Messages

16

General Discussion / Re: Coordinated stalking on the road

« on: October 02, 2018, 03:20:52 pm »

"Scissors" occur when a cyclist has a car overtaking as well as oncoming.
How often do scissors occur in a given stretch or road?
It's geometric.

If 100 cars are eastbound and 100 westbound, there will be 10,000 scissors.
If 200 cars are eastbound and 200 westbound, there will be 40,000 scissors.
(Provided all cars cover the entire route and the last eastbound departs before the first westbound finishes.)
* Real time traffic models are far more complex, of course.


I thought about that and tested it. On interstate side lanes where noise making and crowding were not possible, I watched carefully. I watched for vehicles on east and west bound lanes coming abreast of one another and me at the same time. It almost never happened, 10,000 scissors, 40,000 scissors, whatever. It happened so infrequently if at all that I tired of watching for it. This so called scissoring I write about was stalking--timed, coordinated, stalking. Anyone who insists  otherwise may be complicit in some way. One thing these criminals do not want is exposure of their activities. I will say this about on the interstates. Whenever I came to an overpass I would take the flat exit and entrance ramps past the uprises. I would look over to the beginnings of the overpasses. Every time there was a vehicle, usually a truck, hitting the first  expansion crack about exactly abreast. They could not make the noise that way, but they did make the point. There were other examples which were unquestionably deliberate and timed and coordinated.

But that gives you an idea - - scissors are not uncommon.
In fact, they are to be expected.

17

General Discussion / Re: Coordinated stalking on the road

« on: October 02, 2018, 12:19:48 pm »

Can't remember who said it, "Never ascribe to malice what can adequately be explained by stupidity."  Or perhaps, in this case, chance.  How would two cars or trucks time things so perfectly without another one to alert them when and where that solitary cyclist is riding?  Remember, "no traffic for hours" to cue them.

Approaching from the front and rear, once the target is in sight it is merely a matter of adjusting speed to come abreast of each other and the cyclist.  Believe me, I have seen this many countless times even on back roads on Sundays with almost a complete absence of traffic. I adjusted my speed to throw off their timing many times, but only to see them adjusting theirs. Another matter of note. All their license plates were obscured in some ways. You could not read them standing still at 20 feet, much less at 60 mph. I checked many tags in those parts  thinking that kind of dirty obscured tag situation was common in those areas. All tags were clean and easy to read. Only the scissoring vehicles had impossible to read tags. On one vehicle there was a black piece of something fastened over the tag. I know more about this than I have said here. I am simply reporting a problem. I verified it many times before I saw it for what it was. Why anyone would want to say multiple stalking crimes did not happen seems suspicious.

18

General Discussion / Re: Coordinated stalking on the road

« on: October 02, 2018, 11:38:15 am »

That fact is, there are people following lone cyclists and scissoring them for whatever reason they have. That happening in exactly the same places from FL to CA, every time, is not chance. It is coordinated. How do they time it that precisely? You would have to ask them. I know they do it. There is more to it than I have revealed. Several times when approaching a bridge on the ST, I would stop or slow to throw off their timing. Looking in front and behind I saw them slowing down too. Often the trucks would gear down to slow to keep the timing right. I experimented with the timing element several times, and ever time they adjusted their speed. The so called scissoring became absolutely 100% accurately predictable at EVERY bridge and EVERY side lane blockage all the way from FL to CA no matter how infrequent the cars and trucks. It is not possibly mere chance. The bridge interceptions caused loud, penetrating, ear-splitting noise. The side lane blockage interceptions caused crowding. I happen to know this

19

General Discussion / Re: Coordinated stalking on the road

« on: October 02, 2018, 11:32:34 am »

That fact is, there are people following lone cyclists and scissoring them for whatever reason they have. That happening in exactly the same places from FL to CA, every time, is not chance. It is coordinated. How do they time it that precisely? You would have to ask them. I know they do it. There is more to it than I have revealed. Several times when approaching a bridge on the ST, I would stop or slow to throw off their timing. Looking in front and behind I saw them slowing down too. Often the trucks would gear down to slow to keep the timing right. I experimented with the timing element several times, and ever time they adjusted their speed. The so called scissoring became absolutely 100% accurately predictable at EVERY bridge and EVERY side lane blockage all the way from FL to CA no matter how infrequent the cars and trucks. It is not possibly mere chance. The bridge interceptions caused loud, penetrating, ear-splitting noise. The side lane blockage interceptions caused crowding. I happen to know this. I did, after all, have a revealing conversation with one of those involved. Unlike many on the www, I do take the time to verify before I write.

