Re: 10/07/05: Do we belong on bike paths?

On Sun, Oct 09, 2005 at 10:56:45AM +0200, B D wrote:
> --- Mary Arneson <marneson47@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> skrev:
> > On Oct 8, 2005, at 4:27 PM, Sheldon Brown wrote:
> > >
> > > I've ridden my GT3 on rail trails and found no problem.  The width
> > > issue is deceptive.
> > >
> > > Your 18" figure is atypical.  Most mountain bikes have handlebars
> > > 22" wide or more.  Also, a bicycle needs more space because it
> > > must move from side to side and also lean to balance.
> > >
> > > A trike, on the other hand, can be ridden perfectly straight, even
> > > at very slow speeds.
> > 
> > A bike with a trailer is also wider than many trikes, and less
> > stable.  I think we'd all agree that a trailer full of kids has a
> > place on the path, and bike / multi-use paths need to be built with
> > them in mind.  If they are, there will be plenty of room for the
> > rest of us -- trikes, handcycles, utility trailers, and velomobiles.
> 
> This is generally a problem here, that bike paths aren't consistent in
> any way. They could be narrow, wide, and with obstacles that makes it
> impossible to anticipate if the path is possible to use or not. The
> bicycle organisations here in Sweden seem reluctant to work with these
> issues other than from a turist point of view, which I find extremely
> dissappointing. The National Road Administration also think that
> biking is mainly for the southern part of Sweden because of weather
> and such things (I wonder if they have been outside their cars and
> corridors ever), this is also very dissappointing and shows of very
> low interest and knowledge in biking. From a biking point of view,
> this is true stone-age!

I think you underestimate the stone-agedness of a good portion of North
America...

> /Bruno 
> Sweden

        slainte mhath, RGB
        GPC Listmaster

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