Search found 128 matches

by porky
31 Jul 2013, 2:03pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Critical Mass
Replies: 11
Views: 8045

Re: Critical Mass

I thought about joining a Birmingahm CM ride. The publicity on the internet made it sound like a fun thing to do and a large cyclist presence on the road might educate a driver or two ... then I saw the videos on YouTube. It became apparent that these rides are about irritating motorised road users and will only serve to increase the hatred some people feel for cyclists. Watching them ride, uphill at walking pace, spread across the entire width of a two lane carriageway made me think how angry I would be if I were in a car / bus / lorry behind them. I know that cyclists should claim their space and assert their presence on the road, but there is nothing to be gained and much to be lost by claiming more than you actually need.

The logo on some of the CM publicity is a bit of a give-away, it clearly shows they have an anti-car agenda. I'm not anti-car (I have a very nice car), I am pro-bike. I like to think that being a cyclist makes me a better driver. I also think that drivers seeing cyclists as part of normal traffic will benefit us all, but seeing cyclists as car-hating trouble makers doesn't help anyone.
by porky
26 Jun 2013, 2:13pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Parking in contraflow cycle lanes
Replies: 39
Views: 6344

Re: Parking in contraflow cycle lanes

The highways department tell me the TRO is not available online. They can send me details of its contents but they want a £55 fee for doing that. They have given me the date the notice was published so I could look it up in the library's newspaper archive, except Birmingham Central Library is moving and the archive is closed until the new library opens in September.
by porky
26 Jun 2013, 1:26pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: How much improvement in new bike?
Replies: 39
Views: 3335

Re: How much improvement in new bike?

easyroller wrote:Of course all things considered the correct answer is: Buy a new bike. You know you want to.... :D

I bought a new bike this week :D I've gone from a Specialized Rockhopper with knobblies to a Scott Metrix. I haven't done any timings but it certainly feels faster. Maybe it's the big wheels and smooth tyres, rigid fork and light weight. Maybe it's all psychological and it's just that riding a new bike makes me want to work harder. Either way, I'm enjoying it.
by porky
26 Jun 2013, 1:18pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Stupid motorist on club run
Replies: 42
Views: 3520

Re: Stupid motorist on club run

Some drivers (often, for some reason, in small cars) seem to have a real problem overtaking cyclists and will sit on your tail for ages when they could reasonably overtake. I like to help them out, I wait until I think it is safe for them to pass then look back, smile and wave them past.
by porky
24 Jun 2013, 6:08pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Parking in contraflow cycle lanes
Replies: 39
Views: 6344

Re: Parking in contraflow cycle lanes

Thank you everyone for your extremely helpful replies.

The whole situation is a bit of a mess. If a bunch of experienced cyclists and drivers are having so much difficulty deciding what the law really is then what hope is there for the averge 'bloke on the street' who may not want to devote so much time and effort to finding out, or for that matter the average copper?

I have emailed the council Highways Department for information - let's see what they say.

In the meantime it doesn't change the fact that the cycle lane is next to useless and yet it has just been built using lots of our council tax money. The council can say they have installed another few hundred metres of cycle lane and I will find another route home.
by porky
24 Jun 2013, 4:26pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Parking in contraflow cycle lanes
Replies: 39
Views: 6344

Re: Parking in contraflow cycle lanes

Things are becoming clearer, I think.

I assume there is a TRO which allows contraflow cycling in the road where this cycle lane has been installed. It's hard to say any more than that as TROs are almost impossible to find online and I wouldn't know who to contact at the council to get details of them, but they wouldn't have built the cycle lane if there wasn't a TRO.

There is nothing in law which prevents me, as a cyclist, from crossing the white line which delimits a cycle lane, whether solid or broken. Cycle lanes are advisory for cyclists, not compulsory.

So I can ride round the parked car, even if it puts me on the 'wrong' side of the road, as long as it is safe to do so, which it isn't usually but at least I have the option.

Conversely the bin lorries, buses and police cars in the cycle lane are there illegally since the Highway Code says drivers of motor vehicles MUST NOT drive in a compulsory cycle lane during its hours of operation. That doesn't really help though as no-one with any power to do anything about it cares in the slightest.

This is my befuddled understanding and definitely isn't legal advice.
by porky
24 Jun 2013, 1:54pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Parking in contraflow cycle lanes
Replies: 39
Views: 6344

Re: Parking in contraflow cycle lanes

snibgo wrote:Do a Danny MacAskill and cycle over the car?

