Journalism and cycling

Type 17

Like it or not, people do make assumptions - I've been going out every day (<2km radius) with my wife, and where we live, that means a lot of city & suburban streets (junctions, potholes, etc), so I've been riding my "lock it in town" bike and wearing regular clothes - we never get a second look.
The other day, she didn't fancy a cycle, so I got lycra'd up, and went out on my (white, carbon, noticeable) road bike. I still stuck to the 2km radius, but got a lot of "hard stares".

Maybe they were people like me who rubber neck every cyclist who passes to see what they are riding Today I saw Trek, a Cube with I think a Canyon for company (Father and son looked to be) and a Giant hybrid and another Trek while out walking.

Type 17

I look at others' bikes too, but most of the hard stares were from pedestrians/drivers - they weren't all off-duty road-bike riders...

cletus

^^^this^^^

My wife just rolls her eyes now when a bike goes past, she knows im going to be looking to see what it is

AndrewJRenko

cletus wrote: »

^^^this^^^

My wife just rolls her eyes now when a bike goes past, she knows im going to be looking to see what it is

Don't you feel a bit dirty getting back on your own bike after you've been eyeing up another man's ride?

eeeee

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

Don't you feel a bit dirty getting back on your own bike after you've been eyeing up another man's ride?

Well that's really creepy.

I do check out bikes all the time, but don't go to rotten sexist judgments with it :rolleyes:

cletus

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

Don't you feel a bit dirty getting back on your own bike after you've been eyeing up another man's ride?

Nope, I'm completely promiscuous when it comes to bikes and tools.

My bike knows and understands that I love it

RobertFoster

My bike isn't sentient, at least, it hasn't told me if it is or not.

MPFGLB

Hurrache wrote: »

The tattoos in the promo for it, are they real or a Photoshop to go with the tagline?
https://twitter.com/Independent_ie/status/1249374246725394433?s=19

The tattoos are real

Lots of cyclists have them...think Pozzato ,Roglic , etc
Sems the thing to do ...I'm not a big fan tbh

cletus

RobertFoster wrote: »

My bike isn't sentient, at least, it hasn't told me if it is or not.

Maybe it just doesn't love you...

RobertFoster

cletus wrote: »

Maybe it just doesn't love you...

eeeee

RobertFoster wrote: »

It's ok, it's not too late, you can start by naming them

magicbastarder

perhaps the posters here should post up photos of their bikes, and the *other* posters can name them.

eeeee

magicbastarder wrote: »

perhaps the posters here should post up photos of their bikes, and the *other* posters can name them.

YES!!!!!!

magicbastarder

start a thread there, and i can offer up one or two of mine.

cletus

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/52283598

Interesting read, I knew nothing about this type of racing

eeeee

cletus wrote: »

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/52283598

Interesting read, I knew nothing about this type of racing

There are keirin's on in Sundrive all the time in season And a national championships in it.



This is a great documentary on it (the french version with english subtitles is waaaay better than the dubbed version but I can't find the subtitle version right now):

Eamonnator

cletus wrote: »

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/52283598

Interesting read, I knew nothing about this type of racing

A number of years ago I had a Japanese mechanic with me at a race, who had been a Keirin racer in Japan. He had made quite a lot of money at it, some of it, I suspect, from betting. I remember him showing me photographs of his house and cars, one of which was a very nice Ferrari.

tampopo

cletus wrote: »

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/52283598


Interesting read, I knew nothing about this type of racing

5-6 years ago, I happened to come upon the keirin track in Kyoto. I put some photos in the Photos Taken on Your Ride thread.

No cycling that day, but people betting there on races elsewhere. Oh, and last year I was in Odawara and scouting around the hill reinforcements outside the castle and we cycled back towards town and saw the keirin track there as we descended. I tried cycling in and around the cyclists' carpark to try and get a view for some pics. But I got a few stares and shouts, so I didn't hang around.

Here is the hill we cycled down.
https://goo.gl/maps/BiG9XF8WESMXJWYL7

The reason we were there was for the Hakone Hill Climb, which I participated in both last year and the year before. 1000m climb over 13.5km, 29c. Brutal! Enormous craic and experience. Here is their Facebook page of photos
https://www.facebook.com/pg/HAKONEHILLCLIMB/photos/

And here is the link to this year's event.
https://walkride-cycling.info/hakone-hc-top/

It was pretty cool. They go off in waves, with the speed merchants at the front, then by age, by decade, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50 and 60s. Plus weight category <70kg and 80+kg (which I entered in 2018. Last year I did the 50s group. No better!)

Me and a chap, James from Yokohama Rides and Rentals cycled down the day before from Yokohama, c.46km, and raced the next day. Both times, he cycled back to Yokohama after the race and I stayed locally (cycling further south to Atami, about 22 or 26km, something like that). Of course, I had to cycle the whole way back by myself when I did return a few days later. I know that road well at this stage!!!
I only have to go somewhere in Japan once and I'll know my way back no problem. Except when it's dark. Then I have problems. I got lost in Matsumoto going 'around the corner' to a bike shop and this time in Yokohama, I dawdled a bit too much in Enoshima and Kamakura. Anyway, I'd recomend it. And if anyone wants info on how to go about it, let me know and I can give you some pointers....

