Shortly after I first began cycling, I witnessed an accident in Vienna, where a young woman was riding her bike past the university and her wheel went right into the trolley tracks, which had been parallel to her route. It happened very fast, and by the time I reached her, she was sprawled on the pavement covered in blood next to her flipped-over bicycle, a crowd was gathered around her, and the ambulance was on its way. Unfortunately, I do not know what happened to her after the ambulance took her. Only a few days later, I read about Dottie's crash while crossing the railroad tracks during Chicago's Tweed Ride, and shortly after that, about this incident, which happened to an American young woman on her visit with Amsterdamize. This sequence created a deeply ingrained association in me between railroad tracks and danger.
In my conversations with other cyclists regarding railroad tracks, I find a range of different attitudes:Some are simply not aware of the danger. They do not have trolley tracks running through the streets in the town where they live, or railroad crossings as part of their regular route, and so they simply never learned that a bicycle wheel can get caught in the tracks. As you can imagine, this can be a problem if they visit Amsterdam or Vienna and rent a bicycle there.
Others have a "Be afraid, be very afraid!" attitude. They have friends who have cracked their skulls on the metal rails, tell stories about the railroad tracks "taking them down" even when they crossed at what they thought was a safe angle, and view tracks as the cyclist's mortal enemy.
And others still have a "There is nothing to fear but fear itself" approach, and believe that being overly cautious around railroad tracks is what really gets cyclists in trouble, as it makes them falter and jeopardize themselves.
The latter group has an interesting point and I agree with it to some extent. I keep a reasonable distance when riding parallel to tracks and I approach them perpendicularly when crossing. But I try not to get too neurotic about it, despite having witnessed that accident. Still, it worries me that some cyclists are simply not aware of the need to avoid tracks. What has been your experience?
We paid extra for these level of trail grooming?
Skiers tracks in the woods
Happier now the snow is falling.
Last week, I wrote about my sister's search for a basic, comfortable roadbike and in the post I explained that she is looking for a "normal" bike - That is, for a bike that is neither vintage, nor classic, nor lugged, nor artisanal - just a regular bike in the sense that one could walk into a bicycle shop off the street and buy it for a reasonable price. Once again I thank you all for the feedback, which was immensely helpful, and I will post an update regarding what bike she ends up getting. But on a separate note, I was intrigued by the category of replies that "pathologized" the way I described my sister's criteria - a few even questioning whether she ought to be buying a bike at all under the circumstances. Those comments made me think about expectations when it comes to bicycle shopping. And frankly, I think that "we" - i.e. those of us who are "into" bicycles, and especially into classic and vintage bicycles - can be out of touch with what people who "just want a bike" expect. Here are some of my observations about first time bike buyers' expectations that I've gathered from personal conversations and reader emails over the past two years:
It's too expensive
The fact is, that those of us who enjoy customising bicycles, building up bicycles from the frame up, hunting for rare parts and refurbishing vintage bikes, seeking out unique and unusual bicycles that are only available in specialty shops, and so on... are not in the majority, and I think we need to respect that. Most people - even those who are excited about cycling - just want to go to a "regular" bike shop, buy a bike, ride it without problems, and fiddle as little with it as possible. There is nothing wrong with that, and I think it would be misguided of me to try and convince everyone I meet that my preferences are "better." And in fact I don't think they are better; they are just different.
This was my first time to see something like this so naturally I snapped a foto =). 
It is usually 4 Swiss cheeses and they are melted. You can eat this (dip) with bread, thin slices of meat and vegetables (potatoes, pickled gherkins and silverskin onions). When eating raclette do not drink water because water can cause the cheese to become thick/solid in your stomach. Drink wine!
