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Leng posted:Hey thread, so this is a kind of random bike commuting question: I self-publish children's picture books (for ages 2-6) and I asked my daughter (she's 4) last night what the next book should be about. She said "riding my bike" because we do a lot of family cycling. It surprised me, but her idea is great, because the default representation of daily transportation modes in kids books is getting into a car and driving places, or train or bus. What about one about the all the bugs that hitch a ride with me when I go from point A to point B? At least those that don't get eaten anyway. learnincurve posted:The child immediately zooming off into the distance while the parents try to catch up, which is 100% a thing. This is a good idea.
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Jun 8, 2021 20:51
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I think people are aiming for a little higher age group here, less morality and lesson learning more fun for the little ‘uns. Many moons ago my 3 year old once spent an hour reading me a book about a dog called biff stealing a sausage for example. That was it, the dog stole a sausage. The illustrator in children’s books takes most of the load. Edit: for example (as the OP will be more than aware  ) you don’t need to tell kids to wear a helmet in the book. If everyone is wearing a helmet then they pick up on that and the parent can check and say “what are they all wearing?”
learnincurve fucked around with this message at 21:22 on Jun 8, 2021 |
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Jun 8, 2021 21:20
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Way behind in this discussion but we have a cargo bike and the kids love it. One thing we do is take the path along the river bank and wave to all the animals we see. Dogs, cats, horses, cows, birds, occasionally seals in the river. Our daughter always tries to spot the moon if it happens to be up during the day.
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Jun 8, 2021 22:59
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Wow, thanks everyone! Looking through all of the posts, I think there's enough ideas here for at least 2, probably 3 books about bike commuting. Welp, that means I'm doing this as a separate bikes are cool series!learnincurve posted:The child immediately zooming off into the distance while the parents try to catch up, which is 100% a thing. Safety Dance posted:I was thinking something along the lines of different bikes and the people you see using them day-to-day LoudPipesSaveLives posted:Way behind in this discussion but we have a cargo bike and the kids love it. CopperHound posted:Maybe some reference to a bike bus/train instead of carpooling. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bike_bus  This is where my head was at. I was tossing up between doing the transition from bike seat to balance bike to pedal bike (probably your more standard growing up narrative), or looking for the perfect bike (whereupon the kid would go and try all of these different bikes and find the right one for them), which would then showcase all of the different kinds of bike and bike commuting experiences.Fitzy Fitz posted:I think a kid would be interested in all the things you see and experience during a bike ride that you don't during a car ride. Like nodding at another cyclist, stopping for some geese in the path, meeting people at an intersection, hurrying to beat the rain, etc. LoudPipesSaveLives posted:One thing we do is take the path along the river bank and wave to all the animals we see. Dogs, cats, horses, cows, birds, occasionally seals in the river. Our daughter always tries to spot the moon if it happens to be up during the day. kimbo305 posted:Some reassurance or guidance about cycling in traffic / feeling more exposed to cars? learnincurve posted:You could add Drama! and realty by having to ride really fast past the hissy geese before they chase you but phew! We were too fast for them. BonHair posted:If you do this, be sure to include the old lady on the e-bike going 45kmph. BonHair posted:Knowing your co rider idiot types isn't all that bad an idea honestly. Like "guy who drives super slow but still must be in front of the line at a red light". I hate that guy, partly because he goes much slower and gets there as fast as I do. Just be sure to make it about idiot behaviour instead of stereotypes. But don't be afraid to make "guy who must use the left lane at all times" either British or a middle aged man either. 100YrsofAttitude posted:What about one about the all the bugs that hitch a ride with me when I go from point A to point B? At least those that don't get eaten anyway. sat on my keys! posted:Stopping on the way home to get flowers for someone special then riding carefully the rest of the way and running into another bike commuting friend and racing each other over a bridge. I really wanted to do a book where it was about showing how cool and fun bike commuting is, but I didn't want to be all moralistic and preachy about it. These are all fantastic ways to go about it! Fitzy Fitz posted:You gotta include at least one sick jump to make it realistic This sounds like the ending page to a story where the kid starts off being scared of riding their bike! learnincurve posted:The illustrator in children’s books takes most of the load. In all likelihood, this is also going to be me.  My illustration skills are going to dictate which of these ideas I start with first, and the bike shopping one is probably the easiest to illustrate! Though I am tempted to start with the transition from bike seat to balance bike, because my daughter starts school next year so I'd really like her to start commuting to daycare on her balance bike in hopes that next year, we can keep the same routine with going to school, and THEN when she's ready for it, she can graduate to a pedal bike and we can ride to school together.
