response 1 of 25:

Mar 21 14:17 UTC 1994

Great on the mountain bike Dan!  I have found dirt road riding very
enjoyable and plane to lead at least one 35 mile dirt road ride this
summer.  Some of the better ways to get out of town on a mountain bike
from our neck of the city is to head down miller to S. on Wagner to
W on Prat.  Take that to Zeeb and head N to that  road just S of Dex.
A^2... Can't remember the name!  That'll take you all the way out to
Parker where you can head S for 1/4 mile and pick up a dirt road heading
W.  Now you'r out far enough so the 90% of the roads a are dirt.

You can also head N on Maple and pick up all kids of dirt roadnorth
of town.

response 3 of 25:

Mar 21 20:37 UTC 1994

I'm surprised scg hasn't responded yet.

response 5 of 25:

Mar 22 12:38 UTC 1994

I'm sure there is a back way of getting there.  About a mile west on
Dexter Town Hall Rd. from N. Teritorial.  I can get about 75% of the
way there on dirt without looking at a map.  You can pick it up at 
several places but I've always done it from Silver Lake or Half Moon.
I don't really like riding it.  I'm not one of those who thinks mtn.
bikes destroy trails any more than foot traffic but on a mtn. bike one
can do the whole thing in under two hours.  For this reason there has
been a 50X to 100X increase in trail usage since the advent of the mtn.
bike.  It's said to be one of the best trails in the country for mtn.
biking.  I have done it a few times and enjoyed it and will
let others ride it in my place.  I have also ridden "rabbit" on those trails
for runners during triathelons.  It's easy to get lost on that trail system!

response 7 of 25:

Mar 23 14:03 UTC 1994

Ok Rane.  What about a hiker with a 20 or 30 pound pack?  Weight becomes
about the same.  What about a hiking boot swinging forward and coming to
stop every time it hits the ground with every step. The velocity of said
boot is higher than the velocity of the hiker.  A wheel rolls across the
ground with little or no change in velocity.  The weight of the bike and
rider, etc., acceleration, breaking, and higher tire pressure all dislodge
earth.  When one walks, one is not always on two feet.  Usually only one
is contacting the ground.  as the foot rolls forward, the area contacting
the ground decreases even further, at the same time as the force vector
towards the back of the hiker peaks:  Reduced surface area causes the boot
to dig in deeper while the force back breaks loose earth.  Since, in most
cases, the sole of the boot is not on the same plane as the lugs that
contact the ground, the lugs move relative to one-another, dislodging
ground, every time the sole flexes!  Hikers don't wear moccisins.  The
indians did.  They are much nicer to the environment than even sneekers.

What about energy expended per distance traveled?  I am much more exhausted
doing one and less exhausted doing the other.  Even by the end of the day
when distance traveled and hours awake are the same.  Why did one mode of
transport require more energy expendature than the other?  Where did that
extra energy expendature go?

I still feel the issue is really trail ussage.  Hikers/Bikeres can battle
out the minute differances if they like.  I do a significant amount of
both but feel the overwelming problem causing trail erosion is over usage!
It would also help if all the users treated the trails as though made of
rice paper, which, if torn, would send them straight to hell!

We hikers might have an argument if we hiked barefoot.

response 9 of 25:

Mar 24 16:38 UTC 1994

I bet the research has been done.  The controversy has been going on for
several years and trails were being closed until biking groups started
forming to protest the closures and help maintain the trails.  I have
not seen any research on these toppics but if anyone has, I'd sure love
to read through it!  (And I'm not talking about unsupported stuff like
what I've been typing in above...)

response 11 of 25:

Mar 27 00:36 UTC 1994

This is too much for me.

response 13 of 25:

Mar 27 14:36 UTC 1994

Yep.  There are rides for all levels of riders.  One ride that I enjoy
is the Tuesday evening ride.  We meet at the church at Platt and Stony
Creek and meander the roads south of there.  In April, we meet at 5:30;
in May, we meet at 6:00.  

The reason I enjoy it is that the ride leaders, Manfred and Judy, are
really nice people, and most of the riders are laid-back kind of
folks.  Sometimes we get "real riders", but they usually get impatient
with the pace and charge off after a couple of miles.

At any rate, if you're interested in riding and need more information,
give me a call.  If you want to join the AABTS, send $10 to AABTS, PO
Box 1585, Ann Arbor,MI 48106.  For $10, you'll get the newsletter
every month as well as the ride calendar.

response 15 of 25:

May 25 02:19 UTC 1994

I enjoyed last Tuesday evening's ride very much.  So this Tuesday I loaded
the bike back into the car and arrived at Platt and Stony Creek at about
6:20 to find cars but no bikes.  I wasn't sure what to do to catch up
to the riders, so I came back home.  Is there another ride scheduled 
for Wed evening that I might be able to keep up with?  Oh well, better
be on time next Tuesday....

response 17 of 25:

Jul 24 02:11 UTC 1994

I just noticed this item has been sitting here without any responses for a
long time.  The season is now in full swing and I've done several races so
far this year, although I've decided to skip Nationals this year.  Of
course, the crazy/clueless/angry/impatient/bad drivers are out there.  I
even got hit by one while coming home from a ride today.  The good news is
that the Police disagreed with both her claim that she had the right of
way because she makes the same left turn three times a day and her claim
that I had suddenly materialized two feet away from her car.

response 19 of 25:

Jul 25 15:40 UTC 1994

I would like to announce that there is now a cycling item in the sports
conference.

response 21 of 25:

Jul 28 00:27 UTC 1994

omni has expressed a preference for not having linked items in the sports
conference, which was the reason for the new item in the first place.

response 23 of 25:

Aug 28 03:07 UTC 1994

I haven't seen it.  Do you know what the name of the machine the gopher
was on is, for those of us without accounts on the Traverse City Freenet?