traingang

Checkmate, cyclists. AMERICA NUMBER 1

This is the latest in a series of acts of vandalism targeting Sunset Dunes since the 2-mile, 50-acre park opened in April, months after San Franciscans created it by voting to close a section of the Great Highway to cars. The measure has been highly controversial, and the supervisor who championed it, Joel Engardio, will face a recall election in September driven by groups opposed to the Upper Great Highway’s closure.

Borrowed one rather similar to this from a mate to test out whether shit's good. Have given it a few testrides now and here's my impression:

• towing it empty you really don't notice it at all. Gotta watch out in very sharp turns like hairpins, but otherwise goes off easy.

• with weight (I got up to ~15kg so far, so think like a weeks shopping) you do notice it but not nearly as much as you'd think. What's nice is if you're used to panniers for most operations your bicycle feels way less sluggish since all the weight sits a lot lower and on a rotational axle

• Parking is a bit annoying, most bike parking isn't made for vehicles that long excluding some rare cargo bike parking. So you have to unhitch it and since you probably want to lock it up, too that's a hassle. I think if I got one for myself I'd either devise some sort of lock to keep it affixed if possible and just carry a spare cable lock for all other times since they're usually fine for the 30 mins or so you spend at the store

• Going past cyclist pinch points is a full ass hassle now because there's really no way to do it without unhitching it. I avoided some routes due to this

• this one is highly area dependent but like with anything car drivers aren't used to seeing they seem to pay a lot more attention at the weirdo who's bicycle towing shit. You're also gonna get stared at a lot.

• braking doesn't seem to be really affected all that much so far. I took down my cruising speed by maybe 5 - 7kph just in case but I've not really noticed it shoving me all that much, but then I also didn't have to go full emergency brake so far.

• for most things I'd just strap down a big plastic tub on it to throw shit in, but I do like the versatility of the flatbed in case you ever need to transport something long. Theoretical legal maximum where I live would be 1,5m over the end of the trailer, which comes to about ~2,5m of length you could transport if you're willing to also push it over the edge of the connection side a bit.

• I have plenty of storage so this isn't much of an issue, but I do appreciate the wheels release at the press of a button so if you can store it upright against a wall or so it takes about 30cm of horizontal space

All in all; I think I'm gonna get one, this is pretty nifty and fills the missing middle for things I'm annoyed at having to use a car for because you can't really strap them to a standard issue bicycle, so things that are big but not hugely heavy. A weeks shopping, some particle board for DIY stuff, a beer crate or two and the like.

I got a new (second-hand) bike this week. It's got swept back handlebars and I just don't like them after riding with them for a few days. It feels like I'm holding onto a zimmer frame and I hate how I have to hold my arms to the sides

I wanna replace em with cool, non-lame handlebars like these

l will almost certainly need longer cables for my brakes and shifters though. How much of a pain in the ass would swapping out the cables be?

I started bike commuting and paying attention to ebikes in 2021. They were a rarity then, maybe 5% if that of the bikes I saw on local trails/roads. They were so rare that I knew one guy at my university as ebike guy because he was one of two students I saw riding them around campus.

This year ebikes comprise about 15-30% of the bikes I see. Lots of families, old people, and commuters. For reference, the market in Colorado has reached the point where $500 buys you an entry level ebike and $1000 gets a reliable basic commuter. A functioning used car starts at $3000-5000 and you can bike here for like 340 days out of the year while taking the shitty bus otherwise.

It's a super exciting trend to watch unfold. Each is a car off the road and someone now personally invested in expanding pedestrian infrastructure. This area is so hilly and windy that it sucks to ride a normal bike around, but ebikes make it such a pleasant experience that I've barely touched my car since getting one.

I’m wondering if it’s a Midwest thing, and depends on the cohort, but I’ve noticed that people will spontaneously meet and chat about all sorts of things (from inane to WILD trauma dumps). Anyways just my amateur anthropology lol I typically hear transit reflected as an experience where everyone keeps to themselves

The amount of people just posting evidence of them being entirely unable to drive a car with 0 consequences is insane. Great compilation of you raging out over somebody going 5 below the limit, phone in hand in the drivers seat. Really liked when you got stuck behind a lorry for 20 seconds and were frothing at the mouth over it. You're never getting your license back.

9 year old student of mine, welcome to @thewaroncars.bsky.social

https://bsky.app/profile/dinosaurtattoo.bsky.social/post/3lqfoxgqxms2c