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Jun 9, 2021 00:36
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Thinking about the flora/fauna discovery idea, with a bit of research you could definitely do showcases of different environments around the world. What one sees in the Americas, isn't the same as in Europe, as in Africa, Asia, or Australia, let alone the variation within those continents themselves. Alternatively, it could mini sight seeing tours in the great cities of the world. I don't bike in Paris much because the culture here sort of sucks, but it is cool to ride next to Notre Dame, the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, and the myriad of other landmarks around here. If we're talking cliché cyclists, I'd be the sort in casual sportswear singing loudly along to small speaker as I zoom along. I obviously stop for pedestrians which baffles them to no end. Looking forward to the final product at any rate.
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Jun 9, 2021 09:46
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my step dad taught me how to ride by telling me that when you take your training wheels off, you and your bike actually stay in place and you spin the world beneath your wheels. made me feel powerful for the first time in my life and took all the fear out of the experience. you can use that if you want
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Jun 9, 2021 20:08
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God Hole posted:my step dad taught me how to ride by telling me that when you take your training wheels off, you and your bike actually stay in place and you spin the world beneath your wheels. made me feel powerful for the first time in my life and took all the fear out of the experience. I love this
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Jun 9, 2021 22:20
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My wife got her road to work improved. Before, you had to turn off the main road into a residential area, with narrow streets, tired people leaving their driveways, hedges, and children. Now, it's separate from the cars, clearly signed, and when it crosses roads they have stop signs and it's elevated like a speedbump, so some cars even stop! 
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Jun 11, 2021 16:25
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Phosphine posted:My wife got her road to work improved. Before, you had to turn off the main road into a residential area, with narrow streets, tired people leaving their driveways, hedges, and children. "Some". But seriously that's great.
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Jun 11, 2021 17:34
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Motorists are pretty good around here. The idea of cyclists ever having right of way when crossing a road isn't entirely accepted yet, but it's also pretty new. On pedestrian crossings, we have to walk, and on combo ped/bike ones we've allowed to ride, but yield to cars, who yield to pedestrians. The new crossing type, which is elevated and has special signs, means they should yield to us as well, and I barely knew this a year ago, so I'm not super surprised a lot of drivers don't either. We're also not actively hated on by most drivers, and usually when sharing roads out in the countryside they pass sanely as well. Mostly. Edit: "here" being a fairly large (for us) city in Sweden, where the city council actively encourages cycling, with proper measures. It's no Netherlands (I miss biking there), but it's pretty good. Phosphine fucked around with this message at 22:25 on Jun 11, 2021 |
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Jun 11, 2021 22:21
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I don't generally have to worry about aggressive drivers but my state allows cellphone use while driving because  so distracted driving is pretty common. This morning a jeep blew right through a red light in front of me as I crossed on green. 2 seconds later and I wouldn't be posting now.
