Bike Me

Flick: Are you kidding? Stick my tongue to that stupid pole? That’s dumb! Schwartz: That’s ’cause you know it’ll stick! Flick: You’re full of it! Schwartz: Oh yeah? Flick: Yeah! Schwartz: Well I double-DOG-dare ya! Ralphie as Adult: [narrating] NOW it was serious. A double-dog-dare. What else was there but a “triple dare ya”? And then, the coup de grace of all dares, the sinister triple-dog-dare. Schwartz: I TRIPLE-dog-dare ya! Ralphie as Adult: [narrating] Schwartz created a slight breach of etiquette by skipping the triple dare and going right for the throat!
A Christmas Story (1983)

So it’s gonna get wicked cold! Cold as in, it hasn’t been this cold for years cold!
Some might suggest that you should stay off your bike..to which you reply… Are you crazy? I have to ride… it’s in my blood. I love winter here in New England, I’m, I’m…OK so it’s my only way around I have to ride and it really sucks! But I’m gonna do it anyway! As they say down south, get ‘er done…

Alrighty then…well dress warm…really warm! But remember this, everything moves slower in the cold. I think I remember something about Absolute Zero from long ago school days. Winter in Boston, on a bicycle, it takes hardy souls to ride in such conditions. Hey, but you are one of them…you refuse to let sub zero temperatures and or wind chills, snow or slush to slow your cycling down. Kinda like winter surfing on the New Hampshire coast! Only not as wet, for the most part.

Please remember a couple of things among which are…You are going to be a even bigger surprise than usual to drivers that will “see” you even less. And your having extra everythings on, will have a hard time seeing and hearing, not to mention with the snow conditions in the streets it will be dicey 24/7.

It is in weather like this that the grease in your head set and bottom crank can get stiff plus even the cables can be sticky. Tires get low, hydraulic brake lines can become very brittle. Storing you bike outside might become necessary because a warm surface allows for melting/condensation etc. to get into places that, when you return to outdoors, will freeze fast and solid. Needing to check your brakes often, before you need them and because it clears any snow off the rims. Oh for joy! Sounds like real fun!

But despite all this, it is your McMurdo Station attitude that make it the ultimate BIKE ME statement!

Ride safe and stay warm!

Flick: Are you kidding? Stick my tongue to that stupid pole? That’s dumb! Schwartz: That’s ’cause you know it’ll stick! Flick: You’re full of it! Schwartz: Oh yeah? Flick: Yeah! Schwartz: Well I double-DOG-dare ya! Ralphie as Adult: [narrating] NOW it was serious. A double-dog-dare. What else was there but a “triple dare ya”? And then, the coup de grace of all dares, the sinister triple-dog-dare. Schwartz: I TRIPLE-dog-dare ya! Ralphie as Adult: [narrating] Schwartz created a slight breach of etiquette by skipping the triple dare and going right for the throat!
A Christmas Story (1983)

So it’s gonna get wicked cold! Cold as in, it hasn’t been this cold for years cold!
Some might suggest that you should stay off your bike..to which you reply… Are you crazy? I have to ride… it’s in my blood. I love winter here in New England, I’m, I’m…OK so it’s my only way around I have to ride and it really sucks! But I’m gonna do it anyway! As they say down south, get ‘er done…

Alrighty then…well dress warm…really warm! But remember this, everything moves slower in the cold. I think I remember something about Absolute Zero from long ago school days. Winter in Boston, on a bicycle, it takes hardy souls to ride in such conditions. Hey, but you are one of them…you refuse to let sub zero temperatures and or wind chills, snow or slush to slow your cycling down. Kinda like winter surfing on the New Hampshire coast! Only not as wet, for the most part.

Please remember a couple of things among which are…You are going to be a even bigger surprise than usual to drivers that will “see” you even less. And your having extra everythings on, will have a hard time seeing and hearing, not to mention with the snow conditions in the streets it will be dicey 24/7.

It is in weather like this that the grease in your head set and bottom crank can get stiff plus even the cables can be sticky. Tires get low, hydraulic brake lines can become very brittle. Storing you bike outside might become necessary because a warm surface allows for melting/condensation etc. to get into places that, when you return to outdoors, will freeze fast and solid. Needing to check your brakes often, before you need them and because it clears any snow off the rims. Oh for joy! Sounds like real fun!

But despite all this, it is your McMurdo Station attitude that make it the ultimate BIKE ME statement!

Ride safe and stay warm!

The other night (before all the snow) about 7PM, I was approaching an intersection when something caught my eye to my left. I had to look twice, first to acquire the object, realize it was moving and then second to identify what it was. All dressed on dark clothing face covered against the cold was a bicyclist. There was absolutely no lights, reflectors, bright clothing or because of the cold skin showing. Nothing on to help mark this person, just their dark light absorbing clothing. The truth is my wife spotted this person first and I am not sure I would have seen them before it would have mattered. And I think I am very observant and always looking for cyclists.

Now my first thought was, that person is in a dangerous situation, moving about in an urban area at night etc. etc. Then I thought, given the outcomes of many car vs. bicyclist crashes just how unfair was this person on that bike being!?!? I mean even a reflector or one piece of bright colored clothing would be better than nothing. When a bicyclist gets hit by a vehicle it ruins more than the just that bicyclist day.

There are so many ways to improve the visibility of a rider and their bike. It is crucial to be seen as far away as possible to give drivers time to react to what they see, make a judgment and then act. This is especially true during the colder months and winter it is paramount to be seen because drivers just don’t expect to see a person on a bike when it is 15 degrees out and or there is snow on the ground. The use of rear and front blinking lights, side visibility issues, reflective clothing, vests, the list goes on and on! There are many web sites you can Google Bicycle Visibility for and check out for ideas and products.

Certainly there is no “Silver Bullet” that will protect you 100%, but you sure can increase the odds of NOT getting hit, especially at night. Complacency is cause for more accidents than any one would ever want to truly admit.

Safe Cycling – Act Accordingly……….Cyclist Visibility – ‘Survival of the Brightest’

The other night (before all the snow) about 7PM, I was approaching an intersection when something caught my eye to my left. I had to look twice, first to acquire the object, realize it was moving and then second to identify what it was. All dressed on dark clothing face covered against the cold was a bicyclist. There was absolutely no lights, reflectors, bright clothing or because of the cold skin showing. Nothing on to help mark this person, just their dark light absorbing clothing. The truth is my wife spotted this person first and I am not sure I would have seen them before it would have mattered. And I think I am very observant and always looking for cyclists.

Now my first thought was, that person is in a dangerous situation, moving about in an urban area at night etc. etc. Then I thought, given the outcomes of many car vs. bicyclist crashes just how unfair was this person on that bike being!?!? I mean even a reflector or one piece of bright colored clothing would be better than nothing. When a bicyclist gets hit by a vehicle it ruins more than the just that bicyclist day.

There are so many ways to improve the visibility of a rider and their bike. It is crucial to be seen as far away as possible to give drivers time to react to what they see, make a judgment and then act. This is especially true during the colder months and winter it is paramount to be seen because drivers just don’t expect to see a person on a bike when it is 15 degrees out and or there is snow on the ground. The use of rear and front blinking lights, side visibility issues, reflective clothing, vests, the list goes on and on! There are many web sites you can Google Bicycle Visibility for and check out for ideas and products.

Certainly there is no “Silver Bullet” that will protect you 100%, but you sure can increase the odds of NOT getting hit, especially at night. Complacency is cause for more accidents than any one would ever want to truly admit.

Safe Cycling – Act Accordingly……….Cyclist Visibility – ‘Survival of the Brightest’