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I want to know about cycling in Dublin!

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    #32
    blorg
    Registered Users Posts: 15,989 ✭✭✭✭blorg


    fenris wrote: »
    (went to see if I could spot the bus as it would have had the marks of my shoulder in the dirt by the back wheel - no luck)
    The bugger was beeping while he came from behind and pulled in on top of me so I am certain he saw me and it was deliberate. As I was only a foot from the kerb I didn;t have the angle to hop up so I just went into a semi controlled splat.
    OK, so he actually physically hit you, you fell off and he didn't stop. That is called a HIT AND RUN and is a serious crime if he did it by accident never mind doing it deliberately. Christ almighty, report it to the fecking gardai already. Driver should be seeing jail time for this. If he actually hit you they will take it very seriously. Make sure to document your injuries however minor (bruises are injuries.)


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    #33
    fenris
    Registered Users Posts: 3,078 ✭✭✭fenris


    I didnt get his number, so I went to the bus depot in donnybrook to see if I could find the bus as it was out of service, but there were none of that type there (long hard to read numberplate recessed up high on left).

    The inspector that I got to talk to after getting past some woman who quite agressively tried to get rid of me was quite helpful but couldn't identify the bus driver and seemed to be taking things seriously.

    In retrospect I should have just gone straight to the Garda station but I thought that the bus would be stopping in the bus depot and cycled around looking for it. Then I started to realise that I was late for work and honestly just wanted to get out of there.

    I have to say that I just kept finding reasons not to cycle that particular stretch of the N11 for a couple of weeks before I realised what was happening and just copped myself on!

    If there is a next time I will just go direct to the Garda station and if I manage to get the drivers name I will contact the various insurance companies (may not do much but I reckon that it is the most likely way to get a real personalised result)


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    #34
    gzoladz
    Registered Users Posts: 2,196 ✭✭✭gzoladz


    Perhaps more of the above. Poor and bumpy road conditions.
    Also the design of the cyclelanes is poor as many times they give motorists no option other than not to offend them.

    Also, there is quite a lot to cater the bicycle-lycra culture but not as much for people that just cycle to work wearing their business casual clothes, although I have seen more and more of this in the last couple of years.


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    #35
    Raam
    Registered Users Posts: 14,317 ✭✭✭✭Raam


    gzoladz wrote: »
    Also, there is quite a lot to cater the bicycle-lycra culture but not as much for people that just cycle to work wearing their business casual clothes, although I have seen more and more of this in the last couple of years.

    Not sure what ya mean? :confused:


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    #36
    D!armu!d
    Registered Users Posts: 249 ✭✭D!armu!d


    DublinCycling wrote: »
    Knowing that their bike is secure would also be an encouraging factor.

    This would be a major one. Am thinking of getting a new bike under the cycle to work scheme, but the newer & better quality the bike the more tempting it is for the thiefs.
    Would be great if there was a website where all bike owners could log their bikes serial number and a brief description that buyers of 2nd hand bikes could check before making any purchase to make sure it's not a stolen bike.


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    #37
    Traumadoc
    Registered Users Posts: 2,523 ✭✭✭Traumadoc


    Guy today tried to" teach me a lesson" for not riding in a cycle lane I think. The one in Kilmacud thats closed in the middle for road works .
    Any way further down Clonskeagh road this silver 02 Golf comes up behind be and beeps on the horn and starts closing in on me. Then he pulls up and opens the window and starts shouting abuse.

    I tell him I have his reg and am going to the guards and he drives on .

    My brother was cycling behind also witnessed it.

    I dont know if I should go to the guards or not.


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    #38
    Gavin
    Registered Users Posts: 4,676 ✭✭✭Gavin


    Go for it, even to see if the Guards take it seriously


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    #39
    DublinCycling
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8 ✭DublinCycling


    Traumadoc wrote: »
    Guy today tried to" teach me a lesson" for not riding in a cycle lane I think. The one in Kilmacud thats closed in the middle for road works .
    Any way further down Clonskeagh road this silver 02 Golf comes up behind be and beeps on the horn and starts closing in on me. Then he pulls up and opens the window and starts shouting abuse.

    I tell him I have his reg and am going to the guards and he drives on .

    My brother was cycling behind also witnessed it.

    I dont know if I should go to the guards or not.

    It's incidents like this one that make me think that there should be a community website to post cycling incidents, including thefts, taxis and cars parked in the cycle lanes, etc. Would you be in favor of this?

    I think this should be reported to the gardai. The worst that happens is that they do nothing about it, but it's in their hands once you report it and they can decide. They should do something about it because cyclists have as much right to be on the road as cars and it's harassment whether you're on a bike or not.


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    #40
    D!armu!d
    Registered Users Posts: 249 ✭✭D!armu!d


    I think every incident is worth reporting, as they might be a repeat offender and another complaint against them in a months time would lead to it being taken more seriously.


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    #41
    Boss oh boss
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5 ✭Boss oh boss


    Just last week between Kiliney and Shankill a Dublin bus passed me out on a narrow twisting stretch with a continuous white line, as the bus overtook me and took the bend he edged me closer to the footpath and the length of the bus came closer and closer with the side of the bus almost brushing off my right shoulder. After the bend he stopped at the first bus stop and I went up alongside the driver asking what was he playing at, he just gave me the finger.


