"Australia ‘world’s worst place for cyclists’, says Danish rider who’s circled the globe "

On 8/12/2014 9:26 PM, John B. Slocomb wrote:
On Mon, 08 Dec 2014 16:06:51 +1100, James
wrote:

It's hard to imagine. I would have thought there were worse places, but
there you go.

http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-advice/australia-worlds-worst-place-for-cyclists-says-danish-rider-whos-circled-the-globe/story-fnndib5x-1227148325250

He seems to be pretty specific that the bad place is "Sidney". I was
in Perth a few years ago and saw a number of people cycling to work -
white shirt and necktie - and traffic seemed to give them a share of
the road.


He's probably in Guayaquil right now telling the hombre from El Universo
that Ecuador is'World's worst place for cyclists'

On Tue, 09 Dec 2014 11:28:32 -0500, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

On 12/8/2014 10:22 PM, Joy Beeson wrote:
... No problems with motorists; even on the street with the
"bike lane", they leave me four feet when overtaking.

But this is a small town; they may know that I'm Steve's crazy aunt.

I think that can really help a regular rider. After years of commuting
by bike, I guessed that something like 75% of the motorists I saw had
encountered my before. I imagine that instead thinking I was "one of
those weird dudes from the bicycle tribe," they eventually started
thinking "Oh, there's that guy on the bike again." (And it may have
helped that my bike commuting triggered two prominent interviews by the
newspaper, and one by a local TV station.)

And since the motorists never saw me blowing stop signs or traffic
lights, etc. they had no real justification for hostility.

But all that is a guess, of course.

I'm fairly well convinced that the attitude toward/treatment of
cyclists is influenced greatly by the number of cyclists on the road.

In places where it is common to see a cyclist the attitude seems to
be, "Oh! another bicycle", while in locations where bicycles are
rarely seen it might be, "Damn! Another fool blocking traffic".

In fact in Singapore if you go out to the Jalan Besar - Lavender
Street venue, or any of the housing areas, where bicycles are fairly
common, no one seems to be a bit perturbed. If you go down into the
financial district, where bicycles are not commonly seen, the attitude
seems much different, a sort of "you don't belong here".
--
Cheers,

John B.

On Tuesday, December 9, 2014 8:28:20 PM UTC-5, John B. Slocomb wrote:
On Tue, 09 Dec 2014 11:28:32 -0500, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

On 12/8/2014 10:22 PM, Joy Beeson wrote:
... No problems with motorists; even on the street with the
"bike lane", they leave me four feet when overtaking.

But this is a small town; they may know that I'm Steve's crazy aunt.

I think that can really help a regular rider. After years of commuting
by bike, I guessed that something like 75% of the motorists I saw had
encountered my before. I imagine that instead thinking I was "one of
those weird dudes from the bicycle tribe," they eventually started
thinking "Oh, there's that guy on the bike again." (And it may have
helped that my bike commuting triggered two prominent interviews by the
newspaper, and one by a local TV station.)

And since the motorists never saw me blowing stop signs or traffic
lights, etc. they had no real justification for hostility.

But all that is a guess, of course.

I'm fairly well convinced that the attitude toward/treatment of
cyclists is influenced greatly by the number of cyclists on the road.

In places where it is common to see a cyclist the attitude seems to
be, "Oh! another bicycle", while in locations where bicycles are
rarely seen it might be, "Damn! Another fool blocking traffic".

In fact in Singapore if you go out to the Jalan Besar - Lavender
Street venue, or any of the housing areas, where bicycles are fairly
common, no one seems to be a bit perturbed. If you go down into the
financial district, where bicycles are not commonly seen, the attitude
seems much different, a sort of "you don't belong here".
--
Cheers,

John B.

rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

10%.....mobilize 10% of the population in support of public beheading for spiting on a sidewalk and urine. Maybe 15% for violence given our natural tolerances

A rationalization for the last U elections where an unknown segment did not turn out but the 10% recently seen causing world chaos did.

so as in CHP ( cal Highway patrol ? ) 10% and off with your head....

Per John B. Slocomb:

I'm fairly well convinced that the attitude toward/treatment of
cyclists is influenced greatly by the number of cyclists on the road.

+1 from Southeastern Pennsylvania USA.

