At least I got 6 years in......

I was thinking more of the bike paths I use here, along the river and along the UM bus route. In the first case, the pedestrians and cyclists are usually separated, with two lanes each, and the asphalt is pretty good, so you can zip along pretty well. In the second case, along the bus route, cars are prohibited, and there are very few pedestrians on the bike path, as this route was constructed specifically to connect the St. Paul and Minneapolis campuses of the University of Minnesota. It would be a long walk, but a pretty easy bike ride, and a very fast bus commute.

I remember in parts of Germany the bike paths connecting towns became sidewalks once in the towns or villages, so you had to share them with pedestrians, and the paths were often narrow, like you say they are in Holland. When I got off the ferry in Denmark, however, I was pleased to see how well laid out the paths were, with lots of posted directions and distance indicators to many different destinations. Scandinavia in general was decent biking country--very courteous drivers for the most part.

Anyway, the older I get, the more risk-adverse I become. Plus I don't like riding with a helmet.

Yeah in the cities here its separated as well, once you get outside of them they become more multi use paths. The good thing is there are paths everywhere you want to go and are not terribly busy, I was exaggerating earlier. It's nothing like wash park in Denver where there are people everywhere. Just the one that I ride on my commute home rides along a lake and it has these dips across the pass from erosion that are quite jarring on my road bike. The good thing is the road is very quiet, maybe one or two cars pass me on the ride. In fact there are more bikers on the road than cars. If those dips weren't there I would definitely be on the path. Also If its was busy I would prefer the path, no matter how courteous drivers are, there are always situations that arise that are dangerous.

Ha you really don't wear a helmet? I am amazed at how few people wear them out here. Road and mountain bikers too. My rule is >10mph, or anytime on my road or mountain bike and I wear one. After that crash earlier this year when I split a helmet, I am now hyper risk adverse.

By the way, because of this thread my knee was hurting on my run this morning too. I think we need to change it to "at least I now have 50+ more years of barefoot hiking and biking"
 
Yeah in the cities here its separated as well, once you get outside of them they become more multi use paths. The good thing is there are paths everywhere you want to go and are not terribly busy, I was exaggerating earlier. It's nothing like wash park in Denver where there are people everywhere. Just the one that I ride on my commute home rides along a lake and it has these dips across the pass from erosion that are quite jarring on my road bike. The good thing is the road is very quiet, maybe one or two cars pass me on the ride. In fact there are more bikers on the road than cars. If those dips weren't there I would definitely be on the path. Also If its was busy I would prefer the path, no matter how courteous drivers are, there are always situations that arise that are dangerous.

Ha you really don't wear a helmet? I am amazed at how few people wear them out here. Road and mountain bikers too. My rule is >10mph, or anytime on my road or mountain bike and I wear one. After that crash earlier this year when I split a helmet, I am now hyper risk adverse.

By the way, because of this thread my knee was hurting on my run this morning too. I think we need to change it to "at least I now have 50+ more years of barefoot hiking and biking"
Yah, that's great cycling country you got there. Once there's a certain amount of cyclists on the road, that also increases rider safety I think, as it becomes the norm.

This morning I put on the helmet I got myself for my birthday for the first time. I've never hit my head in a wipe out (although I did crack a molar when my cheek hit the back of a bus that had stopped all-of-sudden in the middle of a descent leaving Addis Ababa). It's always my hands that hit first. That's why I think gloves are the No. 1 safety item one should have. But, there's always a first time, and I don't want to talk funny for the rest of my life--having gimpy knees is bad enough. So on goes the helmet, even though I'm mostly riding at 12-14mph on smooth bike paths with little traffic. As has been said, it only takes one stupid driver to end it all. Just Tuesday an out-of-state, 72-old driver veered into the (wide) shoulder of a country road and killed a cyclist (http://www.startribune.com/car-hits...ing-wrong-while-riding-on-shoulder/325965281/).

P.S., my right knee is recovering from Monday's State Fair shuffle, and I was able to squat and deadlift yesterday, and today I'll go out for a ride. It's funny, but after just a month or two, I've made the conversion to cyclist, and I really missed cycling after just a few days off to let my knee recover.

Apologies once again to Ronnie for the extensive hijack. Just like old times.
 