    Its that type of incidents that ruin cycling for me. If I hear a bus coming behind me I'll always remember that and try not to be caught in a tight situation like that, the next time I might go up on the footpath if i think the road ahead is narrow and that could happen. There's no point fighting with motorists and having an attitude that we can win, they'll never see our point, until they start cycling.


    I commute to work and conduct everything off the bike and have done so for 13 years now.

    I'm for cycle lanes. Cycle lanes in, lets say the Netherlands, are maintained and don't inconvenience cyclists like the ones here.

    The cycle lanes here and in the UK are often on the road and full of glass whereas in the Netherlands they are mostly separate. In an old city like Amsterdam there are alot of lanes that are on roads with cars, but they are improving the cycle lanes to be separate; between centraal station and the Dam square they actually rebuilt the footpath/cycle lane to be completely separate. Despite all the partying that goes on there, which is practically going through the red light district, the lanes are clean enough and have less glass that the stillorgan dual carriageway cycle lane (a great cycle lane for Dublin). But of course there is a completely different attitude at the top of society for cycling there while the attitude here is that cycling is not important or useful.


    An interesting point (for me) regarding the Netherlands is that I heard that the cycle lanes were constructed in the 1980s - therefore at some time they embraced the idea and they had the machinery/ability to build, build and build resulting in practically a cycle lane on every road in the country.


    The cycle lanes here need to be built and improved but the one through the Blackrock park is very nice!


    It would be great if there was more awareness and if motorists didn't see us as scum thats in the way. They are always close to boiling point to start intimidating a cyclist with being on our tail etc. More facilities in the work place would be great like a secure place to lock an expensive bike.


    It is a great way to commute and maintain a healthy lifestyle. a cyclist just has to be very careful with big vehicles and then not losing our tempers at motorists - just try to let the hot heads go without getting caught up in it, (thats what Im trying to do myself anyway)


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    #42
    SerialComplaint
    Registered Users Posts: 2,644 ✭✭✭SerialComplaint


    Traumadoc wrote: »
    Guy today tried to" teach me a lesson" for not riding in a cycle lane I think. The one in Kilmacud thats closed in the middle for road works .
    Any way further down Clonskeagh road this silver 02 Golf comes up behind be and beeps on the horn and starts closing in on me. Then he pulls up and opens the window and starts shouting abuse.

    I tell him I have his reg and am going to the guards and he drives on .

    My brother was cycling behind also witnessed it.

    I dont know if I should go to the guards or not.

    Report him. I've found the Garda TrafficWatch line to be more effective for follow-up than the local station.

    If (as happened with me) he was driving Mummy's car for a Sunday drive, he's going to get a nasty shock when the Guard calls to Mummy to ask her about who was driving.


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    #43
    Húrin
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,045 ✭✭✭Húrin


    I feel pretty lucky... my brush with arshole motorists is a very rare event indeed. I have a theory that motorists react worse to cyclists who look 'other'. I mean, those who ride around wearing lycra, high-vis everything, helmets, etc. I don't wear any of that, just wear normal clothes. Obviously I wear a high-vis vest at night, with lights on the bike, but I think a lot of the people you see on bikes around Dublin just like weird.


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    #44
    Húrin
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,045 ✭✭✭Húrin


    DublinCycling wrote: »
    Overall, cycling is a very feasible way to commute, helps with stress, and if other motorists would be more respectful, it would be an even more pleasant way to commute into and around Dublin.

    I find motorists respectful. I find it amazing the difference in perceptions of cycling between those who do it (quick, cheap, refreshing) and those who don't (suicidal, dangerous, scary, slow).


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    #45
    Muller_1
    Registered Users Posts: 237 ✭✭Muller_1


    In my opinion there is a massive difference between the quality of cycle lanes, the ones that are raised or made on existing footpaths are for the most part unusable for many reasons
    1. People walking on cycle lanes
    2. High curbs, so have to dismount to get onto the lane
    3. Not kept clean as road sweeping vehicles can't get to them
    4. Cars parked
    5. Uneven surface due at entrances to houses
    6. Lanes ending abruptly without access to get back onto the road.
    I could go on and on...

    However I find the cycle lanes that are painted on the roads to be very useable.


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    #46
    BostonB
    Closed Accounts Posts: 18,056 ✭✭✭✭BostonB


    I think theres a unusable missing at the start of that.

    On pavement ones are handy for kids. One on the road are much better for commuting.


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    #47
    DublinCycling
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8 ✭DublinCycling


    As this forum seemed to be very informative, I set up a place on twitter.com, for anything and everything about dublin cycling. It congregates all these responses by using this hash tag: #cycledublin (how twitter collects similar messages) and places them here: http://search.twitter.com/search?q=cycledublin . So, if you are on twitter.com and would like to add any insights from a day-to-day basis about cycling in Dublin, just add #cycledublin to your message.

    If you're not on Twitter: What other media would you use to voice your concerns?


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