Bike question

frosto · Post by **frosto** » Tue Aug 09, 2005 8:32 pm

This is gonna be my first time out at BM. I am building a single speed chopperesque bike that could be pretty heavy. I am trying to get an idea of the size of BRC. I know this applies differently to everyone but how much riding am I going to be doing? Should I bring my OK mtn. Bike as well for wanting to cruise from one side to the other. Or will this 50 lb hulk be ok for the week? 3 miles a day 15 miles a day? Should I bring both bikes? How fast to be people ride?

cornelius · Post by **cornelius** » Tue Aug 09, 2005 11:58 pm

It's a slow cruise on bikes for sure bro.

And a word of advice, the THEY that come to B.M. to prey on nice people, they look for bikes hard. Lock up your shit. And on Burn Day, watch out for people in clean clothes just standing around and lurking near people's camps. Theives. Hate 'em.

uh...oh yeah, bikes, cool man let's ride bikes. Like when you were a little kid with your pals. You didn't so much judge how much riding, miles and such, you just rode around. It's kinda like that. Bring two bikes if you want, I always do, there's always someone else in or near your camp who's like from New York or Germany or something and they can't bring a bike so you could like share and stuff.

EvilDustBooger · Post by **EvilDustBooger** » Wed Aug 10, 2005 6:48 am

frosto wrote: I am trying to get an idea of the size of BRC. I know this applies differently to everyone but how much riding am I going to be doing? Should I bring my OK mtn. Bike as well for wanting to cruise from one side to the other. Or will this 50 lb hulk be ok for the week? 3 miles a day 15 miles a day? Should I bring both bikes? How fast to be people ride?

Unless you are really strong of legs, I would leave the heavy bike home.
There is alot of resistance from the loose playa dust you will be peddling on. Last year, BRC was almost 2.5 miles across , with miles and miles of "streets".
I`d bring a nice light bike in good working order, but be warned...your bike will NEVER be the same after a week in BRC, the desert takes it`s toll....also bring a lock.

thotkrime · Post by **thotkrime** » Wed Aug 10, 2005 9:29 am

last near my friend and i left our bikes in an area where there were tons of them before going to dance. i think we came back around 12 hours later and our bikes were the only ones standing there, untouched. dont bring a nice bike and i really doubt it'll get stolen

and yea lighter is better for sure

ThePikey · Post by **ThePikey** » Wed Aug 10, 2005 9:48 am

And thick fat tires. If you go off the main streets, the thin ones will just sink into the cruft. It'll be like trying to bike through a giant pan of brownies. WAY too much work.

frosto · Post by **frosto** » Wed Aug 10, 2005 6:37 pm

Thanks all. Ill bring an extra in case anyone needs one. went to Decompression 2004 in SF and it was amazing. Some of the most hilarious, cool, considerate, beautiful people I have met.
I cant wait!!! wooeoooeoooeoeeeaaauuuioi!!!!!

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Wed Aug 10, 2005 7:06 pm

This year we are bringing an old ice cream bike. It's a heavey duty truck. Even a counter weight to hold the back wheel down. Figure it will be fun helping people lug shit around town. My ride is electric. My son is bringing a bike. We will have extra repair stuff too. There are I believe three bike repair shops in BRC.

Silver 2 · Post by **Silver 2** » Wed Aug 10, 2005 8:44 pm

I would bring the heavy bike if it has wide tires and you ride a good bit; it is dead flat and not bad at all. Most of the mart bike that you will see out there are 30+ pounds anyway. A doller store chain would be good enough for protection. If you decorate your bike the odds on it going missing are quite low. In '02 I put streamers, lights and what not on a fairly good bike (after I fixed it up, $30 at a flea market) and no one touched it. Last year I bought a mart bike for $52 and a POS that I would not be seen on anywhere but BM; never got around to fixing it up and someone rode off with it on Friday or Saturday, Sunday one of my friends had to leave and gave me her bike.

One thing I plan on doing this year is walking more; you get a lot more interaction.

gladeye · Post by **gladeye** » Thu Aug 11, 2005 9:34 pm

It's a sad, disgusting reality that there ARE people who buy tickets just to show up to steal things. People get lulled into a false sense of security, are drunk, stoned, tripping, rolling, etc., and let their guard down. If you value whichever bike(s) you bring, I think it is totally worth taking an extra moment to lock it when you park it.

chrispburn · Post by **chrispburn** » Thu Aug 11, 2005 10:01 pm

I'm never sure which to think, but it's probably some combo

- is it nasty folks taking advantage and stealing
- or is it just f---ed up folks just grabbing a random bike from a pile of 100?

I've gotten completely overwhelmed trying to find my bike near center camp completely sober in the middle of the day.

I use a cheap and simple lock, mostly for the later.

Gizmo · Post by **Gizmo** » Thu Aug 11, 2005 10:19 pm

Just my theory,
If your thousand dollar mountain bike gets stollen: professional theives.
If your POS bike gets stollen, stoner who had a bike that sorta looked like yours.
This is why you may need a lock for a piece of shit bike.

phil · Post by **phil** » Thu Aug 11, 2005 10:19 pm

- is it nasty folks taking advantage and stealing
- or is it just f---ed up folks just grabbing a random bike from a pile of 100?

It's both. I was as the temple burn a couple of years ago, and some guy shouted to another, "Hey! Here's your bike!" The woman who had it said she found it near her camp, so she rode it to the burn. It's not just stealing to sell it, it's just taking it because it's handy, unlocked, and nothing happens if you're caught.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 6:19 am

Last year a bike was left in the middle of the road next to our camp. Some one just put the kick the down and walkd away. Nice bike too. WE set it in front of our camp for the rest of the week. Then I brought it home hoping to find it's owner on lost and found. My son rode it to the store once and it was stolen.

