Progress

Some people appreciate cycling:-

http://tinyurl.com/5uawmr

"Boom it is. The number of cyclists has doubled in a decade in cities
as disparate as Berlin and Bogota. Global bicycle production has
increased for six consecutive years, according to a report by the
Earth Policy Institute. Sales at Giant have doubled since 2002 and
continue to accelerate, up 24 percent in the first half of this year.

Yet when it comes to using a bike for everyday transportation, the
boom appears to have bypassed many countries. While Northern Europe
and Japan have figured out how to make bicycle commuting a safe, cheap
alternative to driving, the United States, Canada, Australia and
Britain have not. And the world's two most populous nations, China and
India, are discarding bicycles in favor of cars. A rising middle class
in both countries views cycling as an unhappy reminder of the recent
past, when nearly everyone was poor.

Still, among the world's most developed countries, a reliable recipe
has emerged for making cycling a mainstream means of getting to
work."

Meanwhile, in Japan, Godzilla returns:-

"The Edogawa ward government spent $67 million to build a cluster of
computerized bicycle parking towers that use robotic arms to snatch
bikes away from subway-bound commuters."

On Sun, 31 Aug 2008 03:53:45 -0700 (PDT), Squashme
wrote:

snip

Yet when it comes to using a bike for everyday transportation, the
boom appears to have bypassed many countries. While Northern Europe
and Japan have figured out how to make bicycle commuting a safe, cheap
alternative to driving, the United States, Canada, Australia and
Britain have not.


That could be because people realise how dangerous it can be.

--

If you're going to make snide insinuations about the author,
as you undoubtedly did, then you can **** right off. (Guy Chapman)
If you are going to make accusations about someone, then you need to
be able to substantiate when asked to. (Judith Smith)

"judith" wrote in message
news
On Sun, 31 Aug 2008 03:53:45 -0700 (PDT), Squashme
wrote:

snip

Yet when it comes to using a bike for everyday transportation, the
boom appears to have bypassed many countries. While Northern Europe
and Japan have figured out how to make bicycle commuting a safe,
cheap
alternative to driving, the United States, Canada, Australia and
Britain have not.


That could be because people realise how dangerous it can be.

[snip]

Actually, the curious thing about people who are terrified of cycling
is that really they are not frightened enough. They spend so much
time worrying about things that are very unlikely to happen that they
never think about the real dangers. That's why so many people win
Darwin awards from left turning lorries, getting killed in an
accident type trivially easy to avoid.

Jeremy Parker

On Sun, 31 Aug 2008 14:10:46 +0100, "Jeremy Parker"
said in
:

Actually, the curious thing about people who are terrified of cycling
is that really they are not frightened enough. They spend so much
time worrying about things that are very unlikely to happen that they
never think about the real dangers. That's why so many people win
Darwin awards from left turning lorries, getting killed in an
accident type trivially easy to avoid.

I agree. I think this is years of clueless non-cycling road
"safety" activism proposing all kinds of solutions to problems which
are not actually the problem.

Take, for example, shared use pavements. They reduce a very tiny
risk (being hit by same-direction traffic) at the cost of increasing
a much more significant risk (being hit at junctions). People see
their "ooh, scary fast cars might hit me from behind" fear
effectively endorsed and ride along quite happy in the knowledge
that they are now perfectly safe, only to be flattened as they ride
out at a junction into the path of a car that was simply not
expecting a vehicle to enter from the pedestrian zone.

It is much harder to tell people that X scary thing is not actually
a provable risk, and that the total risk is actually low, and to do
that while simultaneously educating them about the things that
genuinely /are/ a risk is near impossible outside the context of an
actual training programme. It's even more difficult when you have
clueless idiots telling people "cycling is lethal, wear a plastic
hat", thus (a) reinforcing the false fear and (b) proposing a
solution which more or less completely fails to address the actual
sources of risk.

I'm constantly amazed that folks like Roger Geffen and John Franklin
can retain their equilibrium while dealing with such idiocy, and I
am more impressed every day by Roger's ability to speak patiently to
the most egregious idiots.

Guy
--
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

85% of helmet statistics are made up, 69% of them at CHS, Puget Sound

On Sun, 31 Aug 2008 17:09:35 +0100, "Just zis Guy, you know?"
wrote:

snip
It's even more difficult when you have
clueless idiots telling people "cycling is lethal, wear a plastic
hat"

Quite right
--
I encourage my children to wear helmets. (Guy Chapman)
Some evidence shows that helmeted cyclists are more likely to hit
their heads. (Guy Chapman)
I have never said that I encourage my children to wear helmets. (Guy
Chapman)

Just zis Guy, you know? wrote:
On Sun, 31 Aug 2008 14:10:46 +0100, "Jeremy Parker"
said in
:

Actually, the curious thing about people who are terrified of cycling
is that really they are not frightened enough. They spend so much
time worrying about things that are very unlikely to happen that they
never think about the real dangers. That's why so many people win
Darwin awards from left turning lorries, getting killed in an
accident type trivially easy to avoid.

I agree. I think this is years of clueless non-cycling road
"safety" activism proposing all kinds of solutions to problems which
are not actually the problem.

You're right, for once. The *real* problem is contentious ******* like
you who provoke confrontation with motorists at every turn, and then
whine on sanctimoniously about your rights to cycle where you want. This
is compounded by motorists entirely understandable idea that you are
representative of cyclists as a whole, and who are then quite happy to
cut you up each time they turn left. In essense, then, cyclists like you
alienate *both* sides of a debate - the motorists with your puerile road
behaviour, and other cyclists with the *results* of that behaviour. Not
that any of that will stop you, of course. After all, you enjoy a nice
crusade, right?

I'm constantly amazed that folks like Roger Geffen and John Franklin
can retain their equilibrium while dealing with such idiocy, and I
am more impressed every day by Roger's ability to speak patiently to
the most egregious idiots.

Your good self being a perfect example?

On Sun, 31 Aug 2008 17:53:33 +0100, My name isn't Phil Lee
said in :

The *real* problem is contentious ******* like
you who provoke confrontation with motorists at every turn

Since you have never once, to my knowledge, seen me ride a bike on
the public road, it's hard to know how you can make such an
assertion.

As to *why*, that at least is obvious.

Back under your bridge, laddie.

Guy
--
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

85% of helmet statistics are made up, 69% of them at CHS, Puget Sound

In article ,
"Just zis Guy, you know?" wrote:

On Sun, 31 Aug 2008 14:10:46 +0100, "Jeremy Parker"
said in
:

Actually, the curious thing about people who are terrified of cycling
is that really they are not frightened enough. They spend so much
time worrying about things that are very unlikely to happen that they
never think about the real dangers. That's why so many people win
Darwin awards from left turning lorries, getting killed in an
accident type trivially easy to avoid.

I agree.

You see the same thing in motorcycling. Muppets who've had their
driving licence for ****-knows how many decades, decide to get a 125cc
because 'it's just like a car, right ?'

Wrong.

Darwin rocks.
--
aigle_de_la_route
Dawes Kara Kum
http://2x2wheels.org/

On 31 Aug, 11:53, Squashme wrote:


Meanwhile, in Japan, Godzilla returns:-

"The Edogawa ward government spent $67 million to build a cluster of
computerized bicycle parking towers that use robotic arms to snatch
bikes away from subway-bound commuters."

Google found an amzing YouTube clip showing Edogawa in action :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wE4fvwTBtno

Enjoy,

On 31/08/2008 21:14, TimHenderson said,

Google found an amzing YouTube clip showing Edogawa in action :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wE4fvwTBtno

Idly wonders what would happen to a tandem... :-)

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/