Search found 46 matches

by hatless
20 Oct 2020, 10:21pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Northampton Cycling and Walking Plan
Replies: 3
Views: 458

Re: Northampton Cycling and Walking Plan

I live in Northampton and yes, this is depressing. Scrapping a proposal before the consultation, and without trying to make the case ... perhaps they didn't really want to do it in the first place.
by hatless
8 Aug 2020, 10:51pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Road position discussion from 'Witness or victim' thread
Replies: 123
Views: 4158

Re: Road position discussion from 'Witness or victim' thread

An interesting thread. When I returned to regular cycling I had many scary incidents. Over the years they have reduced in frequency, and I think the reason is mainly due to me being more prepared to ride further out. I think OP got it about right. A slightly wider road and I would ride secondary, but OPs three-quarter primary looks about right for that road to me.

But these are fine judgements. My riding position will vary with my speed, how busy the road is, and the weather, as well as the road width, junctions and refuges. It's a game we play. If our tactics are good, interactions will be minimal and everyone stays happy. And we refine our tactics day by day. Which is fun!
by hatless
25 Apr 2020, 11:02am
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Superb interview by Chris Boardman on BBC Breakfast
Replies: 59
Views: 3311

Re: Superb interview by Chris Boardman on BBC Breakfast

Most people here will know about the https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Eddington#Eddington_number_for_cycling Eddington number. Eddington was apparently proud of his own number of 84 miles, achieved in pre-War Cambridgeshire. He was a very keen cyclist with time for days out, but probably cycled on rattly roadsters and carried lunch with a flask of tea, a blanket and a notebook in the basket. Sport style club rides are a very different world.
by hatless
2 Apr 2020, 11:28am
Forum: On the road
Topic: Road Cycling Safety
Replies: 46
Views: 3086

Re: Road Cycling Safety

I got nearly through the questionnaire, then decided to scrap my response. I found myself answering many questions about possible faults in my cycling leading to near misses or having to brake abruptly, but no suggestion that other drivers might be doing things leading to these same events.

For example, the questionnaire asks if you might misread a traffic signal and act on your incorrect understanding mistaking red for green, I suppose. It asks if I you misinterpret the intentions of people waiting at a crossing, and offers the never / hardly ever/ sometimes / all the time or whatever the options were on that page. I can see the value in asking people about faults in their cycling attention, and don't mind answering them, although misreading traffic lights seems an extreme example.

It asks if you sometimes don't realise a vehicle is about to move off, and have to brake abruptly. It asks if you sometimes don't realise a passenger or driver is about to open a door and similarly have a near collision.

Nowhere does it ask if you seldom or often find vehicles moving off without indicating, or people opening doors while you are alongside the vehicle, or too close to it for braking to be possible.

I have had to brake hard because of vehicles moving off, and I have had near misses and, once, a crash because of people opening doors without looking, but these have not been the result of my level of attention, but those of others. The questions, though, just list this amongst other examples of near misses that might be caused by the cyclist's inattention - going round corners too fast, and not spotting potholes.

Having got, I think, nearly to the last screen, I reflected that there had been no questions about my experience of attention deficit from other road users, and decided I didn't want to have anything to do with the research.

Maybe I'm being hasty, but collecting data about cyclist errors only, and collecting data about incidents that are frequently caused by the errors of others without giving the responder any way to indicate whether they are reporting their own inattention or that of others, seems questionable.
by hatless
17 Sep 2019, 7:58am
Forum: Helmets & helmet discussion
Topic: Over one-fifth of injured US adult cyclists were not wearing a helmet
Replies: 10
Views: 1554

Re: Over one-fifth of injured US adult cyclists were not wearing a helmet

Doesn't the obsession with 'race' seem bizarre! I suppose that in some branches of medicine they are finding distributions of illnesses that reflect global genetic variation, but would they really expect it to be relevant in head injuries?
by hatless
24 Jul 2018, 7:06pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Cycle transport: train, car, bus..?
Replies: 28
Views: 1494

Re: Cycle transport: train, car, bus..?

I ride a Brompton, so train travel is quite easy. I put it in the boot of the car when I’ve met my wife somewhere and we’re coming home together, but train and bike journeys are quite common and often involve several trains. My shoulder aches after carrying it up and down lots of railway steps, though, and I hate platform alterations.
by hatless
26 Sep 2017, 1:42pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Motorists Sense of Entitlement
Replies: 13
Views: 1716

Re: Motorists Sense of Entitlement

Driving in the rush hour traffic this morning it occurred to me that it has a similar feel to queueing and jostling on foot, to leave a train or get through the barriers in the underground. Vehicles change lanes, accelerate, drive close behind the car in front, and though there is no contact (usually) it is like the way we behave trying to get served at a crowded bar, or to get through the checkouts at Ikea. It's all about positioning and physical presence.

These thoughts were inspired by an orange artic, travelling without its trailer, dashing through the traffic this morning. The engine was loud, and a cab on its own accelerates rapidly. The cars around it seemed as wary as I felt, and the cab got through a congested junction, swapping lanes, pulling alongside a slower car until it backed off, as easily as an ambulance with blue lights would have.