...and bunny-hop over the blue lights on the roof :D
by porky
24 Jun 2013, 1:52pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Different cities, different mentality
Replies: 1
Views: 646

Different cities, different mentality

I ride every day in Birmingham city centre. A place where there are not too many cyclists, compared to the number of cars, and a good proportion of car drivers are pretty intolerant towards cyclists.

I recently visited London for a few days. I was surprised that the behaviour of drivers, especially taxi drivers, was much better than at home, but the behaviour of fellow cyclists was much worse. Red light jumping, impatence and agression towards other cyclists and general selfish stupidity was much worse than on Birmingham's roads. Same thing happened in York, where my daughter was pushed by another cyclist into the path of a bus so he could ride through a non-existant gap.

Is there some bullying mob mentality at work here? Cyclists in these cities get much more respect from drivers than I am used to, but seem to use this priviledge to behave like idiots.

I realise this discussion is full of sweeping generalisations but these are my overall impressions. There are good and bad cyclists everywhere. There are good and bad drivers everywhere too. There are even respectful and tolerant white van drivers!
by porky
24 Jun 2013, 1:30pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Parking in contraflow cycle lanes
Replies: 39
Views: 6344

Parking in contraflow cycle lanes

What is the correct course of action when one finds a contraflow cycle lane completely blocked by a parked vehicle?

IMG00243-20130607-1244.jpg


I can't ride on the footpath (illegal) and I can't cross the white line and ride against the oncoming traffic (illegal and stupidly dangerous). The picture is a little misleading as I seem to have taken it at a very quiet time. Imagine the same scene with six buses heading towards you and you get the idea. It seems like my only legal option is to get off and walk, which is a bit of an alien concept to me when I have a perfectly servicable bike.

The picture is a little unfair to the private motorist, usually the blockage is caused by a council bin lorry or a police car (while Mr Plod is buying his lunch in the sandwich shop).

This new cycle lance, in Birmingham city centre, is one of the silliest I have seen in a long time. As well as the problem of vehicle parking, there is a serious problem where buses (it is a buses and cycles only road) cross the line and drive head-on towards cyclists. You can just see that behind the car the cycle lane then moves onto the footpath for a bit, where pedestrians demonstrate their total lack of awareness by walking along the cycle lance with their backs to the approaching bikes. Then round the corner it just ends, on the footpath, with a "cylclists dismount" sign, just a few meters short of taking the cyclist to anywhere useful.

I have written to Birmingham City Council twice, pointing out how dangerous this lane is to cyclists and pedestrians. I have requested that it is rebuilt with curbs to segragate the lane on either side. They have yet to give me the courtesy of a reply. I will escalate this. I will also write to our Police and Crime Commissioner to request that the police set a better example and refain from ignoring traffic law whenever they're hungry.

incidentally, we do have another new contraflow cycle lane with a dashed line and where loading is allowed. Not surprisingly this one always has a car or two parked in it. Fortunately it was built in road where there was abolutely no need for a cycle lane so I have yet to see a cyclist use it. Money well mis-spent.
by porky
18 Jul 2012, 6:35pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Please look at the video of a Lorry knocking me off.
Replies: 286
Views: 24997

Re: Please look at the video of a Lorry knocking me off.

On the one hand you see a cyclist risking injury to the cyclist as they judge gaps around slow traffic
On the other hand...... a motorist risking injury to the cyclist as they judge gaps around a (possibly fast) moving cyclist


The point here is that if drivers see us riding in a way which places us at risk then they will think it is OK for them to drive in a way that places us at risk. Cycling in this way tells drivers that it is OK to make close passes.

It really isn't helpful to blame everyone else except the cyclist. You can't blame the highway designers - they are incompetent and have produced a useless cycle lane, but no-one forced the cyclist to use it. I honestly can't see that the lorry driver did anything wrong, he drove his lorry in a straight line with the traffic, he can not be expected to swerve his lorry around a cyclist who suddenly appeared out of his blind spot. I doubt that the lorry driver ever saw the cyclist. The only person whose actively created this situatuion was the cyclist.

We should also consider the lorry driver, whose professional competence and livelihood has been called into question, in my opinion completely unfairly.