Post by **AntiM** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 6:41 am

I've made bike flags for friends ... get the cheapo safety flags on fibreglass rods with a mounting bracket, they're about 3~4 ft tall. Next, decorate the orange triangle flag. I stapled fish and streamers to them for one year, suns and moons another. Be sure the decorations aren't long enough to tangle in the spokes and wind tunnel test them (I turn my swamp cooler on high and stand in the hall to see if anything will shred). Warning: mylar streamers break and shed like mad. Try plastic safety marking ribbon, comes in many vivid colors and is quite tough. Don't make your flag too heavy, you want motion and flash, not a lumpy counterweight. Add blinkies or elwire as needed. Attach to your bike once you get to the playa, and voila! your ride will wave to you above the crowd.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 7:05 am

The growing size of BM has convinced me to lock stuff up. Gennie go's in the van. The utility trailer chained to the van. Elictric wheel chair in the van when taking the MV. And the old truck-bike will have to be locked. LOts of extra work. It would be nice to leave the old truck out for other people to make ice runs but... oh well. I tie my chairs and some kitchen stuff down so the wind don't seal it.

ubu · Post by **ubu** » Wed Sep 07, 2005 4:21 pm

there is almost no theft on the playa. so called bike theft is mostly by mistake.
a bungee cord will do the job of a lock in most cases. I lost my bike lock early in the burn this year. left everything unlocked including the vehicles. no problems.

Post by **Eric** » Wed Sep 07, 2005 4:43 pm

ubu wrote:there is almost no theft on the playa.

uh-huh.

and I'm the tooth fairy.

There is lots of theft on the playa- real theft, not "oops, I seem to have taken the wrong bike". Much less than you would probably experience in a city of comparable size, but it still exists. To think otherwise is to set yourself up for disappointment when it happens to you.

BRC is still in the real world, as much as we wish it wasn't.

Crankful · Post by **Crankful** » Wed Sep 07, 2005 5:30 pm

This was my third burn and I have to say one thing...buy a gas cap....someone who just doesn't get what is a community for a week helped him/herself to gas from my old Travco motorhome early in the week...someone asked me why my gas cap was off and I said it must have shook off and went about my burn....I wish this was the end of it but it gets worse....as I left the burn on Monday the old RV fired up and off I went only to make it out the gate and about five hundred yards down the road.....sputter, sputter...I am out of gas....I was lucky enough to pull off the road and jump out with my trusty gas can...I stood on the side of the road as escapee after escapee flew back to the other world...more than 100 cars passed me before I got a ride from an 11 burn veteran...he also brought me back...THANK YOU......but how quickly some people forget what this event is really about

Kinetic IV · Post by **Kinetic IV** » Wed Sep 07, 2005 7:25 pm

Stealing bikes and stuff like that is bad enough but to steal your gas in the middle of the desert is the lowest of the low. I'm glad you got help though. I've learned to chain down the bikes and the generators. Now I'll have to start thinking about securing gas caps and fuel cans.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Wed Sep 07, 2005 7:33 pm

Kinetic IV wrote:Stealing bikes and stuff like that is bad enough but to steal your gas in the middle of the desert is the lowest of the low. I'm glad you got help though. I've learned to chain down the bikes and the generators. Now I'll have to start thinking about securing gas caps and fuel cans.

~~~
I was uneasy about my fuel cans. With no good idea how to keep then other than inside. That's not a good idea. Hope some one comes up with one.

Iago · Post by **Iago** » Thu Sep 08, 2005 4:27 pm

I agree that a decorated flagpole on a bike helps thwart unintentional gifting of your bike, but is also handy when you go looking for it too amongst a 100 other bikes. I hid my gas cans under the truck and then wrap some old tarps around them to disguise em. out of site, out of mind..
On Burn night I leave a light on in my camper and tent with a radio playing. I've hung out in camp on a few burn nights in the past to watch over it and let the kids go play. Amazing how many camps are left totally dark and nothing locked up.

MissNev · Post by **MissNev** » Thu Sep 08, 2005 4:31 pm

I was awakened Tuesday night (or the wee hours of Wednesday morning) by someone trying to make off with my bike. I jumped out of my tent just as he was walking away with my bike. When I yelled at him, he gave it back to me. The rest of the time, my bike lived inside my tent with me.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Thu Sep 08, 2005 4:41 pm

Ive already drawn up a plan to rise the floor of the trailer. Then build a cabinet in the space. Figure about 18 inches. Might have to buy different size things. It will be less to tie down. Also the stuff can stay loaded until used. Less sitting around camp.

I have a short log chain and 5lb lock for my bike. Makes a thief go to the next bike.

JediDale · Post by **JediDale** » Thu Sep 08, 2005 6:14 pm

If people would actually get down to business and STUDY the "Preparation" and "Radical Self-Reliance" pages, they would have
read the part that tells everyone to lock up their bike!! I couldn't believe how many people didn't do this! It must be understood also that many of our Euro-Burners and other Non-U.S.A. types are used to the community bike idea and are ingrained with the concept. Personally, I like it! I think that there should be racks designated as such and see how it goes. Perhaps give all the bikes left to Gerlach and Empire as gifts. I have no sympathy for people who choose to be unprepared for the event, but will, however help anyone in need as much as possible, because that is how I am. Perhaps gifting just one or two people who don't have bike locks will make a huge difference next year! Such is the message I received from "The Force"

Genuinely,

Jedi Dale Of Reno

(Questions, comments, rants, cudos, etc. are welcome!)

Crankful · Post by **Crankful** » Fri Sep 09, 2005 3:17 pm

Jedidale...bring gascaps too!

Bike question

Bike question

Re: Bike question

gas crisis

"Preparation" and "Radical Self-Reliance"

bring other things