*[Quoting Ken Peck to Leah Rozhon]
On 01-11-97  20:04, [About Riding]*
 KP> Dallas has some pretty heavy traffic, construction, and exhaust fumes.
 KP> My solution to all three problems is simple: ride a bicycle.  That
 KP> reduces traffic congestion, the need for construction, and exhaust
 KP> fumes. 
That would be fine if more than a handful of commuters used a bike.
When you're the only biker in traffic, there's a lot of risks to safety
as well as health.  I guess I'm just not comfortable taking my rightful
place on the road when too many drivers believe I don't belong there at
all!  I think we need an aggressive plan to promote bicycles as a viable
means of transportation.  But I think the bottom line is money. :-(
 KP> I do rallies and club rides too, although I've been known to ride my
 KP> bicycle to and from club rides.
 
Braver souls in our club do that, too. :-)
 KP> There needs to be more battling on commuter trains and busses.  It is
 KP> absolutely ridiculous to try to combat air pollution and make it
 KP> impossible for folks to use bicycles to get to and from mass transit
 KP> terminals. 
That would be part of the plan.  But around here, the RRs say the cost
would be too high to modify a car to handle bikes.  And the Dept. of
Transportation says the same about bike lanes on the roadways.  Maybe we
need a lobby in the legislature? :-)
 KP> Our winters are pretty mild, but we aren't really prepared for it.  I
 KP> don't have good cycling clothes for when it drops below freezing and we
We've got -10 with wind chills to -50 in the Chicago area today.
Bicycling is but a distant dream for now. :-)   However some club
members were out on the paved trail New Year's Day on mtn bikes and the
surface was pretty icy in some places.  I'm not brave enough for that,
either.  We had a guy in the club that used to have a yearly NYDFYA
ride.  That's New Year's Day Freeze Your A** Ride.  You rode one mile
for every degree it was above freezing.  There were some takers on
that!!  He owned a donut shop and that's where they went afterwards for
hot coffee and donuts.
 KP> seem to have drawn a lot of that lately.  And the club activities
 KP> really slow down, partly because of the weather, but also 5:30 pm
 KP> sunset pretty well precludes evening rides.
It's skiing and hiking here in the winter.  But at least we keep busy
and keep in touch.  TTYL,
Leah
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