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Seeing double in Downtown Crossing
By adamg on Sun, 04/29/2012 - 10:05am
Even when completely sober, you can see some strange things late at night in Downtown Crossing, Rob Bellinger discovers.
Copyright Rob Bellinger. Posted in the Universal Hub pool on Flickr.
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Comments
Hate these guys.
I don't get why they do it. Speaking as a walking pedestrian it's scary watching these people fly toward you on their barely maneuverable whatever this is or the more common unicycle. Practice your circus stuff someplace more private please.
they do it because
they are bike nerds.
Maybe....
You shouldn't be so jealous of other people's more intriguing lifestyles. Also, hatred is rude. Grow up.
Yeah
Sure they look scary. If there's any real data to suggest that the people who ride them are putting other people at risk, then, yeah, they're assholes. But if not, then what a great way to have fun.
Sheesh, you let those things on the street, next thing you know people will be drinking raw milk and wearing their knickerbockers buckled below the knee. Or above the knee. Or wherever the hell it is that rebellious irresponsible youths are bucklinkg their knickerbockers these days; I can't keep it straight.
I, for one, am OFFFENDED
I, for one, am OFFFENDED beyond belief that you are encouraging the youth of today to talk about knickerbocker buckling. Please keep all knickerbockers and buckles in PRIVATE, where they belong (along with the unicycles, tall bikes, and hula hoops)
didn't your mommy tell you to look both ways?
Look before you step out into the road, asshole.
Also: "The more common unicycle"? What, there's a plague of unicyclists now? Christ, get a grip.
Someone rides a whimsical
Someone rides a whimsical bicycle and you feel threatened? Wow! You know there are many more deadly vehicles on the road that pose a much greater danger, right?
Give me a break. Things like this celebrate creativity and give life a little flavor. This person's not hurting anyone; live and let live.
Night Riders
There is a reason you rarely see these things out in busy times/traffic: the people that ride them (unlike you) think about it before they take them out.
Imagine that!
I'm sorry your mommy only recently let you learn to cross the street so you would be safe walking to your car.
It's called a tall bike.
It's called a tall bike. They're perfectly maneuverable, but they take some skill to mount and dismount. I wouldn't worry about it.
They do it because they're
They do it because they're a-holes
Nice photo! I forwarded it to
Nice photo! I forwarded it to the subject.
And I categorize this under...
an accident just waiting to happen.
(And how the heck does he get on that thing?!?)
Mounting and dismounting
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zuwfxQbgGU
Not that hard, just requires some strength
Often there are pegs mounted on the axle too to use as steps.
not sure about this bike in particular...
... but mounting a tall bike can be easy or hard depending on the fabrication of the bike. ideally you want to get a moving start, as the bike is more stable when it's under motion. if you can reach the peddle, then you can mount like a horse, with one foot standing on the pedal while you move forward and throw your other leg over. if you can't reach the pedal, for super-tall bikes, and you don't have a mounting peg (a peg that sticks out specifically for hopping on) you can lean it up against something and climb up.
(disclaimer: i have not ridden the bike in question, and i am not in SCUL, but i have ridden a bunch of their tall bikes with them and scared the bejesus out of myself while gleefully laughing like a maniac.)
I've ridden these, you just
I've ridden these, you just push it and climb up, or down as the case may be. There's no need to lean on anything and no imperative to blow through intersections. I can't vouch for the road etiquette of every tallbike rider, but as with any bike or car, safety is caused by driving habits, not the shape of your ride.
At least you know he put some skill and mindfulness into this -- here's one cyclist who won't be trying to beat the commute clock at your expense!
I take you all at your word but...
I would still end up in a ditch. I like staying low to the ground :)
This looks like a SCUL bike
and they are normally out on 'missions' late Saturday nights to early Sunday mornings. Here is last night's mission report.
Also, I think another picture of this particular ship has been on Universal Hub at least once in the recent past.
[full disclosure: I have never been a SCUL member ('pilot') but have occasionally tagged along with them on my regular road bike ('civvie ship')]