Velib like bicycle rental kiosks are being constructed in Dublin

Lumen wrote: »

Pah. The full quote just demonstrates that you can "prove" anything with statistics.

Here's photos instead, via here.

Lumen wrote: »

Well I do about 35 minutes twice a day, which isn't massively more. There are whole weeks where it's almost impossible to get to work and back without getting wet, in my own experience.

The Velib bikes presumably have mudguards, which would obviously help a bit with surface water when it's not actually raining, but I think the idea that someone who cycles 22 minutes twice a day will only get wet 2-3 days a year in Dublin is hugely misleading and leads to some inadvisable bicycle purchases (and idiot Freds using carbon racers to commute).

Out of interest, do you have mudguards on your bike?

Lumen wrote: »

Not my current bike (my last one did) although I'm toying with the idea of getting a new one with full mudguards. I'm first experimenting with clothing a bit more. Although mudguards help with arse and foot dryness, they obviously don't keep other bits dry.

It's quite possible to dress "appropriately" for wet cycling, but you can pick any two of dry, cool, or fast, not all three.

I get what you're saying, but the extra bit of wetness without mudguards is likely to increase your perception of wetness. And mudguards as a means of keeping a bit dryer should not affect speed too much.

Lumen wrote: »

I was just taking issue with the assertion that weather isn't an important concern for cycling in Dublin.

It shouldn't be any more of a concern than it is in Copenhagen and Amsterdam where rain is more or less on a par with Dublin (as per the already mentioned link). In fact, in Copenhagen winter cycling could be seen as more harsh with the cold and snow, and high numbers of cyclists are still seen in that city. Like Dublin, Copenhagen is also known to be windy -- although I have not yet looked up average wind speeds

Lumen wrote: »

The surveys say that weather is the third most common reason why people don't cycle. The first is that other modes of transport are better! Would you rather commute by public transport or car in Amsterdam or Dublin? So in Amsterdam the weather is worse, the alternatives are better, and yet still more people cycle. It's a cultural thing, weather in Dublin is just an excuse, and if you cornered a car commuter and explained that the number of wet days was actually a quarter of what he thought, he'd just use another excuse not to cycle. Leave them to their cars.

I would agree and call it an excuse too.

But more than often they really don't know things actually are, or are misinformed, or are pessimistic. The Dublin City Council research points to this -- it says; "the perceptions of both car commuters and cyclists alike regarding the probability of getting wet is unduly pessimistic."

While it is not in the DCC research, I have also found the same applies to distances and time taken. This likely has a knock on affect on perceived effort, which is mentioned in the survey ("Too Strenuous"). Many public transport and car users I talk to think journeys would take longer on a bicycle then such journeys actual take. Like all of the other myths, people don't believe you or don't fully believe... how can I say this so surely? Because the surprise on people's faces when I beat their journey time when I meet them at the start and end of the journey. There's sometimes even a remaining disbelieve that I got there before them. Even when I arrive just after them, surprise can be the reaction.

Of course, danger is another perception which is generally higher than any actual danger.

BostonB wrote: »

All of this is a non issue for Velibs as people who might use them will just wait for the rain to pass, or just not use a Velib on really wet days. Anyone who has cyclign wet gear will just use their own bike.

The really great thing about a Velib-like bicycle rental system is they can be the best way to challenge people's views about cycling.

One of the less mentioned benefits linked to the system in Paris is the massive increases in people buying and using their own bicycles. There is no guarantee of it happening here and, more so, not on the large scale which it has apparently happened in Paris (and the smaller scale of the Dublin system may not help). But allowing people who are on the fence about cycling or not to get on a bike can have the benefit of challenging myths.

Oh, and on that link, there's a thread over in commuting & transport where that story is mentioned -- "The 9 million euro bikes thanks to Andrew Montague."

Montague replies in the thread too. He makes a brilliant point, asking: "Did anyone expect that JCD would not make a profit?"