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01-31-2007, 06:00 AM

On 31 Jan 2007 06:32:38 GMT, Bill Bushnell <mrbill@pobox.com> wrote:

>As an organizer of a non-competitive and non-timed event I'd be concerned about
>the following:
>
>1) Do I have any reason to believe that the operator of a power assisted bicycle
>intends to ride in a hazardous or illegal manner?
>
>2) Could I lift the thing onto a bike rack or into a motor vehicle if it had to
>be SAGged (or can the heavy bits be removed easily prior to lifting)?
>
>3) ICE (internal combustion engine) assists would not be welcome.

1) and 2) don't make sense. Plenty of unassisted bicycle riders ride
irresponsibly. One of the major issues at some fund raisers, for
instance, is the number of inexperienced riders that think the rules
of the road have been lifted because the Heart Association or the
Cancer Fund sponsor the ride. A disclaimer will work as well, for good
or bad, as for a bicycle. As to 2), its enough to set the rules of the
sag. We've had to tell tandem riders that there was no sag wagon
capable of taking a tandem (much less a tandem recumbent) and if they
were picked up, it would be up to them to store the bike somewhere
until they came back to pick it up. FWIW, that happens on real sags
(I've done well, well over a hundred) with regular bikes when your car
or van is full and all you have room for is the rider. You give them a
choice and they make it.

No ride guarantees the riders a perfect riding experience. The best
you can do is make sure the course has no distinctly unsafe areas, the
turns are marked well, and you keep the sags going until you know the
course is clear. People deal - I remember being a sag on a major ride
that was hit by an unexpected deluge - almost literally. We were
making unsafe vehicle crossings to get to some of the stranded
cyclists near the creeks and rivers. Remarkably, most complaints were
that once they got back to the tent, they had to run about 100 feet
through the rain to get to the portapotties. Fortunately, we didn't
run out of beer... (the tough choice was, if I drink another beer,
I'll have to eventually run through the rain again. The resolution
generally was, what the hell, I'm already wet.)

Curtis L. Russell
Odenton, MD (USA)
Just someone on two wheels...

01-31-2007, 06:00 AM	#42 (permalink)
Curtis L. Russell Guest Posts: n/a	Re: electric bikes on centuries On 31 Jan 2007 06:32:38 GMT, Bill Bushnell <mrbill@pobox.com> wrote: >As an organizer of a non-competitive and non-timed event I'd be concerned about >the following: > >1) Do I have any reason to believe that the operator of a power assisted bicycle >intends to ride in a hazardous or illegal manner? > >2) Could I lift the thing onto a bike rack or into a motor vehicle if it had to >be SAGged (or can the heavy bits be removed easily prior to lifting)? > >3) ICE (internal combustion engine) assists would not be welcome. 1) and 2) don't make sense. Plenty of unassisted bicycle riders ride irresponsibly. One of the major issues at some fund raisers, for instance, is the number of inexperienced riders that think the rules of the road have been lifted because the Heart Association or the Cancer Fund sponsor the ride. A disclaimer will work as well, for good or bad, as for a bicycle. As to 2), its enough to set the rules of the sag. We've had to tell tandem riders that there was no sag wagon capable of taking a tandem (much less a tandem recumbent) and if they were picked up, it would be up to them to store the bike somewhere until they came back to pick it up. FWIW, that happens on real sags (I've done well, well over a hundred) with regular bikes when your car or van is full and all you have room for is the rider. You give them a choice and they make it. No ride guarantees the riders a perfect riding experience. The best you can do is make sure the course has no distinctly unsafe areas, the turns are marked well, and you keep the sags going until you know the course is clear. People deal - I remember being a sag on a major ride that was hit by an unexpected deluge - almost literally. We were making unsafe vehicle crossings to get to some of the stranded cyclists near the creeks and rivers. Remarkably, most complaints were that once they got back to the tent, they had to run about 100 feet through the rain to get to the portapotties. Fortunately, we didn't run out of beer... (the tough choice was, if I drink another beer, I'll have to eventually run through the rain again. The resolution generally was, what the hell, I'm already wet.) Curtis L. Russell Odenton, MD (USA) Just someone on two wheels...