The Frying Pan - 2016-02-08 (page 2 of 2)

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5:00 PM

It's a meta roundabout.

it is The Roundabout

People here hate them... which I don't get. Why would you want to stop at a stop sign when you can just keep going.

Oh, that's weird... the center roundabout looks like an American one because they're going counter clockwise.

@Catija I think changing lanes is the hardest thing to learn about driving, so a traffic light seems easier

Well, stop signs are weird... they cause a lot of confusion on their own.

I think as a cyclist I'd be a lot more worried about roundabouts...

Stop signs are a pain, for sure, but at least you're not generally worried that if someone doesn't see you coming from the side they'll just pull straight in without stopping.

5:07 PM

Well, I don't know about in Cali, but here, cyclists seem to ignore the stop signs... particularly when they're in packs.

My town has bike lanes, one more reason to love it

sigh, so... I'll do rolling stops same as half the drivers do, but I don't run them.

Some cyclists are a lot less responsible about that, unfortunately.

There's a four-way stop sign with two lanes in each direction and they just have a pack of 20-40 riders all go through at once.

and cyclists certainly obey traffic lights. Not so sure about stop signs.

Large groups I don't know what's best exactly - it's bad for them to get split up, and if they're not too large a group they can get through in about the same time as a big truck or something so it's not that insane for them to go together.

5:09 PM

I'm not saying they should go one at a time... but it can take a while for large groups to clear the intersection.

Yeah, if they're that big, not great. I guess it's kinda hard for them to decide where to split up.

Especially when there's some laggards. Sometimes if there's a big enough break in the ton, they'll stop, which is good. Lets the rest of the group of slower riders catch up.

I don't ride a lot but I will roll through stop signs, particularly when there's a hill right after the intersection... but I'm usually alone on less-used streets.

5:28 PM

Hmm, I just put on aromatics for a lentil soup

but I also discovered a package of fargopyrum in the pantry

should I use it for a soup instead of lentils?

oh, that's buckwheat?

Hadn't heard that name before.

it|s the Latin name

I learned it at some point when I didn't know that there is an English common name

I already threw the lentils in. Will do the buckwheat some other time.

Probably in a less spiced version, just to know what pure buckwheat tastes like

currently, I have mirepoix in the soup, and I plan to thicken with a mix of avocado, carrot juice and lemon, and season it

6:02 PM

@rumtscho A cold soup? Or do you like cooked avocado?

warm soup

I don't mind the avocado getting warm in this case

it's mashed up

Good afternoon!

@ElendilTheTall The magic Swindon roundabout! Fascinating!

@rumtscho / @Jefromi Have a lot of people voted?

@Cindy we're not allowed to say it, I think - it should become visible when the election is over

let's say that I'm not worried about a bad election due to a tiny turnout

go vote again just in case

6:09 PM

@rumtscho Okay. I was just hoping we had good participation.

@Jefromi Lol. I'll do that right now! ;)

@rumtscho How very German!

it's not a "Jolene and her family" vs "Catija and her family" thing :)

@Cerberus yup. As reflected by the amount of road accidents per driven kilometer.

I haven't seen those for bikes, but I believe the Germans have a similar attitude to traffic law on a bicycle and in a car, with similar results.

@rumtscho Do you have a list?

List of countries by traffic-related death rate

This list of countries by traffic-related death rate shows the annual number of road fatalities per capita per year and per vehicle-km in some countries in the year the data was collected. According to the World Health Organization, road traffic injuries caused an estimated 1.25 million deaths worldwide in the year 2010. That is one person is killed every 25 seconds. Only 28 countries, representing 449 million people (7% of the world’s population), have adequate laws that address all five risk factors (speed, drink–driving, helmets, seat-belts and child restraints). Over a third of road traffic...

This list puts Germany in a slightly worse position than Holland.

Not that it proves anything.

@rumtscho And as pedestrians.

@Cerberus Pedestrians and bicyclists are at a disadvantage in American cities such as Boston — there's too much space and priority given to motor vehicles.

Right.

Perhaps that will change eventually.

6:20 PM

I hope so. They've done some things to accommodate bikes in the city, but it's still very dangerous.

Hmm that is too bad.

> - Despite extremely high rates of cycling and negligible helmet use the odds of being killed while cycling in the Netherlands are extremely low.
- Nationally the total of bicycle accident deaths hovers around 200.
- In Amsterdam about 6 people die in bike-related accidents yearly.

If the number of deaths were proportional, we should have had 10 deaths in Amsterdam.

And that's not counting any tourists or visitors.

And bike use in Amsterdam is far above average anyway.

And Amsterdammers pay less attention to traffic lights than most other places.

So...things appear to be going fairly smoothly, despite the extremely risky things one sees bikers do here.

bakfiets-en-meer.nl/2008/10/16/…

I'm lucky in that I have a safe bike route from my house to the train station. Sometimes I'll bring my bike in on the Ⓣ, but then I'll mostly ride on the sidewalk — I'm just too afraid to ride alongside traffic.

Makes sense.

Is that allowed?

Riding on the sidewalk?

I don't know that it's technically allowed, but no one ever complained. I don't use seats on my bikes, and if there are pedestrians on the sidewalk, I'll have one foot dragging on the ground.

No seat??

That's...different!

6:32 PM

No seat, I just ride standing up.

It give me a lot more control and stability — it's great in the winter on snow and ice!

6:56 PM

@Cerberus Here's one of my bikes:

user image

I also take off the troublesome shifting mechanisms, and shorten the chain so it's fixed in the highest gear.

I guess you don't ride terribly far or fast? It takes much more work to ride without a seat...

@Jefromi It's sort of like riding an elliptical machine, using upper body in addition to legs.

