Thread: Cyclists.

BTW been meaning to say this for a while - lycra is not a fashion statement. It's just something you wear coz you get fed up with getting a sore butt.

When you first start riding you really don't want to wear it so you don't and then suffer for it. Then you go to the next step which is wearing shorts over the lycra so no-one can see you wearing it. Then you realise that it's just too hot and impractical so you concede and resign yourself to looking stupid every time you get on your bike.

The shirts aren't lycra - they're that wicking material that most sports shirts are made out of. Lyrca shirts would be really uncomfortable. I don't think they make them anymore - never seen them in the shops. Most of them are bright so you can be seen and they have pockets to stash food etc.

When we have 'ride to work breakfasts' at work the rule is no lycra allowed. Everyone's hits the showers and dresses in work clothes first before walking to the cafe.

I really don't get where the 'fashion' myth comes into it. The only other time I go out looking that ridiculous is when I go kayak fishing because of all the sun protective gear - again not a fashion statement.

Originally Posted by Eevo

need to be registed for automated policing (cameras, etc) to pick up cyclists. i believe the majority of fines are through automated policing

Even if we were registered it's pretty easy to avoid the sensors for traffic lights and cameras etc so registration won't work. One of my bikes barely has enough metal on it to trigger some traffic lights so I shouldn't imagine it would be too much of an issue for some cyclists. Also as per motorbikes which have the plate on the back the red light cameras wouldn't be effective anyway.

i see this as a positive, dont you?

Yeah, I've got parents who do this and I refuse to drive with them.

Originally Posted by loneranger

Even if we were registered it's pretty easy to avoid the sensors for traffic lights and cameras etc so registration won't work. One of my bikes barely has enough metal on it to trigger some traffic lights so I shouldn't imagine it would be too much of an issue for some cyclists. Also as per motorbikes which have the plate on the back the red light cameras wouldn't be effective anyway.

technology is slowly catching up.
good point about rear number plates.

Originally Posted by loneranger

Even if we were registered it's pretty easy to avoid the sensors for traffic lights and cameras etc so registration won't work. One of my bikes barely has enough metal on it to trigger some traffic lights so I shouldn't imagine it would be too much of an issue for some cyclists. Also as per motorbikes which have the plate on the back the red light cameras wouldn't be effective anyway.



Yeah, I've got parents who do this and I refuse to drive with them.

Actually if you read Mick's article, at one intersection in Sydney there where 47 cyclists running the red, in one day,if you give the same fine as a car driver, it's close to $20,000 a day. That revenue is more than enough to pay for numerous cameras, video monitors, direction sensors, etc and a few employees to sift through and identify the cyclists from the code on their hats. Or use more modern face recognition technology to ensure the right rider is pinged.

I've just come back from Buenos Aires and was amazed at the way cars and cyclists share the roads there. On one occasion on a road with 8 marked lanes and about 10 lanes of cars (the lane markings are largely ignored and many roads of multiple lane width aren't marked at all), the third lane from the right (remembering they drive on the right side so the furthest right hand lane is the "slow lane" - although there's really no such thing as a slow lane in BA) had two cyclists riding abreast with about a meter between them. They effectively took the space of a car in that lane.

All the cars basically "squished over" a little and made room for them. No honking of horns, no abuse hurled at them, no objects thrown out windows at them. Everyone just moved over a little and respected their right to be there. When I mentioned it to the driver of the car I was in, he was at first confused about why I mentioned it. When I explained how the scene would have worked in Australia he couldn't believe it. Why wouldn't everyone just make their way past and get on with life and their drive? He honestly couldn't understand how cyclists could upset people.

It was similar with small motorcycles that darted about everywhere. On a number of occasions I saw small motorcycles being walked along small roads and alleys with the engines idling. It took me a few days to realise they would walk the bikes the wrong way on one-way streets and then jump on and ride when they got to the end. Cars would stop and let them out at the ends.

Being a pedestrian was also an amazing experience. Cars and motorcycles just seemed to accommodate pedestrians, regardless of what any traffic lights, pedestrian walk signals or zebra crossing points said. It was rare, very rare, to hear any aggressive tooting, even when a truck stopped in a one-way, narrow street to unload cartons of drinks in front of a shop. Everyone just seemed to accept that people had to do what they had to do and that it might be them tomorrow.

By the same token, it was incredibly noticeable how many Police there are on the roads with a real presence. You'd be lucky not to be able to see a cop or two at any point. They were everywhere! The Police cars have their blue lights going at all times, not just when stopping someone, so they are very visible. Cops are on the beat on pretty much every street and standing around on street corners. Bike cops are everywhere in their dozens. Maybe this makes people behave themselves even though breaking the laws is generally and largely tolerated. Many motorcyclists had helmets on but sitting on top of their heads with the strap undone, so the chin piece is across their forehead. I never heard tyre squeal or loud exhaust. Quite an experience.

I wish ... ah well.

Originally Posted by JayBoRover

I've just come back from Buenos Aires

Argentina also has double our road toll per capita.


Argentina 12.4

Australia 5.6

Originally Posted by Eevo

Argentina also has double our road toll per capita.


Argentina 12.4

Australia 5.6

Just imagine how low Australia's figure would go with our quality road network and their attitude to life...

Originally Posted by Eevo

right!
and the solution is to get the cyclists off the road!

Not going to happen, cycling is here to stay, deal with it.

Originally Posted by Eevo

i dont like being slowed down. even by other cars. dont get me started on cars who sit in the right hand lane

Maybe you should live somewhere with less slow traffic, like smack in the middle of the NT.

Originally Posted by Eevo

Argentina also has double our road toll per capita.


Argentina 12.4

Australia 5.6

Yep, I realise that. Could be the lack of passive safety equipment of the cars they drive? They might have 1 air bag per 100,000 cars! It would have to be a significant factor! I thought the ranting here was about cyclists holding up the car drivers. I didn't realise it was about car drivers being concerned for the well being of the cyclists. Except of course that the ranting is about running red lights, although cyclists running red lights doesn't hold up car drivers, in fact the opposite, so it must be an element of pure jealousy that cyclists can get through the grid-lock quicker than the cars.

Whats the per-capita road toll in Argentina for cyclists I wonder?

There is a big campaign on over there to encourage abiding with road signage to address the road toll. It seemed to be an education thing though, not an enforcement driven "hit the pocket to make them learn" thing. At the Dakar documentation we got a brochure explaining the road signs and general tips about driving/riding. Also a lecture from their top police dude. Having said that, if you were in any way involved with the Dakar you could pretty much do whatever you wanted and got away with it. We had 13 people plus some bags in a dual cab HiLux ute and a cop pointed us the way to join the freeway by making an illegal turn against the traffic through the red light and along the wrong-way lane! If he'd had time he would have asked for a photo and autograph!