Tulsa ranked in America's Top 50 Bike Cities

[nathanm]

Running is easy, we're built to run continuously for most of a day in 110 degree heat. That's how our ancestors caught game before the invention of projectile weapons. They'd chase the gazelle or whatever until it became exhausted, at which time it was an easy kill. (I know running a few miles at a fast pace isn't actually that easy)

[Conan71]

Running is far harder on me than cycling or rowing, regardless what I was built for.

[MrsConan]

MC, just make sure that last "/quote" tag is before your response and you'll be ok...sometimes there is a lot of blank lines before it for whatever reason.

Thanks, Hoss!

[carltonplace]

Running is easy, we're built to run continuously for most of a day in 110 degree heat. That's how our ancestors caught game before the invention of projectile weapons. They'd chase the gazelle or whatever until it became exhausted, at which time it was an easy kill. (I know running a few miles at a fast pace isn't actually that easy)

Not saying it's hard...I love running. I'm saying sitting on my arse and pushing a pedal with my feet (unless I'm just sitting and coasting) is even easier than running.

[guido911]

while runinning and I keep up a 7 to 8 minute mile for 5 to 6 miles 6 times per week.

Wow, am I an incredible lightweight.

[Ed W]

OK all you legal cycling experts:

I have a unicycle.  Would it be legal for me to ride it and take the lane on Memorial.  I don't want to because I don't have a death wish.  I am just wondering.  I can go about 5 mph.  Would a bicycle need to leave me 3 feet when passing?  How would you hot-shot bicyclists feel if you had to follow a pack of 5 mph unicycles?

Two points, entirely unrelated to each other.  The first is about lane positioning and the apparent belief that a cyclist riding in the center of it is somehow being an arrogant doosh.  For a lane to be shareable side by side, it must be about 14 feet wide or greater.  Consider this.  A bicycle is two feet wide, and a cyclist should keep two to three feet away from the fog line.  If his tire track is at three feet, and his left handlebar extends another foot, motorists are supposed to pass at least three feet to the left of his handlebar, putting them at least seven feet from the fog line.  The average car is 6 feet wide with some far wider, so that 7+6 is 13 feet.  Most lanes in the Tulsa area are no wider than 12 feet.  To pass safely, then, a motorist must cross the center line and that means waiting until it's safe to do so.  

What happens when a cyclist is being "courteous" by riding as far to the right as possible?  (Note that I did not say "as far right as practicable")  Drivers try to shoot the gap between the cyclist and on-coming traffic.  The cyclist ends up having cars going by just at his elbow.  It's worse when he rides in the center or right tire track, and then pulls to the right.  A solid line of cars will pass, lemming-like, and if he needs to move back the left, there's a solid moving wall of steel.

So a cyclist riding in the center of a narrow lane isn't doing it to piss you off, Guido, (though there's something to be said for that).  It's just safer for the cyclist.  Remember that when those drivers are trying to shoot the gap, they have to judge the speed and distance in a second or two, and some are better at it than others.  But if the cyclist moves further left, he takes away any dithering on the part of the motorist.  He simply must slow down and pass when it's safe.  

I'm sure that somewhere in your reading you've seen the requirement that each of us on the road must exercise due care when driving or cycling.  That means it's always the responsibility of the overtaking driver to pass safely - and that equally applies to cyclists passing pedestrians.  We all have the same right to use the public way regardless of our choice of transportation, and the reason we're on the road is irrelevant.  Along with rights come responsibilities, and part of the reason I became an instructor was to educate cyclists on their very real responsibilities.  

Now, the other thing.  There are two forms of exercise that allow us to push well into the cardiac "red zone" without realizing it.  One is cycling.  The other is swimming.  We don't have to fight gravity as much, so it's easy to push too hard.  I used a heart rate monitor on very hot days as a rev limiter.  The alarm was set at 160 or 165 beats per minute.  When it was hot, my heart did about 115-120 just walking across the parking lot.  It worked hard to move blood around for cooling, and when I hit a modest grade, the rate spiked at 175-180 almost immediately.  But the weird thing is that it didn't feel like I was working hard, though my heart certainly was.  There wasn't any shortness of breath or burning leg muscles.  At the time, my theoretical max was around 200.