Harrybelafonte

Fair play on climbing Hakone. Not an easy climb, but the scenery as you climb... Easy to see why it's an onsen town.

Keirin attendees are pretty rough and ready. Not much different from walking into a Boyle Sports here. Cigarettes everywhere, stuff thrown about, stands out from the rest of Japan. The cycling part is fun, but the rest of it can dampen the experience.

buffalo

A good news story, about McQuaid on the quays in Dublin doing free bike repairs.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/dublin-bicycle-shop-owner-offers-free-repairs-to-frontline-hospital-staff-battling-covid-19-1.4232766

eeeee

buffalo wrote: »

A good news story, about McQuaid on the quays in Dublin doing free bike repairs.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/dublin-bicycle-shop-owner-offers-free-repairs-to-frontline-hospital-staff-battling-covid-19-1.4232766

Class. Paul's a nice guy.
His shop is closed though, been sold or re-let, which is a massive pity as it was a great space. Hopefully he can find somewhere again after this, maybe even into his old place again.

Type 17

Milan goes for a “reset” of how traffic is managed, post-Covid:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/21/milan-seeks-to-prevent-post-crisis-return-of-traffic-pollution

magicbastarder

not about cycling, but this is rage inducing.
4 year driving ban and €1,500 fine for killing someone.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/circuit-court/truck-driver-fined-1-500-for-collision-that-killed-estlin-wall-3-1.4233297

looks like he performed an incorrect overtake of a bus.
€1,500 is less than two weeks (gross) of the average industrial wage in ireland.

eeeee

magicbastarder wrote: »

not about cycling, but this is rage inducing.
4 year driving ban and €1,500 fine for killing someone.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/circuit-court/truck-driver-fined-1-500-for-collision-that-killed-estlin-wall-3-1.4233297

looks like he performed an incorrect overtake of a bus.
€1,500 is less than two weeks (gross) of the average industrial wage in ireland.

I read that. Absolutely disgusting. And a 4 year ban for killing a 4 year old completely and utterly through his own fault and dangerous driving.

How anyone can be let have a license again after killing someone through their own careless, neglectful and dangerous driving I don't know.

That's a heartbreaking story.

Hurrache

Heard that yesterday, the family are not happy.

How on earth can a judge say it's on the lower end of the spectrum when the drivers stupidity, impatience, whatever, resulted in a kids death. The judge actually used the fact there was no drink involved as a mitigating factor.

I do hope the DPP appeals.

Blood boiling.

magicbastarder

it is pretty much a legal shrug of the shoulders and an 'arrah, sure accidents happen to the best of us' judgement.

the notion that ability to drive a car is tied to the ability to earn a livelihood also, is probably not a debate i'd willingly go into now.
you'd easily spend €1,500 fixing a bumper after a prang, i simply cannot fathom how that figure was chosen.

CramCycle

There are only two reasons I can fathom, one, set so low so as to stop anyone from successfully appaealing, and giving the DPP the chance to appeal and get a tougher sentence handed down. Although I suspect the latter will do nothing, and in a year or two in a byline, he will get his appeal heard and through sucessfully. Personally, I don't think I could drive again if it ever happened to me, whether my fault or not. The second is legal precedent, the death was unintentional and it is quite clear that the courts let poor driving like this go all the time, the driver and many others do the same stupid move every day, in many cases nothing happens, when it does, in many cases it doesn't involve such tragic circumstances, so no one gets punished very severely. This has set a precedent whereby the legal system has set a standard for the punishment of poor driving, and unless they could show it was intentional, they will follow said guidelines to an extent to stop future appeals.

This is more an example of what is wrong with the driving centric culture we have here, the legal system actually accepts that poor driving is inevitable and treats it as such, rather than punishing every example of poor driving as if it could cause a death, they punish them all as if the deaths that do happen are an unintended consequence of life.

I guarantee you if the accident had not caused a death, just minor injuries from which all parties recovered, it is possible it might not have even made it too court.

I can't imagine what her parents are going through, it actually sickens my stomach but our culture towards such things is as much to blame for the accident and the leniancy shown as anything else.

buffalo

Hurrache wrote: »

The judge actually used the fact there was no drink involved as a mitigating factor.

I saw that yesterday, it caused me some thought. It's truly odd if you follow the logic that the driver was completely sober and of sound mind and driving to presumably the best of his abilities, when he made a conscious decision to perform the manoeuvre that resulted in such damage and death.

magicbastarder

How much would you expect car insurance to be when you're asked 'have you ever been convicted of a driving offence' and the case was akin to this? Are we expecting that the insurance costs are more of a deterrent than the legal costs?