Comments for Bike Michiana

Comment on Nappanee Community Memorial Bike Ride — July 11 by Paul Taylor

Paul Taylor — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 17:19:28 +0000

After a morning thunderstorm, the weather turned pleasant and a large crowd turned out for the ride…I would guess a couple of hundred or so. After introductory remarks by organizers, and a prayer, we set out with a full police escort. The riders seemed about equally divided between Amish, and ‘the Lycra set’.

Most people I talked with were from the Nappanee area, but South Bend, Walkerton, and Elkhart were also well represented.

Comment on Route Planning by susan marcotte

susan marcotte — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 17:19:02 +0000

Jim: Thanks for your offer to help. We will be up in the area at Amishland and Lakes Bike Ride in early August and are planning on going over to LaPorte to ride some routes we think will be okay. If you have suggestions for the South Bend ride would really like to meet up with you and see what you have come up with.

It was suggested that we do a remote start at a park near SR 2 and Timothy road to make it a slightly shorter route and maybe have a longer route from LaPorte for mileage junkies.

Sue

Comment on Mishawaka bicyclist hit by car by Adam Bee

Adam Bee — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 17:16:02 +0000

Yes, I get the impression that the boy was riding on the sidewalk. It’s not clear whether the boy was going east or west, but I’d guess he was going east and came up on the car’s right side. The driver was probably looking back to the left, found a small gap in the traffic, and hit the gas.

I don’t know if I’d call it an “accident,” though. The rules of the road clearly state that one must check for crossing pedestrians before entering a roadway, and the driver clearly did not.

This seems like an obvious example where the police should have issued a ticket based on the obvious facts readily available at the scene. How difficult would it be to change the policy that a police must personally observe a violation in order to issue a ticket? I would guess Chris Dressel might know a lot about that kind of stuff. As it stands these collisions will almost never be ticketed, and the sloppy driving will continue with injurious consequences for all.

Comment on Route Planning by Adam Bee

Adam Bee — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:52:09 +0000

Yeah, I think you’d be much better at it than I would, Jim. This is actually a tougher request than I’d anticipated– I’ve never ridden on a lot of those roads. I rode down to southwest SB last nite to scout out some routes, only to find that they’re a bit difficult to come by.

Thanks a ton! I’ll be interested to see what you come up with.

Comment on Route Planning by Jim Moffitt

Jim Moffitt — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:14:43 +0000

I am willing to help, I’m familiar the roads to South end and LaPorte from New Carlisle.

Comment on Route Planning by susan marcotte

susan marcotte — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 19:43:52 +0000

Thanks, this is for a midwest tandem rally to be held in Shipshewanna in 2010, and we are doing the post tour. Since we do not live up there any help will be appreciated. Sue

Comment on Nappanee Community Memorial Bike Ride — July 11 by Adam Bee

Adam Bee — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:30:08 +0000

I will be out of the area that day, but if I were here I would go to this for sure. I think it will be a fulfilling experience for almost everyone who participates.

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As a side note, I’m interested in learning a lot more about how the Amish use bicycles. A quick Google search didn’t turn up much; can anyone recommend some reading?

Comment on Route Planning by Adam Bee

Adam Bee — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:02:36 +0000

I’ll give it a shot (or a couple shots), and post what the best that I can find on the Bike Michiana Google Group. Thanks for asking!

Comment on Back Door Friends are Best by Adam Bee

Adam Bee — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:41:44 +0000

Yeah, it seems there’s nearly always a trade-off between traffic and smoothness. Chamberlain is especially bad, but I’d guess it’s because of extra-heavy garbage trucks?

Into Buchanan I’ve been taking Red Bud from the south, Niles-Buchanan from the east, and (rarely) Galien-Buchanan from the west.

It’s true that these are the front doors, but for my tastes they’re still empty enough that it’s worth the noise and worry for that silky smooth texture.

How about that portage over the median on US-12 at Mayflower? For some reason I find that even more annoying than the rough surface on Mayflower.

Comment on Route Planning by susan marcotte

susan marcotte — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 18:31:23 +0000

I am looking for a route from LaPorte (Pine Lake area) to the Studebaker museum area and past the Chocholate factory. The route should be no more than 60 miles round trip. I would consider a remote start in a park to make it between 40 and 60 miles.