This is the third October 31 incarnation of Dieter, Goddess of the Highway. She now rides a bike. Blessings to all of you mortals on Halloween, and may all of your traffic confrontations be benign.
Dieter's Third Incarnation
Posted in Ma Bicyclette et Moi, Start-up Self
For Bay Area bike commuters like me that rely on BART to cross the Bay, workday hours depend on what kind of bike you have. During commute hours, you aren’t allowed to take a regular sized bike on BART trains that cross the Bay. A bike-unfriendly practice, since “commute hours” are 6:30 to 9:00 am, and 4:00 – 6:30 pm, and this is when a lot of bikers – like everyone else – would prefer to commute. The idea is that this makes for crowded and unsafe trains, so rather than coming up with a good way to accommodate bikes, the solution is to not allow them. But overall, BART is a great way to get around the Bay with a bike, so we just deal with it.
One way to deal is to get a folding bike, which are allowed on all BART trains. So after several months of commuting with my regular bike, I decided to get a folding one for my commute. Mine is an aluminum frame Dahon Vitesse 7005, which has a lot of great commuter features — internal 7 speed Shimano planetary gear system, chain guard, fenders, and a rack. It weighs about 25 pounds, so about as much as a regular bike. After the first week of sporting a great collection of bruises from shlepping it ineptly, I got the hang of it, and now tote it with ease. The best part is that by not having to pay for gas and bridge tolls, it essentially paid for itself in three months. And I’m in much better shape!
The Buzz Around Town 