@ascentale @bikenite A8. Tirana is more car-centric (a recent development, I gather) than other Albanian cities, but you still see a lot of bikes & trikes here, including acoustic cargo trikes. Here’s an older person cycling a load on an upright tadpole cargo trike, on a slight uphill. (1/2)
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@ascentale @bikenite A8. Last week, I was mostly riding frozen back roads and cycleways, as our local government ignores their transport policies and don't clear walking and cycling routes.
@ascentale @bikenite A8. Here's a rock garden I saw while visiting family in Victoria. Here's the website with more pics: http://rock-art.ca/index.html
![ajft [SEC=&8212;haha]](https://mediacdn.aus.social/accounts/avatars/108/394/830/721/852/594/original/e8be0d5b3695c8a6.png "ajft [SEC=&8212;haha]")
@ascentale @bikenite #bikenite A8. Heading south on an exposed straight gravel road, leaning to the right into near gale-force winds from the west, and trying to stay out of the deep sand sections. After taking over an hour for 16km it stopped being fun so i called family to come and collect me
@ajft @ascentale @bikenite I had a similar experience yesterday on my return along the Arakawa. Beautiful day otherwise.
@ascentale @bikenite I finally made a triangle bag for my bamboo mini cargo bike. I am just waiting for some pink shock cord to arrive to put the bag on my bike.
I also made a gigantic roll top bag to sit on the front platform, but I haven't got a good photo of that yet.
I also put reflective tape on the spokes of my bike this week, so that I am more visible in the dark.
I am very excited for the spring, when I can take this bike out again!
My bamboo mini cargo bike. It is a BambooCycles Coatepec.
A frame bag for my bike. It goes within the central triangle. It is a dull green canvas material with a stripe of bright pink. There is a bright pink rectangular patch on it with a linocut print of a crow on it that I did myself.
@Teaceratops @ascentale @bikenite That looks like such a rad bike! And like an absolutely fantastic bag! Great work! I have a sewing machine and some material too and now i'm inspired!
@interzoneboy @ascentale @bikenite thank you! All of it was really fun to build 😊
All the best with making your own bags!
@Teaceratops @ascentale @bikenite That bike is gorgeous! 😀🚴♀️❤️
@uxmark @ascentale @bikenite thankyou! I built it myself :)
@Teaceratops @ascentale @bikenite Very cool! What are the lugs made of?
@dgodon @ascentale @bikenite the bags are both made of heavy cotton canvas, with pink cotton detailing. The webbing around the frame bag is some polyester webbing I had around, and I'll be threading it with the pink shock cord onto the frame, so it's permanently on the bike. The zip was reclaimed off another item.
The big canvas cargo bag (not pictured) is made from the same materials, but with a parachute clip I reclaimed off a broken strap.
I managed to make both items with things I already owned :)
@Teaceratops @ascentale @bikenite I meant the frame lugs on the bicycle, the non bamboo connector pieces.
The bags are nice too!
@dgodon @ascentale @bikenite oh! Sorry! A Lug is a local word for bag or box for cargo, where I am from!
Those are carbon fiber. Underneath, the bamboo is held with metal joints, and then covered with carbon fiber (I built it myself at a workshop). We then sanded it down to make it fit the frame, and it's finished with a beeswax polish.
@Teaceratops @ascentale @bikenite what a cool project! Kudos on the great work!
@ascentale @bikenite A8. Here’s a view of the Iron Horse Trail here in Waterloo this week, though I was walking rather than cycling 😀
A8. This sign stands at the entrance to the Arakawa cycling course next to the Toda Bridge (which is where I most often join the course). It marks the beginning and also the end of the "proper" bike ride (i.e., along the river rather than in traffic). The lettering has long since faded. I was amused yesterday to see people have been tagging it by writing in the dust.
