A farewell to cycling in Sydney

Hi all,

after almost three years in Sydney my family and I have returned to
Germany. I have lived in Lane Cove and cycled to work in Epping (12 kms
and 140 m of altitude) approximately three or four times a week during
that time, and I loved and hated it. Loved it in those mornings when the
sun rose, the air smelled like gum trees (there is this corner at the end
of Vimiera Rd - Suzy, you must know what I mean) and the ride wakes you up
and you feel great. Hated it when I had to kick myself to do the distance
and I noticed I was becoming unfit after not having been on the bike for a
week.

I almost never hated it because of cars, though. I may have cycled to work
some 300 times or so, but there were only a handful of incidents where
drivers shouted at me or a truck blew the horn right next to me. I learned
quickly where in the lane I had to ride to keep cars off, and almost all
drivers kept a good distance. Reading posts here and talking to other
people who say that they've been thrown bottles at I felt that I've
lived in a parallel universe.

Being back in Germany I think that the deep difference between German and
Australian traffic is that in Australia it appears to be more important to
get along with one another. Road regulations exist, but it seems more
important to watch out for yourself and for others and not too hurry too
much. In Germany, you're safe when you stick to the regulations. If you
don't you're lost because people will rather stick to the rules than let
you change a lane where you shouldn't (for example). It almost happens
every day that a car passes me at less than arm's length, but this
almost never happened in Sydney. But I can ride without a helmet - oh yes!
Cool air in what's left of my hair and the rain dries more quickly. The
day before we left I put the helmet on the ground and jumped on it - it
was surprisingly difficult to break.

Have fun you devoted Australian cyclists, I enjoyed cycling in Sydney.

Best regards,

Enno

--
to reply, replace "invalid" with "com" in my address

Enno Middelberg wrote:
Hi all,

after almost three years in Sydney my family and I have returned to
Germany.

Being back in Germany I think that the deep difference between German
and Australian traffic is that in Australia it appears to be more
important to get along with one another.

The day before we left I put the helmet on the ground and
jumped on it - it was surprisingly difficult to break.

Is this going to be a 'which city has the worst drivers' or a 'helmet'
thread? :-)

Theo

Enno Middelberg Wrote:

I almost never hated it because of cars, though. I may have cycled to
work
some 300 times or so, but there were only a handful of incidents where
drivers shouted at me or a truck blew the horn right next to me. I
learned
quickly where in the lane I had to ride to keep cars off, and almost
all
drivers kept a good distance. Reading posts here and talking to other
people who say that they've been thrown bottles at I felt that I've
lived in a parallel universe.

Todays SHM Heckler (28/5) has a reader submission from one of those
parallel universe inhabitants.

****

Fat-bottomed van drivers make my wheels spin round
http://tinyurl.com/ynpfp9

Bicycle, bicycle, bicycle. Oh let them ride their bicycles, just let
them ride their bikes! They want to ride their bicycles they want to
ride them where they like! I refer, of course, to Sydney cyclists. A
misunderstood group of people who are verbally abused and have their
lives threatened by inconsiderate drivers day in and day out.

My outrage at the injustices that cyclists suffer was ignited when I
happened upon lower George Street, The Rocks. There was a cyclist,
pedalling at a good speed beside a bus that was about to turn at an
intersection. For no apparent reason, the bus driver opened the door
(as the vehicle was moving) and screamed out: "F--- off you f---ing
c---!"

The driver had a gruff voice, and obviously attracted quite a bit of
attention. A newsagent just beside the intersection popped her head out
of the shop and asked in utter disbelief: "Did the bus driver really say
that?"

This kind of language shouldn't be permitted in public, and road rage
should never be expressed by a bus driver, especially to someone as
vulnerable as a cyclist.

My boyfriend, an Irish engineer, rides his bike to and from work
because it gets him there a lot faster than ploughing through peak-hour
traffic like a rat through a straw. The behaviour he encounters every
day is unacceptable. Daily, regardless of how safely and considerately
he rides, he gets yelled at and abused: "**** off you Pommy *******!",
and "You're gonna get yourself killed!"

Generally these insults come from fat, unattractive men in vans. So I
ask, surely cyclists aren't such an inconvenience - and isn't most of
this rage derived from pure, primal jealousy?

It makes no sense that people who are out there being active (instead
of pedalling fake bicycles in gyms to pounding trance music) should be
abused. People who aren't using fuel and creating pollution, people who
don't run over toddlers in four-wheel-drives (I'm sorry, I had to let
that one out), people who contribute to the pleasant aesthetic
landscape should not be condemned. They should be praised instead.

So, the next time you feel the need to let loose on a poor, attractive,
environmentally conscious and non-child-murdering cyclist I suggest you
keep a lid on it, lest we all devolve into these fat, unattractive,
van-driving men and communicate only by shouting out obscenities with
unprovoked menace.

Readers are invited to send 500 words on what makes their blood boil to
. Include your phone details. Submissions may be
edited and published on the internet.


--
cfsmtb

cfsmtb wrote:
Todays SHM Heckler (28/5) has a reader submission from one of those
parallel universe inhabitants.

****

Fat-bottomed van drivers make my wheels spin round
http://tinyurl.com/ynpfp9

What a confused article

In aus.bicycle on Mon, 28 May 2007 16:18:21 +1000
cfsmtb wrote:

Enno Middelberg Wrote:

drivers kept a good distance. Reading posts here and talking to other
people who say that they've been thrown bottles at I felt that I've
lived in a parallel universe.

Todays SHM Heckler (28/5) has a reader submission from one of those
parallel universe inhabitants.

I'm in Enno's parallel universe

I get the occasional yell, but it's very hard to tell what they are
saying a sort of "oooaarroo" noise that could be anything. I feel
like calling out "enunciate!".

