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 Anne Alt on April 23, 2014 at 5:26am

Thank you!  BTD is for everyone.  I volunteer for it every year and always see cyclists of ALL ability levels and ages enjoying the ride.  I think it's a VERY cool thing when folks who ride a lot bring along newbies and encourage them.
 
Crazy David 84 Furlongs said:

As for Bike the Drive.   Wow.   What an arrogant characterization of BtD as something for only occasional bicyclists.  Some of us don't live on the lakefront and aren't forced to use the rather over crowded and dangerous LFT.   Bike the Drive gives us a chance to bicycle on the lakefront without dealing with the Greg LeMonde wannabes on the LFT.   And, of course, it also gives us a chance to take a few "ocasional cyclists" along to encourage them to ride more.   That's what I am dong...

Permalink Reply by Simon Phearson on April 23, 2014 at 6:11am

There's no arrogance in my disdain for BtD. If there's any "arrogance" involved, it's the arrogance in shutting down a primary north-south corridor for several hours on a Sunday morning, leaving anyone who wants/needs to drive at that time to find an alternative miles-long route down unfamiliar streets and neighborhoods, in order to enable a lot of remotely-located cyclists to go for a little joy ride they could otherwise take any other day on the LFT.

You talk about how "over crowded and dangerous" the LFT is. Well, imagine what would happen if the BtD tourists were regular users of the LFT. Heck, if even half of them were. Then we'd have some serious attention to the lakefront bike corridor, because there would be the interest and a constituency. It'd be safer. Instead what we have now is a lot of activity between downtown and Lincoln Park, and a trickle of activity everywhere else, and then BS events like BtD for people who might really want to get into cycling but never do.

The "seasoned cyclists" I have in mind aren't the "Greg LeMond wannabes" on the LFT, but the everyday users of the LFT (commuters, exercisers, racers), the everyday commuters throughout the city, and everyone else who spends a lot of time in the saddle thinking about why our city is as unfriendly it is to cyclists and what can be done about it. We're out there hacking it every day; we don't need some one-off, massively anti-social event to give us the impetus needed to get over all the obstacles that make cycling in this city hard; and we understand that getting a bunch of noobs on bikes for a long ride they're not ready for, on a path they won't ever otherwise use, isn't really going to change whatever it is about their lives that makes more regular cycling impractical for them.

It's not just BtD. Every other weekend - if not every weekend, as it sometimes seems - of the season, someone holds an event on the LFT that's just like BtD - hundreds or thousands of people drive from more remote neighborhoods and do some kind of physical activity on the LFT, making it practically impossible for anyone else to use it (i.e., the people who have constructed their lives around it). You might think that these kinds of events promote the cycling lifestyle, but in fact they just mark it out as extraordinary and unusual. If you don't shut down major city infrastructure or get sponsored, what's the point?

The morning of this year's BtD, I'm going to do my usual Sunday morning ride - 24 miles on the LFT on my way to work - as early as possible, hoping that the BtD organizers (or the traffic authority personnel closing off streets) don't interfere with my usual access points or try to stop me from using the LFT. With luck, I should have all of my miles done before the event even begins. But that's all it means to me; and I would have thought, that's all it would have meant to anyone who lives on their bike as much or more than I do. If you're into it, that's cool. But it's your entitlement that's arrogant, not my annoyance.

Crazy David 84 Furlongs said:

As for Bike the Drive.   Wow.   What an arrogant characterization of BtD as something for only occasional bicyclists.  Some of us don't live on the lakefront and aren't forced to use the rather over crowded and dangerous LFT.   Bike the Drive gives us a chance to bicycle on the lakefront without dealing with the Greg LeMonde wannabes on the LFT.   And, of course, it also gives us a chance to take a few "ocasional cyclists" along to encourage them to ride more.   That's what I am dong...

Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on April 23, 2014 at 6:38am

I have brought my nephews and niece. They love it. 

Anne Alt said:

Thank you!  BTD is for everyone.  I volunteer for it every year and always see cyclists of ALL ability levels and ages enjoying the ride.  I think it's a VERY cool thing when folks who ride a lot bring along newbies and encourage them.
 
