Journalism and cycling

Chips Lovell

Is it any wonder that the comments sections of the Irish internet are awash with angry, raging people? They've all got PTSD from their nightmare commutes.

Mc Love

The lady in Galway needs her car for work, and had a back op recently so cycling is out of the question for her. She could walk to work though

Hurrache

Mc Love wrote: »

The lady in Galway needs her car for work, and had a back op recently so cycling is out of the question for her. She could walk to work though

It's hardly an accurate representation of the average commuters then, you will always find those outliers.

Grassey

# 1 - For people doing 2+ hours commute to and from work just not good enough as a country bad planning

# 2 - Not bad today. Last Friday 1 hour for 500metres ��

2 tweets from under the above linked.

Do people honestly believe bad planning (to the exclusion of all else) is the cause of all traffic/commute woes?

Lumen

tomasrojo wrote: »

I remember when I used to have a nightmare commute to pre-school with my two kids. 5km each way, walking. Nightmare. It took a bit over half an hour. Each way. I can barely bring myself to speak of it.

In all seriousness, walking is stupid. People used to ride horses even though they weren't much faster than walking, presumably because they had to bring stuff to work in their panniers. And then someone invented a bicycle so we wouldn't have to walk or take a horse.

Has walking ever been useful or desirable? I mean, if I'd had a hard day at work roaming the plains snaring rabbits and digging up tubers, or whatever, I'd run home, not walk.

Walking is really only suitable for going very short distances carrying heavy objects.

zell12

Lumen wrote: »

In all seriousness, walking is stupid. People used to ride horses even though they weren't much faster than walking, presumably because they had to bring stuff to work in their panniers. And then someone invented a bicycle so we wouldn't have to walk or take a horse.
Has walking ever been useful or desirable? I mean, if I'd had a hard day at work roaming the plains snaring rabbits and digging up tubers, or whatever, I'd run home, not walk.
Walking is really only suitable for going very short distances carrying heavy objects.

:eek:
I walk daily.

mloc123

Traffic this morning was chaos, crash on the M4 meant that the usual 15-20 minutes traffic to get 3.5km was now 80-90 minutes.

I have never felt so smug as we cycled up to creche. The local facebook group is very entertaining, people sitting in cars complaining about other people sitting in cars

Weepsie

I walk occassionally myself too. Maybe once a week. Either 4 km or 8km to work (sometimes getting a lift halfway). Anything from 45 mins to 90 mins (I'm a slow walker). Listen to the radio, let the day roll by. It's by far the most relaxing way to work, unless I'm working early/late or a weekend and the traffic on the road is limited.

We are designed to walk, if anything it's the most suitable thing to do. Anyone living within 5 km of the city centre (or their workplace), should really consider it more often.

Tell me how

Lumen wrote: »

In all seriousness, walking is stupid. People used to ride horses even though they weren't much faster than walking, presumably because they had to bring stuff to work in their panniers. And then someone invented a bicycle so we wouldn't have to walk or take a horse.

Has walking ever been useful or desirable? I mean, if I'd had a hard day at work roaming the plains snaring rabbits and digging up tubers, or whatever, I'd run home, not walk.

Walking is really only suitable for going very short distances carrying heavy objects.

Walking is recommended for appropriate distances.

Good for the mental health, muscular and back fitness and for the cardio vascular system.

We should all be doing it much more than what we do.

Even for those who feel they have to drive, what is very furstrating is to see car after car with only the driver in them. I too am guilty of this but surely we could make much better use of the other seats in the car.

Remember when people hitched a lot more? Neither driver or passenger had a problem with it but now it is frowned upon. I wonder is there a market for a ride sharing service similar to Uber but with maybe €0.10/km fees or something as both are going in same direction.

tomasrojo

Lumen wrote: »

In all seriousness, walking is stupid. People used to ride horses even though they weren't much faster than walking, presumably because they had to bring stuff to work in their panniers. And then someone invented a bicycle so we wouldn't have to walk or take a horse.

Has walking ever been useful or desirable? I mean, if I'd had a hard day at work roaming the plains snaring rabbits and digging up tubers, or whatever, I'd run home, not walk.

Walking is really only suitable for going very short distances carrying heavy objects.