And to attitude, I would add "Expectations"... if drivers do not expect
to see a cyclist...
--
Pete Cresswell

On 12/10/2014 10:47 AM, (PeteCresswell) wrote:
Per John B. Slocomb:

I'm fairly well convinced that the attitude toward/treatment of
cyclists is influenced greatly by the number of cyclists on the road.

+1 from Southeastern Pennsylvania USA.

And to attitude, I would add "Expectations"... if drivers do not expect
to see a cyclist...



Yeah, same here in Montreal. This doesn't mean that you don't encounter
idiots at all but the frequency is a lot less.

On 12/10/2014 10:47 AM, (PeteCresswell) wrote:
Per John B. Slocomb:

I'm fairly well convinced that the attitude toward/treatment of
cyclists is influenced greatly by the number of cyclists on the road.

+1 from Southeastern Pennsylvania USA.

And to attitude, I would add "Expectations"... if drivers do not expect
to see a cyclist...

In our area, I frequently see yellow bumper stickers and yard signs
saying "Look Out for Motorcycles." I don't know the source, i.e.
whether they come from PennDOT or ODOT or a motorcycle advocacy group.
But they're amazingly common.

I'd like to see some similar campaign regarding bicyclists, with perhaps
the added message that we _do_ have a right to the road.


--
- Frank Krygowski

On Wednesday, December 10, 2014 6:04:10 PM UTC, Frank Krygowski wrote:

In our area, I frequently see yellow bumper stickers and yard signs
saying "Look Out for Motorcycles."
[snip]
I'd like to see some similar campaign regarding bicyclists, with perhaps
the added message that we _do_ have a right to the road.

Now this is why you should never be permitted to be a "spokesman for bicycles", Franki-boy. The message "Look out for Cyclists" already includes the axiomatic expectation that they have a right to the road. Your further message would add no benefit that the simpler message doesn't confer, would get people's backs up, and would very likely have the opposite effect to that intended and endanger the lives of cyclists when the obstructive minority of motons react to your lack of tact and common sense.

Andre Jute
Boss psychologist

On Wed, 10 Dec 2014 10:47:01 -0500, "(PeteCresswell)"
wrote:

Per John B. Slocomb:

I'm fairly well convinced that the attitude toward/treatment of
cyclists is influenced greatly by the number of cyclists on the road.

+1 from Southeastern Pennsylvania USA.

And to attitude, I would add "Expectations"... if drivers do not expect
to see a cyclist...

Well, there is that too. I expect that if a motorist were to come over
a rise and be confronted with a 20 mule team hauling a 36 ton load
they would probably be a little befuddled :-)
--
Cheers,

John B.

Per John B. Slocomb:
Well, there is that too. I expect that if a motorist were to come over
a rise and be confronted with a 20 mule team hauling a 36 ton load
they would probably be a little befuddled :-)

Welcome to Amish country.
--
Pete Cresswell

On 11/12/14 10:19, Andre Jute wrote:
On Wednesday, December 10, 2014 6:04:10 PM UTC, Frank Krygowski wrote:

In our area, I frequently see yellow bumper stickers and yard signs
saying "Look Out for Motorcycles."
[snip]
I'd like to see some similar campaign regarding bicyclists, with perhaps
the added message that we _do_ have a right to the road.

Now this is why you should never be permitted to be a "spokesman for bicycles", Franki-boy. The message "Look out for Cyclists" already includes the axiomatic expectation that they have a right to the road. Your further message would add no benefit that the simpler message doesn't confer, would get people's backs up, and would very likely have the opposite effect to that intended and endanger the lives of cyclists when the obstructive minority of motons react to your lack of tact and common sense.

Andre Jute
Boss psychologist


We have an org called Crime Stoppers, that is basically a call centre
for reporting what you think is a crime, and the org funnels the report
to the correct area of law enforcement - hopefully.

In a popular area for cycling, where roads are narrow and bogans in utes
cause us worry, I recently proposed that signs telling cyclists to ride
single file should be replaced by signs that read "Cyclists report
incidents of road rage to Crime Stoppers on 1800.....".

My intention is to put the bogan arse holes that assault us on notice,
and perhaps start collecting data from cyclists as to the extent of the
problem.

Most often, cyclists getting abused from motorists is like the beaten
wife - just another black eye. System Normal. All ****ed Up. No point
reporting 'cause police can't or wont do anything. Authorities don't
know the extent of the problem. Very few of them ride bikes.

What do you think, Boss psychologist? Any other suggestions?

--
JS