About Michael Duggan

Recent posts

• Comment on tfooq's answer…

  0 0 Yeah! Imagine that you are a big backwards vagina and that by climbing the hill, you are giving birth to a baby mountain that you are leaving behind for the city as you climb. And the sea and sky around you are midwives to your beautiful transition from cyclist to mother and caretaker of this earthen infant. It is such a joyful feeling to go slow enough to notice everything around you, especially the ability to feel every cigarette butt as you ride over it and every oil deposit as your back wheel spins stationary like a seagull in a headwind when you cross it. Then imagine that the pain in your legs is cotton candy and that the sweat on your forehead is the finest white wine spritzer. Aren't we all so fortunate to have these hills to stab our walking appendages with the sweet knife of enlightenment? Michael Duggan commented over 2 years ago

• Follow Following 1

  I hate hills, I love my bike, and I live in Seattle. What are some tips that will improve my hill-climbing abilities? Repetition isn't working.

  0 0 Clipless pedals. (paradoxically, this means the ones that have the shoes that snap in, if you didn't know) They make hills happier. If no clipless pedals? Tighten your cages so that you are getting some power from pulling your legs up. If no cages? Buy cages and straps. They will make every bike ride better than with flat pedals alone. Standing up to climb helps use different parts of your legs which many find either more comfortable, or able to provide variation in movement that keeps a longer hill interesting and wards off fatigue. It also allows you to pull the bars toward you differently, which gives you leverage pushing the pedals down. Also, lean your body forward from the seat a bit to move your center of gravity closer to the stem. Racer types are out of the saddle quite a bit on climbs for these reasons and probably more science-y ones, too. Also: a weird thing that helps when I ride with clipless pedals or flat ones standing up while riding up hills is focusing my mind on the ease of pulling my legs up and letting my weight push the pedals down. It is "bad form" because it kind of makes you "chop" at the pedals with the down stroke, but if you're tired as hell, I say do whatever is easiest and comfiest. Michael Duggan answered in Cars, Bikes & Transit over 2 years ago Answer, comment & read 19 more answers »

• Comment on RM's answer…

  0 0 Yay! I dunno about 1 beer though. It usually takes around 3 before I can really say that it's adequately easing my troubled legs... Michael Duggan commented over 2 years ago

• Comment on Qamuuqin Maxwell's answer…

  0 0 Or this one that has kept me alive also: Use your momentum the best you can to get up hills without hurting anybody or pissing off anybody who appears remotely aware of their surroundings. Then, when people want to vent about how you interrupted their jaywalking text message by confusing them with your polite bell ringing that they barely heard over their ipod, or about how you made them tap the brakes before turning or going through the intersection in their convenient motor vehicle, it won't matter because you'll be long gone... not hurting anybody and bothering as few people as possible even further up the hill. Word up. Michael Duggan commented over 2 years ago

• Follow Following 1

  I want to get a road bike but aren't sure if I'll use it enough in the Seattle rain... got any recommendations on gear to make it do-able?

  1 0 Assuming you're investing in a decent lock, or have a place to put it, I recommend the entry level Raleigh for about $550, which they sell at recycled cycles, or the Specialized allez for a bit more (I think around $750) that they sell at Greggs. I'm sure other bikes are good too, but these are the ones that I have seen the most satisfaction with for starting road bikes from a dealer that will fix them for you. I have been shopping several times over the last year. The cheaper route is, of course to look on craigslist for the RIGHT SIZED BIKE (which is easily ascertainable online) and keep a bike savvy friend available to check out leads or review the ads with bikes you like (even via e-mail). In the short term, you could save money assuming you get a bike that needs little repair. But beware of the used bike gamble... if you know little about bikes, you could end up with an awkward, heavy, garage ornament that is not rewarding to ride. A bike savvy friend can be crucial in this regard. Good luck! Buy fenders and a decent jacket. (make sure it breathes, because if it doesn't the moisture it seals in will be as bad as the moisture it keeps out...) Michael Duggan answered in Cars, Bikes & Transit over 2 years ago Answer, comment & read 6 more answers »

• Comment on D Fetrow's answer…

  0 0 Dude. Try Vittoria raddoneurs in the 28mm size for a road bike if you still have one. I've been running them top speed on my road bike for 5 years 10 miles a day at 90 psi and I've never had a flat (barring the one time my roommate rode through glass in the parking lot). Plus: they last 4-eva. Michael Duggan commented over 2 years ago

• Follow Following 1

  How do I make the brakes on my roadbike more accessible/effective?