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Jun 11, 2021 22:40
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You know when you read or hear something that stops you in your tracks for a second and blows your mind a bit?God Hole posted:you and your bike actually stay in place and you spin the world beneath your wheels. Whoa
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Jun 12, 2021 10:48
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sweat poteto posted:but my state allows cellphone use while driving 
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Jun 12, 2021 12:20
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drat... and it's definitely an offense here, but that doesn't stop everyone from doing it constantly. I almost got run over by a motorcycle because he was looking at his phone and not his path which was the bikepath/sidewalk, which he shouldn't have been on in the first place. I'm curious, does anyone here smoke and ride a bike? More and more people are on their bikes, with the nicer weather, and I see quite a few smokers on them, which is fine, but I can't imagine that makes it easy. I was never a regular smoker, but would smoke at a party every now and then, but when I began seriously running, I had to stop because my lungs just could not take the running with even that tiny bit of smoke. It's rather impressive, really.
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Jun 12, 2021 13:10
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LoudPipesSaveLives posted:You know when you read or hear something that stops you in your tracks for a second and blows your mind a bit? if its something you keep track of, guarantee you're gonna PR your next ride 100YrsofAttitude posted:I'm curious, does anyone here smoke and ride a bike? More and more people are on their bikes, with the nicer weather, and I see quite a few smokers on them, which is fine, but I can't imagine that makes it easy. I was never a regular smoker, but would smoke at a party every now and then, but when I began seriously running, I had to stop because my lungs just could not take the running with even that tiny bit of smoke. It's rather impressive, really. my high school's residents stoner and star football player were pretty good friends. one day i was driving by and saw the rail-thin stoner kid very nonchalantly pedaling his BMX bike up a steep incline towards town wearing lopsided ray bans and a lit cigarette hanging loosely from his mouth. behind him standing on the rear pegs and hands clasped tightly upon his shoulders was the football star, weighing in at about twice his size, his eyes fixed upon the horizon and what awaited them there. i remember thinking "i should start smoking"
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Jun 12, 2021 15:01
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100YrsofAttitude posted:I'm curious, does anyone here smoke and ride a bike? kimbo305 posted:The GSD has been in the back of my mind for a while. Hadlock posted:Can you post an updated photo of what your Bullitt looks like after...3? years? I haven't kept track, of almost daily use, I'm genuinely curious how these things hold up as a replacement for a family car under actual conditions. Glossy marketing photos aren't very Real Things that sucked: - needed new crank because some rear end in a top hat put one pedal on without enough anti-seize (rear end in a top hat was me AFAICR) - canopy was a disaster of ripped windows and failed zippers. Do not buy the canopy. - needed a new steering ball-joint (about 20 bucks?) because the original one wore out. - steering (especially with fat tire in the front) could get wobbly at high speeds (>40kph) without the damper. The new bullitt is fine (up to ~60kph at least) even without the damper because it has a beefy, tapered steerer. - powdercoat wore out a bit where my older kids stands with their mucky boots after a couple years. Maintenance is basically 2x chains a year, brake bleed and pads 1x/year, and that's about it. Winter and summer tires last about 3 years (we do a few 1000k per year). It has basically avoided us buying/insuring/filling/maintaining/parking a car, and instead we rent one a few times a year. The difference in expenses is *staggering*, and we could buy a new e-bullitt every other year for cost of keeping around a midsize wagon that wouldn't even be a fun drive. I think that's about it. Phosphine posted:Edit: "here" being a fairly large (for us) city in Sweden, where the city council actively encourages cycling, with proper measures. It's no Netherlands (I miss biking there), but it's pretty good. Phosphine posted:Motorists are pretty good around here. The idea of cyclists ever having right of way when crossing a road isn't entirely accepted yet, but it's also pretty new. On pedestrian crossings, we have to walk, and on combo ped/bike ones we've allowed to ride, but yield to cars, who yield to pedestrians. The new crossing type, which is elevated and has special signs, means they should yield to us as well, and I barely knew this a year ago, so I'm not super surprised a lot of drivers don't either. God Hole posted:my step dad taught me how to ride by telling me that when you take your training wheels off, you and your bike actually stay in place and you spin the world beneath your wheels. made me feel powerful for the first time in my life and took all the fear out of the experience. 
