Any other bicyclists out there?

**wag** · #1 07-18-2015, 03:42 PM

I love cycling and I'm very blessed to live here in the MSP area as we have a very extensive system of bike trails throughout the cities. This afternoon I was able to ride through 10 cities in one trip.
New Hope
Crystal
Robbinsdale
Brooklyn Center
Minneapolis
Golden Valley
Medicine Lake
Plymouth
Maple Grove
Brooklyn Park
and back to New Hope
It sounds more impressive than it really is (27 miles, 2 1/2 hours), but for me it's pretty good
Wayne

**John Bowden** · #2 07-18-2015, 09:08 PM

PM Jim Gausman..........he is a BIG bike guy and isn't too far from you as the crow files..........

**sparrowhawk** · #3 07-19-2015, 01:04 AM

I have been a recumbent rider almost since I was allowed to test ride one more than 20 years ago. Here in Central Europe (The Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and Austria) as well as some parts of England the recumbent movement has gained considerable momentum. In fact, a fair part of their mounts are not exactly bicycles, but rather trikes and a good share of these are fully faired, called velomobiles.
Presently I own and ride 4 "bents" (2 homebuilt from pre-made components, the other 2 heavily customized) so my car is standing around most of the time.

Cheers, Martin

**Kevin WS** · #4 07-19-2015, 03:19 AM

Nope. Here you are likely to get run over by taxis, or aggrieved motorists - the social cyclists here believe they own the road (the expensive name brand clothed wonders on bicycles that cost a fortune). Real status thing here. Unfortunately their attitude and ostentatious behaviour has spoilt it for "ordinary cyclists", as motorists generally are now ill disposed towards cyclists who break the rules of the road and block the lanes while chatting!

**Leif Ohlsson** · #5 07-19-2015, 07:34 AM

Hello Wayne & Martin!

My wife and ALWAYS transport ourselves by bicycle. 5-6 miles a day on average. We are both retired and find this a very nice way of spending parts of the day, both for household shopping and generally getting around. Plus the modest exercise is good for us booth.

The bicycles are quite modest. City bikes I guess you would call them. I have the usual 3x7 gears, and my wife a 7-gear closed rear wheel outfit. We find our 2 x 2 rear bicycle baskets will get us a week rations from the supermarket - and we don't have to load and unload it into bags several times. Just put the stuff in the baskets in the shopping cart, and you won't have to touch it until we are back in the flat again to unload it into fridges & cupboards. (Thanks to the computerized check-out which is oh, so nice.)

Leif

PS. I'm afraid we are very much guilty of blocking up the lanes chatting. Sorry, but it is so nice. We do try, though, to check what's behind. My task is to get in behind my wife to clear the lane again...

**sparrowhawk** · #6 07-19-2015, 10:06 AM

Kevin: According to a workmate of mine who did a voluntary social year in South Africa life is pretty tough when cycling: Everybody using the car, even for short errands.

Leif: I use my bents for most of my daily ways, also for shopping. I just think it to be ridiculous to use 1,25 tons of car for about 5 kilograms of food etc on a dietance of kilomters one way. Presently I am thinking about doing my next trip to France by velomobile. 500 kilometers should be feasible in four days and a half.

Cheers, Martin

**Kevin WS** · #7 07-19-2015, 10:34 AM

Yup. It is tough. That's why I stopped!

Your friend is correct. You cannot survive here without a car! So the roads are crowded. And everyone (cyclists included) drive like idiots most of the time..,....

**mbauer** · #8 07-19-2015, 11:12 AM

Occasional biker now. Used to commute every day for years. Now just pleasure ride on my road bike and mountain bike. Wilderness trail ride/camping trips. Planned two rides in the mountains this summer, but haven't made it yet. Work load at home and work have me busy.

Packed everything in when bike camping, have a B.O.B Yak trailer that can haul 75lbs of gear. (BOB = Beast Of Burden). Has a single shock that can handle big bumps.

B.O.B. with shock hasn't broken yet, old BOB without the shock broke when hauling big load and jumping it over creeks. Downhill approach, big rock buried in creek- perfect launch shape-cleared a 9ft wide creek, but the landing snapped the BOB trailer frame.

Mike

**whulsey** · #9 07-19-2015, 12:09 PM

Kevin, South Africa sounds a lot like Phoenix area for drivers and bikers.
Coming up on retirement am thinking about getting a bike, especially since I'll be moving back to California and a smaller city with a lot of farm roads around it.

**PICARDIE** · #10 07-19-2015, 01:05 PM

I'm not a cyclist but since you love to bike, you might be interested in watching "live" the steps of the Tour de France. You can watch the live coverage of the steps on the following 2 sites (free access). On France 3 from 1:50 pm (French time = UTC + 1h) then on France 2 from 2:50 pm. Both television channels are members of the same group and work together to provide almost a complete coverage of the event everyday. Last step will be on July 26th, the finish line will be on The Champs Elysées in Paris.

Note that, seemingly, Tuesday July 21st will be a day-off for the cyclists. Therefore, no TV coverage on this day.

Direct | Le direct 24/24 et en streaming | France 3
Direct | 24/24 en video et en streaming | France 2

Enjoy.