![]() ![]() My drive to work is six miles, with five of it being on a four-lane highway with a 65 mph speed limit. Some locations it simply isn’t feasible or conducive for a retrofit. Our infrastructure simply wasn’t designed for bicycles or pedestrians and we are having to retrofit them. Previously, anyone walking had to walk in the driving lane. There was a major project here in the state capital less than two years ago to build sidewalks along the main business corridor here. ![]() Taking the bicycle question a bit further, there are many locations around my state where pedestrian facilities don’t even exist – but the number is dwindling. The question I have always had about that situation is who had the right-of-way. Had I not seen him there, he could have easily been hit by 5,500 pounds of vehicle. Despite signaling my intent to turn, he continued to go straight. There was a bicyclist hanging out just behind the right rear of my vehicle. A couple of years ago I was stopped at a signal and needed to turn right just beyond the intersection. Thus, the bicyclist needs to compete for the space with an automobile.īicycles are allowed on the roadway but there are many locations that just seem to be suicidal. The challenge is there are areas where a right turn lane exists at signalized intersections the bike lane continues straight. Rather, it is an area on the far right that has been striped for bicycles. The bike lanes there are not physically separated from automobile traffic as is shown in your picture. There is a university town of just over 100,000 about 35 miles north of me. There are a limited number of bike facilities around, but nothing as nice as what you have pictured. To an extent I will echo Jim Grey, but will give some perspective from a different state. Johannes, I find your picture very interesting and completely outside my experience. Next year, I’ll try to sell another bike or two when I go down to Ann Arbor, but the scary thing is that I may come home with one or two more. My bicycle addiction has escalated to the point where even my exercise bike is a ’68 Schwinn Exerciser. If the dealer sticker on the frame is correct, it was sold in Livonia, MI, which is as flat as a board to my knowledge. So we have an original owner who was tall and lived on flat ground. Most of my lightweights rock the Sturmey-Archer AW three-speed hub (or the neat coaster-brake Sachs hub on my Austrian Sears). Luckily, at six feet tall, I’m just big enough to ride it, although I’d prefer a 22″.Īnother curious thing about my Speedster is that it has a single-speed Bendix hub. My Speedster is a 24″, which is pretty uncommon. Notice that Schwinn offered Speedsters in four frame sizes, ranging from 17″ (measured from the bottom bracket to the bottom of the seat post) to 24″. I already have a green ’71 Racer and a green ’72 Raleigh Sports (which is my perfect bicycle), so my different-to-me Speedster stood out, even though Schwinn also produced them in Campus Green. Photo courtesy of “Lightweight” Schwinns and Raleighs are my two-wheeled weak spots: I love them, especially in green. Selling a few dust collectors this summer has freed up some space for new favorites, one of which I picked up at the Ann Arbor Bicycle Swap Meet this past spring. As is my usual MO, I’ve taken things a bit far, and now my collection usually numbers about a dozen, give or take. It made no sense that I rode around on a modern Huffy when most of my cars were built during the Johnson administration. ![]() Almost 10 years ago, I began collecting antique bicycles. ![]()
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