Oh yeah, but I had two kids and didn't have a cargo bike at the time, and the trailer was only suitable for one kid. I could have borrowed some money for a two-child trailer, but then I wouldn't be able to get it through doorways. So I just used the one-child trailer as a stroller with a wheel board on the back. It was pretty good for walking long distances. Very good actually! I still use it for carrying goods.

The cargo bike is much better for carrying the kids though.

I also like walking a lot! It just takes too long for some journeys.

CramCycle

I walk from my office to the front door every day, I might start using my BMX and swap over to a road bike when I get outside. Using my feet for walking like a sucker.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPTdIk98VoU

I also got the tongue in cheek bit

mloc123

Grassey wrote: »

2 tweets from under the above linked.

Do people honestly believe bad planning (to the exclusion of all else) is the cause of all traffic/commute woes?

They do... the general feedback I see on local groups are.. "they should stop building houses in my area" the irony being a lot of the people that post live in areas/estates that were only completed pretty recently. Very much a close the door after I get in attitude.

Still, it gives me a hobby... posting "you are not stuck in traffic, you are traffic" comments every so often

The solution as they see it is to build more/bigger roads... what people do not seem to realise is that if you move traffic faster out of one area... the bottleneck up the road simply backs up to that previous point. The real issue is that we are funnelling too many cars into cities that were built hundreds of years ago and were not designed for cars.

Lumen

zell12 wrote: »

:eek:
I walk daily.

Weepsie wrote: »

I walk occassionally myself too.

Tell me how wrote: »

We should all be doing it much more than what we do.

tomasrojo wrote: »

I also like walking a lot!

Take it to the walking forum. Oh wait, you can't, because there isn't one, because nobody likes walking!

Grassey

Lumen wrote:

Take it to the walking forum. Oh wait, you can't, because there isn't one, because nobody likes walking!

It's a sub-forum under motoring to discuss what happened on your walk to/from parking space.

Fian

Lumen wrote: »

Take it to the walking forum. Oh wait, you can't, because there isn't one, because nobody likes walking!

I'm with you, walking is just too dangerous. Plus you could get caught in the rain. It's just not natural, if the flying spaghetti monster had wanted us to walk he wouldn't have given us online shopping :P

But on the danger thing there might be something in that actually - I twisted my knee coming down from tickknock with the dogs a while back. I am limping since, so hopping along a bit when I walk, but not a bother on me when I am on the bike.

Hurrache

Grassey wrote: »

It's a sub-forum under motoring to discuss what happened on your walk to/from parking space.

I'm assuming it's a given that the first thing everyone does is put on a high vis?

jjpep

Hurrache wrote: »

I'm assuming it's a given that the first thing everyone does is put on a high vis?

No, they'll already have them on*

Everyone who drives wears hi VI's right? I mean, if it saves one life...

AndrewJRenko

Hurrache wrote: »

Grassey wrote: »

It's a sub-forum under motoring to discuss what happened on your walk to/from parking space.

I'm assuming it's a given that the first thing everyone does is put on a high vis?

Before you visit the walking forum?

magicbastarder

jjpep wrote: »

No, they'll already have them on*

Everyone who drives wears hi VI's right? I mean, if it saves one life...

if you're on foot, you only need daytime running lights if you're, eh, running.

Fian

jjpep wrote: »

No, they'll already have them on*

Everyone who drives wears hi VI's right? I mean, if it saves one life...

no no, we need every car painted with high vis, all drivers to wear helmets and all pedestrians to wear high vis and helmets both.

jjpep

Fian wrote: »

no no, we need every car painted with high vis, all drivers to wear helmets and all pedestrians to wear high vis and helmets both.

Surely helmets, back protectors and kevlar gloves goes without saying.

Weepsie

Irish Times with half an attempt at something about cycling and safety tech

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/from-smart-lights-to-wearable-airbags-the-best-cycling-tech-to-keep-you-safe-1.3688418

Mc Love

Weepsie wrote: »

Irish Times with half an attempt at something about cycling and safety tech

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/from-smart-lights-to-wearable-airbags-the-best-cycling-tech-to-keep-you-safe-1.3688418

There are other ways to improve your safety. Using your morning commute to catch up on podcasts or zoning out with music is something you can take for granted in a car, but as a cyclist, it’s not recommended. You need to be able to hear approaching traffic or have your attention on potential road hazards, and bone conduction headphones can be a solution. No, it’s not an elaborate form of torture – or maybe it is, depending on your taste in music – it’s a form of technology that allows you to hear sound through vibrating the bones in your face. That means you can hear music, but still have your ears free. The headphones sit over your ears touching your cheekbones (in this particular case), so you can listen to music but still be aware of your surroundings.

