OT someplace expensive

Arthur Shapiro wrote:

Such as (Arthur will probably be horrified at this, as will
Helen S, if she's still around) my bicycle

Why would I be horrified? One can't always ride from home!

It's not that. It's the fact that I would be placing my bike in the back
of the car, *lying on its side*. I used to do this all the time when I had a
hatchback, and a number of people gave me a hard time about that. But that's
the whole point of having a hatchback. If I wanted to use a bike rack, I
could do that with the style of car I have now. I don't want to bother with
them. They're a pain to get on and off the car, but I can't just leave it
on all the time, because someone would probably steal it. Bike racks aren't
cheap. As for rooftop racks, I don't know how tall you are, but I'm 5'2".
Not worth it!

Joyce

--
Anyone who has accustomed himself to regard the life of any living
creature as worthless is in danger of arriving also at the idea of
worthless human lives. -- Albert Schweitzer

In article , wrote:

It's not that. It's the fact that I would be placing my bike in the back
of the car, *lying on its side*.

Why would anyone take issue with that??? Lots of folks do it that way. The
water bottles might leak a little but otherwise it's fine.

Roof racks are great, unless you find a low-hanging beam in a parking
structure. (Ask me how I know.) A little step-stool in the car would
eliminate any issue if reaching that high is a struggle. Yakimas have
optional locks for making sure the rack (and the bicycle) stay on the car.

I'd guess the rear racks are the most popular. We have folks in the club with
rear racks on cars you wouldn't expect to have them - Corvette, Miata, etc. I
used to have one, and got rear ended once. Fortunately the bike wasn't on the
rack at the time.

Art

Arthur Shapiro wrote:

It's not that. It's the fact that I would be placing my bike in the back
of the car, *lying on its side*.

Why would anyone take issue with that??? Lots of folks do it that way. The
water bottles might leak a little but otherwise it's fine.

Many people believe that transporting a bike that's lying on its side can
damage... something - the gears, maybe? I don't know, because I've never
had any problem with doing that, myself.

I'd guess the rear racks are the most popular. We have folks in the club
with rear racks on cars you wouldn't expect to have them - Corvette,
Miata, etc. I used to have one, and got rear ended once. Fortunately
the bike wasn't on the rack at the time.

Any trouble with theft - of your bike rack or someone else's? They seem
like they'd be pretty easy to steal.

Joyce

--
Anyone who has accustomed himself to regard the life of any living
creature as worthless is in danger of arriving also at the idea of
worthless human lives. -- Albert Schweitzer

jmcquown wrote:

wrote in message

What year is that car, Jill? I'm thinking that for my next car, I'm
going to buy a hatchback.

Mine is a 2002 Accent GS (bought in early 2003). I love it!!!!!

Thanks. Saved for future reference!

Joyce

--
Anyone who has accustomed himself to regard the life of any living
creature as worthless is in danger of arriving also at the idea of
worthless human lives. -- Albert Schweitzer

On Apr 25, 4:00*pm, wrote:
Arthur Shapiro wrote:

*It's not that. It's the fact that I would be placing my bike in the back
*of the car, *lying on its side*.

* Why would anyone take issue with that??? *Lots of folks do it that way. *The
* water bottles might leak a little but otherwise it's fine.

Many people believe that transporting a bike that's lying on its side can
damage... something - the gears, maybe? I don't know, because I've never
had any problem with doing that, myself.

* I'd guess the rear racks are the most popular. We have folks in the club
* with rear racks on cars you wouldn't expect to have them - Corvette,
* Miata, etc. *I used to have one, and got rear ended once. *Fortunately
* the bike wasn't on the rack at the time.

Any trouble with theft - of your bike rack or someone else's? They seem
like they'd be pretty easy to steal.

Joyce

--
Anyone who has accustomed himself to regard the life of any living
creature as worthless is in danger of arriving also at the idea of
worthless human lives. * * * * * * * * * * * * *-- Albert Schweitzer

Many of the local buses here have bike racks in front. You can put
your bikes
there, hop on the bus and go to places where you want to do your
biking.
I think the racks hold more than 1 bike. Many people do that in the
summer.

In article , wrote:

Many people believe that transporting a bike that's lying on its side can
damage... something - the gears, maybe? I

I'd certainly put the derailleur side up for that reason. Beyond that, I
can't imagine any risk and wouldn't have the slightest reluctance to do that
myself. My club has folks who transport that way, and that's everything from
small Toyota Matrix hatchbacks to gross Lincoln Navigators. Come to think of
it, I've transported my bike on top of the Matrix owner's bike in her vehicle
when we've headed into the San Gabriel Mountains to ride the steep mountain
roads. It's just not an issue.

Any trouble with theft - of your bike rack or someone else's?

Nope. My Yakima roof racks had locks. It looks like a number of the rear
racks I see are permanent - welded on by (if I recall from talking with folks)
a muffler shop. Folks with smaller racks tend to just take them off and throw
'em in the trunk. The big four-bike Hollywood racks are simply so big that
they're not a likely theft target. They pivot upward when not in use to avoid
sticking backward so far.

I'm sure this is all horribly boring to the non-cyclists; sorry, everyone!

Art

"Arthur Shapiro" wrote in message
...
In article ,
wrote:

Many people believe that transporting a bike that's lying on its side can
damage... something - the gears, maybe? I

I'd certainly put the derailleur side up for that reason. Beyond that, I
can't imagine any risk and wouldn't have the slightest reluctance to do
that
myself. My club has folks who transport that way, and that's everything
from
small Toyota Matrix hatchbacks to gross Lincoln Navigators. Come to
think of
it, I've transported my bike on top of the Matrix owner's bike in her
vehicle
when we've headed into the San Gabriel Mountains to ride the steep
mountain
roads. It's just not an issue.

