10 Things that put people off cycling..

Tenzor07

Interesting article from the UK.. All points seem very familiar..

As one point says, cycling has become more popular in the UK, but only in pockets...outside of that the rates of people cycling on the roads has remained static...


10-things-that-put-people-off-cycling

tegerman

Tenzor07 wrote: »

Interesting article from the UK.. All points seem very familiar..

As one point says, cycling has become more popular in the UK, but only in pockets...outside of that the rates of people cycling on the roads has remained static...


10-things-that-put-people-off-cycling

Missed an obvious one. The high probability that your bike will be nicked by a scumbag if left locked out in the open.

Tenzor07

I guess they just wanted to make 10 points, whereas I'm sure it could easily have been 15...

inc21

ignorance is bliss so not going to open your link. There is way too much bad shi.. stuff happening all around to put you off of anything.

coolemon

The biggest problem for me is the car-centricity of the road signals/traffic lights. Starting and stopping on a bicycle takes considerable effort, especially after a long day at work. It is just so deflating when you build up momentum only to have lights go red for a single pedestrian, no pedestrian or no cars. And where im supposed to just sit with the rest of the traffic waiting for the light to change. On Cork street I could easily encounter about 5 sets of traffic lights and at every one of them I could be stopping/starting on a gradual incline for non-existent traffic/pedestrians.

On the flip side, I could go through the red lights (which I do frequently) and be stressed out as to whether ill get caught doing so.

The whole experience is stressful and an inefficient waste of my effort and time.

Bicycles should be allowed go through red lights and left on a red light when it is safe to do so. They are best placed to make that decision safely.

In addition. Red light should be set to detect cyclists and give immediate right of way. I am thinking in particular of the grand canal cycle way. What an excellent opportunity to have had a bicycle priority/right of way with the traffic signalling system as they do in the Netherlands. Wasted as you almost always have to stop at each and every junction.

Raam

coolemon wrote: »

Starting and stopping on a bicycle takes considerable effort, especially after a long day at work.

G'wan outta that!

Cookie_Monster

What puts me off cycling (the odd time)

1 no changing facilities in work
2 the weather when it's not behaving
3 the enormous number of hills around here
4 not being able to safely leave the bike somewhere
5 the rare dickhead motorist who does their best to try and kill you
6 being hungover
7 being hungover
8 being hungover
9 being hungover
10 being hungover

I'm not really sure how to solve the last 5...

Raam

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

I'm not really sure how to solve the last 5...

A beer in your bidon might ease the pain.

I cycled for a few months last year but I found it way too dangerous to keep it up. Not to mention the attitude of some of the drivers I came across. My bike has been lying in dry storage since the summer and to be honest, I don't see myself using it again.

07Lapierre

Guaranteed commute times,
fresh air.
Not restricted to train/bus timetables.
Dont have to worry about penalty Points/parking fees.
No gym fees.
I can eat what i like.
Dont get colds/flu as often.
More disposable income.
A beer after 200k tastes better.

How many reasons do u need?

lizzylad84

Beetroot juice.
Credit Card Bills...........THe Fiancee finding my credit card bill.....

Tenzor07

Much quicker for me to drive, heading through City center from Northside to Southside takes about an hour or so depending on the wind direction.
M50 drive takes 25mins when the schools are off..

07Lapierre

Tenzor07 wrote: »

Much quicker for me to drive, heading through City center from Northside to Southside takes about an hour or so depending on the wind direction.
M50 drive takes 25mins when the schools are off..

Yep. If I drive to work..takes me 30 minutes. If i cycle, it takes me 45-50 minutes.

But I have to leave earlier when driving to avoid traffic. So I get a few minutes extra in bed in the mornings when I cycle to work!

Ole Rodrigo

Driving is such a miserable experience in Dublin, I don't know how anyone puts up with it.

Darkglasses

They forgot pure laziness.

Pinch Flat

I changed my chain and cassette on the commuter at the weekend. The sound of that whirring along at 30 kph and the lovely start we had this morning was particularly enjoyable.

Tenzor07

07Lapierre wrote: »

Yep. If I drive to work..takes me 30 minutes. If i cycle, it takes me 45-50 minutes.

But I have to leave earlier when driving to avoid traffic. So I get a few minutes extra in bed in the mornings when I cycle to work!

I think it's not so bad if you stay on the same side of the city.

Though crossing through city center from one side to another and obeying all traffic signals would mean i'd have to get up earlier.

Unknown Soldier

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

What puts me off cycling (the odd time)

6 being hungover
7 being hungover
8 being hungover
9 being hungover
10 being hungover

I'm not really sure how to solve the last 5...

I think those are great reason to cycle. Clears the head.

The only thing that annoys me about cycling are the little metallic "ting" noises I hear once in awhile.