evil_bunnY fucked around with this message at 22:45 on Jun 12, 2021 |
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Jun 12, 2021 17:48
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100YrsofAttitude posted:drat... and it's definitely an offense here, but that doesn't stop everyone from doing it constantly. I almost got run over by a motorcycle because he was looking at his phone and not his path which was the bikepath/sidewalk, which he shouldn't have been on in the first place. I'm not a smoker, but I can't imagine it would be terribly difficult to smoke cigarettes on your bike. Easier than eating a piece of bread which I do sometimes at least. In my experience, people who smoke on their bikes are pretty slow in a seemingly lazy way, but I think that's more about demographics than anything.
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Jun 12, 2021 19:08
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What are those little rings on the back of a Brooks B17 saddle for? Novelty license plate?
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Jun 12, 2021 19:13
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Skrill.exe posted:What are those little rings on the back of a Brooks B17 saddle for? Novelty license plate? A small bag for tools and whatnot.  Available in both modern designs and "painfully hipster".
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Jun 12, 2021 19:26
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In my younger days, even I always carried around stuff to fix a flat tire, those bags (and a pump that fit in the frame) would have made a lot of sense to me. Flat tires are a lot more uncommon today though, and with a bike shop on every corner, I just don't bother. If I was going on a biking vacation, I'd definitely pack it though.
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Jun 12, 2021 19:35
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I used to smoke, gave up during lockdown and have found I go considerably quicker on the awesome eMTB I bought with the money I saved.
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Jun 12, 2021 22:01
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KozmoNaut posted:A small bag for tools and whatnot. Seems like it would get in the way of my novelty license plate.
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Jun 12, 2021 22:27
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evil_bunnY posted:
One things that's great about my town is that both the town center and any new (read: last 30 years) areas lack central roads. There are ring roads around the areas, with occasional roads into them, but no road going through, so there's very little traffic on the roads inside near houses. They also build tunnels under large roundabouts where you have to cross the large roads between areas, so generally you are very spared from traffic. I'm moving to a suburb-ish this fall, and from our house I will be able to get on a bike path without touching a road, and get to work 6km away crossing only like three streets, none of which are large or heavily trafficked, because most traffic is diverted to the one big road, which I go under instead.
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Jun 12, 2021 22:32
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KozmoNaut posted:A small bag for tools and whatnot. That's a pitifully small bag. The saddlebag can be, and has been for a long time, a serious gear-hauling apparatus. 
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Jun 12, 2021 23:36
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The most recent episode of the War on Cars was focused on the lack of bike lanes in Lego City sets. The proposal in Lego Ideas is actually really neat! 
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Jun 13, 2021 04:11
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SimonSays posted:That's a pitifully small bag. The saddlebag can be, and has been for a long time, a serious gear-hauling apparatus. Sackville Bagginses putting out good products these days.
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Jun 13, 2021 06:01
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SimonSays posted:That's a pitifully small bag. The saddlebag can be, and has been for a long time, a serious gear-hauling apparatus. That's a lovely bag. I'm happy with my polyester dealies on the side for now but I can dream of being that fancy one day. Cugel the Clever posted:The most recent episode of the War on Cars was focused on the lack of bike lanes in Lego City sets. The proposal in Lego Ideas is actually really neat! That's a great idea. Normalizing stuff like that is incredibly important.
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Jun 13, 2021 09:19
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Does any company make a bike that has an IGH, disc brakes, and a dyno hub? I'm starting a new job soon and they have a scheme were I can get an interest-free 3-year loan to purchase a new bike. It'd be my main method of transport for *all* events (i.e. including formal and social events) so belt drive or a protected chain case would be nice so I don't wind up with grease on my suit. But I would also like to be able to take it on casual rides of 20-50 km. This is in the UK-- we can still get EU brands of bikes out here (for now) so that may help inform.
