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Bike fun on BART
Jun. 4th, 2012 02:48 pmI remember back when you needed a permit to bring a bike on BART, and one time when I tried to get on anyway I ended up biking from one station to another and was very late to meet my friend. This was pre-cell phones. Nowadays, anyone can get on with a bike and there are special areas for bikes that give them priority over strollers and luggage.
On one BART train last week, I was standing near an elegantly streamlined fixed-gear bike. I told the owner I admired it, and he mumbled, "Well, I put a brake on it." "Good!" I said, thinking there isn't much flat terrain in the Bay Area. At the same time, I could see how the brake, cable, and lever interrupted the sculpted metal lines of the bicycle. My bikes have cables and derailleurs and brakes everywhere! I finally understand the draw of fixed-gear bikes. They're art! At the same time, I'm going to keep riding with less beautiful but more practical gears and brakes.
On another BART train, a woman stood with her bright orange electric-assist Yuba cargo bike, complete with child seat (but no child). I admired it and asked her how she got it on the train, since BART stations are either underground or overhead. She said she was on her way home from purchasing it, and someone had helped her carry it up the stairs, but she hadn't figured out how she was going to get it off the train, since it was too long for the elevator. We happened to be getting off at the same station, so I helped her carry it down the stairs. It's fun to be in the right place at the right time to substantially improve someone's day with minimal effort.
Good to see some bike diversity coming to the Bay Area. Ten years ago I spotted the front of a recumbent bicycle as I got on a train, and guessed it belonged to my friend who rides a recumbent. I was right.
On one BART train last week, I was standing near an elegantly streamlined fixed-gear bike. I told the owner I admired it, and he mumbled, "Well, I put a brake on it." "Good!" I said, thinking there isn't much flat terrain in the Bay Area. At the same time, I could see how the brake, cable, and lever interrupted the sculpted metal lines of the bicycle. My bikes have cables and derailleurs and brakes everywhere! I finally understand the draw of fixed-gear bikes. They're art! At the same time, I'm going to keep riding with less beautiful but more practical gears and brakes.On another BART train, a woman stood with her bright orange electric-assist Yuba cargo bike, complete with child seat (but no child). I admired it and asked her how she got it on the train, since BART stations are either underground or overhead. She said she was on her way home from purchasing it, and someone had helped her carry it up the stairs, but she hadn't figured out how she was going to get it off the train, since it was too long for the elevator. We happened to be getting off at the same station, so I helped her carry it down the stairs. It's fun to be in the right place at the right time to substantially improve someone's day with minimal effort.Good to see some bike diversity coming to the Bay Area. Ten years ago I spotted the front of a recumbent bicycle as I got on a train, and guessed it belonged to my friend who rides a recumbent. I was right.
