Text 23965, 63 rader
Skriven 2007-12-10 20:02:00 av JOAN MACDIARMID (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av CAROL SHENKENBERGER
Ärende: Bicycles
================
 Hi, Carol,

 CS> ___ slight digression--
 CS> Bike guy just got the cultech's snow tires.  He thinks it's neat to
 CS> have actual snow tires.  He'd heard-tell of them, but not seen them
 CS> before as we are a bit south so thats not a product he is familiar with
 CS> actually using.  They attach though just like any other tire over the
 CS> innertube liner.  Basically a deeper tread with 'nopples' to give
 CS> better traction.  These have little metallic flat bits (like a sequin
 CS> in size) that have small projections outwards of about 1/4 inch when
 CS> new, and are about 1/8th now?  You deflate the tires a bit in ice and
 CS> snow. I remember there were other versions but when I saw the locals
 CS> snapping this type up, I went with the herd <g>. They do not last long
 CS> but they sure do work best on ice!

 Interesting to me, I consider myself a bike person
 in many ways but I didn't know about these
 innovations for people who rely on them for
 life functions. USA doesn't think of such very
 much. And doesn't allow for the option much. I miss
 my bikes in the winter, though ice is less a
 problem than the fact that it's dark before I
 leave work now. I can get out sometimes on
 weekends. I never heard of a cultech bike before
 your mention! But I did rely on a bike all through
 my undergrad education...it was hard for any
 undergrad to get permission to park a car on
 campus, except for local commuter students with
 family near the campus. Now undergrads make
 parking rights a major gripe in their assaults
 on University management, they presume adequate
 and convenient free parking is a right! Yes, I am
 an old fogie, remembering how things used to be!
 When they complain about increases in tuition
 and fees, do they recognize the improvements in
 accommodations like parking lot maintenance they
 kept demanding as a part of the cost of education?

 CS> Keeping in mind I had no car for the first 4 years in Sasebo and lived
 CS> 3 miles from work for 2.5 of that, you can see I needed to deal with
 CS> snow and ice at times. Riding in when it was dark still one day and
 CS> taking a gainer over an ice patch over a bridge (fell in the road!)
 CS> taught me the need. I was very lucky to not be run over by a car.
 It CS> was dark, snowing, and the ice was solid in a  patch that I hit
 just as CS> you had to 'curve'.  Lost traction and while trying to
 correct, slid CS> over and fell in the road.  Very scared japanese lady
 helped me up and CS> back to the sidewalk.  I think there was maybe 6ft
 left from the front CS> of her car to me when she was able to come to a
 stop.

 I have had a moment like that, too, though not
 involving ice, just loose gravel. Watched a few wheels
 whoosh by my head! A prof from my department saw this
 and stopped to help me get off the road (one of the
 really nice ones). My answer to this was that I could
 no longer bike to work on this route. The traffic had
 become too intense and there were no alternate lanes
 for bikes or pedestrians.

 Joan
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