Bike

[abka]

Denis and I took Jordan's bike into the bike shop today to see if it would be a good deal for me to buy it. The bike shop guys said that it was a steal and I should definitely buy it. It's a little smaller then they would recommend for me if they were selling me a bike, but I should be fine on it. Jordan bought it new last year for abour $200, only rode it once or twice if that, and now she's moving and wants to get rid of it for $75, good deal for me! I'm hoping to use it to commute home from work. Denis can drop me off in the morning, but I take the bus (with the over-chatty bus driver) home at night. So the plan is to try to bike home after work (wouldn't want to do it in the morning and get sweaty before work). I haven't ridden a bike in over 10 years, so I'm a little nervous, I did buy a helmet and the guy helped me make sure I adjusted it correctly. It's about 5 miles home, I figure if I can jog 2 miles, then I should be able to bike 5, but I'm going to practice so I don't end up getting stranded, the way home has lots of hills (although I'm more concerned about the traffic). Let me know if you have any tips for the biking novice. (And I can't underestimate novice, the last bike I rode I was 9, and it was purple, and really cool, but I didn't ride it much because my mother would only let me ride it where she could see me because she was afraid I'd be abducted, I wish this bike was purple, it's black, they didn't have purple helmets either, mine's blue, that's acceptable.)

Okay, back to work on the Lissitsky labels. Going to the Malevich show this weekend helped a lot, I'm even specifically referencing Black Circle, Black Cross, and Elongated Plane.

Comments

[mrsjadephoenix.livejournal.com]

the last bike I rode I was 9, and it was purple, and really cool, but I didn't ride it much because my mother would only let me ride it where she could see me because she was afraid I'd be abducted

I had a similar experience with bikes. I was only allowed to ride mine in the backyard, which was a reasonably large backyard, but I only rode on the parts that were paved. Since that made the whole notion of riding the bike kind of pointless, I didn't do it at all after I was about 11 or so.

Then in college I tried to rent a bike to ride around with some other people and discovered that I had accomplished the impossible: I'd forgotten how to ride a bike. Sucko. A big part of the problem was that I was with my ex at the time. He grabbed a bike from the rental shop, rode off, and just ditched me there! So in my haste to catch up, I grabbed a bike that ended up being way too large for me and I had serious troubles keeping balance on it.

The good: I managed to do a great swerve and avoid an elderly couple that I was about to crash into.
The bad: My swerve landed me in a ditch with a big mud puddle. Ah, mud.

I haven't really ridden a bike since then.

(Sorry, this comment isn't at all meant to scare you. It's meant as a comical tale of me being physically inept. ;-) I'm sure you'll be fine because your bike is more appropriately sized, and you'll practice on it, and you won't have to chase after your ex down a big hill on it.)

[grumph.livejournal.com]

They make purple spraypaint, I'm sure.

[mylene2k.livejournal.com]

I can't help with the learning to ride a bike thing, but I do bike commute (in Boston, I gather that you're in a place nothing like Boston as far as the insanity of drivers go. This is a big plus. Unfortunately, this also means I know nothing about the terrain you're biking on, sorry). So, tricks to bike commuting:

Whatever you do, always stay at least three feet away from the doors of parked cars. Otherwise, you risk having someone open a car door into you, which isn't fun.

Stay on the right hand side of the road, but don't hug the right (especially if this involves biking too near parked cars or over really rough terrain). It's OK to take up a little space on the road. In fact, generally speaking you want to do whatever you can so cars can see you. When I bike in downtown Boston (with the big buildings that cars can't see around when they're turning) I bike in the middle of the road so cars will see me if they're turning from a cross street. They don't look over to the far right.

Exceptions to the above rule: If you're turning left and there's a left-turn lane, stay on the right hand side of the left-turn lane. If there isn't, bike on the left-hand side of the lane (or walk across the road). Similarly, if there's a right turn lane and you're going straight, do not bike in the right turn lane, bike on the right hand side of the lane lane that goes straight.

If you're nervous about traffic, not biking too fast, and there are sidewalks, you can always bike on the sidewalk.

Other bits of advice: If you'll be biking at night, where light clothing and get bike lights, especially in the back. If you'll have a bag or backpack or something, stick a light on that as well. It's good to be visible.

Once you've mastered the entire going forward and turning thing, try to go forward without swerving while looking back over your shoulder for oncoming traffic. This isn't an essential skill, but it's very useful if you ever need to change lanes.

And good luck!