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Yah, that's great cycling country you got there. Once there's a certain amount of cyclists on the road, that also increases rider safety I think, as it becomes the norm.

This morning I put on the helmet I got myself for my birthday for the first time. I've never hit my head in a wipe out (although I did crack a molar when my cheek hit the back of a bus that had stopped all-of-sudden in the middle of a descent leaving Addis Ababa). It's always my hands that hit first. That's why I think gloves are the No. 1 safety item one should have. But, there's always a first time, and I don't want to talk funny for the rest of my life--having gimpy knees is bad enough. So on goes the helmet, even though I'm mostly riding at 12-14mph on smooth bike paths with little traffic. As has been said, it only takes one stupid driver to end it all. Just Tuesday an out-of-state, 72-old driver veered into the (wide) shoulder of a country road and killed a cyclist (http://www.startribune.com/car-hits...ing-wrong-while-riding-on-shoulder/325965281/).

P.S., my right knee is recovering from Monday's State Fair shuffle, and I was able to squat and deadlift yesterday, and today I'll go out for a ride. It's funny, but after just a month or two, I've made the conversion to cyclist, and I really missed cycling after just a few days off to let my knee recover.

Apologies once again to Ronnie for the extensive hijack. Just like old times.

Wow that's sad, on the shoulder? Well I'll probably try to stay away from country roads too. Maybe stick to roads with slower traveling speeds.
 
Wow that's sad, on the shoulder? Well I'll probably try to stay away from country roads too. Maybe stick to roads with slower traveling speeds.
I dunno. I think it's unluck of the draw. If you focus on tragedies, you forgot how many millions or billions of us make it through each day just fine. On my travels, I cycled close to 24,000 miles, the majority of them in Africa and the Middle East, and felt pretty safe most of the time. I only put on my helmet in cities, and it was one of those old school leather ones.

But yeah, older now and with a family, I'm definitely more cautious. And I feel uneasy about riding in bike lanes with all the cellphones in use.
 
Yup - thanks for that - hope that knee gets better soon for you. Keep up the running and writing - enjoy your entries. Like Bare-Lee (and TJ) - I'll figure out something that works for me. I am not barefoot walking at the moment - the temptation to pop into a slow run is just too great. I am doing the physiotherapy exercises I was given after I have had a good long walk. The most amusing part is trying to do leg raises with a puppy hanging onto one foot and a big GSD licking you all over the face and scalp for the salty sweat! Dog lovers will understand - the rest of you I know are just about retching at this point! Once we get into November I will be able to take the dogs to the beach and have long bf walks with them until March.
 
It would really suck if you stopped running. You were one of my original inspirations when I first started tuning in here.

Aw, shucks! You are one of my heros, too. You put tremendous consideration and energy into all your writing, and I really appreciate it.

Peace!
 
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Aw, shucks! You are one of my heros, too. You put tremendous consideration and energy into all your writing, and I really appreciate it.

Peace!

You two get a room already! ;)
 
Only if you join us Beija-flor, for you were one of my original inspirations as well.

Hahaha!! very funny Lee-you old man, oh wait I am older than you-never mind.
 
Yep, Dama and TJ were the ones that talked me into taking up running. Back then I was only skateboarding, cycling, walking, and hiking barefoot.
 
Yep, Dama and TJ were the ones that talked me into taking up running. Back then I was only skateboarding, cycling, walking, and hiking barefoot.
Aren't you glad? oh good old times those were-don't you agree?
 
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Meanwhile, Longboard has helped convince me to give barefoot cycling a try. And it's fantastic!

There is a guy in town that he always bikes barefoot, he says he loves it and that he hasn't wear shoes for a long time now.
 
I'm in the same boat. I've been making the transition to barefoot cycling (check out the Ergon PC-2 pedals), and have mostly stuck to dedicated bike/pedestrian paths. My right knee still swells and stiffens a bit after a longer, plus-one-hour bike ride, but it may be adapting. I've also been able to resume squats and deadlifts, which help keep the knee strong, without any problem, so far. It sucks not to run, but hopefully we'll both be able to manage our knee issues and remain active for many years to come. Better than pancreatic cancer at any rate . . .
Lee, if you arm getting knee pain on a bike it is a safe bet your seat is set too far forward. Most fitting guides tell you to have knee over the pedal spindle when you're forward for is at 3 o'clock in the pedal stroke. That is still too forward for many. Slide your seat back a hair and see if it helps the knee.
 