@ascentale @bikenite A8. Tirana is more car-centric (a recent development, I gather) than other Albanian cities, but you still see a lot of bikes & trikes here, including acoustic cargo trikes. Here’s an older person cycling a load on an upright tadpole cargo trike, on a slight uphill. (1/2)
@meganL @ascentale @bikenite I love that even though you’re not cycling these days (for now) you post pictures of cycling in Tirana. Thanks for that 😀🚴♀️❤️
@uxmark @ascentale @bikenite You're welcome. If I can ever get on top of my workload (not for pay...just trying to set up moves for survival), I want to start a PeerTube/YouTube channel for Albanian cycle culture interviews, overviews, etc.
I really love the variety of cycles and cycling you see here (although recumbents are pretty much not around). #BikeNite
@ascentale @bikenite
Took a walk on Hennepin Ave earlier this week. Minneapolis just completed a 2-year makeover between Lake Street & Franklin Ave. It's a major improvement, providing good infrastructure for walk & bike & autos in that ~1 mi stretch. Also of note: The City has done a good job keeping the three (walk, bike, auto) types of lanes clear of snow & ice in this stretch, in contrast to surrounding neighborhoods.
Additional detail in alt text for each pic. #BikeNite A8 #MNastodon 1/2
A large dog straddles where bicycle lane meets sidewalk. From right to left: A brick commercial building; new concrete sidewalk; blacktop bicycle lane; plowed snowbank and parking signs separate the bicycle lane from the automobile lane; a white, large, 4-door pickup truck drives down the street; commercial buildings are in the background. Toward the background, the conjoined sidewalk & bike lane bifurcate, first with an iron rumble strip, then with a wider snow-covered physical separation that has trees growing out of it. A painted glyph of a bicycle indicates the bike lane (partially obstructed by the dog's butt and tail). Location: Hennepin Avenue between Franklin & Lake, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
A solitary bicycle traveling on an urban bike lane on a cloudy winter day.
Left to right in the image: Commercial store fronts & apartment buildings; a wide, snow-free sidewalk; iron rumble strip; blacktop bicycle lane with yellow stripes in the middle; plowed snow covers the right-most quarter of the bicycle lane along the curb; parked cars; street with a physical barrier in the median; parked cars; and commercial buildings in background. The photo & description highlight several features of this newly rebuilt section of Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
@MarkBrigham @ascentale @bikenite On my ride yesterday I couldn't go more than a couple of blocks between cars parked in the bike line. (NB for the most part just sharrows along the curb.) The parked vehicles would sometimes cause a back-up in traffic too as car changed lanes to get around.
This looks a lot better.
@ascentale @bikenite 2/2
continued: Hennepin Av South of Lake street gets worse from a wintertime bike & walk perspective. One block (between 31st and Lake) is decent. South of 31st, and it's poorly shoveled sidewalks and bike lanes, with cars winning out. Details in alt text. #BikeNite A8 #MNastodon
Parked cars to the left are "forced" partway into a painted bicycle lane. Frozen slush covers the bicycle lane and painting on the street that designates it as a bicycle lane. Part of the line separating the automobile lane from the bike lane is visible through the slush. The third and fourth parked cars markedly encroach on the bicycle lane, and the conditions render it virtually unusable as a bike lane. The automobile lane is damp, but mostly free of snow and slush. Large victorian homes and some commercial buildings line the street; the sky is grey and trees are leafless. Location: Hennepin Avenue south of 31st Street, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
An urban street with a car in a damp (but clear) automobile lane; a painted bicycle lane has slush; slush frozen to the street is more abundant in the right half of the lane, nearest the curb. The bicycle lane is still useable for intrepid cyclists, but nowhere near as safe and well-maintained as the separated bicycle lane described in another photo. Location: Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis, Minnesota, south of Lake Street. Conditions are like this for one single block, between Lake Street & 31st Street.
Note: this is outside of the newly completed rebuild to the north, between Lake & Franklin.
Frozen snow and slush occupies 2-3 feet between the curb and parked cars, forcing the parked cars into a painted bicycle lane (not shown). A clear sidewalk is to the right. Location: Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, south of 31st street.
