Comments on: Perhaps It Has Begun!

By: Shopping, Sightseeing, Science | Cosmic Variance

Shopping, Sightseeing, Science | Cosmic Variance — Tue, 23 May 2006 01:27:50 +0000

[...] At this point, I should rant on -as I have in the past- about how silly it is that people now have stuck in their heads that the current wheel size is somehow the end of the story and they automatically assume that if your bike has smaller wheels (and all the advantages you get from that…like being able to fold it up very small and carry it on your shoulder!!) that somehow it is not a real bike anymore as they are somehow “too small”, and how it seems to make no difference reminding them of the existence of gears which help to compensate, just as they did before in moving from penny-farthing to “regular bike”. Makes no difference. Sigh….head-bang-on-desk-noise. But I’ll hold my tongue, and just point here. [...]

By: Relatively Pleasant | Cosmic Variance

Relatively Pleasant | Cosmic Variance — Thu, 27 Apr 2006 02:16:49 +0000

[...] It is that time of year again. Because I am insane, I am teaching -by choice- two classes this semester. One of them is quite small, having 12 students, the other is not. The small class is my electricity and magnetism class. With a class this small, it is nice sometimes to have a change of scenery, and -if the material can handle it- I show up one sunny Spring day (after the hard slog through rainy Winter days) and declare that we are going outside to sit under a tree. There are several lovely spaces on the USC campus perfectly suited to this, and so we go outside. Last year, when I first had the idea for doing this, eventually I thought to buy a little portable whiteboard in case I need to write or draw something. (I discovered that the board fits perfectly into my Brompton’s front carrier bag, sticking pleasantly out of the top as I cycle along!) [...]

By: Angelic Grad School Interview | Cosmic Variance

Angelic Grad School Interview | Cosmic Variance — Tue, 18 Apr 2006 17:33:55 +0000

[...] (3) (Ok. Three things of note.) He seems to have forgotten what must have been the weirdest thing of all. As we were walking along wheeling my bike (the ever-wonderful Brompton) two British visitors cycled by and one of them was riding a Brompton. Of course, they shouted out, pulled over and we chatted for a while, and together shook our heads in lamentation of the lack of other such bikes in the region, etc. They were on a conference visit, and had popped their folders into a suitcase, just as I described in an earlier post. They were then able to appreciate LA properly by cycling around. Needless to say, I was over the moon about this, and enthused about it for a while. [...]

By: Commuting, I | Cosmic Variance

Commuting, I | Cosmic Variance — Wed, 30 Nov 2005 06:40:31 +0000

[...] So I’ve spoken here about my frustrations about the myths about Los Angeles, and the fact that so much is missed by many because they’re in their cars. In particular I’ve spoken about public transport (such as the fact that it exists but almost nobody uses it), and I’ve spoken about walking, and cycling. But it must seem all so abstract. So in a fit of frustration at not being able to bring you all along with me and just show you, I decided the day after I did this post that I’d take you with me on one of those mornings when I decide on the way to the bus stop that I’m not going to stop for the bus….. I’m going to go all the way to work on the bike. Yes….the cute little Brompton that everyone living in a city should have to displace their car activity. (I dream, I know.) (See for example here, and here.) [...]

By: Found! | Cosmic Variance

Found! | Cosmic Variance — Wed, 05 Oct 2005 03:22:09 +0000

[...] So I found the other Brompton! (See this link for background on why this is a big deal.) I saw it yesterday parked (poor thing) near a bench, but did not have my camera, and I was hosting the colloquium speaker (Chetan Nayak….he came to give that colloquium I saw him give in Aspen, which I described in some detail here) and so it would have looked a bit odd to have run screaming back to my office to get my camera (I’ve been carrying it every day since the last sighting, except yesterday of course). [...]

By: Alejandro Rivero

Alejandro Rivero — Sun, 25 Sep 2005 19:48:34 +0000

By the way, I was just thinking on another way to get into the tram... line.

By: Clifford

Clifford — Sat, 24 Sep 2005 23:42:58 +0000

Lee, Paul, others…Thanks so much for your comments and personal stories. So I’m not a nutcase (or if I am, I’m in good company!) It’s so great to know I’m not alone in this!! We’re way ahead of our time….I hope others join in one day soon!

Cheers,

-cvj

By: Clifford

Clifford — Sat, 24 Sep 2005 23:39:24 +0000

Paul, Lee! Much of what you say sounds just like what I say! I also find that it is great for beating parking issues. Just came back from shopping in Venice and Santa Monica wher eI just parked several blocks away for free and got the bike and its detachable front tote-bag out and hit all the shops I wanted to….

See my earlier posts (see top of the main post whose thread this is) for my description of taking my bike to Aspen in a Samsonite case….etc.

Cheers,

-cvj

By: Clifford

Clifford — Sat, 24 Sep 2005 23:35:46 +0000

Tom Renbarger: Thanks for the couplet! That is not the best logic to use!Using the car as a measure of how much you should spend on a bike is an arbitrary metric. If you must bring up the relative monetary concern, then consider this. If you use it enough, it’ll pay for itself in the amount of gas you don’t use, the amount of parking you don’t pay for, and more importantly: the amount of fun you have, the better health you’ll have, the less time you spend looking for parking, the more people you’ll meet as a result of all the conversations you’ll start, and the general feeling of well being you’ll have from knowing you’ll do the right thing.

Cheers,

-cvj

By: Tom Renbarger

Tom Renbarger — Sat, 24 Sep 2005 21:01:56 +0000

I must admit, reading through this post and its comments, and seeing the name “Brompton” prominently involved has caused the following couplet to run through my head for a while:

“Ain’t nothin’ but a ‘B’ thang, baby
One fold-up biker goin’ crazy”

Anyways, having gotten that out of my system, the fold-up bicycle idea has piqued my interest, but I sense that I would have to get over the fact that the bike would cost about a third of the price of my (used, obviously) car. For some reason that I am presently unable to articulate, this could be a psychological barrier to buying a Brompton.