I find most drivers cope well, they don't hassle me, they don't
usually pass too close, they don't honk or get aggro.

Even when I venture off my normal track and I'm in Redfern or Newtown
or Paddo compared to my usual
Canterbury/Marrickville/Campsie/Petersham.



Zebee

"Zebee Johnstone" wrote in message
...
In aus.bicycle on Mon, 28 May 2007 16:18:21 +1000
cfsmtb wrote:

Enno Middelberg Wrote:

drivers kept a good distance. Reading posts here and talking to other
people who say that they've been thrown bottles at I felt that I've
lived in a parallel universe.

Todays SHM Heckler (28/5) has a reader submission from one of those
parallel universe inhabitants.

I'm in Enno's parallel universe

I get the occasional yell, but it's very hard to tell what they are
saying a sort of "oooaarroo" noise that could be anything. I feel
like calling out "enunciate!".

I find most drivers cope well, they don't hassle me, they don't
usually pass too close, they don't honk or get aggro.

Even when I venture off my normal track and I'm in Redfern or Newtown
or Paddo compared to my usual
Canterbury/Marrickville/Campsie/Petersham.

Despite being in Melbourne which I gather isn't anything like as nasty as
Sydney, I'm there as well. I just don't get grief on the bike. Perhaps it's
my sunny disposition.

Zebee Johnstone wrote:

In aus.bicycle on Mon, 28 May 2007 16:18:21 +1000
cfsmtb wrote:

Enno Middelberg Wrote:

drivers kept a good distance. Reading posts here and talking to
other people who say that they've been thrown bottles at I felt that
I've lived in a parallel universe.

Todays SHM Heckler (28/5) has a reader submission from one of those
parallel universe inhabitants.

I'm in Enno's parallel universe

I get the occasional yell, but it's very hard to tell what they are
saying a sort of "oooaarroo" noise that could be anything. I feel
like calling out "enunciate!".

I find most drivers cope well, they don't hassle me, they don't
usually pass too close, they don't honk or get aggro.

Even when I venture off my normal track and I'm in Redfern or Newtown
or Paddo compared to my usual
Canterbury/Marrickville/Campsie/Petersham.

I'm with Enno. I commute through Redfern, Paddington & Newtown at least
twice a week, also Drummoyne and Balmain via LyonsRd & Victoria Rd. The
direct route from home to work is just not long enough for a decent
ride. I have never yet had any deliberate aggro, nor yet had any dramas
in which I was completely blameless.

What I do get, strangely enough, are smart4rse comments from
pedestrians, eg "Oi, yer tyre's flat" (it isn't), or "Hey mate! Mate!
Yer wheel's turning round!". Why anyone would think this even remotely
funny escapes me. Does anyone else get these?

--
beerwolf

beerwolf wrote:
What I do get, strangely enough, are smart4rse comments from
pedestrians, eg "Oi, yer tyre's flat" (it isn't), or "Hey mate! Mate!
Yer wheel's turning round!". Why anyone would think this even remotely
funny escapes me. Does anyone else get these?

When I have the trailer bike bolted on and I go to pickup my daughter I
get "hey you've lost your passenger" or something similar. How anyone
can think I've never heard that before is beyond me.

DaveB

"DaveB" wrote in message
u...
beerwolf wrote:
What I do get, strangely enough, are smart4rse comments from
pedestrians, eg "Oi, yer tyre's flat" (it isn't), or "Hey mate! Mate!
Yer wheel's turning round!". Why anyone would think this even remotely
funny escapes me. Does anyone else get these?

When I have the trailer bike bolted on and I go to pickup my daughter I
get "hey you've lost your passenger" or something similar. How anyone can
think I've never heard that before is beyond me.

DaveB

Had an incident with a kid's trailer that was empty once.....had ridden to
park with my son, he disgraced himself which was OK as I had a spare nappy
and associated equip with me but when he did it again 10 minutes later I had
to call the wife to rescue us. She drove out with supplies, changed him,
and then decided to take him home in the car as it was starting to get a bit
late. I started riding home on the bike paths (this was in Canberra) and I
was going pretty quick as the trailer was empty. As I went around a jink
and across the road at a small roundabout the trailer went up on one wheel,
went fully over on its side for a second, then bounced back onto two wheels
as I went up the kerb entry on the other side of the road. I had a quick
look, made sure the trailer was still there and then kept pedalling. I then
had a car start to stay level with me (the path paralleled the road) and the
window wound down. A concerned looking lady started yelling at me to stop
as I had just hurt my child!!! (the trailer had a flyscreen and a clear
plastic screen that was hard to see through). I just smiled, waved at the
lady as if she was saying hello and kept riding.

I thought the whole thing was pretty funny but in hindsight I probably
should have stopped and explained to the lady that the trailer was empty.

Gags

wrote:
On May 28, 9:33 am, "Theo Bekkers" wrote:
Enno Middelberg wrote:
Hi all,
after almost three years in Sydney my family and I have returned to
Germany.
Being back in Germany I think that the deep difference between German
and Australian traffic is that in Australia it appears to be more
important to get along with one another.
The day before we left I put the helmet on the ground and
jumped on it - it was surprisingly difficult to break.
Is this going to be a 'which city has the worst drivers' or a 'helmet'
thread? :-)

Theo

I was so excited (ok, I was very late for work too) to be riding my
recently almost finished 9 speed hybrid thingo that I forgot to wear
my helmet. Despite the fact I've only got front brakes at this stage,
I was more worried about getting pinged by a cop for not wearing the
helmet than sustaining brain injury. I didn't notice cars giving me
any more or less room than when I was wearing a helmet.

The novelty of hub gears and friction shifters hasn't worn off yet :-)


Pfft 8 speeds more than you need ;D

--
//Adam F