The rider is a much bigger factor, of course. But that’s not the problem being addressed here. You’re not suggesting the bike should not be optimized are you?
It makes no sense to optimize the bike in isolation. There is complex airflow interaction between the bike and rider. There are changes that aerodynamicists could do to reduce bike drag that would actually increase drag on the complete bike plus rider system.
The problem is that there are so many variables with riders. For example, just a slight change in head position can increase drag more than any improvement in frame tube shape could save.
> "I referred above to “bidirectional digital media,” by which I mean the suite of technologies that comprises the wireless-connected computer, handheld or otherwise, the World Wide Web, and the internet. Henceforth I’ll abbreviate this term to BDDM."
Strategically, isn't it better for Uber to let Waymo yap on and on about it and then crush them during the trial than to ask the patent office for a review and let Waymo drop the issue before the trial even starts?
I mean... if I knew something embarrassing that opposing council didn't know, and I had no obligation to inform them, I would definitely see that knowledge as a weapon and a strategic tool. Letting Waymo drop it without embarrassment is a bit of a win for Waymo, IMO.
>Strategically, isn't it better for Uber to let Waymo yap on and on about it and then crush them during the trial than to ask the patent office for a review and let Waymo drop the issue before the trial even starts?
Uber would have to inform Waymo of their invalidity theory way before trial. You can't spring new prior art right before trial.
They haven't raised the price of commuting at all, because the only people that have to pay the toll are solo drivers, and this road was not previously available to solo drivers during rush hour.
I've been a cyclist in DC (and Boston) for almost 20 years, and the changes over that time have been fairly astounding. Overall, DC is doing a pretty good job [0]. The gradual transition from a little stripe to demarcate the bike lane to protected cycle tracks that take up a full lane of traffic has made a huge difference.
To be sure, the progress made in recent years in progressive cities is heartening, and the more people we get into cycling via modest means, the easier it is politically to get more substantive changes, like protected intersections or complete networks of physically protected bike paths.
What a wonderful illustration of a child's boundless curiosity. My five-year-old asks these sorts of questions constantly, and it's fascinating and hilarious (and, I confess, sometimes tiresome).
Cycling (and driving) in the city is safer in part because the cars aren't going very fast. They aren't going very fast because they can't. There are simply too many obstacles in the city, whether speed humps, narrow roads, crosswalks, four-way stops, or heavy traffic. I believe this is why DC has the lowest traffic fatality rate in the US [1], despite the near-universal belief that driving in the city is dangerous.
