Cycling UK Forum

Cunobelin wrote:Taxi drivers are no more "professional drivers" than a 17 year old who has just passed his test - it is a total myth!

If they take money to drive, they are in some sense of the word professional drivers. c.f. the "oldest profession" ...

The picture accompanying it in the current online version has the former interpretation. I agree the wording is ambiguous

Even in the latter case, though, cars rarely overtake each other at mirror-width distance unless the relative speeds are quite low.

One of the questions I really struggled with on my theory test was identifying a picture of a triangular road marking. Eventually I recognised it as meaning "speed hump", but without the context (i.e. the speed hump I would normally expect to see it painted on), it took a while to twig.

So I take pigman's point. I think the greater concern is that too many drivers don't have "the skill of actually doing it combined with appropriate common sense, temperament and manners", and though asking them questions about the HC may not be a foolproof way of finding out, it's still a reasonable proxy in general. Whether or not you can quote "rule 306: when overtaking cyclists, leave them as much room as you would a car", I would still like you to leave that much room, thanks.

thirdcrank wrote:SimonL6

I'm sure you are right about the common platform, but I'm not sure who else is interested in joining us.

I'm under no illusion that we represent any significant lobbying force, but "convivial streets" is or should be a key issue for inline skaters. We appear to be pedestrians in law (there's no useful legal definition of "vehicle" that answers the question either way), but we have travelling characteristics more akin to cycles (as in, we move at similar speeds, have significant momentum and can't stop instantly). So the "should we be on roads or pavements" issue is one you really have to go back to first principles to answer, and when you've thought about it a while it does tend to shape your opinions on what the streets are for. One thing which most skaters seem agreed on is that our legally ambiguous grey area is mostly much more comfortable than any likely post-legal-cleanup scenario, but the converse of that is that if a cabbie decides to run straight at you because he believe you shouldn't be on the road, it's even harder to get the police to take it seriously than on a bike, because they may well believe the same thing.

I did, once upon a time, made contact with someone at Living Streets (who also skates, as it happens) and although I got the impression that although that organisation had both kinds of activist - the inclusive "let's make pavements nice for everyone who might sensibly be expected to use them" and also the crustier "I'm a pedestrian, this is my space" - he felt there was some kind of common ground. Sadly, pressures of Stuff meant we didn't really take it any further.

So I'm not pressing for another category, but for what Rod said: let's stop drawing lines based on mode of transport, and start talking about citizens.

It has personality-of-Boris stamped all the way through it ...

"War On Roadworks" does rather remind me of Major's Cones Hotline, though

GrahamG wrote:Probably not what you want to hear as design/art students but where you lock it is equally as important (if not more) than how or to what!

Yep. Best plan is to put it next to another bike that looks more expensive or more attractive...

The "don't ride in the gutter" advice works for a lot of interestingly contoured roads in London - where the contours seem to coincide with places where buses stand or wait at traffic lights. The bottom of Regent Street (where it feeds into Piccadilly Circus) used to be really quite exciting until it was resurfaced recently. I find most of the really bad bits are within a couple of feet of the kerb.

I get left behind on downhills all the time, so I know where you're coming from. I fully believe the "you probably have more grip than you think" thing on dry road, but add gravel, diesel, leaves, ironworks, potholes, etc, plus the possibility of mechanical failure, and the perceived risk is just too great to hammer down hills with bends on them. On skinny tyres I have no confidence either that I'll get any warning when I'm near the limit or that I'd have the right reactions to recover it if I do

One thing I will say, though, which I've been playing with lately and is awesome fun - consciously playing with countersteer to set up the lean angle. Yes I know that you're countersteering anyway even if not aware of it, but it's more fun when it's deliberate

Gisen wrote:I wonder if those making such a big fuss over this think that pedestrians should be prosecuted etc for "jaywalking" - crossing at an unofficial spot or crossing when the green man isn't showing.

Since it's not illegal to do so, any prosecution would be unlikely to succeed.

But I see your point.

My argument for occasional and giving-way-to-peds RLJ is exactly that: it's faster. I make no claim for it being safer, but I am equally unconvinced that it is significantly less safe.

I manage perfectly adequately at junctions where there are no traffic signals - am I and all other road users assumed to switch my brain off completely when there's a traffic light there? That's pretty sad if so

jan19 wrote:just put the heating up

I've been wondering if it's time to put the heating on yet too.

Though the heating in this flat is crummy and expensive storage heaters, so perhaps I'll buy a new heater first

The words are nice, I reserve judgment on the actions ...

One point which slightly concerns me is with reference to "forgiving roads", which sounds like it could be translated as "safer, straighter, faster, and segregate anything that can't keep up". Outside of arterial from-a-to-b dual carriageways and suchlike, I'd rather have a road where a momentary lapse of attention is not serious because the road is twisty and the speeds are low than I would where it is not serious because there are hay bales and gravel traps at the roadside and risk compensation means that everyone does 70.

The other noises (concerns expressed about children's mobility, VRUs etc) seemed to be saying this is not their intention, but once it's been filtered through a few layers of civil service will this still be the case.

P.S The Brox Compact and the 8-Freight may also be possibilities depending on what size/weight of load you need to carry. Of the two I'd go for the 8-freight unless you have particular requirements for four wheels, not least because they're a lot easier to get hold of and Mike Burrows still supports them - I'm not even sure the brox is still made. Have a look at the "utility" section on www.bikefix.co.uk

I moved flat using a Cycles Maximus about a year ago. It had the cargo bed on the back though, not the pedicab thing.

Recommended if your house move is anything like mine was: a mile from one end to the other, no serious furniture (some bookshelves, a chest of drawers, but no big soft furnishings or beds or stuff) and a red route with a wide pavement at the far end meant I could pull up right outside the door and unload without carrying stuff for miles. Don't fill it full of books, though - mix your loads to have some light and bulky stuff each time.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/coruskate/ ... 195138351/

It's a heavy beast even when empty, though. The one I used had a non-functional electric assist which probably wasn't making it any lighter, but it felt like about as much work empty as a Firebrox does fully loaded, and that's a ~70kg bike.

... If I ever get the sack from my current job for spending too much time on forums I reckon I'll start pedicabbing for a living just to develop proper speedskater thighs.

2Tubs wrote:I'm assuming by "riding over" these crossing they mean not giving way to padestrians.

If so, isn't that a bad thing and something we shouldn't be defending?

That was my reaction when I saw the headline, but apparently not. When riding along the road I sometimes don't stop if there's a pedestrian on the crossing, but I do give way (e.g. by moving left or right to pass behind the pedestrian's direction of travel instead of in front of him). This is illegal (I think, anyway) but it's pretty much SOP in London nonetheless - even for cars, when the lane is wide enough or the pedestrian near enough the pavement to make it possible.