20

General Discussion / Re: Coordinated stalking on the road

« on: October 02, 2018, 11:20:29 am »

It's outside your perspectives. No cars for hours is not 10,000 scissors. When that same pattern persists, scissors as you say, only at the first expansion crack of EVERY bridge from FL to CA, that is absolutely not simply chance. You read a few words about events that go on for months, and you seem to arrogate that you are more competent on the subject than someone who was right in the middle of it for 60 days or longer. When the scissor happens precisely at EVERY small thing in the side lane that causes you to swerve into the motorized lane, every time from FL to CA, even where, like Roofus said, there was no traffic for 30 or 40 minutes at a time, mere happenstance is ruled out. When one of these four-wheeled miscreants, a complete stranger, stops and approaches you in a convenience store parking lot, and walks directly up to you and tells you who they are and why they are doing it, noise and crowding, the idea it is mere chance is completely inappropriate and unacceptable. Seems like a conflict of interest somewhere.

21

General Discussion / Coordinated stalking on the road

« on: October 01, 2018, 10:59:53 am »

"Absolutely no need for this at all. A beautiful wide shoulder, totally destroyed for all intents and purposes by this chip seal rubbish. Brutal to ride on, but you have to go there when trucks approach. How do you know a truck is coming from behind? Theres a car coming from the front too. Never ceases to amaze me, no traffic for hours, and then one from fore and one from aft, cross right next to you. Incredible how often this happens."


The quote above comes from Crazyguyonabike.com. Search southern tier. The first entry should be Rufus and Dave do Alaska to Florida. Go to page 68 on his journal. Has anyone else seen that kind of deliberate coordination of vehicles to intercept cyclists? I have seen it many countless times. I have seen it used for illegal stalking and annoyances. Has anyone here encountered these four-wheeled miscreants on tour?

22

General Discussion / Cycling Ukraine: September 3, 1994

« on: September 29, 2018, 04:20:00 am »

The western edge of Ukraine looked like the outside of a prison. On the border was a tall, electrified, metal fence. The land had been completely cleared of trees and brush about 100 feet on both sides. Another T-shaped barbed wire fence stood at the edge of the cleared strip. At first the country started to look attractive. Large, verdant, green fields of short grass bordered both sides of the road. Cattle grazed lazily in those fields. Horse-drawn wooden wagons hauled hay from those fields. Men hand-pushed bicycles loaded down with burlap sacks full of potatoes and other crops. In a short distance, however, came a perceptible decline in living standards, noticeably lower than in Poland. Side roads were dirty, rutted muck holes. Buildings were dirtier and even more run down looking. I saw a man and a child with swollen infected limbs. It was some time before a restaurant came into view. Hungry as hell and looking forward to a nice big nourishing meal with  small price tag,I had been in eastern Europe long enough to know that only the small price tag on my fantasy would come true. Yet, I still permitted myself this singular delusion. It was impossible to shake the expectation after living 44 years in countries where big nourishing meals were a  birthright. I entered its small,dark, rectangular gloom. The sickening smell was the first thing that distinguished it. It smelled putrid like rancid flesh or road carrion rotting in the summer heat. Out of sight there must have been a big, dead rotting animal hanging from a meat hook. The worn tile floor was covered with layers of ground-in filth. A glass display case held a one-foot diameter round of cheese. On top was a hunk of long-gone meat. The walls and tables were gloomy, grimy and dank. The few dirty mucent characters standing at one table looked more sinister than anyone pictured in the FBI's most wanted flyers. There was no way in hell I was going to eat in that sty.

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General Discussion / Re: Cheap tires cost more than expensive tires.

« on: September 24, 2018, 02:05:06 am »

All the flats I've ever had on Schwalbe Marathons (and the total is only four) have been from wires from exploded truck tires. Three of the four were on Interstate shoulders, an absolutely terrible place to ride.

Without any question those wires are the bane of cycling on the shoulders of interstates. I was riding Continentals out west. On this one length of interstate there must have been a major blowout. I mean, the tires must have punctured 10 times in less that three to five miles. It was a wire every time. Standing and looking at the surface of the road, they were invisible. They were everywhere. It was exasperating as hell. I exited first opportunity.

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General Discussion / Re: Statistics on cross country tourers

« on: September 18, 2018, 08:02:16 pm »

I totally agree the number would not be accurate but it would still be neat.  Also, assuming most AT hikers know about the AT register, the biking register MAY get more accurate as time goes on and it gets more known.  I would guess relatively few AT hikers do not complete the register if they have invested 6 months of time hiking it.  Perhaps the same thing would happen with cross-country cycling.
Anyway, I still think a register would be neat regardless of the the completeness/ thoroughness of the register and/or the number or percentage using it.

It would be something better than nothing.

25

General Discussion / Re: Free Ranging Dogs and the Cyclist

« on: September 18, 2018, 07:55:11 pm »

I haven't done this myself, so YMMV, but my brother recently completed a transcon carrying a small bunch of "poppers" in the side of his bar bag. Those are the little firecracker type things (also known as bang snaps) that go off when you throw them on the ground. According to him, one of those going off a few feet in front of a dog scares the hell out of the dog and it will make tracks in the opposite direction. Can't say how well they would work on those Eastern European mongrels.

