Journalism and cycling

magicbastarder

christ, that's only 700m. which makes for an average speed of 1.5km/h.

Lambay island

mr spuckler wrote: »

agreed - it seems like absolute madness. and so many of those people are driving relatively short distances that could easily be done by bike / e-bike / public transport.
the predictability of my commuting time is amazing and I can't imagine a scenario where you roll the dice on that every time you start your journey.

Its astonishing really. I had someone ask me recently why would you cycle to work during the winter - thats bizarre? ( you can imagine my reply)All it would take was once getting on the bike for an immediate shift of thinking, Its almost like a stockholm syndrom to the car.

mr spuckler

magicbastarder wrote: »

christ, that's only 700m. which makes for an average speed of 1.5km/h.

bloody cyclists holding up traffic!

Mickiemcfist

Lambay island wrote: »

Its astonishing really. I had someone ask me recently why would you cycle to work during the winter - thats bizarre? ( you can imagine my reply)All it would take was once getting on the bike for an immediate shift of thinking, Its almost like a stockholm syndrom to the car.

Having been both of these people, it really does just take one cycle in. I think the perception of our weather is infinately worse before you cycle every day. Even the really bad days aren't really that difficult to cycle in.

Tell me how

Mickiemcfist wrote: »

Having been both of these people, it really does just take one cycle in. I think the perception of our weather is infinately worse before you cycle every day. Even the really bad days aren't really that difficult to cycle in.

Think that many don't consider preparing correctly for appropriate weather.

Tyres/lights/mudguards and most significantly, clothing, will all make a massive difference to the cycling commute experience.

CramCycle

Tell me how wrote: »

Think that many don't consider preparing correctly for appropriate weather.

Tyres/lights/mudguards and most significantly, clothing, will all make a massive difference to the cycling commute experience.

They don't take that much care driving a car, its a reach they would do any better with a bike.

Bald tyres
DRLs or no lights or one blown
Cranking on AC to cool themselves down instead of taking off a jacket or running to the car in a lighty shirt and blasting the heating.

The last point will only annoy enviromentalists and people who are light on money but the other two are a risk to all road users.

Duckjob

CramCycle wrote: »

They don't take that much care driving a car, its a reach they would do any better with a bike.

Bald tyres
DRLs or no lights or one blown
Cranking on AC to cool themselves down instead of taking off a jacket or running to the car in a lighty shirt and blasting the heating.

The last point will only annoy enviromentalists and people who are light on money but the other two are a risk to all road users.

Cramcycle, you just reminded me of how VW are currently advertising "motoring tips" on the radio such as keeping your tyres propertly inflated and checking them to ensure they are above the legal limit of thread depth.

I would have thought those checks were less "motoring tips" and more, y'know, legal responsibilities under THE LAW !!!

Like the issue of phrasing of accidents, some may think it inconsequential. I myself think its indicative us being on a slippery slide away from holding those who drive lethal weapons to the very high level of responsibility to which they should be held. ("motoring tip" = "you dont have to do it if you don't have time, you're too busy" etc)

Ferris

mr spuckler wrote: »

the predictability of my commuting time is amazing and I can't imagine a scenario where you roll the dice on that every time you start your journey.

This is what I see as the major benefit, my commute is always 50min +/- 3min across town. In the car it was 75min + anything really. 90min+ was a regular occurrence.

Tell me how

CramCycle wrote: »

They don't take that much care driving a car, its a reach they would do any better with a bike.

Bald tyres
DRLs or no lights or one blown
Cranking on AC to cool themselves down instead of taking off a jacket or running to the car in a lighty shirt and blasting the heating.

The last point will only annoy enviromentalists and people who are light on money but the other two are a risk to all road users.

It is human nature to be dismissive/careless in terms of preparation. It is not unique to those of a particular mode of transport.

Not all motorists have perfectly maintained vehicles or practices, not all cyclists either.

My point was that people in general would have a more positive experience of commuting by bike if they prepared adequately above just taking out the bike and expecting to be able to ride in and sit straight at their desk at any time of year.

magicbastarder

Ferris wrote: »

This is what I see as the major benefit, my commute is always 50min +/- 3min across town. In the car it was 75min + anything really. 90min+ was a regular occurrence.

at the time of day i cycle (certainly in the morning) there is little time benefit to cycle. though google maps suggests a driving route of 32km (i.e. using the M50) vs. the 19.5km i cycle.
the alternate route it's suggesting which is closest to my cycle commute has a current estimate of 41 minutes, and that's a few hours after the peak of rush hour. my cycle typically takes me 45 minutes or so (about 50 this morning, what with the headwind and getting caught at the merrion gates for longer than usual).

Tombo2001

Lambay island wrote: »

Its astonishing really. I had someone ask me recently why would you cycle to work during the winter - thats bizarre? ( you can imagine my reply)All it would take was once getting on the bike for an immediate shift of thinking, Its almost like a stockholm syndrom to the car.

its a real paradox - the days that people think are the worst days for being on a bike are actually the best days for being on a bike.

