Dr Ferrari's Camper Van (off-topic discussion)

Dónal wrote: »

I hope you won't mind if I ask you not to cycle again for the rest of the year.

considering where i live i doubt that would make much difference

furiousox wrote: »

Could've done without seeing that tbh, why post it?

Dont really know, sorry about that. Deleted it now.

Here is something more cheerful

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4vST6_clnA

Some of you have seen the various "Three Men on a Boat" series with Dara O"Brian etc. These were loosely inspired by a book of the same name by Jerome K Jerome written in 1889 and he also wrote a lesser known sequel "Three Men on a Bummel" about a cycling tour of Germany about 1900. The prose style is a bit elaborate and archaic for modern tastes but there are some comic gems in it which will amuse modern day cyclists. As an example to show there is nothing new under the Sun ...

Then there are saddles,” I went on — I wished to get this lesson home to him. “Can you think of any saddle ever advertised that you have not tried?”
He said: “It has been an idea of mine that the right saddle is to be found.”
I said: “You give up that idea; this is an imperfect world of joy and sorrow mingled. There may be a better land where bicycle saddles are made out of rainbow, stuffed with cloud; in this world the simplest thing is to get used to something hard. There was that saddle you bought in Birmingham; it was divided in the middle, and looked like a pair of kidneys.”
He said: “You mean that one constructed on anatomical principles.”
“Very likely,” I replied.“The box you bought it in had a pic- ture on the cover, representing a sitting skeleton—or rather that part of a skeleton which does sit.”
He said: “It was quite correct; it showed you the true position of the—”
I said: “We will not go into details; the picture always seemed to me indelicate.”
He said: “Medically speaking, it was right.”
“Possibly,” I said, “for a man who rode in nothing but his bones. I only know that I tried it myself, and that to a man who wore flesh it was agony. Every time you went over a stone or a rut it nipped you; it was like riding on an irritable lobster. You rode that for a month.”
“I thought it only right to give it a fair trial,” he answered.
I said: “You gave your family a fair trial also; if you will allow me the use of slang. Your wife told me that never in the whole course of your married life had she known you so bad tempered, so un-Christian like, as you were that month.

As it is out of copyright, its available in lots of places on the web in pdfs or kindle editions, and worth IMHO seeking out just to read chapter 3

BX 19 wrote: »

Cyclist nabbed for speeding in Australia - well deserved imo

sounds like one those coppers who will nab anyone, not sure you can be done for speeding in Ireland, seeing as it has no motor or licence.

can hit someone anywhere cycling not just in school area people step out on roads anyway.

BX 19 wrote: »

Cyclist nabbed for speeding in Australia - well deserved imo

"Well deserved" depends on the circumstances IMO. The report states that it was a time when parents and children, "were reasonably likely" to be crossing, but it seems to avoid stating that it was during school hours.

If it was 7am on a Sunday or 10pm on a schoolnight, then "well deserved" might be pushing it. "Unlucky" is what I'd say.

Though in any case it's a silly move on his part. You can't get done over here for breaking the speed limit, but there is a downhill section between Donard and Glenmalure with a big "CAUTION SCHOOL" painted on the road that I'm careful to slow down for. If only for my own sake rather than anything else.

seamus wrote: »

Though in any case it's a silly move on his part. You can't get done over here for breaking the speed limit, but there is a downhill section between Donard and Glenmalure with a big "CAUTION SCHOOL" painted on the road that I'm careful to slow down for. If only for my own sake rather than anything else.

Agreed. I cycle downhill past a school entrance on my morning commute and have seen some of the daftest manoeuvres there. I could easily hit 50 km/h but I tend to free wheel and stick to about 30 km/h.

One wet and slippery morning a woman overtook me with the intention of left hooking me to turn left into the school entrance, so I braked and went wide to pass her on the right as she turned. Instead she saw a bus waiting to turn right across her path and stopped to let him through leaving me hung out to dry. Fortunately the bus driver saw me coming and stopped leaving me enough room to squeeze through. When I turned round to go back for the chat after nearly filling my shorts I found the bus driver already having a word with her. As she saw me approach she started apologising. I just could not believe that she had moved wide to overtake me and then claimed that she never knew that I was there. :mad:

Jawgap wrote: »

Second para in says

"....56km/h through a children’s crossing outside St John’s Primary School in Scarborough during morning peak hour earlier this month......"

That sounds like a stupid speed to be doing at that time of the morning.

I agree that it is stupid, but how can it be illegal when the cyclist has no legal onus to have a working, calibrated speedometer? That prosecution would never fly under Irish law, I wonder how it can be justified under Australian law.

Captain Havoc wrote: »

If I got it, the ticket would be framed and hanging on my wall with pride of place. I might even ask the officer to take a photo with me and his speed gun.

I've tried several times to set one off on the N4 at Islandbridge but as yet have not succeeded.

Both the Tour of the Basque Country and San Sebastian are under threat because the Basque regional government can't provide sufficient funding

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/feb/25/cycling-basque-tour-threatened?INTCMP=SRCH

I get the impression that the police in Australia, like much of the rest of the population, regard cyclists as an intolerable burden on society (though this particular ticket might be well merited for all I know).

Speaking of intolerable burdens on society, 4FM seemed to be having a discussion about "dangerous" cyclists, but I've a very low tolerance for demagogic topics on radio shows. Before I continued browsing the stations for something more edifying, I did catch something about a bus driver texting in to say that only bus drivers could understand how dangerous cyclists really are or something like that. I did wonder whether it was eggball.

Is that beasty on his new bike? :P