So my advice for you...ah...middle aged...men is to learn to take your pulse periodically when it's hot, or invest in a heart monitor.  It's cheap insurance.

[guido911]

We all have the same right to use the public way regardless of our choice of transportation, and the reason we're on the road is irrelevant.

Nope. And I am not going to get into that any further. My entire point is about safety and risk and you want to turn this into a "Cyclist Rights" thing with me. Not biting because I do not care.

[Red Arrow]

Running is easy, we're built to run continuously for most of a day in 110 degree heat.

Maybe originally but would not be smart for most of us now.

[Red Arrow]

Two points, entirely unrelated to each other.  The first is about lane positioning and the apparent belief that a cyclist riding in the center of it is somehow being an arrogant doosh.  For a lane to be shareable side by side, it must be about 14 feet wide or greater.  Consider this.  A bicycle is two feet wide, and a cyclist should keep two to three feet away from the fog line.  If his tire track is at three feet, and his left handlebar extends another foot, motorists are supposed to pass at least three feet to the left of his handlebar, putting them at least seven feet from the fog line.  The average car is 6 feet wide with some far wider, so that 7+6 is 13 feet.  Most lanes in the Tulsa area are no wider than 12 feet.  To pass safely, then, a motorist must cross the center line and that means waiting until it's safe to do so.  

What happens when a cyclist is being "courteous" by riding as far to the right as possible?  (Note that I did not say "as far right as practicable")  Drivers try to shoot the gap between the cyclist and on-coming traffic.  The cyclist ends up having cars going by just at his elbow.  It's worse when he rides in the center or right tire track, and then pulls to the right.  A solid line of cars will pass, lemming-like, and if he needs to move back the left, there's a solid moving wall of steel.

So a cyclist riding in the center of a narrow lane isn't doing it to piss you off, Guido, (though there's something to be said for that).  It's just safer for the cyclist.  Remember that when those drivers are trying to shoot the gap, they have to judge the speed and distance in a second or two, and some are better at it than others.  But if the cyclist moves further left, he takes away any dithering on the part of the motorist.  He simply must slow down and pass when it's safe.  

I'm sure that somewhere in your reading you've seen the requirement that each of us on the road must exercise due care when driving or cycling.  That means it's always the responsibility of the overtaking driver to pass safely - and that equally applies to cyclists passing pedestrians.  We all have the same right to use the public way regardless of our choice of transportation, and the reason we're on the road is irrelevant.  Along with rights come responsibilities, and part of the reason I became an instructor was to educate cyclists on their very real responsibilities.  

Now, the other thing.  There are two forms of exercise that allow us to push well into the cardiac "red zone" without realizing it.  One is cycling.  The other is swimming.  We don't have to fight gravity as much, so it's easy to push too hard.  I used a heart rate monitor on very hot days as a rev limiter.  The alarm was set at 160 or 165 beats per minute.  When it was hot, my heart did about 115-120 just walking across the parking lot.  It worked hard to move blood around for cooling, and when I hit a modest grade, the rate spiked at 175-180 almost immediately.  But the weird thing is that it didn't feel like I was working hard, though my heart certainly was.  There wasn't any shortness of breath or burning leg muscles.  At the time, my theoretical max was around 200.

So my advice for you...ah...middle aged...men is to learn to take your pulse periodically when it's hot, or invest in a heart monitor.  It's cheap insurance.

You didn't answer my questions.

[Ed W]

You didn't answer my questions.

I did, but I'll expand on it if you like.

"I'm sure that somewhere in your reading you've seen the requirement that each of us on the road must exercise due care when driving or cycling.  That means it's always the responsibility of the overtaking driver to pass safely - and that equally applies to cyclists passing pedestrians."

As far as I'm aware, a unicycle is no different from any other bicycle under Oklahoma law.  But there are some oddities that may change that statement.  Local laws can prohibit it, for instance, and OK once had a law that defined bicycles by their wheel size.  That changed a few years ago.