What can replace the kick of cycling past a line of 200 or 300 cars sitting in rush-hour gridlock on a wet February morning.

magicbastarder

Tombo2001 wrote: »

What can replace the kick of cycling past a line of 200 or 300 cars sitting in rush-hour gridlock on a wet February morning.

the kick of cycling past a line of 200 or 300 cars sitting in rush-hour gridlock on a nice fine april morning.

Tell me how

Tombo2001 wrote: »

What can replace the kick of cycling past a line of 200 or 300 cars sitting in rush-hour gridlock on a wet February morning.

magicbastarder wrote: »

the kick of cycling past a line of 200 or 300 cars sitting in rush-hour gridlock on a nice fine april morning.

June Morning.

On your last Friday before 3 weeks holidays.

magicbastarder

while wheelieing.

CramCycle

Ferris wrote: »

This is what I see as the major benefit, my commute is always 50min +/- 3min across town. In the car it was 75min + anything really. 90min+ was a regular occurrence.

Same here 45minutes +/- 5 minutes, no one from my area who uses PT or drives has that predictability

Tell me how wrote: »

It is human nature to be dismissive/careless in terms of preparation. It is not unique to those of a particular mode of transport.

Not all motorists have perfectly maintained vehicles or practices, not all cyclists either.

My point was that people in general would have a more positive experience of commuting by bike if they prepared adequately above just taking out the bike and expecting to be able to ride in and sit straight at their desk at any time of year.

I certainly don't put that amount of preperation in to my cycle, I suppose the issue is that not being that prepared on a bike, does very little to increase risk to others.

magicbastarder wrote: »

at the time of day i cycle (certainly in the morning) there is little time benefit to cycle. though google maps suggests a driving route of 32km (i.e. using the M50) vs. the 19.5km i cycle.
the alternate route it's suggesting which is closest to my cycle commute has a current estimate of 41 minutes, and that's a few hours after the peak of rush hour. my cycle typically takes me 45 minutes or so (about 50 this morning, what with the headwind and getting caught at the merrion gates for longer than usual).

The benefit for me would always be the predictability rather than the speed. If there was no motorised traffic, my drive would be 25minutes, half my cycling time. On a normal morning, it would be 50 minutes, if there is one fender bender, a few drivers sitting on a yellow box, or a few people not progressing, that 50minutes can be 1.5 hours, sometimes longer. Look at the bus strike, first time I commuted by car in ages, I got out of the car after 2hours, my partner did not get into work for 4.5 hours. I walked the remainder in reasonable time.

With my bike, that simply would not have made a difference, maybe stretched it to 50minutes due to increased traffic at some points but overall the difference to me would have been minimal.

What Username Guidelines

mr spuckler wrote: »

agreed - it seems like absolute madness. and so many of those people are driving relatively short distances that could easily be done by bike / e-bike / public transport.
the predictability of my commuting time is amazing and I can't imagine a scenario where you roll the dice on that every time you start your journey.

My wife is one of the people that does need her car in work and it’s bonkers how much her commute fluctuates. She woke up this morning, saw the rain and that it was a Tuesday (worst day for traffic usually) and hurriedly got ready, bolted out the door at 7.30. I got the little one dressed, gave her breakfast and got her on her way, left at 8.15 and was in work at 8.45. You’d think the punchline was that my wife was still in traffic, but no, there was a crash on the m50 so she went through city centre at got to the office at 8.10. She was baffled and frustrated about how much she had rushed to make it to a 9am meeting. That unpredictability would kill me.

Pinch Flat

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/i-wanted-to-be-able-to-jump-out-of-the-car-and-go-to-the-nurses-michael-healy-rae-defends-driving-in-bus-lane-37784658.html

Any boardies got him on their cams? :pac:

mr spuckler

Pinch Flat wrote: »

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/i-wanted-to-be-able-to-jump-out-of-the-car-and-go-to-the-nurses-michael-healy-rae-defends-driving-in-bus-lane-37784658.html

Any boardies got him on their cams? :pac:

trying to find a place to pull in while still several miles from the Coombe! I presume he ended up parking in the hospital car-park and will charge the parking fee back as expenses :pac:

amcalester

Pinch Flat wrote: »

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/i-wanted-to-be-able-to-jump-out-of-the-car-and-go-to-the-nurses-michael-healy-rae-defends-driving-in-bus-lane-37784658.html

Any boardies got him on their cams? :pac:

He said he was looking for somewhere to stop so he could support the nurses at yhe Coombe helluva walk from Woodies on the Naas Rd to Crumlin hospital.

He’s hardly lying, is he?

Tombo2001

To put plainly, part of his message is "if the laws don't suit you, sure just ignore them".

magicbastarder

Hurrache wrote: »

The Gardai backed down on their data protection excuses when providing a statement to RTE.

They're now citing that they believe there's an inheritant danger in posting videos to social media.

There is nothing in data protection legislation to stop cyclists posting videos and photos of illegal parking and other infringements, the Data Protection Commissioner Helen Dixon has said.

