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Ok folks - So I am giving in to the urge and I want to buy a bike. I know nothing about what kind or style to get etc - does anyone have any suggestions for online retailers or any shops in the GR area?

I'm actually kind of shocked because I was driving around town (Greenville) today and I see some roads that were resurfaced from the past year - and some bike lanes are starting to pop up around town. I think this is so exciting, but I wish they'd do the whole road and not just fragments of it.

Anyway - any help would be appreciated :)

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Ok folks - So I am giving in to the urge and I want to buy a bike. I know nothing about what kind or style to get etc - does anyone have any suggestions for online retailers or any shops in the GR area?

I'm actually kind of shocked because I was driving around town (Greenville) today and I see some roads that were resurfaced from the past year - and some bike lanes are starting to pop up around town. I think this is so exciting, but I wish they'd do the whole road and not just fragments of it.

Anyway - any help would be appreciated :)

This is where I started when I got back into it a few years ago. Bike Forums

Great information. Many, many knowledgeable people.

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BR, figure out what sort of riding you want to do. Kent Trails? Road racing? Training for your future career as a pedicab operator? And think about your budget.

Go to Store A and the salesfolk will ask you those same questions. See what they try to sell in you in your size, price range, and color. Take notes, and proceed to Store B.

Repeat. After about three places you'll notice similarities among the products, prices, and amenities. And you'll start being able to ask knowledgeable questions of them. Can you swap out the saddle? Free lifetime maintenance? Etc. (Suggest weekday afternoons if possible; they won't be as busy as after work hours or weekends.)

This will get you started, and paging through one of the bicycle buyers' guides (spend the few bucks on a magazine, easier than web sites) will get you going further.

The little bike shop in Rockford is listed on the new rent a bike anywhere website. You might try before you buy and do an extended test ride. (Just lapping a parking lot probably isn't sufficient.)

HTH

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For people who went to the bike summit on Friday, what can we do to make GR a bike friendly community?

We came up with lots of good ideas...presumably there will be action items emerging. There's a committee forming. (Most of the event entailed sitting in an auditorium facing forward while a speaker read Powerpoints to us.)

It was clear from some of the audience questions that education needs to take place. E.g. "why can't we have bike lanes next to the curb, protected from traffic by a line of parked cars?" A couple folks stated that GRPD and Wyoming PD had told them to ride on the sidewalk; this was scoffed at by Sgt Ernie, who attended in full GRPD bike patrol kit.

It was suggested that a website be created with one-stop information on all local bicycle issues. Good idea; presently things are scattered amongst City, the bike clubs, the trails folks, and elsewhere. This will help with duplicative efforts; several attendees sugested forming a bicycle co-op with repair services and DIY capability...this already exists and it's called The Motion Initiative.

More later.

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I thought this would be a bit off-topic in the Transit thread, but it's sort of related to the discussion there. Check out rush hour on the Hawthorne Bridge in Portland, where 20% of the traffic is bicycles. It has increased 600% in the past 15 years. (that averages out to 40%/year)

http://www.streetsblog.org/2009/04/29/stre...wthorne-bridge/

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I thought this would be a bit off-topic in the Transit thread, but it's sort of related to the discussion there. Check out rush hour on the Hawthorne Bridge in Portland, where 20% of the traffic is bicycles. It has increased 600% in the past 15 years. (that averages out to 40%/year)

http://www.streetsblog.org/2009/04/29/stre...wthorne-bridge/

Sweet! That is so cool.

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I got myself a road bike today! 21 speed. It's somewhat old, I got it from my grandpa. I'll get a picture of it up sometime. What's a good site online that shows all the bike paths around town?

Here you go if "around town" is GR http://www.ci.grand-rapids.mi.us/download_...e%20GR%20v4.pdf

Warning: takes a while to load even on dsl

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I got myself a road bike today! 21 speed. It's somewhat old, I got it from my grandpa. I'll get a picture of it up sometime. What's a good site online that shows all the bike paths around town?

That's great! The West Michigan Trails and Greenways Coalition is working on an interactive online mapping system for trails on this side of the state, but I don't think it will be up and running until next year.

Their website still has links to many of the local trail groups, which have maps of varying quality on each of their websites. http://www.grcity.us/index.pl?page_id=7515...;article_id=222

You can check out the BikeGR map, which has some of the trails. There are print copies around at most of the bicycle shops and some libraries, at my PedalGR rides, or you can download the .pdfs here: http://www.grcity.us/index.pl?page_id=7515...;article_id=222

You can also checkout the interactive map on the Michigan Trails and Greenways (statewide group) website. It's useful, but I have found it less than easy to use.

http://www.michigantrails.org/about-the-trails-finder/

Let me know if you have any questions. Of course, I also invite you to come out to a PedalGR ride. If you do, be sure to introduce yourself as an Urban Planeteer. :)

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http://www.wzzm13.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=108819

Here's "Mike Duggan", my alter-ego, teaching Meredith TerHaar of WZZM some basics of bicycle safety.

I really don't understand how they referred to me as Mike Duggan in the first paragraph and then use my correct name later in the article.

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...

I really don't understand how they referred to me as Mike Duggan in the first paragraph and then use my correct name later in the article.

Folks poked fun at my post about out-sourced reportage, but still I'd blame Bangalore.

