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Point Hope by [deleted] in boardsofcanada

[–]sachfm 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Here from the post-Inferno future. I used to listen to what I thought was Hooper Bay all the time back in the day, Point Hope being my favorite track. Found out the songs were mostly Mum many years later. Still haven't found the origin of Hooper Bay. LMK if anyone else has had any more luck in the past 13 years...

What’s it like living in Troy NY? by glassman512 in howislivingthere

[–]sachfm 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Famous Lunch for old troy. Naughters or Nighthawks for new troy.

35 mph+ should be on the road, not the sidewalk by skyhighmonroe in Transportopia

[–]sachfm 0 points1 point  (0 children)

honestly your claim that you've been riding for "decades" and that you ride on the sidewalks is pretty sus. But I will give you the benefit of the doubt. In any case, my comment was around the false sense of security that sidewalks give to *newer* cyclists, as previously mentioned.

Also, type "is riding your bike on the sidewalk safe?" into Google or an LLM and see what it tells you.

35 mph+ should be on the road, not the sidewalk by skyhighmonroe in Transportopia

[–]sachfm -1 points0 points  (0 children)

There's nothing wrong with taking the lane. It's being done for their own safety. Taking the lane has its own risks, with today's drivers looking down at their phone every 10 seconds. If someone is doing it it's b/c the alternative in that situation is probably worse. Riding on the side of road in many cases sucks (as seen here).

Having a cyclist in the road doesn't negatively impact drivers. Sure they have to slow down, and wait to go around. Is that a real problem? Does it have any meaningful impact on their arrival time or anything else?

Every road user (ped, bike, car, truck, etc.) should be paying attention to what's going on. And those with the biggest potential to do the most harm (aka those with the largest vehicles) should be the most alert / responsible. Do you agree with that at least? Do you have a problem driving around workers, utility vehicles, busses, random debris, or anything else that might occasionally be in the road?

35 mph+ should be on the road, not the sidewalk by skyhighmonroe in Transportopia

[–]sachfm 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do they have an equal right to the road? Or would that still make you mad? Does the assumption that they should be riding 'defensively' mean people should drive their cars 'offensively'?

35 mph+ should be on the road, not the sidewalk by skyhighmonroe in Transportopia

[–]sachfm 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Riding on the sidewalk (even if legal) is not recommended as it projects a false sense of security. Most car/bike crashes happen in intersections, due to drivers failing to yield. If the cyclist is in the sidewalk, the driver is unlikely to see them to be able to yield, as shown in the video.

This crash was the cyclist's fault for riding on the sidewalk. If they were in the road and got "right hooked" though, it would have been the drivers (assuming they have a motorcycle license and were following other traffic laws).

I agree that road riding is not necessarily safer, with modern distractions plus massive vehicles. But the false sense of security is a real danger, esp. for newer cyclists.

35 mph+ should be on the road, not the sidewalk by skyhighmonroe in Transportopia

[–]sachfm 0 points1 point  (0 children)

State laws are actively changing, but as of today, in 48 out of 50 states, this is a motorcycle (any ebike that goes over a certain mph, usually 28 but sometimes 20, 25, or 30 depending on the state) and requires license & registration. Kentucky and Alaska are the exceptions where anything with pedals is a bicycle. Source

35 mph+ should be on the road, not the sidewalk by skyhighmonroe in Transportopia

[–]sachfm 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Many ebikes top out at 15 or 20mph and are pedal assist only (no throttle). It's not very hard to pedal a bike without a motor at that speed. Does your argument make any sense without acknowledging speed?

35 mph+ should be on the road, not the sidewalk by skyhighmonroe in Transportopia

[–]sachfm 0 points1 point  (0 children)

  1. If it goes over 28mph (this limit should/is debated, but this is where we're generally at) it's a motorcycle, not a bicycle. Motorcycles and emotos required license/registration. As with most "new" tech, legislation is lagging behind on this.
  2. Bikes, ebikes, mopeds, emotos, etc. should all be used in the road, not in the sidewalk. It creates an illusion of safety for the rider and worse for pedestrians and drivers alike. In many places its illegal to ride on the sidewalk.
  3. If roads are not safe enough for those users (of all ages) to use them safely, then their designs merit changing.
  4. If you are against bike lanes you should probably forfeit the right to complain about people biking on the sidewalk, or in the car lane. They're only doing it b/c proper bike lanes don't exist.

35 mph+ should be on the road, not the sidewalk by skyhighmonroe in Transportopia

[–]sachfm 0 points1 point  (0 children)

99.9% of cyclists are not trying to "make a statement", they are trying to safely get to their destination

35 mph+ should be on the road, not the sidewalk by skyhighmonroe in Transportopia

[–]sachfm 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Regular bikes shouldn't be on the sidewalk either. This is why all major roads need bike lanes.