Crazy David 84 Furlongs said:

As for Bike the Drive.   Wow.   What an arrogant characterization of BtD as something for only occasional bicyclists.  Some of us don't live on the lakefront and aren't forced to use the rather over crowded and dangerous LFT.   Bike the Drive gives us a chance to bicycle on the lakefront without dealing with the Greg LeMonde wannabes on the LFT.   And, of course, it also gives us a chance to take a few "ocasional cyclists" along to encourage them to ride more.   That's what I am dong...

Permalink Reply by Marc-Paul Lee on April 23, 2014 at 6:46am

Off-topic and uncalled for.  We all ride our own ride and your style of biking is no more righteous than any other.  I would think you could spare one Sunday morning a year so that 10k Chicago citizens, including those in the burbs, could enjoy a car-free ride on the preeminent roadway in the city.  

Permalink Reply by John LaVere on April 23, 2014 at 6:47am

You would be surprised how many people don't know how to use their gears effectively. Also, there are a lot of vintage bikes on the road that are very difficult to keep in gear. The Old 1970's Schwinns for instance can be very finicky and they can fall out of gear if you don't know how to tweak them just right.

I have a road bike with derailleurs and I am in the habit of downshifting. Even better, I have a three speed with internal hub gears and this bike can shift through all the gears at a stand still. I find that to be extremely convenient for city traffic. 

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on April 23, 2014 at 6:54am

+1  It's really lovely to see LSD closed to car traffic, full of 20,000+ people peacefully enjoying it for a few hours.
 
Marc-Paul Lee said:

Off-topic and uncalled for.  We all ride our own ride and your style of biking is no more righteous than any other.  I would think you could spare one Sunday morning a year so that 10k Chicago citizens, including those in the burbs, could enjoy a car-free ride on the preeminent roadway in the city.  

Permalink Reply by Crazy David 84 Furlongs on April 23, 2014 at 6:59am

Your comment is almost troll-like, but what the heck, let’s dissect it.

 

There's no arrogance in my disdain for BtD. If there's any "arrogance" involved, it's the arrogance in shutting down a primary north-south corridor for several hours on a Sunday morning, leaving anyone who wants/needs to drive at that time to find an alternative miles-long route down unfamiliar streets and neighborhoods, in order to enable a lot of remotely-located cyclists to go for a little joy ride they could otherwise take any other day on the LFT.

 

My comment:  One day a year, over a holiday weekend at a day of extremely low usage.   LSD is not, and never was intended to be, an expressway and there are numerous well known, easily marked out alternatives.  This is a great deal less disrupting then, for example, a Cubs game, or the Run to Wrigley and the like.

 

You talk about how "over crowded and dangerous" the LFT is. Well, imagine what would happen if the BtD tourists were regular users of the LFT. Heck, if even half of them were. Then we'd have some serious attention to the lakefront bike corridor, because there would be the interest and a constituency. It'd be safer. Instead what we have now is a lot of activity between downtown and Lincoln Park, and a trickle of activity everywhere else, and then BS events like BtD for people who might really want to get into cycling but never do.

My comment:

 

That’s a pretty arrogant approach to the users of LSD during Bike the Drive.  I wonder if you show the same contempt for the users of the Zoo, the Park, the people who come to the Air and Water show and so forth.   As for the idea that the LFT would be “safer” if the number of users would greatly increase, the numbers show otherwise.  The LFT is very dangerous to everyone on weekends because of the crowds.  Its already well over capacity, and unless you advocate paving over much of the rest of the Park, it isn’t going to be fixed.   (And that’s exactly what the Bicycle community accuses, with just cause, the car community of wanting to do by turning LSD into a major Expressway.

 

The "seasoned cyclists" I have in mind aren't the "Greg LeMond wannabes" on the LFT, but the everyday users of the LFT (commuters, exercisers, racers), the everyday commuters throughout the city, and everyone else who spends a lot of time in the saddle thinking about why our city is as unfriendly it is to cyclists and what can be done about it.

