Slow Cycling

[workhard]

cycled thru Maidstone town centre on Saturday morning; dreadful place to cycle thru, no detectable worthwhile cycle provision that I could see, severe congestion and anarchic driving standards. inc. the first muppet I've ever met outside London who put his wheels in the gutter to stop me filtering up the left at the lights, like a buffalo gal I went around the outside and ignored the profanities he offered from his open window.

only other cyclists I saw were on the pavement terrorising peds. dreadful standard for a county town to set.

[ericonabike]

Came late to this, but found it interesting. I have a converted Specialised, with hub gears, sit up and beg bars, chain cover, nurses lock, front basket etc etc that I use for trips under five miles. It's great - hop on and off it, ride slow, no change of clothing needed. But on the debit side I get far more hassle on it than anything else I ride. Particularly when I'm impeding traffic in any way [hills, narrow roads, parked cars]. Seems like drivers can be patient if they see me endeavouring to go fast [even though uphill the difference can be minimal] but it gets their collective goat if it looks as though I'm just poodling along. It's also less likely that they will hold back and let me turn right. Filtering outside on the right is less of an option if riding slowly and folk are more likley to cut across you. But these are factors to take into account, rather than reasons not to do it.

[hubgearfreak]

I don't think that is what is causing the debate. It is the attitude that you shouldn't speed along that is keeping this thread going... & that it is safer to always ride slow.

no one anywhere has said that you shouldn't ride fast if you choose to - what got me started was your comment that slow cycling causes accidents.

I can definitely point to accidents/incidents on the road which could be avoided by the cyclist getting a move on.

when in fact it's definitely and solely bad driving

[rbrian]

So what we need are town roads that allow "slow" cycling in all towns with no gaps in where you can get to and to prioritise the people living in the town over people driving through.

... A bypass?

[fatboy]

So what we need are town roads that allow "slow" cycling in all towns with no gaps in where you can get to and to prioritise the people living in the town over people driving through.

... A bypass?

We've got one of those in my town and it's where it re-joins the town roads at each end that is the problem! There is talk of another bypass but unless the town gets an M25 orbital road then the bypass won't completely help!

[atoz]

One problem with modern clothing is that a lot of it is not made for cycling.
Ride to work in a modern lightweight suit, especially in a bit of rain and it would be ruined. And there's a similar story about footwear. One problem with Wallace the Lion eating Albert, was they'd "just 'ad 'is boots soled an' 'eeled."

My feelings exactly.

My experience is that there are basically 2 types of cycle commuter in our area. One is people who do ride to work in their work clothes. These are often people who do manual jobs, skilled or otherwise. Overalls are common. So they're probably doing jobs where some body odour is accepted. They often ride basic mountain bikes, which are practical for dropped kerbs, towpaths, rough tracks and roads etc. The other type of cyclist is the full on road cyclist- wearing the full "lycra" ie normal club kit. Rides road bikes- probably racing/fitness types using the daily commute as training. Could do any type of job, as you can't tell from bike or the outfit. One possible employer is our local university, who apparently do have secure parking/showers- unlike our local colleges.

You can't do office/customer service jobs in office environments eg libraries, benefit offices etc with any body odour. That means you need to freshen up and ideally have a change of clothes if you cycle to work. This is why facilities to do this are so important. The nature of work has changed. Many people don't work in manual jobs any more. Those jobs have been replaced by service industry jobs where appearance is important. Also, many of us have significant commutes. The decline of traditional occupations means you are less likely to live near your place of work. Therefore wearing cycling clothes to do the cycling commute makes sense- particularly in bad weather, and especially if, like me, you live in a area that is hilly. In the London conurbation, 6 miles is a walk in the park- but in West Yorkshire, it can be a major production. In my case, a 1 in 6 hill, followed by 3 roundabouts on a busy main road, with another climb thrown in.

The picture in Cycle was hilarious- looked like it was taken from a still from Notting Hill- the movie, not the real place. This image would not appeal to younger people, who the CTC needs to attract. Membership may be buoyant now, but once the London fashion turns elsewhere, it will probably fall off. Elsewhere in the country sections are in decline.

Rather than this PR own goal, CTC should perhaps try to revive it's traditional appeal eg actually promote and publicise York Rally properly. It all reminds me of New Labour- and look what's happened to them..

[EdinburghFixed]

You can't do office/customer service jobs in office environments eg libraries, benefit offices etc with any body odour. That means you need to freshen up and ideally have a change of clothes if you cycle to work. This is why facilities to do this are so important.

I agree 100% on the need for more facilities. However, isn't the whole idea of slow cycling that it is ok to ride slowly (under your sweat threshold)?

For example, this morning I had to ride to the station on my MTB with full-on chunky tyres. I was just taking it easy when, unfortunately, I arrived in an ASL with my co-commuter arch-nemesis, "White Bike Man"! According to my Garmin, I put out 90-95% of my maximum heart rate for the next 7 minutes... sweaty as anything..!

But, I could just have spun along gently and arrived without breaking sweat (and Edinburgh is *not* flat). People don't seem to realise that it is easy to cycle without sweating because they are unable to moderate their effort. As the most efficient form of transport in the universe (ahem!) it stands to reason that if you can walk without sweating, you can certainly cycle too?

I haven't read the article which puts me at a bit of a disadvantage. But since everybody knows a savage 25mph thrusting urban cycle warrior (sweaty), isn't it good to put some focus back the other way?

[pioneer]

atoz,

some good points there. I agree with CTC trying to re-invigorate the touring side of things,but overall,I still think there is a place for everybody.The fast,slow pootlers,tourists,commuters,family groups, I'm not really fussed as long as cycling in general stays on the increase.

[paulah]

I was just taking it easy when, unfortunately, I arrived in an ASL with my co-commuter arch-nemesis, "White Bike Man"! According to my Garmin, I put out 90-95% of my maximum heart rate for the next 7 minutes... sweaty as anything..!

As the most efficient form of transport in the universe (ahem!) it stands to reason that if you can walk without sweating, you can certainly cycle too?

Absolutely, and I often do that pottering about locally, but it doesn't make any sense when I'm commuting. Why shower at home and cycle in very slowly in office clothes when I can shower at work? Plus if I skid, get forced off the bike or have to fix a puncture on the way in then my clothes might get dirty or if it rains I'll get wet so I would rather have a change of clothes for the rest of the day.