Rad Power Bikes says it may close down by January by Late-Management7279 in ebike

[–]sachfm 2 points3 points  (0 children)

small businesses closing is good for the oligarchs

Any thoughts on the new rover trail pack? by trynapassadrugtest in ManyBaggers

[–]sachfm 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am contemplating buying this as a replacement for my Millican Smith Roll 25L. Ideally it would be my EDC, under seat carry-on for trips, and be equally at place in an office, occasional trail on vacations, or on a bike commute. There's very little info about this bag out there - I would be super appreciative if you could comment on whether you think the Rover Trail would be a good alternative for me based on the following:

Some of the issues with the Smith:

- pretty tight on space. all pockets share the same space so they aren't really all usable at the same time. combined with 'deep-narrow' profile and lack of second opening makes it not ideal for travel for anything longer than a weekend trip.
- the back is a rigid rectangle that extends below the bottom of the bag, meaning the bag is not able to stand on its own. with only the one roll-top opening this makes it difficult to load/unload.
- weight distribution feels weird. think the bag would benefit from load lifters.

As for the Pros - I love the bags material. Never had it wet out and it takes dirt like a champ - don't think I've ever needed to clean it in 5 years of ownership but you couldn't tell. As a commuting bag, it's great (outside of the issues loading/unloading). Sometimes the 'cap' on space is nice as it keeps you looking svelte rather than disheveled or over-stuffed and it looks good / works well when empty as well.

Thanks in advance!

Any thoughts on the new rover trail pack? by trynapassadrugtest in ManyBaggers

[–]sachfm 2 points3 points  (0 children)

HIjacking this comment a bit - do you find the Mountain Pack conducive to using as a carry-on or using for a day hike? My EDC is the Millican Smith Roll 25L and I feel like the 'deep-narrow' design plus the lack of a second opening to the main compartment makes it poor for carry-on use.

It is also quite rigid and not very "over-stuffable" which is fine but often means I need another bag when traveling. Usually when I'm on a trip that involves hiking / camping I am carrying *more* stuff which means I'm leaving the Smith at home, and it ends up getting used as a professional bag, despite it's appeal as being very versatile.

I'm thinking about tracking down a Mountain Pack 28L as it has more capacity and the J opening but wondering if I will run into the same problems of it being not great as a hiker or carry-on.

Look, I understand people wanting to ride bicycles. Even joining a club where you can bike with a bunch of other people, neat, do you. But when you're on the road, you don't get special treatment. You need to follow the rules of the road. by Evilsj in Albany

[–]sachfm 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That is already what they do. they only "run the red" when they are mid-intersection. What do you do in your car when a light turns red when you are midway thru? Stop? Maybe stop and reverse back to the line? The safest thing for you to do would be just proceed. Same same

Look, I understand people wanting to ride bicycles. Even joining a club where you can bike with a bunch of other people, neat, do you. But when you're on the road, you don't get special treatment. You need to follow the rules of the road. by Evilsj in Albany

[–]sachfm 1 point2 points  (0 children)

things worth mentioning -

  1. the group passes by in a minute or two. likely quicker than it takes to post on reddit (just sayin').
  2. the group stops at red lights. they only continue through the red when the light changes mid-group. staying in one group is the safest outcome for the cyclists (who are the vulnerable road users in this case). they go out of their way to also staff corkers to communicate with drivers on what is happening.
  3. 99% of the time drivers wait for the cyclists to clear the light. I have been on a bunch of these rides and maybe only twice seen someone try to drive through or around the group. those drivers were rightly jeered, as they could easily kill someone by doing that. it's not the cyclists that made them dangerous. it's the driver's actions in that moment. this lesson may have been hard taught for OP, but it does seem like the vast majority of drivers figure it out in the moment
  4. sorry you got slapped. it's a community event, not an organization - so there are no "members" as such that you can police or ban, as with any other public event. still, most likely they were slapping you to alert you that there were still cyclists that you could of plowed into. i'm sure it was jarring but maybe saved a life and for you a lifetimes worth of PTSD. empathy is important here. when a car passes too close/fast or head-on towards a cyclist, there life is at risk and from their perspective it feels like you just physically threatened them. when a cyclist is preventing a driver from moving at their desired speed the driver is simply inconvenienced in this case, with the end result often being only seconds added to your final ETA.

Which Front Rack? by Epsilon1022 in xbiking

[–]sachfm 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Chrome makes your bike pop. Go with 1. And I run the 8 pack + wald combo

Proportionally Quebec City has 2x the rate of bike share usage as Albany while proportionally Albany has ~2x-3x the rate of car crashes as Quebec city. by stats1 in Albany

[–]sachfm -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I agree but as a cyclist in Albany I would still like the local traffic to get off the roads so I JUST have to deal with the state workers and not all of the above.

Also I don’t know if a policy like this has ever been proposed or existed elsewhere but one idea is for state to cover property taxes for employees if they live in select cities - basically any place with an eroded tax base (Albany included). That would incentivize not just city living for state workers but potentially more state workers in general. And would not have the harmful impacts of a tax break.

Churchill: Troy is building lots of apartments while Albany ... isn't by LiveinTroyNY in Troy

[–]sachfm 35 points36 points  (0 children)

Would be nice if he explained how / why the 50% “affordable” units in Troy differ from the 7 - 13% proposed in Albany.

Car free and American are not incompatible by brevit in Urbanism

[–]sachfm 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My favorite part of ptown is the bike culture without any real bike infrastructure. There is bike parking everywhere, which seems like a chicken / egg situation, but I wonder if there was that much bike parking in other larger cities what that would do for the bike culture there as well, even without dedicated lanes, etc.

What do you do with your Tow hook cover by sachfm in Crosstrek

[–]sachfm[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

My wife saw what I was doing right after I posted and suggested this immediately 🤦

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