In response to ever-rising gasoline prices, many alternative forms of transportation are gaining popularity here.
The most common practice appears to be "bumming rides off people," which has the advantage of being tried and true, but the disadvantage of being unreliable at times.
I, on the other hand, purchased a brand new $50 kid’s bike. It was either that, a used $60 granny bike, or a new $250 "regular" bicycle. This was a no-brainer.
I really wanted a 10-speed like my old Raleigh, but I was tired of being stared at like I was crazy every time I said "10-speed."
Others who shall remain nameless tackled their rising gasoline costs by purchasing more fuel-efficient automobiles.
It’s even smaller than it looks. Honest.
These two-seater Smart Cars are actually not much bigger than my bicycle. From what I hear, they get 70 miles to the gallon, and are available for a few thousand euro, used.
That’s the story. There is no punchline. Sorry.
Oh, I guess I can add that after being forced to shell out an extra 15 bucks on orange wheel reflectors, front and rear lights, AND A BELL, I’m probably doomed to receive my first citation of some sort (probably for weaving in and out of moving traffic) before the end of the month, as I have nothing but contempt for fascist bicycle laws. That is all.
I’m going to buy one of those Smart Cars. Chysler is supposed to start selling them in the U.S. in 2008…looks like they’ll be a bit more expensive than a few thousand euro.
I suppose I should point out: bicycles are not gyroscopically-balanced.
Fred de Long, Technical Editor of Bicycling, disproved the “gyro” theory in the late ’60s when he assembled a unique bike with side by side front wheels — a normal front wheel plus an identical counter-rotating wheel slightly above and to one side. The second wheel (which rotated at the same speed but never touched the ground) offset the gyro effect of the first. His finding: a bicycle’s gyro-stability is a myth. He postulated (and I agree) that all us cyclists remain upright by continually steering through/across the path of our imminent fall. (You can quickly prove this to yourself by riding a bike with an over-tightened headset — the results are extremely convincing).