Sometimes we all have to take responsibility for our own actions - I believe the cyclist was riding too fast in a cycle lane that was too narrow, he was badly positioned in the road and in relation to other road users, he chose to place himself in danger. He should now accept the consequences, learn a lesson and stop blaming other people.
by porky
18 Jul 2012, 1:25pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Please look at the video of a Lorry knocking me off.
Replies: 286
Views: 24997

Re: Please look at the video of a Lorry knocking me off.

There is a problem of double standards here. Whilst most agree that the lorry overtook the cyclist far too close, this is exactly the same amount of space that the cyclist used to overtake the lorry, and more space than the cyclist allowed between himself and the white car. If we want drivers to give cyclists room then we can't zip through every tiny gap at speed, this informs drivers that cyclists neither need or want any more room.

In my opinion, as an experienced city cyclist, the only sensible course of action on this road would be to ignore the cycle lane (accepting the inevitable torrent of abuse from ignorant drivers) and cycle with the rest of the traffic and at the same speed as the traffic. I would only pass traffic on the left, in a cycle lane of this width, when that traffic was stationery and I could be sure that it would remain so until I was clear of the vehicle and in the drivers eye-line.

I expect the lorry driver never saw the cyclist and was unaware that anything untoward had happened. I think this is unfortunate but not unreasonable, he will not have seen the cyclist overtake, on the left, at high speed, through a gap that was clearly too small.

The cycle lane is clearly useless, but it is the cyclist's decision to use it or not and it is the cyclist's decision to ride at that speed.

I really am sorry that the cyclist was injured, but rather than blaming the lorry driver it would be better to learn something from this experience.
by porky
29 May 2012, 10:47pm
Forum: Cycling Goods & Services - Your Reviews
Topic: Woolly Hat Shop
Replies: 14
Views: 44314

Re: Woolly Hat Shop

Dealt with them a few times. Never had a problem. Fast delivery.
by porky
21 May 2012, 1:23pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Trans pennine - Hills?
Replies: 11
Views: 3251

Re: Trans pennine - Hills?

If you are doing it in three days then I suspect all of the serious hills will be on day 2. From memory of riding it five years ago, there are some sharp hills as you get out of Greater Manchester and then one which I walked as you climb a rough track to the summit of the route after the old railway path goes into a tunnel and you have to climb over the top. The reward is a fast downhill on the road and then some nice offroad on a gentle downhill gradient. Both the eastern and western ends are pretty flat.

It's still one of my favourite routes, and if you have to ride through Liverpool and Manchester then this is the way to do it
by porky
10 May 2012, 12:44pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Ridiculous statements need debunking (Trans Pennine Trail))
Replies: 34
Views: 9071

Re: Ridiculous statements need debunking (Trans Pennine Trai

I have ridden the whole TPT a couple of times, it is my favourite coast-to-coast ride. Some bit are slow, some bits are bumpy and one bit is, for me at least, get off and push. For me, three and a half days with camping gear would be a bit ambitious, I did it in five days and stayed in B&Bs or hotels, but then I am a middle-aged bloke carring a fair bit of excess weight. With reference to the five statements:

1) you will need to have a bath ... a bath is always nice, but the most important thing for aching muscles is a good stretch
2) You won't be able to camp ... a fit and strong person would have no problems, for some people camping is all part of the fun, but I would prefer a B&B
3) your backside will be too sore from cycling ... I have hapilly cycled over a hundred miles in a day on a mountain bike and have never had a sore bum
4) you will need a camel back ... I like them, but a couple of bottles of water work just as well
5) You will need padded cycling ... I have never felt the need (see 3 above)
by porky
24 Apr 2012, 1:02pm
Forum: Off-road Cycling.
Topic: Entry Level Mountain Bike £300-£400
Replies: 8
Views: 85577

Re: Entry Level Mountain Bike £300-£400

I would be a bit worried about a used mountain bike. Some take an awful lot of abuse, mine does :)

I would think about a hybrid for the type of use you have described, but if you really want a mountain bike then I would also consider my old favourite, the Specialized Hardrock. Prices from £300 for the entry level one, £400 for one with disc brakes. I have done thousands of miles on mine, commuting, touring and bouncing through the woods,

http://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/product/specializedhardrocksehardtailmountainbike2012-sale.aspx?&id=17057
http://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/product/specializedhardrockhardtailmountainbike2012.aspx?&id=17056
http://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/product/specializedhardrockdischardtailmountainbike2012.aspx?&id=16811