@ascentale @bikenite #BikeNite A8: The first picture is from my morning commute this Thursday. I discovered that now a Kindergarten sledge run seems to run over my usual commute route.
Unfortunately in the evening most snow was either gone or converted to slippery and partially icy slush. Friday was even a bit warmer, but now it gets colder again. ☃️🥳
The other two pictures are from #BikeTouring during my winter holidays in the 2 weeks after Christmas. (So yes, not really from the past week. 😇)
A dark, completely frozen river, photographed from a bridge with guard rails in blue and pale red. On both riversides there are woods and some meadows, the right side is sunny. Nearly now snow visible anywhere.
A snow covered cycling path on a former railway track takes a slight left turn in a shadowy corridor cut through a forest. Blue sky above.
An orange Brompton Electric G-Line with lights turned on leans on a snow-covered wooden bench near a snow-covered path in a park that has become a winter wonderland. In the background there are many Kindergarten age children using flat butt sleighs to toboggan down the hill, crossing the mentioned path ahead of my bicycle.
@ascentale @bikenite A8. A photo from last weekend of bad bike infrastructure that we spotted while driving home from vacation. This “bike lane” runs along a 4-lane road with a 55mph speed limit, plus features several spots where it just disappears completely. Someone might have had good intentions with this, but whoa, talk about missing the mark! #BikeNite
@ascentale @bikenite I can’t imagine that anyone actually rides in it.
@ascentale @bikenite A8 #BikeNite We've had a spell of freezing but still dry weather that made for some amazing riding. I met some inquisitive—may one day trample me to death—cattle on a trail the other day and had fun picking a line through them before they gave up chasing and just stood and stared again.
@pete @ascentale @bikenite Its always crazy to me if you think about the fact that cattle allow humans to handle them, they are so much bigger and stronger that if they didn't consent to being handle, it just wouldn't happen.
@pete @ascentale @bikenite Both are great photos, but that first one is WHOA. #BikeNite
@pete @ascentale @bikenite Last time I was cycling in England the path took us right through a herd of grazing cattle. And (ulp!) some had horns!
I very carefully ascertained that all had udders before continuing.
@oheso @pete @ascentale @bikenite Here in Austria, somebody gets killed by alpine cattle almost every year. And it's very rarely a bull. Cows with calves are the most dangerous. Often set off by someone showing up with a dog.
@twobiscuits @oheso @pete @ascentale @bikenite Around here the forest service lets ranchers graze bulls as well as cows on public land (despite the fact that there's a big problem with feral cattle in areas where they're not supposed to be, and you'd think allowing bulls out there would lead to more feral cattle). We've had to deal with bulls on hikes, though I haven't encountered any while biking. But @twobiscuits is right, cows can be pretty dangerous too.
@akkana @twobiscuits @oheso @ascentale @bikenite I think there’s only certain ‘safe’ breeds they’re allowed to have in fields with access, but I’m still wary around them. It’s scary when they get spooked and stampede alongside you.
@pete @akkana @twobiscuits @oheso @ascentale @bikenite
One of the issues in the UK (I say confidently as a towny) is that people are used to seeing cows on the other side of the fence, and assume they're always docile lumps eating grass.
I've been lucky that the worst cow related incident I've had was one very persistently trying to eat my hood.
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@ascentale @bikenite I know. And I can’t help but think that nobody round here has ever been killed by a shark. Cows on the other hand …
Me trying to get over my seasonally affected disorder with some summer weather in virtual small town USA
@MatthewNewell @bikenite interesting, which service is this?
@ascentale @bikenite Rouvy. I saw some screenshots posted here by other tooters and thought I would give it a go when my zwift membership was coming due.
The races and events are a lot less frequent and less well attended (not always bad thing) but the scenery kicks and entertains. There was a week free trial so I gave it a go.
