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".

Capt'n Midnight

Raam wrote: »

Neither of which is considerable effort.

Have you even cycled along the Grand Canal cycle path , the difference it makes when the gates are open

Jabel

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..

Yes but you face large fuel and toll bills, I'm saving a fortune on the bike, never felt fitter and find myself taking detours to get more in! Love it...

Raam

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

Have you even cycled along the Grand Canal cycle path , the difference it makes when the gates are open

It's probably annoying alright but no more than that.

Jabel

xxyyzz wrote: »

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.

Tis grand so it is...:D

elfy4eva

xxyyzz wrote: »

Reading through the boards cycling forum

That should be number 11 on the list.

.ak

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

11. Beasty

bambergbike

Tenzor07 wrote: »

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.

That may be the current status quo, but it's not set in stone. It could be changed in a flash if the people who wanted change communicated what they want and why they want it clearly and noisily enough. Things are in flux. The National Cycling Policy Framework is currently under review. The national target of 10% of all journeys by bike by 2020 really means 20% for Dublin. Things are happening, new canal routes, reworking of the quays etc. If people who cycle commute or would consider it want all these new cycle routes to be any good to speedy commuting cyclists they will need to make their voices heard. Loudly. The opportunity to do something that will make a difference is there for the taking.

Tenzor07

bambergbike wrote: »

That may be the current status quo, but it's not set in stone. It could be changed in a flash if the people who wanted change communicated what they want and why they want it clearly and noisily enough. Things are in flux. The National Cycling Policy Framework is currently under review. The national target of 10% of all journeys by bike by 2020 really means 20% for Dublin. Things are happening, new canal routes, reworking of the quays etc. If people who cycle commute or would consider it want all these new cycle routes to be any good to speedy commuting cyclists they will need to make their voices heard. Loudly. The opportunity to do something that will make a difference is there for the taking.

Well true, the other thing now is that Fingal council have basically vetoed the position of an elected Dublin city Mayor/boss, which may have brought in a more coherent strategy for cycle/transport infrastructure projects.

Right now concerned citizens have to go to there local Councillors from DLRD council, Dublin City Council and Fingal county council.. Each authority is using up there budget allocations to install sections of painted cycle paths which don't join up or go anywhere useful.

rollingscone

I think something that would make a huge difference in terms of cycling infrastructure are cycle roads...something akin to the Cycle superhighways connecting Copenhagen to the suburbs.

Cycle infrastructure as it exists in Irish and british cities/towns seems exclusively aimed at old/fat people ambling 500m to the shops and back.

The fact that cycling can be an efficient means of travel over longer distances seems to be completely incomprehensible to non cyclists but if you could have a commuter route, offroad but reasonably maintained and away from the roads going from say, a satellite town like Naas or Ashbourne across terrain that is relatively flat, people would be able to maintain much higher average speeds without the chopping, changing and defensive cycling required in the current motor-synergy model where the only place envisioned for cycle lanes is alongside already badly designed and maintained roads, all of a sudden covering up to 50km* a day commuting would seem attainable to someone who just has a bike and some legs, and none of the handling skills of the committed urban warrior or sport cyclist.

Opening the realms of possibility for cycling as a means of transport for everything that doesn't require carrying multiple passengers or heavy loads.

*and the majority would still be much closer than that endpoint.

Danjamin1

I've lost faith in new cycle paths, I'll use the ones that are there if possible/safe but apart from that I don't think more money should be wasted on them unless they intend to take them seriously. If they were going to be planned correctly it would be fine, but let's face it based on the current cycle paths they're just not going to do it properly. Besides, they're just parking spaces to a lot of motorists if current opinion is anything to go by. I'm all for improving driver awareness and behaviour if possible though.

Tenzor07

Well now, "Big Brother" aka Intel are watching:

smart-dublin-high-tech-sensors-to-monitor-life-in-the-capital

(Powerless/honorary)Lord Mayor of Dublin Oisin Quinn described the development as “very exciting”.

“I hope that the city will respond by providing better cycle ways, more trees and making traffic adjustments to reduce areas where air quality is poor or noise levels high,” he said.

Chips Lovell

I think one of the things to be wary of when looking at these "factors that put people off cycling" studies is the fact that many people can often rationalise what are arbitrary or emotional decisions. So they've decided they're not interested in cycling and then go looking credible reasons for making that decision.

How many people have you heard say, "I wouldn't cycle in Dublin, it's too dangerous", when they have no experience of cycling in Dublin and no convincing evidence to back up their claim?

Forming public policy around the opinions of people who don't use a certain mode of transport is potentially hazardous. Because you could have people saying "I'd cycle if there was A, B and C". Then when A, B and C are introduced, the same people will claim that they'd cycle if it weren't for X, Y and Z.

NeedMoreGears

Raam wrote: »

Neither of which is considerable effort.

At 28kph, a 90kg bike/rider combo has about 2700 joules of kinetic energy.

At 28kph you're producing about 150 watts ; good for a mere 18 seconds in which you'll cover 140m only.

Sorry - been doing calcs all morning so couldn't resist:o:o

Danjamin1

Vladimir Kurtains wrote: »

I think one of the things to be wary of when looking at these "factors that put people off cycling" studies is the fact that many people can often rationalise what are arbitrary or emotional decisions. So they've decided they're not interested in cycling and then go looking credible reasons for making that decision.

How many people have you heard say, "I'd wouldn't cycle in Dublin, it's too dangerous", when they have no experience of cycling in Dublin and no convincing evidence to back up their claim?

It's so annoying when people assume it's dangerous. I've had a couple near misses, but the times I've fallen it's always been just me involved, no collisions, no one cutting me off. Just wet conditions and a lack of concentration. It's certainly not a particularly dangerous method of commuting. What do the stats on it say?

Tenzor07

Danjamin1 wrote: »

What do the stats on it say?

road-deaths-europe-ireland-


The Commission said another worrying feature of the statistics is the situation of vulnerable road users like pedestrians and cyclists. The number of pedestrians killed is decreasing to a lesser extent than expected and the number of cyclist deaths has recently been increasing.

Danjamin1

Tenzor07 wrote: »

road-deaths-europe-ireland-


The Commission said another worrying feature of the statistics is the situation of vulnerable road users like pedestrians and cyclists. The number of pedestrians killed is decreasing to a lesser extent than expected and the number of cyclist deaths has recently been increasing.

So it's getting worse. That's not good.

Chips Lovell

The number of cyclists killed every year on Irish roads has been in single figures for years now. Last year it was five. That was down from eight in 2012.

Cycling is not dangerous.

Chips Lovell

Tenzor07 wrote: »

The Commission said another worrying feature of the statistics is the situation of vulnerable road users like pedestrians and cyclists. The number of pedestrians killed is decreasing to a lesser extent than expected and the number of cyclist deaths has recently been increasing.

Those remarks relate to Europe as a whole, not Ireland

Danjamin1

Vladimir Kurtains wrote: »

The number of cyclists killed every year on Irish roads has been in single figures for years now. Last year it was five. That was down from eight in 2012.

Cycling is not dangerous.

I'd still do it anyway if it was

Raam

NeedMoreGears wrote: »

At 28kph, a 90kg bike/rider combo has about 2700 joules of kinetic energy.

At 28kph you're producing about 150 watts ; good for a mere 18 seconds in which you'll cover 140m only.

Sorry - been doing calcs all morning so couldn't resist:o:o

What I get from that is, folk who complain about stopping and starting are either lazy or unfit.