Any trouble with theft - of your bike rack or someone else's?

Nope. My Yakima roof racks had locks. It looks like a number of the rear
racks I see are permanent - welded on by (if I recall from talking with
folks)
a muffler shop. Folks with smaller racks tend to just take them off and
throw
'em in the trunk. The big four-bike Hollywood racks are simply so big
that
they're not a likely theft target. They pivot upward when not in use to
avoid
sticking backward so far.

I'm sure this is all horribly boring to the non-cyclists; sorry, everyone!

Art

It isn't boring to me, and I never learned to ride a bicycle. When I was
young, my mother saw a boy on a bike hit by a car and killed, and would
never let me have one. When I was about 40, my husband wanted to buy me a
moped to ride the five miles to where I worked, but I needed to know how to
ride a bike first. He took me and my son's bike to the nearby high school's
outdoor basketball courts to teach me. Twice during the lessons I managed
to actually cover some ground on my own. The first time I ran into a
basketball support and rammed the handlebar into my side, which gave me a
baseball-sized bruise. The next time I ended up hitting the side of a
building, which had the kind of rough stucco finish with sand in it. I
skinned up my face and the back of one hand. I held a handkerchief to my
bleeding hand as I walked home from the school. After I'd gotten cleaned
up, I realized the diamond was missing from my engagement ring. We went
back to the scene of my crash after dark with a flashlight, thinking it
would be easier to spot that way, but couldn't find it. Two weeks later I
found the diamond on the floor under the clothes hamper. Apparently the
diamond had been in the handkerchief when I put it in the hamper, and it
took a while for it to fall out of one of the vents in the bottom of the
hamper. It cost $60 to repair the ring and put the diamond back in. That
was 35 years ago, and I haven't been on a bike since.

I do know someone who bikes a lot, and has ridden in more than one 100 mile
race for charity. Recently I met someone else who does the same thing. I
do find it interesting to hear about.

Joy

"Joy" wrote

I do know someone who bikes a lot, and has ridden in more than one 100
mile race for charity. Recently I met someone else who does the same
thing. I do find it interesting to hear about.

Hi Joy. I used a bicycle for most of my 7 years in Japan to get to/from
work or go shopping. It was 3.5 miles each way and the same trek by car
took longer due to the route required and lack of parking. With a car, you
walk 1/2 mile or more to the ship vice locking the bike to the racks right
on the pier.

I have a heavy duty Japanese one made to last 25 years in the rain. Cultech
and they do not sell this model stateside (only those little racer types are
sold here). She's logged an average of 12,750 miles. She's got summer and
winter tires (the winter ones handle ice and snow for traction), 4 halogen
battery headlights (set for various distances so you can see ahead in the
dark) and a flashing rear one. Paneer baskets and a front one to carry
things in. 26 gears. Front and rear hand brakes. SWWWEEETTTT.

"cshenk" wrote in message
...
"Joy" wrote

I do know someone who bikes a lot, and has ridden in more than one 100
mile race for charity. Recently I met someone else who does the same
thing. I do find it interesting to hear about.

Hi Joy. I used a bicycle for most of my 7 years in Japan to get to/from
work or go shopping. It was 3.5 miles each way and the same trek by car
took longer due to the route required and lack of parking. With a car, you
walk 1/2 mile or more to the ship vice locking the bike to the racks right
on the pier.

I have a heavy duty Japanese one made to last 25 years in the rain.
Cultech and they do not sell this model stateside (only those little racer
types are sold here). She's logged an average of 12,750 miles. She's got
summer and winter tires (the winter ones handle ice and snow for
traction), 4 halogen battery headlights (set for various distances so you
can see ahead in the dark) and a flashing rear one. Paneer baskets and a
front one to carry things in. 26 gears. Front and rear hand brakes.
SWWWEEETTTT.

Good for you!

Joy

cshenk wrote:

Hi Joy. I used a bicycle for most of my 7 years in Japan to get to/from
work or go shopping. It was 3.5 miles each way and the same trek by car
took longer due to the route required and lack of parking. With a car, you
walk 1/2 mile or more to the ship vice locking the bike to the racks right
on the pier.

I have a heavy duty Japanese one made to last 25 years in the rain. Cultech
and they do not sell this model stateside (only those little racer types are
sold here). She's logged an average of 12,750 miles. She's got summer and
winter tires (the winter ones handle ice and snow for traction), 4 halogen
battery headlights (set for various distances so you can see ahead in the
dark) and a flashing rear one. Paneer baskets and a front one to carry
things in. 26 gears. Front and rear hand brakes. SWWWEEETTTT.

Wow - that's a fancy one! Too bad you can't find something like that in
the US. But I like racing bikes because I like to go fast. Or, rather,
*liked*. I haven't ridden in quite a few years. The big problem is I
often feel insecure on bikes. First, most of them have that "boy bar",
which, if you suddenly have to stop and you land on that thing, it really
hurts. (What I don't understand is, wouldn't that hurt men even more??)
The other thing is, I have very short legs, so most bikes are just too
big for me. When I was younger, I used to stop at stoplights with one
foot on the curb because I couldn't reach the street. I got used to it,
but I'm not sure how I'd do now. I suppose I should get one of those
practical, staid city bikes.

Joyce

--
Hi, this is the Sylvia stress reduction hotline. At the sound of
the beep, repeat after me: "This week, let someone else strive for
excellence." -- Nicole Hollander