The Chainlink

Shifting gears....my theory

I have this theory I'd like to test out on other cyclists here.  I have noticed that when I join other cyclists at a light I am almost always the first to take off, and not by a little, either.  It's not that I'm a strong cyclist but that I downshift before stopping.  When I know I have to stop I automatically shift to one of my lowest gears so that when I start up again it will be easier for me.  That's the point of having gears after all.  When the light turns green others stand or do that slow wobble thing as they get up to speed.  I know fixies have to struggle but why don't geared bikes down shift before stopping?  

So my theory is that I'm used to driving a clutch and therefore may be more familiar/comfortable with the notion of shifting down.  If a cyclist is not used to driving an automatic transmission or doesn't drive at all then they may just leave it in the same gear all the time.  At least that's my observation on my daily commute.  

If you ride a geared bike then do yourself a favor and shift down before stopping.  It will make your ride so much more pleasant.  And it would be nice to have more company up in front.  :-)

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Permalink Reply by Simon Phearson on April 23, 2014 at 3:11pm

S said:

For BtD and other LSD closures, CDOT or someone similar puts up fairly large blinking signs indicating that there will be a closure with time and date information.  This is usually there for a week before the closure so if people didn't realize that LSD was going to close they probably weren't paying attention.

Or not driving on LSD during the week.

The events taking place on the LFT almost certainly have permits from the city, I don't see how you can have a large organized event without one.  Also, they tend to put up signs on the side of the path indicating that the event is upcoming.  E.g. if you go down the path south of the museum campus, you'll see these signs every couple hundred meters or so indicating that there is a cancer walk and roll event happening next saturday.

I'll bet that they do have permits, but they don't seem to be permits that let them close the trail to other users. It seems like they get permits that require them to share the LFT - and then the participants don't exercise trail etiquette and become a hazard to anyone trying to share the LFT.
They sometimes put up signs. At least half the time, they don't. You're right that the Walk and Roll signs have been up for about a week along the route - and I think that's fantastic. I know when and where to avoid the trail, so it's not like I'm just south of McCormick place trying to figure out how to get to a side street.
But last weekend? They had a CARA run on the north end of the trail. I think they posted exactly three signs, each at the relevant road intersections up there. None along the length of the trail or at underpasses, where most bikes/pedestrians enter. Then, on the day of, they delineated the route using traffic cones often obstructing through traffic, in ways making safe passage difficult. There was, at the same time, another event further south on the LFT - completely unannounced. I came upon them setting up at the Aquarium, where they were putting up some weighted mile-marker flags while backing a large moving truck up along the trail. The truck probably shouldn't even have been on the trail; getting around was dangerous, not so much for the way I ride, but with the knowledge that not everyone knows how to play it safe in situations like that.
That's the sort of thing that really irks me. Sure, let's share the trail. Happy to. But I'm not the one having difficulty sharing.

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