I'm reflecting on that word entitlement. An aggressive driver can be pushy, without actually shunting the car in front. A powerful car won't be doing more than 30 in the rush hour traffic, but other drivers tend to sense it's presence and don't compete for that space at the back of the shorter queue, so it often gets through quicker - this may be the main advantage in having a performance cat, not its top speed, but its ability to outface other cars in the morning crawl.

In traffic, being pushy relies on the bluff that no one wants actual contact, given the horrendous costs and inconvenience of bodywork repairs. The old banger used to be able to call this bluff, but there are few old bangers these days.

If you're on two wheels or two feet the stakes are far too high to ever respond in kind.

I suspect people sometimes get so used to the virtual argy bargy of traffic that they forget the visual and auditory jostle has a physical, bone crushing reality outside of the car.
by hatless
11 Sep 2017, 11:44am
Forum: On the road
Topic: How to open a car door
Replies: 34
Views: 2687

Re: How to open a car door

Five people cycling, and three people not cycling were killed between 2011 and 2015 (is that five years or three?) That's a very low figure. However 3108 people seriously injured is a high figure, and the ratio of killed to seriously injured is surprising. According to RoSPA in 2015 100 people were killed while cycling and 3239 were seriously injured - similar SI figures but a tenfold difference in numbers killed.

Obviously it's good to raise the issue, and if we think a little more about bikes when opening the car door, maybe we'll think about them more when stepping off the pavement or changing lanes. Taken on its own, though, it doesn't seem like the most important campaign possible.

I do like the phrase Dutch reach, though. Could come from a shanty.
by hatless
31 Aug 2017, 6:56pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Are UK roads dangerous for cyclists?
Replies: 60
Views: 5591

Re: Are UK roads dangerous for cyclists?

Yes, and I think it is indeed the roads that are the problem.

The close passes and conflicts I experience are in particular places.

An A road heading out of town has two lanes each way. If I take the left hand lane at busy times I will annoy drivers. If I don't - close passes.

A straight road with central refuges and a mini-roundabout is OK when busy, but at quiet times drivers hope to go at 30mph and I must be very watchful for the MGIF people.

I could go on, we all could, but my point is that road design seems key to me. It sets our expectations of speed and interruptions.

Another road near me has 6 pedestrian crossings in a quarter of a mile, all set so that they change as soon as the button is pushed (unless it was red a few seconds ago). And nearly everyone drives like the Dalai Lama along there, relaxed and content.

Trunk roads, clearways, Motorways, "dual carriageway in 1/2 mile" all encourage the expectation of speed. Driving in Sweden recently didn't, despite the clear roads. Carefully chosen speed limits and hard to spot speed cameras have created a different driving style. We could do it too.
by hatless
24 Aug 2017, 9:57pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Why no enclosed bicycles?
Replies: 23
Views: 3548

Re: Why no enclosed bicycles?

A cape, but no mudguards???
by hatless
10 Jun 2017, 11:18pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Bright front lights - should they include "dipped beam" ?
Replies: 50
Views: 4056

Re: Bright front lights - should they include "dipped beam" ?

Thanks. Google seemed sure it was Docklands Light Railway!

Super bright lights I've looked at have a small, yellow, square thing that produces the light - is it an LED, or array of them? Is it feasible to make a hood for a light, like the peak of a baseball cap, to shade the edges of light? Would it be better to have the LED aiming backwards at a reflector so no one has the little yellow chip of supernova in their field of vision? Some car headlights are like this.
by hatless
10 Jun 2017, 7:02pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Bright front lights - should they include "dipped beam" ?
Replies: 50
Views: 4056

Re: Bright front lights - should they include "dipped beam" ?

[XAP]Bob wrote:Personally I find most DLRs on cars to be even worse than the worst cycle lights...

What are DLRs?
by hatless
30 Mar 2017, 11:22pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Audi cutting up cyclist with left turn
Replies: 13
Views: 1520

Re: Audi cutting up cyclist with left turn

You did take the lane! The car just moved slowly across and you had no choice but to give way, and eventually to slow and drop behind. But cars do this all the time, to other cars as well as bikes, whenever lanes merge or if they find themselves in the wrong lane. It's frustrating to drivers as well as cyclists, but it's always going to happen.
by hatless
27 Mar 2017, 11:11am
Forum: On the road
Topic: the humble brommie
Replies: 18
Views: 1751

Re: the humble brommie

There is pleasure in the click when the handlebars swing down and lock, pleasure in flicking the rear wheel into place and suddenly you have a bike, pleasure in putting it into the cupboard where it lives, and pleasure in its ability to stand up when half folded.

I forgive the less satisfying sliding of the seat post and the snappy pedal fold and the twiddly frame locks. No lock, no exposed chain and no train reservation make up for the weight goin from platform 1 to 7.

Riding it is less pleasant, but using it is better.
by hatless
17 Nov 2016, 7:22pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Wife knocked off - driver fails to stop
Replies: 30
Views: 5351

Re: Wife knocked off - driver fails to stop

The utility cyclist wrote:I suppose those of us whom fight for the right to remain hatless do feel ghettoised :x

Couldn't agree more.