I am no expert yet so might be worth asking around to see if there are major problems I haven't discovered yet
@MatthewNewell @ascentale @bikenite I love Rouvy! But I don’t use it for races or other events. It got me through the earliest days of the pandemic. I’ve added a couple of rises under my uxMark user name there if you’re interested in cycling in Waterloo Regio, Ontario 😀🚴♀️❤️
Will do. That makes it even more special . Thanks
@uxmark @MatthewNewell @ascentale @bikenite excellent. That's part of tomorrow's shed based cycling sorted.
@markn @MatthewNewell @ascentale @bikenite Let me know what you think 😀❤️🚴♀️
I’m not that good at creating these things 🤣
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@ascentale @bikenite A8. The bike lane I was in today when the BMW cut in front of me to enter the parking lot. Maybe there is too much of a buffer here? Of all the places I thought I might get wacked, this was not on the list. #BikeNite
@rand @ascentale @bikenite Hope you are okay?
@AsphaltandEarth @ascentale @bikenite I’m good thank you, just a very minor bruise is all.
@rand @ascentale @bikenite glad to hear it. How was the driver with you? Blame you or accept responsibility?
@AsphaltandEarth @ascentale @bikenite She was really freaked out. First accident etc. Not a native english speaker (French I think, but she spoke really fast on the phone to her niece). I felt a little bad for her, mostly because of her age, 80. It reminded me of trying to get my mom out from behind the wheel. She literally force $ onto me, which will probably come in handy if I have to replace my shifters.
@rand @ascentale @bikenite bless her. I always feel better when they accept responsibility/ don’t be an idiot about it and blame the cyclist when clearly their fault. Anyway - glad you’re okay and you’ve also not suffered any abuse from the driver.
Hope you are ok and that you were able to still ride the bike away.
The car driver crossed a buffer zone and a lane without looking - disgraceful
@ascentale @bikenite #BikeNite A8 Photos from past week: these are from our Jan 4 ride. https://sfba.social/@bikemonterey/115839463314048011
@ascentale #BikeNite A8 I'm working on changing the controller and battery on the cargo bike. I had plugged the throttle into an extension under the frame and need to redo that. The grin kit has a different plug than the waterproof higo but I want it waterproof down there even though my mud flap is doing pretty well at keeping the underbelly clean!
A8
Last few days were nice fat biking in woods with decent snow cover. 42°F tonight, I can just *feel* the snow melting. 🫠
#BikeTooter #BikeNite
The bike leaning against tree as we look out ahead at hills and valleys of New Hampshire early in the morning
Fat bike heading up last part of trail to lookout on a hill. Snow is packed by tires and footprints
@ascentale @bikenite
#BikeNite A8:
This is a photo from my first road ride of the year I took in pleasant weather on Wednesday. I fully intended to post it, but the events in my state on Wednesday upset me so badly, I couldn't post something so relatively trivial at the time.
@MartyCormack @ascentale @bikenite
I understand that. Solidarity.
@ascentale @bikenite A8: here’s one from my commute this morning. #BikeNite
@ascentale @bikenite A8: two photos, a few hours apart. One of ice in the Hudson River, and one after we finished eating Chinese food in Flushing, a mostly Chinese part of Queens, NY.
Empty dishes after we ate delicious Chinese food in Flushing, Queens. We had some Peking duck, several kinds of soup dumplings, hot chili wontons, scallion pancakes, turnip cakes, cucumbers, and a sweet rice congee for dessert.
Thick slabs of ice breaking up in the Hudson River under gray skies
@ascentale @bikenite #BikeNite A8. Not a photo, a screenshot of data from the National Safety Council on bicycle-related injuries and fatalities, showing nonfatal bicycle injuries are disproportionately suffered by young males, and fatal bicycle injuries are disproportionately suffered by males aged 50-74, and a dramatic rise in the number of fatalities among males, as well as disporportionate rates of injury and fatality suffered by males, from 1999-2023. Be careful out there, gentlemen!
@gcvsa @ascentale @bikenite Interesting. Us older male riders are likely broadly more fragile (loss of bone density, muscle mass, etc.) and our senses more dulled and reaction times slower. That said, anecdotally I do see many of my peers being more cautious. Perhaps not sufficiently so? Seems like further analysis/research is needed to better understand what's going on. But good reminder to be careful, especially around vehicles.
