rural amusement

just thought i would share an amusing anecdote from my weekend past.

sent my sister up the coast to our parents place in nambour/burnside
last weekend with all my textbooks/photography stuff (the heavy ****)
in the car so i could have a pleasant saturday riding from work to the
train, then get to nambour station and ride to parents place, around
7pm.

the main street of nambour is 2 lanes, i was lit up like a christmas
tree, and almost at the end of the long but steady hill to get to right
turn at the lights near the KFC... this white van has been sitting
inches away from my rear wheel since i changed into the rightmost lane,
not bothering to move into the left lane which is empty and go around
me.

just at the top of the hill, van moves into the left lane, and a rather
obese man smoking a cigarette with big fat wife next to him doing the
same pokes his big fat head out of the window, his multiple chins
wobbling and offers me some sterling advice:

"great way to get yourself killed, love."

i almost fell off my bike i was laughing so hard.


--
asterope

asterope wrote:

snip

just at the top of the hill, van moves into the left lane, and a rather
obese man smoking a cigarette with big fat wife next to him doing the
same pokes his big fat head out of the window, his multiple chins
wobbling and offers me some sterling advice:

"great way to get yourself killed, love."


Aah! Good one that. My weekend highlight was a huge guy (well over the
120 kg mark) on a bike near Bonython. He seemed to be hootin' along but
I couldn't quite work out what was going on 'cos he wasn't pedalling!
Once I'd caught up to him I realised he had a little electric motor on
the rear wheel doing the work. While I give him 10 points for getting
on the bike, he loses a couple for woosing out with the motor.

--
Bean

Remove "yourfinger" before replying

In aus.bicycle on Mon, 9 Oct 2006 13:53:35 +1000
asterope wrote:

"great way to get yourself killed, love."

i almost fell off my bike i was laughing so hard.

I had a bod on a Vespa tell me I ought to get a flag cos I was "so
hard to see".

If he can't see something 2 foot wide, a foot longer than most
bicycles, and where the rider's seat is as high as a car seat then I
think the RTA's eyesight test needs work.

Coming from a motorcyclist it was especially funny. For some reason I
didn't say "sure, when you get one, don't you know motorcycles are
hard to see?"


Zebee

Zebee Johnstone wrote:

In aus.bicycle on Mon, 9 Oct 2006 13:53:35 +1000
asterope wrote:

"great way to get yourself killed, love."

i almost fell off my bike i was laughing so hard.

I had a bod on a Vespa tell me I ought to get a flag cos I was "so
hard to see".

If he can't see something 2 foot wide, a foot longer than most
bicycles, and where the rider's seat is as high as a car seat then I
think the RTA's eyesight test needs work.

Coming from a motorcyclist it was especially funny. For some reason I
didn't say "sure, when you get one, don't you know motorcycles are
hard to see?"

Zebee

*gasp* no flag? Zebee, I'm shocked! don't tell me - oh my
god you probably don't even have facial hair!

;-)

Tam

asterope wrote:
just thought i would share an amusing anecdote from my weekend past.

sent my sister up the coast to our parents place in nambour/burnside
last weekend with all my textbooks/photography stuff (the heavy ****)
in the car so i could have a pleasant saturday riding from work to the
train, then get to nambour station and ride to parents place, around
7pm.

the main street of nambour is 2 lanes, i was lit up like a christmas
tree, and almost at the end of the long but steady hill to get to right
turn at the lights near the KFC... this white van has been sitting
inches away from my rear wheel since i changed into the rightmost lane,
not bothering to move into the left lane which is empty and go around
me.

just at the top of the hill, van moves into the left lane, and a rather
obese man smoking a cigarette with big fat wife next to him doing the
same pokes his big fat head out of the window, his multiple chins
wobbling and offers me some sterling advice:

"great way to get yourself killed, love."

i almost fell off my bike i was laughing so hard.


Ah, they are simple folk up at Nambour. I used to work at 4SS, and used to ride
my bike out to Bli Bli via the scenic routes. Some good hills round there

You missed a nice LA ride this morning took, Asterope. You were missed.

--
Karen

If you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning.'
Catherine Aird

"Zebee Johnstone" wrote in message
...
In aus.bicycle on Mon, 9 Oct 2006 13:53:35 +1000
asterope wrote:

"great way to get yourself killed, love."

i almost fell off my bike i was laughing so hard.

I had a bod on a Vespa tell me I ought to get a flag cos I was "so
hard to see".

He's got a point. I mainly lurk here but when you were deciding on a bike I
almost piped up to talk you out of a recumbent. For a lot of drivers
they're practicaly invisible, they're less manouverable and wider so more
likely to be clipped. A flag doesn't cut it, a burning flare might be a
better option.

If he can't see something 2 foot wide, a foot longer than most
bicycles, and where the rider's seat is as high as a car seat then I
think the RTA's eyesight test needs work.