Reading further....I actually feel safer on the road than on a multi use path. Pedestrians are WAY more unpredictable an a car in my experience. Of course, I'm lucky and live in an area with lots of bike lanes in the city; once I'm out of town, though, the roads are narrow country lane types, but I have never felt unsafe.

Maybe I'm weird...
 
Lee, if you arm getting knee pain on a bike it is a safe bet your seat is set too far forward. Most fitting guides tell you to have knee over the pedal spindle when you're forward for is at 3 o'clock in the pedal stroke. That is still too forward for many. Slide your seat back a hair and see if it helps the knee.
Thanks Lomad. I actually learned how to adjust the saddle after the first week or so of my two-year cycling trip through Europe, Africa, and the Middle East in the early 90s, when a team of cyclists, waiting for the same ferry, helped me out when I complained about knee pain after transversing the small mountains of Wales. That pain was more in my patella however. I was too far forward in the saddle. After some further adjustments, I have found that having the saddle a little further back than usual, as you recommend, works best for me. I also like it to tilt slightly forward, for greater comfort for the naughty bits. I started my trip out with a 10-speed Peugeot I got second-hand in London, traded that in for a hybrid Raleigh in Dublin because I needed more gears for loaded riding, and then finally got my current Marin mountain bike (with a large frame for touring) in Capetown, because the Raleigh kept breaking down once I got to Africa. I opted for the Marin over Cannondale because it has a chrome moly frame, which could be welded if need be. A lighter aluminum frame would've been hard to fix in Africa, unless you're close to an airport. So these days I'm cycling recreationally with a heavy, big-framed mountain bike, replete with horn and blinkers. At some point, it would be nice to get a proper road bike.

The problem with my knees nowadays is different however, as I found out over the summer that I have degenerative meniscus cartilage. So good-bye running, hello cycling (again). Cycling is much easier on the knees, and after each ride they feel a little less stiff, so I'm hoping for a return to normality at some point. I could opt for complete rest until all the stiffness is gone, but after two years of sporadic running due to knee issues and a few other things, I wanted to climb back on the aerobic horse as soon as possible. Aerobic exercise is so critical to my general well-being. So I chose the 'active recovery' option.

P.S., are there any barefoot cyclist societies out there?
 
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Ahh, those Brits (raleigh) always fail when trying to conquer Africa. Btw, we are meniscus twins! Mine is not degenerative, I just abused it with skateboarding, skiing, and general stupidity. Running iced the cake.

It is amazing that I can't run three miles on consecutive days anymore, but can roll a 70 mile ride, 30 miler, and another 30 miler in three days and be ready for more on the fourth.
 
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Ahh, those Brits (raleigh) always fail when trying to conquer Africa. Btw, we are meniscus twins! Mine is not degenerative, I just abused it with skateboarding, skiing, and general stupidity. Running iced the cake.

It is amazing that I can't run three miles on consecutive days anymore, but can roll a 70 mile ride, 30 miler, and another 30 miler in three days and be ready for more on the fourth.
Yah, cycling is the way to go for knee conservation, and it doesn't beat you up like running does, right? But I do miss the running. It's more primal and satisfying and you don't need to mix it up with cars. Still, I like how cycling allows you to cover a lot more distance and make it more of a journey. Anyway, might try swimming this winter. A good way to kill all the flora and fauna crawling around on my skin.
 
Ahh, those Brits (raleigh) always fail when trying to conquer Africa. Btw, we are meniscus twins! Mine is not degenerative, I just abused it with skateboarding, skiing, and general stupidity. Running iced the cake.

It is amazing that I can't run three miles on consecutive days anymore, but can roll a 70 mile ride, 30 miler, and another 30 miler in three days and be ready for more on the fourth.
And where have you been, Mister?!
 
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And where have you been, Mister?!
Crazy busy, that's where! I don't get on the boards that often anymore. Between work, kids and rediscovering my bikes I find my time is very full.

I did run the other day, though. It felt weird, but this season is tough for bikes in the PNW, where running can be a bit safer by using the sidewalks.
 
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