@Andres4NY Just curious, do you go through a turnstile when you leave a station? In Japan we do both as you enter and leave, kinda like tapping in and out.
@darwinwoodka@rejinl@Andres4NY One big difference is that the fare gates in Japan are open by default. It closes only when a passenger taps a card with an insufficient balance, inserts an invalid ticket, or (very rarely) tries to force their way through without paying.
As for the entry point, the fare gates there are bidirectional. Whoever enters it first will go through. It can be an issue if you're trying to enter the station against the flow of passengers who just got off the train trying to leave. You wait for one passenger to go, but by the time they are through, the next one is already in the gate, so you'll end up waiting for a while to get in.
Reminds me when my mom and I took the train together when I was back in Japan a couple of years ago. The fare gate closed on her as she tried to go through before me. She got furious as she believed she had enough money on her transit account. A station employee came to us. She showed what she believed was her transit card in her hand, which, it turned out, was a different (non-transit) card. That was an embarrassing moment for both of us. 😅
@darwinwoodka@rejinl@Andres4NY My horror story about transit in Amsterdam goes back to 2008, when they still had the strippenkaarten (strip cards). I had been using them backwards without knowing it because it was an honour system and no-one checked my card until I was a week into my trip. And one day, a train station employee caught it. He just bluntly told me I was using it all wrong, and that I'd have to get a new card. I somehow managed to get out of it. That was my first experience with the "Dutch directness." 😅
It took many years and many professional bike fits for their extremely valuable #bikeFit tips to finally sink in. :blobfox0_0:
It took me following a hunch over several months to get to the general area where my saddle and handlebars should be for their tips to finally make sense and complete the picture in my mind. (My saddle was way too low for a long time because my first bike fitter was trying to work with my horrible technique early on, which caused me to tear a quad in one leg. :blobfoxscared: )
@tk@cycling@mastobikes@biketooter I've only had a professional bike fit once, and that was right after I began cycling so most probably wasn't very helpful. My current setup is pretty good IMO, but it's taken me a long time and many trials and errors to get there.
Next question is from @meganL about national cycling advocacy organizations:
Q3. What advocacy item would you like the League of American Bicyclists (or whatever your national/local cycle advocacy group is) to add to their lobbying agenda?
@ascentale@meganL A3: I'd personally like all cycling safety orgs to advocate for safe and well-connected cycling infrastructure, and to NOT advocate for anything that promotes vehicular cycling. It is a fine line because some of the VC techniques, such as taking / releasing the lane, are necessary to ride safely in much of North America where cycling infrastructure is scarce, but I believe those can be taught as safe cycling techniques without mentioning VC. #BikeNite
I was stuck behind some guy at 7 Eleven for 10 minutes because he kept pressing the cashier for an "incident report form". He wanted to file an incident because some light shined in his eyes a couple of times and it hurt his right eye. :blobfoxgooglymlem:
@jeroenvanbergen@DrTCombs@enobacon We've been getting more LPIs in Seattle, and they are working well. When I'm waiting for the light in a bike lane, i can get a head start by following the LPI. (Yes, bikes are allowed to follow pedestrian signals here.)
@meganL@sam@ai6yr@ascentale I consider any devices categorized as "e-bikes" in the US (i.e. Class 1, 2 and 3) to be legitimate e-bikes that should be allowed on bike paths and MUPs. Class 3 e-bikes, which are allowed the assistedtop speed of 28 MPH, are often not allowed on cycling infrastructure, but I don't necessarily agree with that stance.
Class-2 e-bikes can be driven solely using the throttle, as long as their maximum speed is limited to 20 MPH. Scooter-looking e-bikes, like those from Bird, are most probably Class 2. I personally don't care for them, but again, as long as they're driven in a safe manner, I'm fine with that.
There is a trend happening in the automotive industry lately — engines are losing cylinders. Partly due to downsizing and electrification, we are witnessing the demise of powertrains with more than four cylinders. The V12 is almost completely eradicated, V10-powered cars on sale today can be counted using two fingers, and the once ubiquitous V8 is being replaced by smaller engines, even in the United States.
But the V8, at least, might get a worthy successor. Sure, this won’t go well with most enthusiasts, but in an era of electrification, the inline-6 will keep the old-school muscle alive, like in the 2025 Dodge Charger Sixpack. In fact, inline-6 engines are coming back into fashion after being almost completely replaced by V6s. It seems counterintuitive, but for modern vehicles, straight-six powertrains simply make more sense than any V-configuration unit. Not to mention, they are miles better than those unrefined four-cylinder units.
So, is the inline-6 engine making a comeback? Brace yourselves, this cylinder-deleting story might make you a believer in the straight-six engine once again. Future generations may look at it the same way we look at V8s — here’s why.