Fraid you did just admit that Ryan. Note that I say “watched with Maggie” so that no one knows whether I CHOSE to watch it, or was just being a good partner. But since it’s confession time, I actually DO watch such shows. I lost 40 pounds a couple of years ago through exercise and diet, and I still need to shift at least another 30 – and even more if it is ever going to get EASY to bike uphill … so I watch the shows in the hope I will be inspired to get started again and lose the rest. In the meantime, my cycling commute keeps the lost pounds off.

I would have thought a show such as the Biggest Loser who give money out as a prize, rather than a car?

I actually watch Tommy Europe’s last 10 pounds (which takes place in Vancouver). I give him full credit because he on multiply occasions has told the contestants to ride a bike or some of the challenges issued were to ride a bike.
hmm, did I just admit to watching a weight loss show?

http://beta.ca.news.yahoo.com/driver-caught-doing-205-km-h-campbell-river.html

Sorry D, I am afraid I erred. I remembered the 32 kph speed limit from a while back – it was a number that stuck in my brain. After your query, I just RE-researched it, and realized I must have come across that info when I was researching buying my BionX electric bike kit. Apparently there is a law in Canada that ELECTRIC bikes cannot exceed 32 kph – see http://tap-canadablog.blogspot.com/2010/02/bionx-bike-hack.html. As far as I can see, there is no speed limit for regular bikes.

Thanks for bringing this up – I will amend the post :)

Hey Ryan. I was thinking of the joy of winning a car because I was watching “Biggest Loser” with Maggie. There was a Ford Fusion to be won. The joyful guy who won it said it would “change his life.”

I thought of how many peoples’ lives have been irrevocably changed by cars. Like the people in Ford Pintos that were burned to death. And the many people (including one contestant on the Biggest Loser) who lost their entire families in car crashes.

On the other hand, bikes will also change your life. But they are likely to change it by enabling you to lose weight, get healthy and fit, and EXTEND your life by 10 years. Granted you may also die on your bike – but that would probably be because cars exist, not because of anything inherent in the bike …

I have not even come across a theory about this, Rob … maybe it has something to do with selling features? You know the line “0 to 100 in 3 seconds, top speed 220 km” – somehow this makes the car attractive, even if the buyer has no intention of ever doing 220.

Watching this show last week, they were showing this woman driving in the centre lane of a highway in Ontario. She said she was doing 140 kph…That’s not the real kicker. Cars were zooming by her on the left.
I’m not sure how it is across Canada, however when travelling on Ontario highways, there is now an unwritten rule that the speed limit is 120 kph (despite being 100). Many want is legally raised to 120 kph, no doubt so they can start travelling 140 kph.

It’s funny you mention the joy of winning a car. I watch Lets make a Deal and am always amazed at how people go bananas over the chance at winning a car. Most would rather win a $13,000 car compared to $15,000 in cash.
And the reaction to them winning things such as a scooter is priceless. Sort of an “oh, what am I suppose to do with that?”.

Personally, I would love to win a car. Only difference is I’d immediately sell it compared to most who would use it.

Cars don’t kill people, people kill people. Something tells me that the former owner of the Ferrari will likely be able to afford another vehicle, perhaps less awesome than the Scuderia, but likely capable of at least 160kph. Has the driver been banned from driving for life, or at least ten years or something of the sort? After all, the car didn’t do this on its own, and may be used for exactly the same purpose by its next owner. It’s a nice penalty, but hopefully it’s accompanied by some person-oriented sanctions, too.

The question: the speed limit for bicycles is 32kph? Can you give a reference for this, such as the BC Motor Vehicle Act? I was always under the impression that bicycles were subject to the ‘rules of the road’ (including the speed limit) just like every other vehicle. The only place I’ve ever come across bicycle-specific speed limits is on multi-use paths (greenways, seawall, etc…), but never on the road. Could you clarify and provide a reference?

Thanks,

-D

A

Even the non-Ferrari end of the automobile product line is way too fast. My van speedometer goes up to 180 kph for some reason.