Search found 366 matches

by Ribblehead
2 Nov 2012, 6:40am
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: A place to record lenient sentencing for motorvehicle....
Replies: 631
Views: 315375

Re: A place to record lenient sentencing for motorvehicle...

An elderly driver with eyesight below the minimum requirements.

I can understand why they didn't send an 84 year old to prison, but the fine the driver received was hardly a deterrent to the other drivers on the road who haven't had their eyes checked recently, or continue to drive after being advised not to by an optician.

http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/10019877.Seriously_injured_cyclist_slams_driver___s___95_fine/

Absolutely pathetic! :x
by Ribblehead
30 Oct 2012, 9:17pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Recumbant rider is 'out of control' and deserves to die
Replies: 19
Views: 10323

Re: Recumbant rider is 'out of control' and deserves to die

I was reading a cycling blog elsewhere which contained the link to the webpage of the councillor involved.

http://cmis.south-derbys.gov.uk/CmisWebPublic/Member.aspx?personID=46

I'm tempted to telephone/email/write to ask him what his problem is with recumbent riders.
by Ribblehead
23 Oct 2012, 6:10pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Public consultation on charging offences
Replies: 3
Views: 9773

Public consultation on charging offences

Sorry if there's already a thread on this, I've done a quick search of the forum and couldn't find anything, so I thought it was worth posting.

http://www.cps.gov.uk/consultations/draft_driving_2012_consultation_index.html

Pens, or rather keyboards at the ready! Deadline is 8th November!
by Ribblehead
22 Oct 2012, 3:33pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: How much is bike, how much is rider?
Replies: 56
Views: 8444

Re: How much is bike, how much is rider?

meic wrote:
bike not even in bottom gear yet...


I come across that fairly often, it is just such a different mentality to my own, leaves me totally baffled.


I usually ride in bottom gear all the way, even downhill. I also ride in top gear uphill, downhill, on the flat, everywhere really!
by Ribblehead
22 Oct 2012, 3:25pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Cadence
Replies: 340
Views: 37689

Re: Cadence

Ayesha wrote:What a lot of amatuers forget is...
They perform an 'optimal cadence test' on Monday. They have a day's rest, a recovery ride and a LSR before the next test on the following Monday.
Between successive tests, hypertrophy has occured and their working muscles have changed characteristic. !!!!
They CANNOT hope to be repeatable.

It takes repeated testing during the time delay between Olympic games to assertain a cyclist's "perfect" cadence... :wink:

Most of us amatuers ride to enjoy ourselves... :D


+1

Any such tests would have to be under fairly controlled conditions. Maybe ride the same stretch several times. It needs to be a long enough stretch for HR to stabilise, but not so long to get tired on subsequent attempts. Not getting tired is important, because HR rises over the duration of a ride, even when power remains constant. Apparently this is why pros prefer to train using power meters rather than just HR monitors.
by Ribblehead
21 Oct 2012, 5:34pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Mapping and GPS with a BlackBerry phone?
Replies: 6
Views: 6791

Re: Mapping and GPS with a BlackBerry phone?

Russell wrote:Getting OS maps is possible but not as easy.


This procedure? http://www.trekbuddy.net/wiki/index.php?title=Tutorial:_Garmin_maps_to_Trekbuddy

OS maps do appear to be available for Garmin.
by Ribblehead
21 Oct 2012, 5:29pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Mapping and GPS with a BlackBerry phone?
Replies: 6
Views: 6791

Re: Mapping and GPS with a BlackBerry phone?

Thanks for replies. Topoexplorer appears to use Soviet military maps, with place names in Cyrillic! Good if it's cheap, but perhaps not worth paying too much for.

Trekbuddy looks good, what did you mean by 'getting OS maps is possible but not easy'

For anyone else who's also interested in using maps on BB, I found a couple of others that might be useful:

Telmap (but it looks like it's a navigation aid for driving, rather than a proper mapping application) http://global.telmap.com/Content.aspx?Page=Telmap_Navigator_BlackBerry1

Nogago http://blog.nogago.com/category/products/guide/guide-help/blackberry/
by Ribblehead
21 Oct 2012, 4:14pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: What am I doing wrong?
Replies: 49
Views: 5155

Re: What am I doing wrong?

Mark1978 wrote:
Shootist wrote:Irony would seem, in cycling, to be a dying art. :?


Perhaps you should try cycling on a fast dual carriageway if it's danger you seek.


+1 And do it soon. There's a judge somewhere who wants cyclists banned from dual-carriageways, so these types of thrills could soon be a thing of the past.
by Ribblehead
21 Oct 2012, 4:10pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: What am I doing wrong?
Replies: 49
Views: 5155

Re: What am I doing wrong?

