BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

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I'm going to take a guess and say it's referring to this: http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/bik/4406942724.html Looks like their advertising has become more sexist and objectifying. Shouldn't she be tied to the tracks?

Oops....my GeoCities HTML skills are eroding with age. That would be it Pierce. Actually, I believe you're supposed to tie your best friend into the sidecar seat for a safe, enjoyable ride. Or perhaps that driver who so kindly told you that you don't belong on their streets.

Ok, I realize that there are a few limited exceptions, but........ RIDING ON RAILROAD TRACKS IS DANGEROUS AND ILLEGAL. I cannot believe that the railroads/Operation Lifesaver organizations haven't come down hard on this (yet).

The sheer stupidity of such a setup has me questioning who would even buy one of these, much less attempt to use it in this suggested fashion. Seems like an opportunity for "Survival of the Fittest" to clean things up a bit.

What's with the hate? It is obviously intended for decommissioned rail lines.

Hmm, dfiler, I've worked with railroads a long time. I am not sure there is a "decommissioned" status. Regardless, the rails, to the extent that they are still in place, are privately owned property. No hate implied. I am sorry you inferred hate in my comments. I am simply trying to avoid unfortunate accidents.

dfiler wrote:What’s with the hate? It is obviously intended for decommissioned rail lines.

Could you name one? :)

I know someone who does this. It's the same sort of person who does stuff like race cars on "informal" drag strips, or maneuvers their way past "No Trespassing" signs to explore new bike routes, or cuts down trees on a steep hill without proper safety harnessing, or who rides their bike past the point of exhaustion and hallucination, or any number of other illicit and hazardous activities. Nothing like anybody around here, thankfully.

There are rails I would definitely consider using one of these. This one spot in Montana that I've camped/fished at has one train that goes up the valley in the morning, then it returns again in the late afternoon. It is loud, predictable and slow. I'd think that would be safe enough. But for the most part I think I'd not want to tempt my fate on most of the tracks in western PA.

Not to drive discussion to MTB version of this bike, but ... http://trn.trains.com/en/Railroad%20Reference/ABCs%20of%20Railroading/2006/05/Track%20classifications.aspx -- look at exceptional track definition... https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=g11qWro1LzQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=TMK-j6R0Hm0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=YYHUTbyPUS0

My problem with riding on rails is not the occasional train but rather the not-occasional car traffic at road crossings. Assuming you get up to some speed on one of these things and encounter a road crossing, flying across the road in front of a car is pretty much the same thing to flying through stop signs on a regular basis.

Not to wander too far OT, but I happened to tooling around a certain brownfield earlier today and had to wait for a (long) train to pass by: After a while it dawned on me that I was probably watching some frakin' gas passing me by. The rain was heading up in the direction of Junction Hollow and thence through the tunnel under Oakland. Hopefully no Sharks down there...

Swalfoort wrote:Hmm, dfiler, I’ve worked with railroads a long time. I am not sure there is a “decommissioned” status. Regardless, the rails, to the extent that they are still in place, are privately owned property. No hate implied. I am sorry you inferred hate in my comments. I am simply trying to avoid unfortunate accidents.

You've seriously never heard of a decommissioned stretch of tracks?

Marko82 wrote: It is loud, predictable and slow.

Kinda like me!

I just attribute it to that hot desert sun . . . and having lived a good portion of my life under the skies of the Sonoran desert, I know what kind of hallucinations too much hot sun can bring on ;-{)}