Those psychotic, blood-thirsty monsters I ran into in Czech were the only two like that. I cycled France, Germany, Czech, Poland, Ukraine, Moldavia, parts of Romania and Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, and from New York City to south Florida. Only those two dogs were like that. It is just that the absolute ferocious vicious nature of their sounds and attack were like nothing I had ever seen or heard. It made a lasting impression.

26

General Discussion / Re: TransAm Coast-Coast Logistics advice needed.

« on: September 18, 2018, 07:47:04 pm »

When it comes to taking Greyhound Bus long distance across the continent, I would rather lose a leg or jump off a cliff. From NY to DC to Yorktown it would be good. The velocipede must be in a box.

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General Discussion / Re: Statistics on cross country tourers

« on: September 18, 2018, 07:34:09 pm »

I think the idea of an online "tour register" is a great idea.  Plus ACA could get some cheap, easy PR.
Various categories/routes could be done.  A permanent list could be established so 25 years from now, people would be still be able to look it up.  It could even try to contain enough data for other purposes/surveys, i.e. % of camping/hotel, what states did you ride in (doesn't even have to be across), links to journals, number of days it took, rest/riding days, favorite spot/attraction/place/cafe, etc.

Are you listening ACA?

Any method of counting would be limited to the point that an accurate estimate would be impossible. It interests me anyway. I mean, I think that I have done these coast to coast and S to N cross country tours for years. I wonder what proportion of the overall population actually do this. Surely it is a very small fractional minority. An online register would get some numbers. The problem  is many would not register or would not know about registering. And how do we know what they register is true? I have crossed by bicycle many times. Most often I saw nobody at all obviously engaged in a long distance tour.

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General Discussion / Re: Statistics on cross country tourers

« on: September 17, 2018, 07:39:10 pm »

I think that the number of people who “cross the country” isn’t a terribly useful metric.  It can’t really be used in comparison to anything else, such as tourism spending, highway usage, or infrastructure spending.  Total tourist-miles per year would probably be more useful.  And a harder value to determine!

It is a simple question of how many people cross the US by bicycle each year. I am not sure how those other matters are relevant to it. I did not see anyone arguing that it was a terribly useful metric for anything. Just how many. Regardless of any "metric" it may or may not be, it is probably impossible to determine with a high degree of accuracy. I mean, who is out there counting?

29

General Discussion / Re: Planning to go Portland > EAST somewhere

« on: September 16, 2018, 02:24:52 am »

If you do not use campgrounds, stealth sites are always to be found. If you want really nice stealth sites, you may have to spend some time looking. You can most always find something. I would not sleep out in a city. I have crossed the US many times by bicycle, N to S, E to W, S to N, and have done many shorter tours of a few weeks or 8 days. I also cycled the UK, western Europe, eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union and China. I stealth camped mostly. I mostly used an 8 by 10 or 10 by 12 polyethylene camouflage tarp, tent poles, and line. Even in winter it is good for the ST with a good sleeping bag.

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General Discussion / Re: Statistics on cross country tourers

« on: September 16, 2018, 02:02:51 am »

I too have wondered this for decades.  However, I think it would be pretty hard to get a firm number as the number is relatively small compared to the population. If 25,000 individual people bicycle tour (any length of tour) in the USA in a given year, that would be only 0.00083% of the USA population, way to small for an accurate measurement I would guess.

Also, some questions pop to mind in trying to do the study.  Do you include only citizens of that country (easier to survey but then not realistic), how would you define "cross country", i.e. east to west coast is pretty easy but what about NYC to Brownsville, TX?  Then there is the proverbial what is a "tourer" (I DO NOT want to start a flamefest) question, i.e. ranges from must be totally self-contained and sleep out all the way to a fully supported credit card tour?  Must it be totally self-propelled or can they take a bus/train/plane for a section of it (how big of a section)?  Do they have to complete it or only INTEND to complete it but never did (got sick, in an accident, etc.)?  How do contact them as some might miss the survey since they are out touring when the survey arrives? 

I would think though that ACA would have a somewhat good base number based on map/app sells.  Then the only issue is trying to determine how many tour and do not use ACA maps and/or use a used ACA map (already counted) and/or share a map with someone (not counted).  Then you just have to determine how many tour in other commercial cross-country groups.

I actually think it would be a very cool idea if groups like ACA, WarmShowers, and the Bicycle Tour Network would send a JOINT survey out to their members (and their customers if a commercial entity) to study this (let some college student do the study).  While not a totally accurate number, it would probably cover 75+% of "cyclotourists".

My guess is 1,298,074 people do some form of bicycle touring for at least one night at some point during 2018 in the USA.  They are just hard to find!   

Intending to do a transcontinental bike tour, but not completing  should not count because anyone can say they intended to. That is unless they went a very long way and had to quit, say From Saint Augustine to eastern CA and had to quit the tour. But Saint Augustine to Louisiana might not count. It is not easy to fairly define cross country. I think NY to Brownsville would qualify. Cross country seems to say across the country, not the state or three states or five.