How many bikes does it take to pull a Honda CRV?

[michael gill]

At the risk of being labled "discriminatory" or "divisive" I would submit that in this diverse city there are two kinds of people:

On the one hand, there are people who--when posed the question, "How many bikes does it take to pull a Honda CRV"--respond by laughing and, upon recovery, say something like "I don't have any idea, let's go find out!"

And on the other hand there are the people who would simply scratch their heads and say "Why would you want to know a thing like that," or better yet, "Huh?"

A number of us in the former category--I won't tell you how many--have taken up the question and are pleased to offer the answer, this Friday morning at the Lakewood Fourth of July Parade. You can thank Bike Lakewood, Phoenix Coffee, Walk and Roll for this bit of silliness.

We'll be out front of the St. Ed's Marching band. Wave if you see us. And if you think this is stupid, just wait til you see what we've got in store for Walk And Roll, July 19.

[Jeff Endress]

Michael

Just three questions:

1) Is the Honda US made?
2) Is it a Hybrid?
3) Do either 1 or 2 above matter in resolving the query?

Jeff

[Tim Liston]

Dunno what Mike's up to so I'll jump in....

1) No
2) No
3) No

According to the wikipedia a "first generation" Honda CRV weighs 3,200 pounds.

[Jim O'Bryan]

Dunno what Mike's up to so I'll jump in....

1) No
2) No
3) No

According to the wikipedia a "first generation" Honda CRV weighs 3,200 pounds.

However, if you could see the smiles on the faces of Michael Gill, Tim Liston and Councilman Tom Bullock yesterday, you would know BikeLakewood is up to some serious fun.

Can't wait.

.

[Jim DeVito]

Dunno what Mike's up to so I'll jump in....

1) No
2) No
3) No

According to the wikipedia a "first generation" Honda CRV weighs 3,200 pounds.

Maybe the answer to number 1 is a little less cut and dry than one would think.

From NYT

This year [2007], for the first time, Honda is building CR-Vs in North America, at East Liberty, Ohio, in addition to a plant in Japan. Quality doesn’t seem to have suffered; last week, J. D. Power said that the CR-V ranked highest in its class in initial quality.

The times they are a changing.

Also I guess 3 bikes.

[michael gill]

In my haste, I believe I have underestimated Lakewood's diversity, in several ways. There are at least two more kinds of people in this city.

1) There is a group of people who, when faced with the question, "How many bikes does it take to pull a Honda CRV?" will wonder whether the car was made in the USA.

2) There is a group of people who will smile and shake their heads, but not actually proceed to look for answers. They, as they might tell you themselves, have "better things to do with their time."

While the US Census does not provide statistics regarding the size of these groups, I hope the smiling head shakers represent the largest segment of our society. (Let me emphasize: I sincerely hope that most of us have "better things to do with their time." ) Those are the people we are counting on to turn out for the parade, the people we're hoping will smile and wave when we go past, grunting and sweating in our effort to provide you with the answer. Join us for the the Fourth of July Parade, starting at 10 a.m. tomorrow.

Join us for even higher grade stupidity July 19, when a similar group of cyclists promise to do something even less sensible.

Also, I think it's important to note certain information as you place your bets regarding the numbers: the actual number of bicycles required to pull a Honda CRV is less than the number you will see in the parade tomorrow. The booking agents are privvy to this information. You should be, too.

Consult your local scientist for a deeper understanding of the forces and variables bearing on this important experiment.

[Richard Cole]

Consult your local scientist for a deeper understanding of the forces and variables bearing on this important experiment.

Along the lines of "This is hard - did you leave the parking brake on?"

or

"It is in 'N' isn't it?"



Hope it goes well - good luck!

[Tim Liston]

Hey Jim “Quads of Steelâ€￾ DeVito….

Actually, not a bad guess. Hoping others will chime in with guesses. Here’s another hint. We’re not attempting to break the inertia of the CRV by pedaling the bike right from a standing start. Can’t be done, you fall over first. And besides half the fun is watching some of Lakewood’s manliest men (and my superhuman 16-year-old daughter) waddling like ducks, jumping on the saddle then struggling to stay upright.

Plus Michael is right. Because we have a mile and a quarter to traverse, and because so many of Lakewood’s “crème de bikeâ€￾ demanded a chance to pull (pick me dammit!), there will be more of us tomorrow than it took to merely get the CRV going and move it say 50 yards.

First with the right answer gets a BikeLakewood t-shirt….

Oh and Richard….. One thing we have learned from rehearsals is that there is a constant need to accelerate. To keep the cables taut. Which means the driver of the CRV (who by the way has a daunting job) has to occasionally slow us down with the brake. Which makes the pulling task even more difficult. Hope she’s not putting on make-up or talking on her damn cell phone. Trust me “is it in Nâ€￾ is not a question that will be asked ….

While we’re pulling, we’ll be passing out flyers for Lakewood’s newest and greatest street-closing event, Walk&Roll. Two miles of Lakewood streets off-limits to motor vehicles. Reserved instead for walking, biking, blading, Razor-scooting or whatever human-powered transportation option suits you. Plus tons of things to see and do. Be sure to grab a flyer and plan on attending on Saturday, July 19.

At which BikeLakewood will take object-pulling to the next dimension. So be there….

[lisa shaffer-gill]

The safety ribbon. Did someone get the safety ribbon?

[michael gill]

?Que quiere decir "safety ribbon?"