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Jun 13, 2021 09:22
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Vitesse are the only ones doing fully enclosed that I can recall - this is my ebike, The Boardman URB 8.9 Urban Hybrid has everything you want but all the enclosing stuff.
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Jun 13, 2021 09:35
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Cugel the Clever posted:The most recent episode of the War on Cars was focused on the lack of bike lanes in Lego City sets. The proposal in Lego Ideas is actually really neat! The irony of LEGO being from one of the cycliest countries in the world, but still making their city sets car-centric.
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Jun 13, 2021 10:12
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Hi thread, over a year ago this bike was abandoned in front of my house. It’s a Rocky Mountain Whistler 10, I’m not sure of the year but maybe 2004? After checking to see if anyone reported it stolen I started fixing up the obvious issues and trying to learn about bike mechanics as I go. I’m only good for a few miles at the moment, but not in horrible shape and am hoping to eventually commute to work, at least partially, via bike whenever I have to go back to the office. I’m about 16 miles N of downtown Seattle. So far I’ve replaced both tires, bottom bracket, brake calipers & pads, crankset, chain, pedals, seat, grips, all lines and cleaned up everything as best I can. I ran into trouble putting the rear hub back together, thought I kept track of everything well but the rubber parts were all cracked anyways, so took it to a shop to sort out for me. I’m pretty sure this bike isn’t “worth” doing much to, but it’s a good size for me and I like trying to give things a second life if possible. I haven’t had a bike in over 20 years and it’s so much fun to cruise around! I need to get some fenders for sure, any other advice or suggestions for the bike, or building up my distances in the next few months? Lots of hills around here! I’m guessing most of what I need to do is just ride as much as possible, haha.
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Jun 14, 2021 03:06
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knifehitz posted:
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Jun 14, 2021 03:32
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kimbo305 posted:How has the combination of saddle and suspension seat post worked out for you? A lot of the cheaper ones lose their bounce after a while. You might be in that situation and could benefit from a lighter normal seatpost. Similarly, if you have your position figured out, you could replace the adjustable stem with a solid one, which should save a couple oz. This is great advice, I actually had no idea that was supposed to be a suspension seat post lol. It doesn’t seem to have any bounce to speak of, so I will be replacing that! The saddle itself seems decent so far, much better than the worn & too large stock seat. Definitely worth the $12 haha. I will need some time to get my position dialed in more finely and will put a regular post on there. Thanks!
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Jun 14, 2021 03:47
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God Hole posted:my step dad taught me how to ride by telling me that when you take your training wheels off, you and your bike actually stay in place and you spin the world beneath your wheels. made me feel powerful for the first time in my life and took all the fear out of the experience. That's incredible. Its great advice for a kid. Learning to ride a bike is your first chance at speed, self assurance, independence and exploration. It was always an escape to some kind of personal freedom as a kid- being told I was also moving the earth would have made me feel so cool. Reminds me of my dad having an awesome old Peugeot road bike and always giving me poo poo for my own bikes as a kid not being as good as his. Then one day in a drunken rage he cut it in half  100YrsofAttitude posted:drat... and it's definitely an offense here, but that doesn't stop everyone from doing it constantly. I almost got run over by a motorcycle because he was looking at his phone and not his path which was the bikepath/sidewalk, which he shouldn't have been on in the first place. There's plenty of pictures of old timey bike racers smoking but my favourite fact comes from the Tour de France. Back in the early 1900s it was thought that tobacco smoke "opened the lungs" and so before major hill climbs the peloton would light a cigarette and pass it around. I can't think of anything worse... SimonSays posted:That's a pitifully small bag. The saddlebag can be, and has been for a long time, a serious gear-hauling apparatus. For when you need the maximum amount of junk in the trunk!
