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19211. wabbit - 4/25/2006 8:23:08 PM Happy birthday Adam! My discount will kick in in a few more months -- I'm really looking forward to the discount car insurance! 19212. Adam Selene - 4/25/2006 8:31:46 PM I saw an analysis recently - despite the popular image of the downtrodden senior, the richest segment of Americans are those over 60. Yet they get all these special discounts and are one of the lowest-consuming groups... makes no sense. By all economic theory, loss-leaders should go to those most likely to consume more... the younger generation. 19213. Adam Selene - 4/25/2006 8:41:58 PM Sorry - IHOP seniors are 55+ according to their web menu. 19214. wabbit - 4/25/2006 8:48:28 PM I bet that lowest-consuming stat will change... 19215. Adam Selene - 4/25/2006 8:51:09 PM lowest per capita, not gross. But as the Boomers move up - will they keep their free-spending ways? hmmmm.... methinks not, but that's just based on my own maturation. I'll admit most of my compatriats still haven't grown up. They believe deep in their hearts that they could never be one of those evil 30'somethings we once reviled. 19216. wabbit - 4/25/2006 8:52:07 PM iiibbb,
Back in the dark ages, I was going to have a guitar-playing friend sing "Come Live With Me and Be My Love" (the Eddy Arnold version). Probably not contemporary enough these days, who knows anything about turtledoves anymore?
Something like "My Best Friend" maybe? Without knowing what you two like, it's hard to narrow the field. How about Tony Bennett's "The Best Is Yet To Come"? 19217. alistairConnor - 4/25/2006 10:51:37 PM Congratulations Adam, you're halfway there. Or something. 19218. Ms. No - 4/25/2006 10:58:16 PM Happy Birthday, Adam! Congratulations!!
19219. Ms. No - 4/25/2006 10:59:35 PM Mago,
Get well soon, I miss your charming self! 19220. Adam Selene - 4/26/2006 12:47:16 AM Thanks for all the congrats! Dinner with the wife at Olive Garden and then dropped my recumbent bike off to get tuned for the spring... yep, I sure know how to party! ;) 19221. webfeet - 4/26/2006 2:44:04 AM I have a burning question I hope someone here can answer for me: what ever has become of dear ms. greer? 19222. wonkers2 - 4/26/2006 2:54:01 AM Adam, au contraire, we seniors have earned every meager consideration which we get! 19223. wonkers2 - 4/26/2006 2:56:47 AM And a very happy birthday, Adam, from w2 and THE CAPTAIN! 19224. Adam Selene - 4/26/2006 3:06:36 AM BTW, any bikers here? The human-powered type I mean. I bought a short-wheeled recumbent last spring and I absolutely love it. Looks kinda wierd/cool and I get stares every where I go, but it is sooo comfortable once you get used to it. And having the occasional young miss yell out, "cool bike!" is soo worth it. :)
I bought it as basically a kit from ActionBent, built it myself in a long afternoon, then had it professionally tuned after a couple weeks of breaking it in. They don't have the exact model I bought, but this one is the new version: Tidal Wave III. (Mine is the II.)
This is by far the cheapest way to get 'bent', but I advise anyone interested to find a local dealer and test drive the different configurations. Mine is towards the more difficult end of the spectrum in terms of different physics.
The hardest part is just getting started - you can't push off and roll, you must peddle from a dead stop. But after a week or so, it's second nature.
All the speed records are held by recumbents - but they're not legal in sanctioned races. Too much mechanical advantage, I guess. 19225. alistairconnor - 4/26/2006 10:55:59 AM MsGreer dropped in a month or so ago, she seemed fine. I don't know if anyone has any other news? 19226. alistairconnor - 4/26/2006 11:14:29 AM Adam : I'm the usual bike-bore around here. I do an annual mountain biking tour with a bunch of mates, I'm organising this year's ride in mid-July, so you'll probably be subjected to more photos and details than you want on Normandy mud...
I'm also a keen user, when the occasion arises, of the public-bicycle scheme of the city where I work. I've probably already written it up somewhere.
As for your recumbent bike. Looks like fun, but I'd never ride one of those on the street. Cycleways only. I'm a great believer in eye contact with motorists, and you need all the height you can get. 19227. Adam Selene - 4/26/2006 1:44:25 PM Alistair,
I mostly ride on the 92 miles of paved bike/walking paths in Columbia, Maryland, and I agree about visibility. I do have a flag on the back, but that's barely sufficient. It's also a pain when you have to ride with stop & go pedestrians because getting started again is an exercise in planting one foot, cocking the peddle just right, making sure you're in low gear, and peddling hard from a dead stop. Of course, this is only a problem with the more extreme recumbents (like mine) that put your feet over the front wheel.
As for eye contact - you're actually the same height at most drivers... which is unexpected. One major benefit is that you're looking straight ahead or even slightly upwards, not looking at the front wheel like you do on most bikes when you're doing anything more than coasting. It's nice to watch the trees and birds when riding. ;) 19228. Adam Selene - 4/26/2006 2:02:22 PM Here's a less radical variation: Long Wheel Base Recumbent. This one sits almost as tall as a normal bike and let's you navigate starts and stops just like a standard diamond-frame bike. The downside is that it doesn't turn as sharp as the short-wheel base version, but for most roads this isn't a problem. If I were using to commute in any kind of traffic, I use this one. Or... possibly a city bike, which is even closer to the standard, like this one: City Bike. It still has the basic comfort advantage of a recumbent (non-wedgie saddle) but not nearly as extreme. 19229. alistairconnor - 4/26/2006 2:15:39 PM "Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race."
—H. G. Wells, 1904 19230. RickNelson - 4/26/2006 3:06:06 PM Webby,
I miss Ms.Greer too, as she was good in the Health thread.
When she departed to spend more time with home and I think her patient advocacy work, she seemed happy enough.
I'm glad alistair saw her in here a bit ago. I've missed any posts.
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