saddle! (http://sheldonbrown.com/real-man.html ) Now get your chain cleaned, mount that granite saddle (using a TORK-GRIP torque wrench!), get out there, and RIDE!

And, I will write no more ’bout bike lanes, or any other kinda road stuff.
What I will say is that on many, many issues, Sheldon “What works best!” Brown and Yehuda Moon are cut of the same cloth. They both like durable, serviceable bikes and practical cycling. And for both of them, cycling is fun. And they both work in family run bike shops that are part of their neighborhood. That says a lot of good about both of them.

By: Scott McElhiney

Scott McElhiney — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 18:59:21 +0000

Thanks Tom for mentioning that article. I’ve come to the independent conclusion that bike lanes are much more dangerous than vehicular cycling, MUPs also. MUPS mix to many people without an emphasis on transportation and pedestrians tend to clog the entire path while oblivious to their surroundings. Bike lanes further ‘inattentive blindness’ on the part of drivers as they initially process us as ‘not a threat’ and we cease to exist for them until they run us over making a turn. I take enough lane and drive following the same rules of the road so that they have to deal with me like any other vehicle when riding city streets. I cue up at lights rather than lane splitting, take the middle of the lane when at a light or approaching an intersection to avoid getting right hooked. I enjoyed your article, I seem to have the same concerns you do. Some of the most useful bike paths here in Tacoma have some frighteningly dangerous crossings with traffic where your to the right of an off ramp from a major freeway… and those drivers can turn right on red, usually while looking left, not seeing us coming out from the other side of a jersey barrier on their right with a green crossing signal telling us to go while they are turning to run us over.

I think I like the idea of sharrows… haven’t experienced them myself, but the idea appears valid… marks out that we belong IN the lane of traffic and away from the parked cars, and where we can’t get right hooked.

By: JohnB

JohnB — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:31:05 +0000

Thanks for that article, Tom! I had not seen it before, but just looked it up now based on these comments. Good thoughts.

By: Tom Revay

Tom Revay — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 12:09:26 +0000

Elkid — I wrote that article on the separated lanes in New York. Sheldon thought it was worthy of putting on his website, and so he did.

Micro — I didn’t write that the strip declared Sheldon in favor of bike lanes. What I wrote was that he was no fan of them, and I can say this because I knew him.

All — I think it’s great that Yehuda Moon remembered Sheldon. But I think it’s a shame that the never-ending bike lane debate got dragged into it at all. It could have been left out, just this once, especially since Sheldon and Yehuda would probably not agree on them.

I miss the guy. I still turn to his pages regularly, and I’ve lately been reading his accounts of cycling in California in the years before MS prevented him from riding. Yet that affliction never stopped his life, which continued to grow and enrich others’ lives thorough his great effort and example. At least in my case, it still does.

By: ElKid

ElKid — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 04:46:35 +0000

I read again Sheldon’s article on bike lanes. He was not against them per se. What he was against was the impracticality of “bikeways” [which is different from bike lanes] in New York City. What he advocated was to Educate cyclists on vehicular cycling on the use of the road Everywhere and Everytime. The 3-Es.

By: Zorba

Zorba — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 03:33:17 +0000

Utterly the best strip yet! The best part is that Sheldon would understand both Joe’s and Yehuda’s philosophies.

By: ElKid

ElKid — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 03:18:41 +0000

Right on, Mirco!

By: Mirco

Mirco — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 23:43:34 +0000

“have you heard of him” I love it. I remember that time fondly.

Tom… Rick made no intonations toward Sheldon himself being for or against the bike lanes, And Yehuda’s passion for them is not related to Sheldon in any way, so why should one consider Sheldon’s opinion of them, whatever it may be?

If you are as concerned about not trodding on anyone’s toes, alive or not, you should be very very careful indeed about where you choose to ride your bike, because on the road, you are upsetting motorists. If you ride on the sidewalk, you are upsetting peds.

point is, this is about as benign as I can see anything being. Let’s not get our panties in a bunch about nothing, hm?