Two wheels are better than four!
category:Sports and Recreation posted:May 6th, 2008
Whether it’s a gutsy mountain bike, a sleek racer or your trusty Schwinn with the playing cards in the spokes, time to get out and see the world on two wheels.May is American Bike Month!
Biking is terrific exercise – and with today’s high gas prices, it can also keep your wallet in shape.Just remember some basic safety rules (which apply to casual rides around the neighborhood, as well as street or trail rides).
·Invest in and ALWAYS wear a good helmet: nearly 70,000 cyclists suffer
serious head injuries each year and many never fully recover.Obey all traffic controls
·Ride your bicycle near the right-hand edge of the road
·Never carry another person on your bicycle
·Always use hand signals when turning or stopping
·Look out for cars at cross street, driveways, and parking places
·Be careful when checking traffic; don't swerve when looking over your
shoulder
·Give pedestrians the right-of-way
Here
are some great links for cyclists:
Find
a paved bike path in your state:
http://www.pavedbiketrails.com/
Two
great general resources for everything bike-related…
http://www.bikelane.com/#8.0
http://www.bikeride.com/
Just
for fun, here’s some more bicycle trivia:
·DaVinci sketched an early version of the bike in 1490, but it never got
off the drawing board.
·The earliest bikes were called “velocipedes.”
·France’s Pierre Michaux is credited with the creation of the bicycle
pedal in 1861.
·On May 31, 1868 the first bicycle race took place. It was over 2
kilometers, at the Pare de St. Cloud. The winner was James Moore, who rode a
bicycle with solid rubber tires and ball bearings which made it go faster.
·In 1893 the Wright brothers decided to open up a bicycle shop. When
they made the first airplane, they used most of their knowledge from their
bicycle repair experience.
Comments / Corrections:
You know I have been saying for quite some time that people who have Bicycles should start using them for short little trips to stores for small items rather than driving your vehicles. Cities and towns in our States should widen our roadways in the towns to provide adequate safety for bicycle riders. Also lanes should be identified as bicycle laned to asisst in preventing the opertors from being struck by Motor Vehicles. Laws should be established that Bicycle Operators should have the right away as they are the slower vehicles. Much like the water-ways slower boats have the right-of-way over power boats. Signs should be posted just about at every interesection in the cities telling the Vehicle operators to be cautious of Bicycle Riders, and remain in their lanes. This bicycle useage will reduce the Demand for fuel, which could be the first step in recovering from the high cost of fuel. This country is one of the few that do not use Bicycles as a means for getting around. Almost all of Asia, Europe, India, China, Korea, and other large popuated countries use bicycles for short use and shopping. Reducing the Demand for fossil fuel in this country should be a priority. The Oil Producers have sufficient oil to meet our demands. but will not raise their productions to help us out. So we must do it purselves until we are self sufficient and producing our own fuels, and energy sources. It's really up to us to be responsible enough to take some positive action that will be to our benefit at a later date. Remember all our Foods, and Products are costing us more every day becuse of the high price of gasoline at the pumps. Diesel Fuel for truckers is at all time high of $4.68 per gallon. Thery can't make a profit, because the fuel is costing them too much. They are our major transporters of foods and commmodities that we need to survive. Every little bit will help, so lets get with the program and cut back on the demand. My Best to You all,
Butchrgt
posted:05/19/08