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Things people blamed on bicycles

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Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#831

Post by sleepybrett »

mmcnl wrote: post #727
sleepybrett wrote: post #710

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If my city were more like amsterdam I'd be happy to forgo the helmet, but in hilly seattle between the chances of getting clipped by a suv or taking a tumble on a steep grade.. I'll stick with the helmet. I don't find it too much of an inconvenience. I just clip it to my bag after I lock up.

Fyi, Amsterdam is one of the worst places as a cyclist in The Netherlands. It's very crowded and narrow with very few separated bicycle lanes. The average bicycle infrastructure in the Dutch suburbs are way better.

no experience with the suburbs, but seattle bike infrastructure is so bad that i will take the worst the netherlands have to offer over it.

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#833

Post by usrusr »

microtherion wrote: post #812
usrusr wrote: post #788

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On a separate lane, no matter how early the signal is set? That would seem like an invitation to power abuse considering how much time queuing cars spend in that not-quite-standing state.

The situation I meant was for a bicycle passing in the gap between the right hand lane and the curb, not on a separate bicycle lane. > That would seem like an invitation to power abuse As in, cars could set their turn signals all the time? Pretty sure that would be against the law, and it would probably be easier to achieve that effect by hogging the right side of the lane (which is also against the law, except when…

Here in Germany filtering through the gap isn't allowed at all when the car is moving, turn indicators or not. Doesn't keep drivers from getting upset when it happens while they are standing (then it's permitted). And it's certainly allowed on a separate lane, just like pedestrians on the sidewalk aren't required to walk slower than the traffic-stricken cars to their left.

(when the lane is just painted and the right turn is unobstructed otherwise, I do like to change lanes to behind a right-indicating car: so much better flow than stopping them, while almost stopping myself to be prepared for a forced turn - one of the many reasons I prefer painted lanes)

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#834

Post by Agentlien »

matsemann wrote: post #743
Agentlien wrote: post #353

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in a small town about 30km from Gothenburg, Sweden. I typically have no problem with cyclists except that there's quite a lot of them where I live staying in the middle of the road next to the broad bicycle lane and randomly darting from one side to another with no warning. I don't want to pass because they might randomly turn without looking and get run over. They're typically going at 15km/h where it's 50-60…

What you call a bike lane I can almost guarantee is made for pedestrians, full of holes, curbs, corners, and also often make you yield to crossing roads which you avoid on the main road. Few voluntarily bike with cars, especially not those only doing 15 km/h.

See, that I would have understood, but no. It's separate from the one for pedestrians, in very good state, and most cyclists do use it. But there's this strange subset of cyclists who use racing bikes, dress up in full bodysuit, and then ride at a crawl in the middle of the road with other bikes whooshing past on the bike lane.

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#835

Post by Agentlien »

crooked-v wrote: post #734
Agentlien wrote: post #353

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in a small town about 30km from Gothenburg, Sweden. I typically have no problem with cyclists except that there's quite a lot of them where I live staying in the middle of the road next to the broad bicycle lane and randomly darting from one side to another with no warning. I don't want to pass because they might randomly turn without looking and get run over. They're typically going at 15km/h where it's 50-60…

If they're not using the bike lane, that's almost certainly because it's unsafe in some way that you're totally overlooking. No cyclist wants to be on the same road as cars.

I have used it myself and it's fine. Better than most roads I used to bike along when I lived in Belgium. Most people do use the bike lane. There is just this one subset, usually in full racing gear, who ride slowly in the middle of the road.

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#836

Post by samstave »

reshie wrote: post #799
colinsane wrote: post #726

Earlier quoted context omitted.

as long as you don’t know that you don’t know what you don’t know, there’s no reason to be scared. it’s only scary once you know.

true but.. it is fear of uncertainty. not knowing how to deal with something or even assess because you don't know the problem. there is big business in people with answers as well con men.

Its con men all the way down.

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#837

Post by petre »

kuschku wrote: post #798
nedsma wrote: post #791

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nowadays you can buy a great bike for $1000 and be totally satisfied with it, ride it for years, or you can shell out $15000 for the top of the line model. And I'm talking about regular bikes, not e-bikes.

I paid 400€ for mine and it was the most expensive bike I've ever bought. And I honestly still consider that too much. There's people who cycle as method of transportation, and those who cycle as a sport. It's only the ones cycling as sport who need this expensive stuff.

You don't get much bike for 400€ nowadays, maybe an entry level Decathlon model. I think I built my last classic road bike for a bit more than that amount out of a mix of second hand parts and a new cockpit, tires, chain and brake pads.

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#838

Post by _carbyau_ »

I haven't ridden a bicycle for years but I think I might have Bicycle face:

'"the sentimental side of that tired feeling." It is yearning, anxious, hopeful, fearful, exhausted, incomplete and generally dissatisfied.'

Although that also seems an awful lot like the vague descriptions horology provide...

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#839

Post by _carbyau_ »

fellowniusmonk wrote: post #785
DubiousPusher wrote: post #695

This is why I cringe a bit at those bemoaning the horrible, awful, traumatic fate of journalism. Journalism is stupid. It always was stupid. It always will be stupid. That's not to say it has no value. But the reader has always been and always will be responsible to sift through the heaping mounds of dumb and find that value. I'm not exaggerating when I say, the New York Times, our paper of record has published some…

Some of Mark Twain's funniest stories/articles mock and lambast newsmen, more people would be aware of this if they had read literature instead of biking around like a bunch of marriage and furniture hating communists.

I would have smiled at your comment. But I have an acute case of Bike Face.

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#840

Post by _carbyau_ »

crooked-v wrote: post #747
turing_complete wrote: post #54

There is nothing new under the sun. Today we have "Things people blame on cars". I've read many Americans that argue that cars are somehow destructive to community live. Here in Europe, people in rural areas or small towns are entirely dependend on cars, even more, they love their cars (and rightfully so). Yet, they have healthy communities, live in large houses. Nature is near, history at hand (look, you have a nice…

> cars are somehow destructive to community live Cars by themselves? No. Car-centric design? Yes. The most obvious place to see this in the US is suburbs designed entirely around cars, where there's often literally nothing but cul-de-sacs and single-family homes for miles and miles and it's nigh-impossible to do anything out of the house without a car.

Except, I live in an apartment with my 4 year old. I can take him to the park 10 minutes walk away.

But it would be a whole lot easier if he could simply go into the back yard.

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