How to make riding a bike more attractive
 

Check out my latest post on the EM blog about how I ease the adjustment from being a cager to a cycle commuter: http://ecomodder.com/blog/?p=18

It's been interesting, but getting into bikes, messing with them, appreciating them, and all that, has really made all the difference.

:turtle:

I have to admit that I feel into those same patterns this summer. Instead of getting a ride from my roommate or borrowing the car, I would ride my bicycle. In a city of over 7 million cars it was hard, but it was rewarding physically. I felt better, slept better, worked better, and most importantly got better at going farther and faster :D Personal health has benefits beyond and more important than vanity, so don't sell yourself short!

"How to make riding a bike more attractive"

Abolish winter?

Oh yeah, we're working on it. :(

Someone on the cycling team here calls it the "season of sadness."

I give winter riding the ol' college try, but when you severely frostbite your face twice in two months, not to mention fighting the low tire pressure all the time, and ice chunks in the spokes, and balky cable controls, and wind, and slipperiness... well, I guess I'd have to move south to be more consistent.

Haha, I've not gotten frostbite on the face yet, but the feet, sure, :p

Cheaper velomobiles ;)

This (below) has made my commutes much more fun :thumbup:

http://forum.ecomodder.com/attachmen...1&d=1200898876

Funny story... It's on the fringe of too cold to ride, for me... So I recently taught myself to knit and am 90% done knitting a short face/neck scarf mask with a button :) Men + knitting isn't a bad thing - just another skill :D

Being able to run reds in front of cops w/impunity sold me. The country sucked, but city was just a load of fun. They're uber-reliable too.

cheap DIY recumbent and comfortable
 

If you are handy with tools, need a cheap comfortable bike ride, this may help. A no-weld recumbent built from two old ten speeds. Hack saw, drill, chain tool, carriage bolts, duct tape, plywood, foam, vinyl cover, junk 20" BMX front wheel, some junk derailleurs, hose clamps, a set of longer cables and a steering head extension. Oh, and a piece of wood behind the steering head. The design is from this site:
www.geocities.com/drehus/
I have been riding this recumbent for over two years. It's ugly enough to park unlocked, a bit quick on the steering because you lose some trail with the 20" wheel. I have baskets on the back now to haul groceries with. I paid $30 dollars for the womans MXT frame style ten speed (the seat post on this SKF MXT frame down tube is lower so you can lean the seat back to 45 degrees). A junker man's ten speed provided the front "boom" from it's down tube and gear set. The forks from the man's ten speed straddle the woman's steering head.(Am I allowed to say that?) and the front boom slips over the tube from the forks. Anyway it took me about a week on and off to make. Total investment $90.

And rain too. Abolishing motorists that fling fast food paraphernalia at cyclists would also be beneficial :o.