So riding your unicycle on the road would require that you obey traffic law just like everyone else.  Overtaking cyclists, motorcyclists, motorists, runners, and the occasional Amish buggy would have to pass you at least 3 feet away.  However, please be aware that at 5mph you're fair game for recumbent riders who are only marginally faster and are prone to telling long, boring stories while they ride alongside you for mile after mile.

As for riding behind a slow moving unicyclist, we'd just pass you the same as we pass other, slower riders all the time. 

Seriously, I did a Freewheel training ride with a guy on a unicycle once.  His had a large wheel, perhaps a 26 inch, and he rode across the state on it. 

[Red Arrow]

Seriously, I did a Freewheel training ride with a guy on a unicycle once.  His had a large wheel, perhaps a 26 inch, and he rode across the state on it.  

I've seen some advertisements for large wheel unicycles for going distances.  My unicycle has a 24" wheel.  That was the relatively common larger size when I bought it.  20" was a common smaller size.  I haven't ridden it for a while.  I used to ride it around the neighborhood for a few miles a day.  Then my butt got sore so I quit for a while that got extended.

I found the web site with the big wheel unicycles:
http://www.unicycle.com/unicycles/commuter-touring/

[Red Arrow]

As for riding behind a slow moving unicyclist, we'd just pass you the same as we pass other, slower riders all the time. 

I was thinking of a pack of unicycles like the Wednesday Night Ride that usually goes up near Sand Springs.  I know people that ride in it and a few others that live in the area and hate it.

[Conan71]

Nope. And I am not going to get into that any further. My entire point is about safety and risk and you want to turn this into a "Cyclist Rights" thing with me. Not biting because I do not care.

Personally, I thought Ed did a good job of explaining what everyone's responsibilities are on the roadway, at least everyone with a legal reason to be on the roadway.

It's not a matter of cyclists rights.  It's a matter of respecting each others presence on the road.  Typically, I will avoid heavily travelled roads which are not marked as "share the road" and most wise cyclists will do this as well- speaking to risk and safety.  Many of the roads I ride on in rural areas are marked 45 or 50 MPH.  I usually pick such roads because they are lightly traveled.  On the odd chance I get hit by some dill weed with their head buried in their cell phone, so long as I'm riding as close as I safely can to the right side of the road, there's no contributory negligence. 

I wasn't in the car with you when the incident you shared happened so I honestly can't say whether or not you were following closer than necessary or if the cyclist was an oversensitive doosh.

Keep in mind, some people do have to transit public roads to get to trails or less traveled roads and by the law, they do have the right to do so though they may be less comfortable than others in transiting those roads and they might be a little twitchy.  That's why I always try to give even more space than required. 

I can't speak for someone being an arrogant doosh in their car, on their bike, or on their crotch rocket.  I will say that initiating a confrontation is generally not considered a good idea.

And as far as the idea most people have that the proper roadway for cyclists is the trail system, try navigating around people with five kids and two dogs on a leash every 1/10th of a mile and you will understand, at least for competitive cyclists, why the road is a far safer place to train.

Most important is simply remember that whomever that cyclist, walker, runner, skate boarder, hand-stander, fellow driver, or motorcyclist is someone else's child, parent, spouse, grandparent, etc.  We all need to back off the throttle a little and give each other a little more room.

[guido911]

On the odd chance I get hit by some dill weed with their head buried in their cell phone, so long as I'm riding as close as I safely can to the right side of the road, there's no contributory negligence. 

Dead men tell no tales...Sorry, but that's reality when your atop a 40-50lb bike and get whacked by a 1-2T metal projectile/automobile going 45 mph.

[Conan71]

Dead men tell no tales...Sorry, but that's reality when your atop a 40-50lb bike and get whacked by a 1-2T metal projectile/automobile going 45 mph.

I know that's a possibility when I ride on the road.  It's every bit as much a reality getting on the highway in a 1.5T Hyundai vs. an 18 wheeler.  So long as I'm doing it legally, there's no contributory negligence.