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Jun 14, 2021 12:47
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SimonSays posted:That's a pitifully small bag. The saddlebag can be, and has been for a long time, a serious gear-hauling apparatus. That would make more sense, on my Brompton, then adding the rear rack. Add my front "T-Bag" and I could tour with that.
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Jun 14, 2021 23:26
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Phosphine posted:My wife got her road to work improved. Before, you had to turn off the main road into a residential area, with narrow streets, tired people leaving their driveways, hedges, and children. I am extremely jealous of this. In today's commuting story: - this morning, we were running late so I was in a rush - a courier pulls into the driveway as we ride down - I'm expecting a package and of course it turns out that he's here to deliver it - since we're late, I put it in the (already loaded) front basket and we keep going - we get to a large busy intersection with lots of pedestrians and stop at the red light, behind a car, with a line of cars behind us - the second car actually pulls up beside us, not behind us, so now I'm feeling the pressure - when the light turns green, the car in front starts inching forward and I am just super conscious of the car next to us so I start inching forward too - now as you all know, I am a petite Asian woman so I can't reach the ground with my feet while mounted, and the bike was heavier than usual this morning - the car in front is moving so slowly that I'm wobble, wobble, wobble, wobbling, and then inevitable happens where the bike, bub and I all just slowly keel over onto the road, half on the kerb and half not. It was such a slow fall that the only damage was a couple of scratches and scraps on the bike and bub's bike seat. Bub said that she bumped her head on one of the concrete planters (  and also  how did she inherit her father's ability to hit her head on things when wearing a freaking helmet) but she was super cheerful about it so it must have been a really light bump. As to the driver of the car that made me so nervous in the first place, she jumped right out immediately to check we were okay and to pick up the bike and get going again.Turns out she's a cyclist too  So moral of the story: - rushing while riding makes you do stupid things - don't pull up in a car next to a cyclist, no matter how far away you think you are, because this is super nerve wracking - some drivers can actually be nice - separated cycling infrastructure should be built everywhere Also last night I finish writing the first draft of the Chinese text for the cycling book, and there is literally two lines about the mom character (me) going out on the e-bike and one of those lines is something to the effect of "be careful, watch out in front!" I think I jinxed myself.
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Jun 15, 2021 03:30
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Leng posted:Also last night I finish writing the first draft of the Chinese text for the cycling book, and there is literally two lines about the mom character (me) going out on the e-bike and one of those lines is something to the effect of "be careful, watch out in front!"
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Jun 15, 2021 05:25
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I nearly wiped out yesterday. There's an underpass for bikes and pedestrians which a thundershower had previously flooded. There was a large deposit of wet silty mud left, which i noticed and avoided in the morning but completely forgot about in the afternoon. I hit it at speed while trail braking into a turn, on a bike with slicks. The result was a two wheel skid that could have easily caused a crash but didn't since I got lucky. I guess the takeaway is that riding the same route every day can be dangerous since it's easy to think you know exactly where the dangers are and then something changes and your autopilot mindset is all of a sudden a big problem.
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Jun 15, 2021 09:59
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Animal Friend posted:There's plenty of pictures of old timey bike racers smoking but my favourite fact comes from the Tour de France. Back in the early 1900s it was thought that tobacco smoke "opened the lungs" and so before major hill climbs the peloton would light a cigarette and pass it around. I can't think of anything worse... Of course smoking is bad for cardio fitness, but training matters more (until you're old and your lungs just totally give out). All of those smoking bikers would leave us in the dust with a cigarette dangling from their lips.   
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Jun 15, 2021 10:53
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AreWeDrunkYet posted:Of course smoking is bad for cardio fitness, but training matters more (until you're old and your lungs just totally give out). All of those smoking bikers would leave us in the dust with a cigarette dangling from their lips. Wasn't there some 'theory' that irritating your lungs would give you a brief increase in capacity? I know that if I have a cold coming on SOMETIMES I would be a bit faster that day. Probabily BS and smoking sucks.
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Jun 15, 2021 16:36
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