7:13 PM

Not so sure about that... the elliptical makes things easier on your legs and doesn't really use upper body much, while bike without seat forces you to use leg strength to maintain balance at parts of the pedal stroke when you'd normally have weight on the seat.

Because the bike is in high gear, it gets up to a pretty good speed. Riding a few miles is no problem, but I wouldn't want to ride across the state.

Awwww, @ElmerCat, admit: you heard the rumours about bad circulation and are just protecting the crown jewels ;-)

I mean, obviously it works for you, but I can say extremely confidently that riding in a higher gear than normal tires me out faster, and riding standing tires me out faster.

@Jefromi I have another "shopping bike" with baskets that has a seat. Whenever I ride that sitting down, it tires out my legs in a different way.

user116848

Hi @Jefromi @ElmerCat!

7:19 PM

@Jefromi Going up a hill or against a strong wind, it's more like climbing steps.

Hello @Arrowfar !

"I hate stews and soups" ...okay

I mean, to each their own, but that's an awfully big category of food to cut out.

Especially if you talk about slow cookers.

Also no gravy allowed!

@Stephie I'm not sure about that, but for me it's more comfortable not having a seat in the way.

@ElmerCat jk ^_^

user116848

7:32 PM

I like to run. But I lose my breath very quickly.

user116848

I'm not obese btw.

user116848

I asked this question in 2014.

user116848

4

Q: Stamina for running long

Although I am not obese I tend to get very exhausted after 2-3 minutes of running (max). So how can I increase the stamina for running. Although I take healthy diet but still get exhausted easily. I have no heart condition either.

user116848

@ElmerCat Nice bike. Where I live some people ride standing up as well.

user116848

I tried once, couldn't do it :-)

7:39 PM

@Arrowfar From what I understand, it takes time to build up your endurance. Running is an intensive cardio-vascular exercise. You're not building up your leg muscles as much as you're building up your heart and lungs.

I do see people riding mostly standing sometimes, but they pretty much always end up alternating between pedaling and coasting.

user116848

@ElmerCat Yeah.

@Jefromi Oh yes, I definitely spend a lot of time coasting — pull hard for a few moments to get up to a fast speed, and coast for a while.

and there's the inefficiency - you can't do constant easier effort

user116848

@Jefromi Do you ride only for exercise and fun or to and from work too?

7:45 PM

@Jefromi Well yes, sometimes I do — if I'm facing a strong headwind I have to pedal constantly. That's when it's like climbing stairs.

@Arrowfar I mostly just commute.

user116848

I see.

Standing up is probably not as aerodynamically efficient as sitting down crouched over the handlebar.

Unless there's a strong tailwind, when I don't have to pedal at all!

user116848

I'd use bike too but we have very bad roads here.

@Arrowfar Have you tried to increase your distance over time with any success?

user116848

7:51 PM

In running? Yes I have, but not much.

user116848

I used to run with some friends but then they got busy so running alone kinda made me bored.

user116848

I'm still working on that though.

@Arrowfar And at some point, has a doctor checked out your heart and lungs?

user116848

Yes, I have. Lungs and heart are fine :)

user116848

I just get a BP sometimes :-)

user116848

7:54 PM

Which is not related to running I guess? I dunno.

Many people monitor their pulse rate while exercising — some of the machines at gyms do that automatically.

The point being, that there's a "target pulse rate" that you want to maintain during your workout.

user116848

Yeah good point.

user116848

Also I tend to drink cold water after running.

user116848

Which is bad I hear.

user116848

I mean after a workout.

user116848

8:01 PM

Can't help it :) Do you drink cold water or normal water after a workout/biking etc.?

You always want to maintain good hydration. So drinking some water before, during, and after your workout is good — but you also don't want to overdo it.

@Arrowfar Of course, if I'm thirsty I'll want something to drink. Plain water, chilled water from a water fountain...

user116848

I see.

Although I might bike and swim, my biggest workout of the week is dancing on Saturday nights. After an hour or so of dancing, I'll usually drink a bottle of beer.

user116848

8:19 PM

Cool.

@Arrowfar Regardless of whether you achieve it through biking, swimming, running, or dancing; when you get your heart up to that target rate and maintain it for twenty minutes or so, your brain benefits and releases endorphins to help you. Sometimes it's called the "runner's high".

user116848

So... erm I can't swim <shhh don't tell anyone>

user116848

;-)

user116848

Well never tried it.

user116848

Although the ocean is pretty near.

user116848

8:21 PM

@ElmerCat Ah

I did not really learn to swim until I was almost fifty years old.

user116848

Heh!

user116848

Yeah I'll definitely learn it one day.

user116848

So the type of exercises I do, people here think I'd be a good swimmer but man I suck at it :)

user116848

But when like travelling a beach I always let them know that I can't swim so they don't prank me or anything by you know... throwing me into the water and stuff.

user116848

8:24 PM

;-)

You're never too old to learn. I took lessons and had a good teacher. She taught me the proper way of breathing and how to swim laps.

user116848

Nice.

@Arrowfar Are there any pools where swim classes are taught?

user116848

There are some but they are like on a 45 min to 1 hour drive from where I live.

user116848

So I'm just being lazy.

user116848

8:32 PM

There is one near my home but the water quality there is very bad I hear.

Learning to swim was one of the best things I ever did — among other things, I gained a lot of self confidence.

I wish there were more public pools everywhere.

user116848

Yeah, me too.

I'm lucky that there are wonderful pools at work, but I haven't been pushing myself to go swimming enough lately.

3 hours later…

11:24 PM

@ElmerCat Impressive!

The lack of a seat.

Standing up makes me less stable, actually.

If your seat is too low, however, that will tire your legs, because they can stretch out properly when applying force.

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The Frying Pan

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