My comment:

A small, but not insignificant number of the “regular” users are the problem.  The LFT is a MIXED use trail.  The racers should NEVER be on it.   And they are the ones who give it a bad name.  If you are a “racer” go and use the streets where you are also allowed and where you are not intermixing with roller bladers, dogs on leashes, senior citizens, and very small children.  The City is, in part, unfriendly to cyclists because of attitudes such as yours.  (Let me guess, you are also a Critical mAsshole as well?)

We're out there hacking it every day; we don't need some one-off, massively anti-social event to give us the impetus needed to get over all the obstacles that make cycling in this city hard; and we understand that getting a bunch of noobs on bikes for a long ride they're not ready for, on a path they won't ever otherwise use, isn't really going to change whatever it is about their lives that makes more regular cycling impractical for them.

My comment:  So I guess you think it is your right to dictate when someone is ready for a long ride and that the only people who should be allowed to cycle are regular commuters.    Wow.   The “anti-social” event happens once a month… Critical Mass.   This event, in contrast, shows that cycling is not limited to those “hard core” types who use it every day. 

 

It's not just BtD. Every other weekend - if not every weekend, as it sometimes seems - of the season, someone holds an event on the LFT that's just like BtD - hundreds or thousands of people drive from more remote neighborhoods and do some kind of physical activity on the LFT, making it practically impossible for anyone else to use it

My comment:  Gosh.  I didn’t know that the Lake Front Parks were reserved to the limited few who construct their lives around it.  Oh, that’s right.   That’s not true.   The whole point of these “events” is to enable everyone to use the Parks.

 (i.e., the people who have constructed their lives around it). You might think that these kinds of events promote the cycling lifestyle, but in fact they just mark it out as extraordinary and unusual. If you don't shut down major city infrastructure or get sponsored, what's the point?

 

My comment:  Its called shared use. 

The morning of this year's BtD, I'm going to do my usual Sunday morning ride - 24 miles on the LFT on my way to work - as early as possible, hoping that the BtD organizers (or the traffic authority personnel closing off streets) don't interfere with my usual access points or try to stop me from using the LFT.

My comment:  24 miles to work on the LFT?  Really?   Since the LFT isn’t 24 miles long, the Bull S—t indicator is going off like crazy.   On a Sunday morning, if you are really as good a cyclist as you think, you really shouldn’t be on the LFT in any event.   Michigan, State, Clark and the like all pretty much parallel the LFT and on Sundays are much better for speed runs.  And much safer for all of us. 

 With luck, I should have all of my miles done before the event even begins. But that's all it means to me; and I would have thought, that's all it would have meant to anyone who lives on their bike as much or more than I do. If you're into it, that's cool. But it's your entitlement that's arrogant, not my annoyance.

My comment:  Arrogant?  Yes.  You are the personification of the arrogant bicyclist that causes the rest of us so much trouble.    Get over yourself.

Permalink Reply by Marc-Paul Lee on April 23, 2014 at 7:00am

And one guy on the LFT muttering under his breath, "get off my damn lawn."   :-)

Anne Alt said:

+1  It's really lovely to see LSD closed to car traffic, full of 20,000+ people peacefully enjoying it for a few hours.

Permalink Reply by Simon Phearson on April 23, 2014 at 7:45am

My responses - clipped to save space:

- Of course there are alternatives to the LSD. Many people who rely on the LSD won't know where they are, is my point, and they may not even know the BtD is on until they're trying to get to work, church, or wherever else they need to go, and there's a huge, uncompromising barricade telling them just, "Deal." It's massively inconveniencing for lakeshore communities - that's just true. Is there a reason one can't note that?

- My point about numbers and the LFT is that more regular usage would help to compel measures to make it safer. Of course I realize that dense crowds on the existing LFT infrastructure is not safer. And expanding the LFT may not be the way to go, as you suggest - the point is to build a constituency of daily riders who need a safe and efficient way to get where they're going. 

- I don't see any reason why the "racers" shouldn't be on the "mixed use" trail. They shouldn't be racing, certainly, and they should be conscientious and slow (i.e., safe) whenever they don't have the LFT to themselves, which will be most of the time. I'm just talking about the people who have uses other than "leisure," "exercise," or "commuting." I kind of laugh to myself when I see them, but I don't begrudge their usage, as long as they're being safe.