@dgodon @ascentale @bikenite I am guessing that it is largely a result of older people being less resilient to injury and the greater likelihood of men to be bicycling in close proximity to motor vehicles. I don't know a lot of other women who are committed transportation cyclists.
@gcvsa @ascentale @bikenite That seems likely for explaining gender difference. I think I've seen research showing that women ride more when infrastructure is better.
@gcvsa @ascentale @bikenite Excellent. I'm in peak death years.
(Wonder what this looks like when normalized to number of riders in the respective groups. Probably even worse for my cohort ... )
sad but true. I lost my big brother to a crash; he would have been in that highest bar of the fatalities chart.
I am now in that scary portion.
There is a sizeable constituency of 55+ yo men who are very fast, very skilled and ride vast distances but are not half as indestructible as they/we think.
It's a terrible combo of loss of youthful vigour, loss of reactions, loss of resilience etc AND not realising it yet.
Also we are intransigent old buggers
@ascentale @bikenite I've been trying to figure out how to get these "mounting disks" to clip on regardless of spoke diameter. Several iterations later and I have something that works for spokes from 1.8mm to 2.4mm.
They're purple because that's what color filament was in the 3D printer that day.
@yantor3d @ascentale @bikenite #bikenite what gets mounted on the disks?
@geonz @ascentale @bikenite Custom 3D printed LED modules.
https://www.instructables.com/DIY-3D-Printed-Rechargeable-Bike-Wheel-Lights/
@yantor3d @ascentale @bikenite
As I noted in the "spare parts" ... I have at least a dozen (sigh, *at least*) strings of LED lights b/c I impulsively buy them and SWEAR I'm going to put them on so well the wires won't break.
Until they do, of course.
(My current string is NOT strung around; it's just IN THE CRATE and that is working better.)
There are 3 3D printers at work and they have a lot of filament of assorted sizes (3d printers are a THING you can GET GRANTS FOR!!! including filament... for schools, you know... ) tho' I'd have to spring for the translucent BUT that would be cool to have around.
But the charging part... I don't know what those things are 😉 I might just peruse, though. Co-worker is THe Person for the 3D printer and is very easy to get excited about doing something different ;)
@geonz @ascentale @bikenite I saw go for it! I investigated a lot of the existing LED lights for bikes before I made these and found them lacking.
I had these on my bike when I wiped out hard enough to shatter my clavicle, and they're still fine.
@yantor3d @ascentale @bikenite
We have a "makerspace" and they bemoaned that the last monthly "Repair Thursday" free come in and have them help you fix something had only their volunteers (might not have bene THursday? ) ... now, it's college town so erm, last THursday before Christmas???? EVERYBODY IS GONE 😜 ) so I might just drift by there...
@yantor3d @ascentale @bikenite they look cool but what are they for?
@moira @ascentale @bikenite They're for the bike wheel light kit I designed. The current mounting disks only fit 2mm spokes.
https://www.instructables.com/DIY-3D-Printed-Rechargeable-Bike-Wheel-Lights/
@ascentale @bikenite
A8.
This is the view from my new house; that embankment at the far back is the Trans-Canada Trail. I can't wait for the snow to melt so we can get our bikes out there.
@ascentale @bikenite A8: Anna got me turn signals for new year's! I've got 'em on bike AND on new trailer! 😁 😁 :D
@moira @ascentale @bikenite Oooh, turn signals, nice!
Those are cool! Who makes them?
@theantlady @ascentale @bikenite Lumos. You need the remote also, which is separate, because normally these are all accessories to the helmet. (Which includes a remote if you buy it.)
You don't get the automatic brake lights without the helmet, tho'. Apparently that's where the accelerometer lives.
@moira @theantlady @ascentale @bikenite I’m definitely interested if I can afford them and get them shipped here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGE9OZC80U8 #BikeNite