I keep thinking something has fallen off the bike or a spoke has broken


I HATE that noise.

OldBean

Only thing that ever puts me off cycling around the city is someplace secure to lock up if I'm going to be leaving the bike in one place for the day.

Capt'n Midnight

Raam wrote: »

G'wan outta that!

I've seen an estimate that getting back up to cruising speed takes the same energy as it would have taken to travel 300m at cruising speed.

It's much better if you don't have to stop at every single light

jane82

Well if you are doing it for fitness burning more energy is a plus no?
I cycle around 9ish at night. Much more peaceful and enjoyable. I wouldnt commute its not worth the worry.

bambergbike

Tenzor07 wrote: »

Much quicker for me to drive, heading through City center from Northside to Southside takes about an hour or so depending on the wind direction.
M50 drive takes 25mins when the schools are off..

Sounds like driving is quicker because you have a priority route available to you if you drive (the M50) and you don't have one available to you if you cycle. As a motorist, you benefit from positive discrimination, and as a cyclist, you're just, well, discriminated against. With the result that driving is convenient (where it is convenient) mainly because tonnes of money have been spent on making it convenient. And the bike is slower (where it is slower) because you're operating in a car-centric environment where half of every cycle journey is spent either waiting at lights or just boxed in by endless queues of slow-moving traffic. If you didn't have to stop and start 40 times and didn't get boxed in, your cycling speed would probably get you through town as quickly as your driving speed would get you around town. If I were in your situation, I'd be letting my local politicians and planners know that I wanted a priority cycle route.

Defined by:
1) Priority over the roads that cross the route (they get yield signs; if traffic lights are used, cyclists get a green wave.)
2) Wide enough for cyclists to overtake slower cyclists comfortably
3) Decent sightlines and gentle bends so that cyclists can get up a bit of speed without constantly having to worry about unseen perils
4) Not shared with pedestrians

An entire network of these, criss-crossing the city centre in a radial pattern, would be cheap as chips compared to something like the M50. Some of them could probably be implemented by reassigning existing road space to cyclists. You would initially get more congestion elsewhere, but once people switched to cycling it would go down again. Routes could be tested in the school holiday period with cones and temporary signs, tweaked and then made more permanent.

I'm going to a conference next week which has these fast bike routes as one of the main themes - must just check with the organizers if there will be showers available for attendees who arrive on their fast bikes.

Raam

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

I've seen an estimate that getting back up to cruising speed takes the same energy as it would have taken to travel 300m at cruising speed.

It's much better if you don't have to stop at every single light

Neither of which is considerable effort.

nolinejudge

Live Southside work in the city centre. It's at least 15-20 mins quicker for me to cycle door to door. No parking fees or issues. No worry about extra traffic etc. Never once regretted cycling in but often regretted the bus/car!

DaithiMC

07Lapierre wrote: »

Guaranteed commute times,
fresh air.
Not restricted to train/bus timetables.
Dont have to worry about penalty Points/parking fees.
No gym fees.
I can eat what i like.
Dont get colds/flu as often.
More disposable income.
A beer after 200k tastes better.

How many reasons do u need?

I really don't think you are taking this cycling thing seriously!

Chips Lovell

I've a 13km commute. Cycling is by far the quickest way of getting in.

Tenzor07

bambergbike wrote: »

Sounds like driving is quicker because you have a priority route available to you if you drive (the M50) and you don't have one available to you if you cycle. As a motorist, you benefit from positive discrimination, and as a cyclist, you're just, well, discriminated against. With the result that driving is convenient (where it is convenient) mainly because tonnes of money have been spent on making it convenient. And the bike is slower (where it is slower) because you're operating in a car-centric environment where half of every cycle journey is spent either waiting at lights or just boxed in by endless queues of slow-moving traffic. If you didn't have to stop and start 40 times and didn't get boxed in, your cycling speed would probably get you through town as quickly as your driving speed would get you around town.

Well that's it exactly, there are no cross town cycle routes, only patches of off-road cycle paths.
Which means if you cycle then you'd be in for an hour of dicing with taxi's, buses, vans, stop signals, dangerous junctions and bridges, pedestrians stepping out onto the cycle path/road at random in front of you.

07Lapierre

DaithiMC wrote: »

I really don't think you are taking this cycling thing seriously!

More disposable income (to spend on cycling)

That better?

xxyyzz

Reading through the boards cycling forum, all I can say is thank fuk I don't live and cycle in Dublin. It sounds like misery.

codie

lizzylad84 wrote: »

Beetroot juice.
Credit Card Bills...........THe Fiancee finding my credit card bill.....

Wait till your married -enjoy the credit card while you can.

Harrybelafonte

They forgot "Other Cyclists".