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Let me know if you have any questions. Of course, I also invite you to come out to a PedalGR ride. If you do, be sure to introduce yourself as an Urban Planeteer. :)
I'd love to go on a PedalGR ride. Also, this bike skills course sounds interesting as well. I've already started to make the bike my own. I've put a wireless speedometer on it. Couldn't imagine a bike without it. And by the way, how much do you think this bike is worth? I think it's around 7-10 years old. I want to pay for this bike so that that gift laws don't apply. Was told that it was bought new for around ~$400 3502453302_45c5e3828e_b.jpg
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I'd love to go on a PedalGR ride. Also, this bike skills course sounds interesting as well. I've already started to make the bike my own. I've put a wireless speedometer on it. Couldn't imagine a bike without it. And by the way, how much do you think this bike is worth? I think it's around 7-10 years old. I want to pay for this bike so that that gift laws don't apply. Was told that it was bought new for around ~$400

If I were purchasing the bike from Craigslist, I don't think I'd expect to pay more than about $60-75. But, that's just my opinion. Definitely not more than $100 with the age of the bike and knowing that it probably has low end components because of the original price.

That being said, if it fits you reasonably well, is comfortable to ride, and everything (brakes, shifters) works right, it still looks like a great bike for commuting.

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. I want to pay for this bike so that that gift laws don't apply.

If you're referring to the federal gift regulations, your grandfather can give you up to $12,000? (used to be 10,000) without any tax consequences. i can't imagine how a $400 bike will have any tax consequences.

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If you're referring to the federal gift regulations, your grandfather can give you up to $12,000? (used to be 10,000) without any tax consequences. i can't imagine how a $400 bike will have any tax consequences.

Maybe his grandfather has already given him $12,000 this year? :)

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What I meant by gift laws were the social implications that go with the item when given as a gift.

Then I stand by my initial valuation and think that in the neighborhood of $50-$60 would be a pretty fair compensation for you to give your grandfather (assuming that as a family member, you (the generic "you", not you specifically) give someone a little bit of a deal).

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So I've gotten back into bicycle commuting a bit this year (will do it more after choir concert season is done and I don't have to worry about how the exertion affects my asthma), and have a traffic question. My commute is quite short - about two miles - almost all of it on Kalamazoo Ave, from Edna (north of Alger) to Hall. The section of Kzoo from Alger to Burton was just redone last year, and it's wonderful - no more extra space to give people the idea that the city engineers really meant it to be a four-lane even though they painted it as a two-lane.

If you're not familiar with the road, the lane arrangement is:

]

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...bicycle commuting ... quite short - about two miles - almost all of it on Kalamazoo Ave, from Edna (north of Alger) to Hall. The section of Kzoo from Alger to Burton was just redone last year, and it's wonderful - no more extra space to give people the idea that the city engineers really meant it to be a four-lane even though they painted it as a two-lane. ... two-lane plus middle turning lane, with parking ...

I've found that I can often hang out in the parking lane to allow impatient cars to pass, but there's never much room there, between the parked cars and curb jut-outs. What's the recommended practice for traveling roads like this one? At points I take the lane and don't allow cars to pass, as there's not room for them to safely (especially by the railroad tracks, where the lanes narrow).

It seems to me that this sort of road design is cropping up often when a road is redone. Do bike safety folks find the design to be acceptable? I appreciate that it takes all of the vagueness out of what is and is not a driving lane, but I don't like having to choose between staying in the traffic lane for long periods (risking the ire of impatient drivers) or zigzagging in and out of the parking lane.

Thanks!

The restriping was done after the Google car drove its tour. I found you a stretch with a car parked on it.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source...,328.71,,0,9.57

Best lane position would be a car door width away from the parked cars when they are present. Here's a stretch of Eastern with a bulb-out (as they are called) and some wear lines on the pavement:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source...,179.83,,1,2.63

On a bike, you can change your line of travel without changing lanes. When there are no parked cars, you could ride in a straight line where their left tires would be. (On the link, there's an L-shaped pavement mark near the street tree. No closer to the curb than that.) Stay close to the travel lane and avoid the curb; the idea is to ride in a straight line, if not one that remains the same distance from the curb.

Commuting: you're out there are pretty much the same time every day, along with the same motorists. Cyclists (or should I use the term people who ride bicycles **) are unique enough to draw attention. The vehicle code is based on predictability and trust: others will stop for red lights and STOP signs, which means you can go on your green, or take your turn at a four-way stop. While you might perceive that you are causing delay to your fellow commuters, in reality you might be slowing down a single motorist by a few seconds. (I once had a lovely stoplight discussion with a motorist. In April, she rolled down the window and said, "I saw you out here every day, all winter.")

Consider getting similar natty attire to what I have on in the Mayor's Ride photo. The high-vis reflectorized vest came from Uncle Fred (sporting goods area) and now there are construction worker T-shirts and jackets in the men's department. Another good statement to be sending to motorists: I am wearing this so that you can see me.

Asthma tends to be reduced by improved lung capacity, so you might build up with other aerobic exercise and continue riding. Short-term, it will seem like you are slamming your singing career to an abrupt halt, but long-term you'll be improving things.

While the bulb-out design generally improves road safety by reducing speeds and decreasing the pedestrian crossing distance (traffic calming), it can be a pain to ride around.

HTH

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** the League of American Bicyclists keynote speaker told the Summit attendees that he doesn't consider himself to be a cyclist

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Wow - thanks for all of the helpful information (much more than I was anticipating - but very appreciated)!

I'm definitely hoping that my asthma will lessen as I get more exercise, but I can't take the temporary breathing problems until after this weekend at least - part of the concerts I'm in this weekend (Calvin Alumni Choir) is a 16-person ensemble singing Bach's Singet Dem Herrn, which is 8-part, and it has some long runs; we're performing at St. Andrew's cathedral, so the tempo is quite slow; to make a long story short, I can't afford the loss of breath support this week.

I'd love to keep going year-round - I just need to get my asthma under control, my butt into gear, and to convince my wife that cycling in the winter can be done safely.

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