However, she has warned in an interview on RTE Radio 1 that anyone posting images on social media that identify other people should be careful.

http://www.stickybottle.com/latest-news/data-protection-commissioner-garda-cyclists-videos/

Tombo2001

There's two things here

The garda, and the person running the garda twitter.

Strikes me that the latter is a bit of a loose cannon, given the organisation they represent.

Lambay island

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/scheme-that-cuts-penalties-for-bad-driving-set-to-expand-37783179.html

Translation
Government : "Everyone is allowed away with one murder once their chosen weapon is a car but we will spin it differently"

Tombo2001

Lambay island wrote: »

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/scheme-that-cuts-penalties-for-bad-driving-set-to-expand-37783179.html

Translation
Government : "Everyone is allowed away with one murder once their chosen weapon is a car but we will spin it differently"

Not quite clear what it means, and to be fair - people in glasshouses shouldn't throw stones.

There is a difference between bad driving and dangerous driving.

I have sympathy for someone who loses their licence because they were driving at 70 in a 60k zone.

Less so for someone who jumps in the car after a feed of pints.

Cyclists break the rules all the time, if we were to lose cycling rights because we broke a red light.....we wouldn't be happy.

On the other hand, it would stop us doing it......but to back to the original point - people in glasshouses etc.

AndrewJRenko

Tombo2001 wrote: »

Lambay island wrote: »

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/scheme-that-cuts-penalties-for-bad-driving-set-to-expand-37783179.html

Translation
Government : "Everyone is allowed away with one murder once their chosen weapon is a car but we will spin it differently"

I have sympathy for someone who loses their licence because they were driving at 70 in a 60k zone.

Has this ever happened?

Tombo2001

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

Has this ever happened?

Its three penalty points; 4 strikes and you cant drive for how long? 12 months?

It could happen that a small amount of minor infringements puts you off the road.

To put it differently - the penalty should reflect the infringement.

Going back to the article linked above - the current system punishes minor infringements quite severely and punishes major infringements quite leniently.

However - one difference being that you are highly unlikely to be caught for a minor infringement, while you are quite likely to be caught for a major infringement.

So on a risk weighted basis it probably averages out.

magicbastarder

if you get caught four times - given the level of enforcement of the road traffic laws - you really, really must be doing it a hell of a lot. i personally wouldn't have any issue with someone being put off the road in those circumstances.

Lambay island

Tombo2001 wrote: »

Not quite clear what it means, and to be fair - people in glasshouses shouldn't throw stones.

There is a difference between bad driving and dangerous driving.

I have sympathy for someone who loses their licence because they were driving at 70 in a 60k zone.

Less so for someone who jumps in the car after a feed of pints.

Cyclists break the rules all the time, if we were to lose cycling rights because we broke a red light.....we wouldn't be happy.

On the other hand, it would stop us doing it......but to back to the original point - people in glasshouses etc.

I was been a bit tongue in cheek in fairness but i was referring to dangerous driving. I'm not a fan of people on bikes breaking red lights unless for genuine safety reasons or sensor issues.
I'm not saying you are directly saying this but you can't equate a cyclist rolling through a ped light with no one crossing for instance to someone crashing their car into a person due to whatever reason. The "people in glass houses phrase" doesn't fit the situation as you have far more responsibility to others when you are driving compared to cycling

Tombo2001

Lambay island wrote: »

I was been a bit tongue in cheek in fairness but i was referring to dangerous driving. I'm not a fan of people on bikes breaking red lights unless for genuine safety reasons or sensor issues.
I'm not saying you are directly saying this but you can't equate a cyclist rolling through a ped light with no one crossing for instance to someone crashing their car into a person due to whatever reason. The "people in glass houses phrase" doesn't fit the situation as you have far more responsibility to others when you are driving compared to cycling

I'll put it different.

Myself and a number of people I know have been done for penalty points at the same place - which is Conyngham Road, coming in, a long straight four lane road that is not residential, but is a 50k zone. Other similar roads are 60k around the city. Driving along there at 50k feels like crawling. Its a speed trap, literally, because it has the look and feel of a road with a higher speed limit.

Ditto those stretches of dual carriageway out of Dublin that are 80k limits.

Frequently, this is where speed camera set up as they are private operators (afaik) that are revenue driven. Dangerous driving isn't the issue, the issue is where will they get the highest volume of cars breaking the limit.

Over a three year time horizon, its certainly not that hard to rack up the points, if your commute is along this type of route.


On the other hand, you could be lashing along Dorset St or Camden St as fast you like - which would be dangerous driving - no way will you meet a speed camera there.

mr spuckler

Lambay island wrote: »

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/scheme-that-cuts-penalties-for-bad-driving-set-to-expand-37783179.html

Translation
Government : "Everyone is allowed away with one murder once their chosen weapon is a car but we will spin it differently"

I think it might be something like this that was used as an out for the lady accused of careless driving that I was a witness against. her barrister referenced it as restorative justice (and I mentioned it here recently) but in reality it was some sort of educational program. she had her careless driving charge provisionally struck out as a result.
I really hope there's proper follow-ups in the courts before formal strike-out though - the completion rates are shockingly low for something that gives those drivers a de-facto free pass.