Is this thread some kind of bizarre psychology experiment to determine how often people read what they subconsciously expected to read, rather than what was actually written on the page? If yes, then this experiment has lots of interesting results already!

Anyway, back on topic. I fear that a short dose of commuting in peak hour traffic, in any large city will soon give the OP a more balanced range of experiences.
by Ribblehead
12 Oct 2012, 7:30pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Mapping and GPS with a BlackBerry phone?
Replies: 6
Views: 6791

Mapping and GPS with a BlackBerry phone?

I have a BlackBerry Curve 9320, which I'd like to use while out riding. As far as I can see, BlackBerry isn't supported by Ordnance Survey electronic mapping.

So, what to do? I have the GPS Logger II App, which is good for logging my ride, but what about mapping. I could use Google maps, or BlackBerry maps, as I have unlimited data allowance, but ideally I'd like a map that isn't dependant on a mobile phone signal, and is stored on the phone itself. Does anyone know how this can be done?

Maybe my phone isn't cut out for mapping, but I thought I'd throw the question out there and see if anyone else knows any better.

Thanks for any advice :)
by Ribblehead
12 Oct 2012, 5:51pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: HR monitor strap connection gel?
Replies: 8
Views: 4394

Re: HR monitor strap connection gel?

I'm not speaking from personal experience, as I don't own a HR monitor, but years ago when I went for a fitness test at the gym they used saline solution. Using saline solution performs various functions, it's a lot more conductive than water, bacteria don't like it, and the salt is hygrosopic so it stays wet.
by Ribblehead
12 Oct 2012, 5:29pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Barry Thew insult. Double standards?
Replies: 8
Views: 11928

Re: Barry Thew insult. Double standards?

For me, two considerations come to mind:

Firstly, what is the purpose of the sentence?
1. The deterrent effect on others who may be tempted to commit the same offence
2. The deprivation of liberty as a punishment
3. The protection of the public from further violence and offence

Certainly there must be a deterrent effect, and for most people the deprivation of liberty will be a significant deterrent. However, there are other means of depriving someone of their liberty besides locking them up, such as electronic tagging, and community sentences (which will eat into someones leisure time). Community sentences have the advantage of enabling offenders to put something back into the society they abused, without the vast expense of locking someone up. I think the number of people who need to be kept behind bars for the protection of the public is probably fairly small, so should maybe be reserved for the most violent and mentally unstable offenders.

Secondly, how does the sentence compare with others who committed the same or similar offences. How about these two, for example:

A 12 week custodial sentence for joking on Facebook about the missing children April Jones and Madelaine Mc Cann
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-19869710

A 50GBP fine for burning poppies and chanting while others observed a two minute silence
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-12664346

For those who are interested, I found Jeffrey Archers Prison Diaries to be an illuminating insight into the UK prison system.
by Ribblehead
9 Oct 2012, 10:54pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: A place to record lenient sentencing for motorvehicle....
Replies: 631
Views: 315375

Re: A place to record lenient sentencing for motorvehicle...

An eight month suspended sentence for someone who attempted to drive over a hump-back bridge at well over 60mph, lost control, and careered into a cyclist.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/oct/09/policeman-cyclist-dangerous-driving

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2215152/Police-officer-spared-jail-hitting-musician-cyclist-catastrophic-life-changing-injuries-driving-68mph-30-zone.html

The driver also received a 15 month driving ban, 240 hours community service order, and 12 week curfew.

I note that there does not even appear to be an order to pass an extended driving test to regain his licence. My own view is that anyone who attempts to drive over a hump-back bridge at over 60mph lacks sufficient judgement to hold a driving licence and should be banned for life.
by Ribblehead
7 Oct 2012, 7:28pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Interesting idea from the libdems
Replies: 42
Views: 15052

Re: Interesting idea from the libdems

No doubt ANPR is an excellent tool for checking drivers on the road are in possession of the correct documentation for their vehicle. However, there's a big difference between performing spot checks using ANPR, and retaining data on vehicle movements indefinitely in a huge database.
by Ribblehead
7 Oct 2012, 7:03pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Chain-cleaning
Replies: 66
Views: 5639

Re: Chain-cleaning

I use white spirit or similar in a large pasta sauce jar. These jars have a nice wide neck, which makes it easy to retrieve the chain. I find it works well to use 3 jars, with just enough solvent in the bottom of each jar to cover the chain, plus about another half an inch. Most of the filth comes off in the first jar, I then use the other jars to rinse the chain. When the solvent in the rinsing jars gets too dirty, I tip it into the first jar, and put new solvent in the rinsing jars. After rinsing I just hang the chain on my wheelie bin handle to dry for a few hours.

Obviously it helps if you use a lube that doesn't pick up dirt easily. I've almost completely used my first bottle of White Lightening Clean Ride. It's so good I may never go back to wet/oily chain lubes.