[BCM] safety zone pole

Tue Mar 4 11:48:44 EST 2008

Other things some may like.  I use a boat airhorn on my bike.  I just
strap it to the handlebars with a toe strap.  Ask anyone who has heard
me give it a blast during a CM ride.  One can buy them at Autozone and
they are loader than truck horns....  Easy to strap on easy to use and
last a long time!   It can save your life.   And of course use lights,
there are plenty of articles on the web on how to build a cheap but
super bright light better than the 150 or 200 dollar jobs.  enjoy

________________________________

From: bostoncriticalmass-bounces at bostoncriticalmass.org
[mailto:bostoncriticalmass-bounces at bostoncriticalmass.org] On Behalf Of
Charvak Karpe
Sent: Tuesday, March 04, 2008 9:38 AM
To: list at bostoncriticalmass.org
Subject: Re: [*BCM*] safety zone pole

I thought of the pole thing too--I guess I'm not the only one.  I
envisioned one that can swivel backwards easily so I can squeeze in
between cars, but has a bit more resistance flexing forward.  It could
have an orange flag and zirconium oxide on the tip, protected on the
front, but exposed on the back.  That would only work if it were sold in
bulk so that people would know that it's a bad idea to hit it.

On a separate note, what do people think about the new "no trucks or
buses in left lane" sign on the Longfellow?  Does anyone know why it's
there?  The shoulder (having pictures of bikes doesn't make a shoulder a
bike lane) there is usually covered in salt and debris, leaving little
room for me and a truck in the right lane.  Now, I'm tempted to just
ride in the left lane because the trucks have all moved into my lane.
The DCR has been doing a decent job sweeping the bridge on a regular
basis, since I called them a few months ago, but it gets dirty in a day.
They also filled in the various potholes within a few weeks.  Did
someone call them to have it done?

Charvak

	------------------------------

	Message: 4
	Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2008 04:47:00 -0800 (PST)
	From: Jon Ramos <jontramos at yahoo.com>
	Subject: Re: [*BCM*] StreetTalk with Portland's Roger Geller...
	To: Boston Critical Mass <list at bostoncriticalmass.org>
	Message-ID: <821296.7895.qm at web50005.mail.re2.yahoo.com>
	Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

	How about a sign that says "Only pass me if it is SAFE"  I have
thought about writing that in large letters on my bike bag, but by the
time the driver is close enough to read it, they are already too close
for comfort.

	I have also thought about some kind of a pole that extends
perpendicular off of my bike the left about two feet.  This would
prevent a driver from passing too close...  It would have to be
reflective so that it can be easily seen, and also snap away easily in
case it does get hit (so that it won't take you down with it)  maybe the
pole could have a sign on it... hmmm

	- Jon

	Message: 5
	Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2008 09:03:27 -0500
	From: "Basil Sharpe" <bsharpe at redcoatpublishing.com>
	Subject: Re: [*BCM*] StreetTalk with Portland's Roger Geller...
	To: "Boston Critical Mass" <list at bostoncriticalmass.org>
	Message-ID:

<DB70CDE45BF3D843AB3C23B35BC0886BB94F59 at CHI.redcoatpublishing.com>
	Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

	Hi Jon,

	   I use a pole like you speak of with a flag on the end.   I
have a
	Carridice saddle bag where I put all my junk.  This bag straps
to the
	saddle bag loops on the saddle/.  The flag pole just fits
between the
	saddle loops inside the two saddlebag straps through the loops.
The
	neat thing is that if you do it this way, the flag pole can
extend out
	towards the cars who come too close or if you're on a bike path
or
	around people it can slide back in out of the way.   I love it
and feel
	it does keep the cars just a bit more away from me.   You can
find the
	poles and flags on Buggylights.com <http://buggylights.com/> .
I'f you don't use a saddlebag,
	hopefully your saddle has saddlebag loops so just strap the pole
to
	those.  The pole is fiberglass so it's a bit flexible so it wont
take
	you down.  The pole will come too long so just cut it down to
where
	you're comfortable with it-mine is maybe 3 feet and the
carridice bag is
	maybe 12 or 15 inches wide-so it's a nice set up.  The pole
comes with a
	rubber protector on end just past the flag so that if you get
too close
	to a car and forget to slide the flag back out of the way you
wont
	scratch some guy's dear and precious Lexus.  Hope that helps

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