What a strange paragraph! Sure when you're in a car with the noise of an engine and the radio/media player on, you can hear approaching traffic and you can see the surrounding area for potential hazards.
And the following talks briefly about camera's but doesnt recommend any, its like they were looking to meet the word limit on their article.

On the subject of listening to music/podcasts/radio, do many people do it?

buffalo

Weepsie wrote: »

Irish Times with half an attempt at something about cycling and safety tech

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/from-smart-lights-to-wearable-airbags-the-best-cycling-tech-to-keep-you-safe-1.3688418

Tech has found its way into most past times

Weepsie

Mc Love wrote: »

What a strange paragraph! Sure when you're in a car with the noise of an engine and the radio/media player on, you can hear approaching traffic and you can see the surrounding area for potential hazards.
And the following talks briefly about camera's but doesnt recommend any, its like they were looking to meet the word limit on their article.

On the subject of listening to music/podcasts/radio, do many people do it?

WE've a megathread for that

---

>>> https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=108022866

Macy0161

Mc Love wrote: »

What a strange paragraph! Sure when you're in a car with the noise of an engine and the radio/media player on, you can hear approaching traffic and you can see the surrounding area for potential hazards.

Not to mention it apparently being ok to "zone out" while driving! I mean FFS, that's most of the problem as a cyclist (and driver for that matter), none engaged drivers. Zoning out - how's that different from distractions from the phone?

Mc Love wrote: »

On the subject of listening to music/podcasts/radio, do many people do it?

I've tried (left ear only), but to be honest in the direct opposite of that paragraph, I tended to zone out of the podcasts/ music to concentrate on the road.

xckjoo

Jesus what a load of over engineering for the sake of it. That "smart" lock (deeperlock) looks like a nightmare. Even ignoring all the pointless "keyless lock" features, how often is that alarm going to go off when you've your bike locked up? The simplicity of a bike is part of its charm.



Has anyone tried the Hovding airbag? It's the only thing I can see as having any potential benefit.

CasualLiKE

xckjoo wrote: »

Jesus what a load of over engineering for the sake of it. That "smart" lock (deeperlock) looks like a nightmare. Even ignoring all the pointless "keyless lock" features, how often is that alarm going to go off when you've your bike locked up? The simplicity of a bike is part of its charm.



Has anyone tried the Hovding airbag? It's the only thing I can see as having any potential benefit.

My main takeaway from the Hovding is this:

"Can I wear an ordinary cycle helmet or other head protection with Hövding?

No."

I think it's really cool technology but only in certain use cases and situations. I will always prefer a helmet over an airbag in the case of an accident on a bike. If it can't deploy in time or allow for the wearing of a helmet, it negates the safety aspect of what the company is trying to achieve.

As well as that, it's not a known technology (yet), so you'd be more susceptible to be pulled over by gardai for not wearing a helmet.

If they were able to integrate the system into an actual helmet, now that would be game-changing, but until the then I will hold off.

CramCycle

CasualLiKE wrote: »

As well as that, it's not a known technology (yet), so you'd be more susceptible to be pulled over by gardai for not wearing a helmet.

If you get pulled over by a gardai for not wearing a helmet, you can point out that there is no legal requirement but thank them for their concern. There is a megathread to talk about it.

Duckjob

Weepsie wrote: »

Irish Times with half an attempt at something about cycling and safety tech

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/from-smart-lights-to-wearable-airbags-the-best-cycling-tech-to-keep-you-safe-1.3688418

That sort of phrasing "to keep you safe" really grates on my nerves. Like it's all down to you as a cyclist. Like any of that stuff will matter if you get mown out of it at 80kph by some angry neanderthal in a taxi/self-important alpha-male /distracted airhead checking her FB likes etc.

I know wider subject of cycle safety is not what the article is about, just dont like the implication