Yesterday my new bike took me on the longest ride it has taken me, so far.
With a new bike it takes some adjusting, both to get used to it, and to fine tune things like the brakes and the gear shifters and the seat. By the time I got to MSU (Midwestern State University) all was working fine, including the wireless speedometer.
And then.
I crossed Midwestern Boulevard, was heading west on the sidewalk which parallels the boulevard, when suddenly the bike seat came loose. As in the post slid down. Such is a bit startling. I slowly made my way to the shade of a gazebo and re-seated the seat, tightening what needed tightening real tight.
And then.
As soon as I started rolling again I saw the speedometer was no longer working. I later figured out the battery in the sensor had lost contact. I won't know if I fixed it til I ride again.
And on a related bike riding subject let's move on to the photo below.
The above photo was taken through the windshield of my motorized motion device, heading east on the aforementioned Midwestern Boulevard. See the bike graphic stenciled onto the pavement, with an arrow indicating direction?
These bike stencils have recently been stenciled on various roads around town. I have never seen anyone riding their bike on Midwestern Boulevard.
Well, there is that motorbike you see in the left lane, which doesn't count.
The speed limit on Midwestern Boulevard goes as high as 40mph. It would not be safe to pedal on this road. And why would you when, as you can clearly see, there is a sidewalk you can safely ride on.
Very perplexing. Methinks whoever came up with this needs to do some re-thinking...
I never ever had a problem riding on a four-lane road posted at 40MPH. The stencils are irrelevant since hardly anyone knows what they're supposed to mean anyway. There aren't any stencils on the Alliance Gateway Freeway; posted at 60MPH, which I also rode on - and I wasn't the only one. On a road such as Midwestern, motorists can see a bike blocks away and plan their lane change well in advance.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with riding on a sidewalk on such a street is that motorists pull in or out of driveways and are focused on the street traffic, not looking for a cyclist going at 2-3 times the speed a pedestrian would be traveling. It'd be even worse on a sidewalk traveling opposite from the adjacent on-road traffic.
That being said, perhaps the reason you've never seen anyone riding their bike on Midwestern is that it is not very pleasant to ride further than absolutely necessary on a crowded, noisy, wide street regardless of whether it is safe.
On another issue, you can test the speedometer without a test ride. With the speedometer awake, spin the front wheel and see that it reads some speed.