  0 0 I just want to add that keeping your brakes adjusted correctly has a lot to do with this, also. Your brake pads should rest as close to the rims as possible, with a gap of a few mm, when the brake levers aren't engaged. Many of the repairs that I do to friend's brakes are because they simply are not adjusted correctly. Check this first, then go get those interrupter levers if it doesn't help. Those are fun. Michael Duggan answered in Cars, Bikes & Transit over 2 years ago Answer, comment & read 5 more answers »

• Comment on Some Old Nobodaddy Answering Q's's answer…

  0 0 Rev.: Everything that you mentioned can be seen ocularly. Bikes move forward, so these dangers are covered by direct and peripheral vision. This guy has been doing this for 30 years, dude. How long have you been commuting by bike and how many times have you seen headphones cause an accident? I'm going on 5 years, myself and the number one causes of accidents in my life have been 1) other drivers and 2) me trying to do something dumb like run a downtown red at rush hour. Michael Duggan commented over 2 years ago

• Follow Following 1

  Is there a safe way to listen to music while biking?

  2 1 I know at least a handful of other riders, including myself, who ride full headphones. The guy in the hat nailed it. It depends on your experience, your knowledge of the dangers of the route, and your ability to adapt to potentially dangerous situations. Like the Rev, above, most people assume a general danger from the lack of an available sense that simply doesn't exist in practice, if you are aware of the variables. For example, taking a lane or anything that requires you to look over your shoulder *might* be more dangerous (as mobius suggests) with headphones *assuming* that the car in front of you has audible brakes. If the car is a prius for example, you're gonna hit it if it suddenly stops while you check behind you regardless of the presence of headphones. "It's dangerous" isn't a self explanatory answer, anyways. I know plenty of bikers that have had accidents involving cars, and thus far the circumstances have indicated that the sense of hearing was irrelevant. A seasoned biker is not going to stop, slow down, or even swerve if a loud car is approaching them from behind because *many cars are loud and almost all of them are going fast enough to kill you*. "At least I heard it coming" seems to be the best support for advising against dual-headphones thus far. If you know your route or have a keen sense of how and when to take a lane for safety and otherwise safely and for the purpose of safety integrate yourself into traffic, and you are listening quietly enough to hear horns and sirens, then an experienced rider is probably negligibly worse off with headphones in than without. Oh and "it's illegal" is similarly devoid of rationale or support. Jaywalking is illegal too and makes biking dangerous, yet people jaywalk, drivers speed, and some of us listen to music when we ride. So can I ask any commenters what the *specific* dangers of riding with headphones are that aren't attributable to riding in general? So far only Mobius has given credible support, and she still listens to music. Perhaps the more dangerous element of biking is not recognizing that you, too, are a part of the flow of traffic, and that you need to be aware of how and why the cars around you are behaving. Michael Duggan answered in Cars, Bikes & Transit over 2 years ago Answer, comment & read 19 more answers »

• Comment on btm's answer…

  0 0 Seattle Municipal code, however, makes it unclear whether a bike should stay to the right to pass, or is required to pass on the left. See below if you want the clear answer above to be blurred by poorly drafted municipal legislation. SMC Section 11.44.040 RIDING ON ROADWAYS. Every person operating a bicycle upon a roadway at a speed slower than the normal and reasonable flow of motor vehicle traffic thereon shall ride as near to the right side of the right through lane as is safe, except as may be appropriate while preparing to make or while making turning movements, *** or while overtaking and passing another bicycle or vehicle proceeding in the same direction. *** A person operating a bicycle upon a roadway that carries traffic in one direction only and that has two or more marked traffic lanes may ride as near to the left side of the left through lane as is safe. A person operating a bicycle upon a roadway may utilize the shoulder of the roadway or any specifically designated bicycle lane if such exists. Michael Duggan commented over 2 years ago

• See all of my 6 Questions , 6 Answers and 21 Comments