As you yourself have pointed out it's not about eyesight, it's about
processing what you see. People just aren't looking for recumbents so they
won't see them. I've seen recumbents so low they don't make it up to a cars
window, on top of that they keep getting stuck lane splitting. A driver
could do everything right and still hit them.

Maybe it sounds just like car drivers talking about uprights but you have to
draw the line somewhere.

Duracell Bunny Wrote:

Ah, they are simple folk up at Nambour. I used to work at 4SS, and used
to ride
my bike out to Bli Bli via the scenic routes. Some good hills round
there

You missed a nice LA ride this morning took, Asterope. You were
missed.



tis true, some folk around there are pretty simple, but damn... they
have some amazing scenery and kick-arse MTB tracks now that
you have a mtb karen, we should all go up there sometime

im pretty peeved i didnt make the LA ride this morning either, was
quite looking forward to it. I still hadnt slept when i sent lotte the
txt msg... my calculations were out by a factor of 200 or so, didnt
know why! needless to say i was feeling rather sleepy for my prac exam
in the morning (but still kicked bum) and kinda went home and slept
afterwards. *very norty*

i would say i'll join you next monday, but its the day after the
brissy-goldie ride, which i will try to do return, and i daresay i will
probably be sore.
it will be just like riding to nambour and back, only less hilly and
with less obese chimneys on the road, and more bikes.


--
asterope

Bean Long Wrote:
asterope wrote:

snip

just at the top of the hill, van moves into the left lane, and a
rather
obese man smoking a cigarette with big fat wife next to him doing
the
same pokes his big fat head out of the window, his multiple chins
wobbling and offers me some sterling advice:

"great way to get yourself killed, love."


Aah! Good one that. My weekend highlight was a huge guy (well over
the
120 kg mark) on a bike near Bonython. He seemed to be hootin' along
but
I couldn't quite work out what was going on 'cos he wasn't pedalling!
Once I'd caught up to him I realised he had a little electric motor on
the rear wheel doing the work. While I give him 10 points for getting
on the bike, he loses a couple for woosing out with the motor.

--
Bean

Remove "yourfinger" before replyingWhen reading this I was going to write ---

leave the guy alone; sure, he's big but he's trying (I've been - still
am there).

Then I read the bit with the motor....

sigh

Let's hope this is his first step and he eventually loses the motor.

Scotty


--
scotty72

Duncan wrote:
"Zebee Johnstone" wrote in message
...

In aus.bicycle on Mon, 9 Oct 2006 13:53:35 +1000
asterope wrote:

"great way to get yourself killed, love."

i almost fell off my bike i was laughing so hard.

I had a bod on a Vespa tell me I ought to get a flag cos I was "so
hard to see".


He's got a point. I mainly lurk here but when you were deciding on a bike I
almost piped up to talk you out of a recumbent. For a lot of drivers
they're practicaly invisible, they're less manouverable and wider so more
likely to be clipped. A flag doesn't cut it, a burning flare might be a
better option.


If he can't see something 2 foot wide, a foot longer than most
bicycles, and where the rider's seat is as high as a car seat then I
think the RTA's eyesight test needs work.


As you yourself have pointed out it's not about eyesight, it's about
processing what you see. People just aren't looking for recumbents so they
won't see them. I've seen recumbents so low they don't make it up to a cars
window, on top of that they keep getting stuck lane splitting. A driver
could do everything right and still hit them.

Well I would suggest that the driver wouldn't have done *everything*
right then. Especially as you just pointed out - you can see them.

How is a recumbent (even a low one like your talking about) different
from other similar sized objects likely to be found on the roads such as:
* Children?
* Domestic animals?
* Wheelie bins?

Saying that someone is putting themselves in greater danger because they
ride a bike which is deemed too small/narrow to be seen properly is a
cop out. The SMIDSY phenomenon is alive and well putside of cycling
circles. You only have to see the number of people who drive into the
back of other cars, busses and trucks to know that size doesn't make a
scrap of difference.

Cheers,

--
BrettS

In aus.bicycle on Mon, 9 Oct 2006 23:10:55 +1000
Duncan wrote:

He's got a point. I mainly lurk here but when you were deciding on a bike I
almost piped up to talk you out of a recumbent. For a lot of drivers
they're practicaly invisible, they're less manouverable and wider so more
likely to be clipped. A flag doesn't cut it, a burning flare might be a
better option.

And this is different to upright bicycles in what way?

I note that so far the only person who seems to have had a problem
seeing me was that motorcyclist.

As car drivers regularly say "didn't see you" to motorcycles they've
just hit, for a motorcyclist to use the same excuse is hilarious.

For a cyclist to buy into the same idea is equally hilarious.

It's been my experience that people process the bent just fine. If I
ride with my brain in gear, act predictably, and don't put myself in
silly positions.

Which is what everyone on the road's supposed to do, eh?

Zebee