Saturday, February 23, 2008

Bicycles built for Prescott?

Certainly this fat-tired mountain bike is. Even features the bike equivalent of a bumper sticker, boasting "Green/Wild". There are a fair number of dedicated bicycle riders in town and probably as many, if not more, to be found out in the forest.

Amongst my rescued pictures from last fall is this recumbent model. I'm sure I did have a picture of a chap riding such a machine, but it wasn't among the October-December group of pix I managed to save to DVD. My bro wondered just how well riders of recumbents can see the road from their position down so low.

Above, possibly day-trippers, more likely campers prepared for several days of mountain biking. The campers below certainly are.

This is an unusual arrangement. The rider is an advocacy leader; the rider, her daughter; I've seen the pair wheeling around town on several occasions. One Street is the international organization headed up by Sue Knaup, with an ultimate goal of bicycling as "a solution for climate change, health crises, oil wars and deadly street designs that threaten people around the world." A mighty big agenda for two wheels, I'd say!

Another famous local bike rider -- Derek, who has checked out probably every trail in the region on his bicycle, recording the results at the Sharlot Hall website. (BTW, for long-distance travel, he has only a motorcycle.)

At this stage of my life, I fear that my only bicycling would necessarily be aboard a motorized vehicle such as this! Not at all like Avus, for example, who biked a good 48 miles through the English countryside one day on his vintage Raleigh.

10 comments:

meggie said...

The last time I rode a bike, I had a sore b*m for almost a week! It is amazing how out of practise you get! You don't forget how to... you muscles just refuse to!

I have been catching up on your posts. I love the stump. & wonder what lives in the old telegraph pole. I will photograph the one outside our gate- being eaten by termites, but they assure us it is 'safe'. Doesn't look to healthy to me!

Anonymous said...

Lots of folks ride bicycles in Germany. There are many paved bike paths, which are good for folks that don't do well on the dirt paths.

Anonymous said...

GJ, more rain this morning! I used the umbrella to get the Sunday paper. Glad to see Prescott is recharging the aquifer.

Bikes...as a hiker, I'm often almost run over by mt. bikers who are zooming at top speeds down the trails. They create ruts in the trails, too, and hikers can get twisted ankles. I like to bike, but on surface streets and trails designed for mt. bikers.

Lately, mt. bikers act like all the trails belong only to them. How can hikers, bikers, and equestrians coexist and be friendly on the same trails?

Any ideas from your blog fans?

Granny J said...

meggie -- I can just imagine my bottom after a biking session; for that matter, all those muscles. The thought makes me ache!

steve -- paved bike paths is a very civilized idea -- do they ever have traffic problems?

anon -- I hadn't considered the problems of hikers in the boonies. The letters to the editor usually are pro and con re bikers on city streets or highways!

Lucy said...

I've often wondered about those recumbent bikes, they look quite vulnerable.
My bike's been a-mouldering in the shed since getting a dog.

Granny J said...

lucy -- thus agreeing with my bro. I would feel most conspicuous riding one of them!

Anonymous said...

GJ, on occasion, a car will use the path. It's wide enough, but you have to pay attention. The main problems are the Germans that have been riding bikes all their lives. As they age, they tend to forget about the car drivers. They'll stick an arm out to point to where they want to turn, and then just do it. Bless them, you have to be careful.

Granny J said...

Steve -- I fear that our drivers wish the bicyclers would just go away. Frankly, I'd be scared to death to ride a bike in the streets, as has been decreed. When I was young, we were able to bike on the sidewalks, which, it seems to be, is a much more appropriate place for a light-weight people-powered machine.

TomboCheck said...

Bikers are definitely not appreciated here in Prescott. I think one of the biggest reasons for that is lack of consistency.

Some roads have bike lanes, but most don't. Some bikers ride in the street in the same lanes as cars, while others ride on the sidewalk. Prescott never built an infrastructure for bicycle use, so nobody knows the what is the 'right' manner in which to work with bicycle traffic which causes lots of headaches for both parties.

As far as mountain bikers, I'm surprised by how few I generally see on the trails I go on. I think in the past 3 years I have run into maybe 4 mountain bikers.

Granny J said...

tombo -- I repeat myself about where I think human-powered machinery should travel! Prescott suffers from the problem that most of our main streets were laid out long, long ago, before such niceties as bike paths were promoted to "save the planet." To make room for bike lanes means either widening the streets -- at the expense either of the pedestrians' sidewalk or property owners front yards (always an expensive proposition.) I do believe that a lot of local traffic could be transferred to bikes or segways or golf carts if only there were plenty of room for bags of food and other purchased items.

 
Photo Blog Blog Top Sites Blog Directory for Prescott, AZ

Local Blogs - Blog Top Sites