- I don't like Critical Mass rides for the exact same reasons. I've never participated, never will.

- My point about the not being ready for BtD is that many people are simply not physically up to the kind of riding they choose to do that day. If you can do a mile, go and do a mile - super. That's the sort of riding we should encourage, not some 30-mile roundtrip that's harder than the inexperienced riders realize.

- I get that the LFT isn't "mine." Shared use is super. I even like the hectic beach crowds, since they often seem to be mostly local types who are trying to get some sun on the longer days and weekends. What's annoying is an announced 10k that is organized on top of and across the LFT like it's the only thing going on that day. North Ave. Beach on a Saturday is easy-peasy relative to these events. If you want to shut down the trail to through traffic, get a permit to do so and take responsibility for it. 

- 24 miles, including distance to and from the LFT and a loop-around at the north end. I don't do it all on the LFT, one way, straight line, obviously. It's not a speed run - it's a, hey I like riding, let's ride some extra miles on my way to work - and it's something I do very early, before the crowds show up, like 5 or 6 in the morning. And if the crowds do show up, I just slow down like any other conscientious user of a mixed use trail. 

- I don't take Clark because I don't live on the north side. I don't take Michigan or State because, yes, I'm trying to enjoy the LFT, not speed run up pothole-infested car thoroughfares. 

- That's not to say I don't enjoy being lectured on dictating appropriate trail usage by someone who thinks they know what kind of riding I do and where I should do it.


Crazy David 84 Furlongs said:

Your comment is almost troll-like, but what the heck, let’s dissect it.

Permalink Reply by Simon Phearson on April 23, 2014 at 7:55am

I totally get it. I admit to some cognitive dissonance on this, because of course I realize that these events are done exactly when they ought to be done, and I certainly don't expect the city or its communities to time or route their events just so that I can get to my office extra-early on a Sunday morning. I am not quite that solipsistic.

I'm just saying the flock-to-the-lakefront events are annoying because they draw huge crowds that otherwise have nothing to do with the lakefront. You can't pretend that they're not annoying for those of us they impact, even if there are so few of us that there's no good reason to care about us. Imagine living in the loop with a Chicago Marathon every other weekend. Great for tourism and local businesses, maybe. But does that mean that someone living in the loop doesn't have a legitimate gripe?

Marc-Paul Lee said:

Off-topic and uncalled for.  We all ride our own ride and your style of biking is no more righteous than any other.  I would think you could spare one Sunday morning a year so that 10k Chicago citizens, including those in the burbs, could enjoy a car-free ride on the preeminent roadway in the city.  

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on April 23, 2014 at 8:06am

Yep, gears are all about mechanical advantage. I suspect you have lots of company in not being a very good physics student. ;)  Understanding of basic physics seems to elude most people. And sometimes people just don't learn how to use gears.
 
Marc-Paul Lee said:

I wasn't a very good physics student and it was waaaaay in the past for me but are we forgetting the mechanical advantage provided by the gears?  After all, I can lift a much heavier object than I normally could if I use a lever or pulley.  In a similar fashion I use the gearing of the bike to more easily initiate motion.  Am I missing something?  

Permalink Reply by S on April 23, 2014 at 8:33am



Simon Phearson said:

My responses - clipped to save space:

- Of course there are alternatives to the LSD. Many people who rely on the LSD won't know where they are, is my point, and they may not even know the BtD is on until they're trying to get to work, church, or wherever else they need to go, and there's a huge, uncompromising barricade telling them just, "Deal." It's massively inconveniencing for lakeshore communities - that's just true. Is there a reason one can't note that?

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.

- I get that the LFT isn't "mine." Shared use is super. I even like the hectic beach crowds, since they often seem to be mostly local types who are trying to get some sun on the longer days and weekends. What's annoying is an announced 10k that is organized on top of and across the LFT like it's the only thing going on that day. North Ave. Beach on a Saturday is easy-peasy relative to these events. If you want to shut down the trail to through traffic, get a permit to do so and take responsibility for it. 

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.

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