#xootr

Over a decade ago I was interested in getting a folding bike to take with me when I traveled. I bought this Xootr Swift frame, then failed to travel anywhere. It’s been built-up with various components & drop bars over the years and, though perfectly serviceable, hasn’t seen much use. Faced with a rainy Saturday I decided to use some spare parts to set it up for some casual riding around town & such. The one hurdle I had to cross in this rebuild was the absence of a shifter to fit the handlebars.

Time to do something inappropriate...

What I did have were bar-end shifters for the Sturmey Archer 5 Speed hub. Somewhere in the past I’d seen a bike that’d fitted a shifter into a Nitto accessory bar. I have done the same & it works a treat.

Now I just need to get away from work to ride.

I've been debating whether to get a kick scooter or an e-scooter, one of those universally viscerally hated devices.

Our City council and mayor just passed a law regulating the latter, no matter if privately owned, or through Bird, Lyft, Lime, or Jump. Also kick scooters if dispensed by the above entities.

Included in the regs:

No riding on sidewalks

Speed limit capped at 15mph (but not on privately owned scooters)

No cell phone usage while riding (?)

They all can be ridden on the Atlanta BeltLine(TM), which is a reversal. Also allowed in city parks now.

It's a mixed bag now.

I'm still on the fence re scooters.

Kick scooter riders are laughed at, but it's good exercise, and very portable, though they demand pretty smooth surfaces.

E-scooter riders are hated for parking scooters in the only paths of wheelchair bound people, kicking kittens, etc.

On the bright side, bicycle riders are no longer the focus of motorist's venom.

I would like this ordinance better if we actually had bike lanes/paths/tracks.

Will the law be enforced? Probably not these parts. Police in this city still tell bike riders to get on the sidewalk, which is illegal if you are over 13. That law has been around for decades.

This law is primarily focused on putting the screws to Bird, et al with hefty fees and fines.