Terrible Cycling

[Peter10]

Sorry for the rant but I need this one after the commute today.

Rant 1:

There is a hill near me with railings separating on-coming traffic (nice, safe road for all). On each lane there is a very good cycle lane (wide enough for two cyclists abreast). Yet I see on a day to day basis, people cycling up the hill into on-coming traffic on the cycle lane simply because they are too lazy to cross and use the correct side after cycling on the shared footpath/cycle lane. Most who do it are all over the place up the hill and weave in and out of the cycle lane trying to keep their balance due to their low speed. At least 3 cyclists died doing it last year that I know of. Cars come over the crest of the hill and take out the cyclist. There is no way anyone can anticipate a cyclist cycling straight at them and generally there is no reason to go below 30mph as it is a well designed, laid out road - if it was used correctly.

So that said, this is what I saw today... There were two guys who did the above today (both together chatting away) and I was gob-smacked. A car sounded it's horn (rightly) as he came over the top of the hill and one of the cyclists threw a bottle of water at the cars windscreen while both were shouting obscenities.

Not only is this bad enough, but going down the hill, even on their old mountain bikes you can easily get over 35mph without effort. They flew down the hill still into on-coming traffic, by this point the cycle path had ended. There are junctions where cars can pull out and lay-bys for cars to park. It was a double fatality waiting to happen. Other cyclists on my side of the road felt the same as we came up to a traffic light. It was a good thing it was only 1pm (stared work at 2pm) and not rush hour.

Don't get me wrong I see bad driving all the time and I hate it, however, I think if motorists started putting cameras in their cars intentionally looking for bad cycling, they would match what cyclists put on Youtube on a daily basis.

Educating cyclists is an important thing. I know a few people who have been on "speed awareness" courses and really changed their habits after attending. If there was only an equivalent for some of the horrendous cycling out there like this.

So, I got into work and told a few people, some cycle and all felt the same as I did. We had a contractor in who wound me up though by saying cycling is pointless, does nothing for anyone but slow people down and cycling should be banned on the roads. This lead to an ear bashing and rant 2 which left the contractor embarrassed and in need to find some busy work.

It made me think though about the whole "go green" and the pro-cycling campaigns from the government and City Hall.

The government/local authorities claim to be pushing for more cycling, however their idea of good cycle lanes is warped and very few (in my area) are as good as this particular one which lasts only 2 miles. They pay some random people who think they know what is needed to do the job. Also, they allow people to park on many cycle lanes during certain hours of the day. There are very few campaigns for cycle road safety also.

If it was up to me, I would cut VAT on the purchase of all bicycles by half (or more). Push the fact that bikes are "green" and also promote the heath and fitness benefits which would again reduce the impact of obesity on the NHS and therefore better value for money on taxes. I know a lot of people who want to start cycling, either to work or for pleasure. Their issue is the cost for a half decent bike which will do what they need it to do. Even a few pounds off a cheaper bike could push people into buying one, using it and taking one less car off the road.

I got really wound up today Rant over .

 

[swee'pea99]

Top rant!

FWIW, it seems to me that people's reluctance to cycle has less to do with cost than with fear. If the powers that be made a serious attempt to address the culture - prosecuting mobile phone drivers, coming down hard on '&%^$ you' driving, prosecuting people who bully cyclists with their vehicles - things could change. But so long as the prevailing culture on the roads is set by knuckle-draggers in patrol cars who for the most part hold cyclists in contempt (and are allowed to), nothing will change,regardless of the cost of bikes.

 

[Peter10]

Well said. I never thought about that part (but I did if you get me). The issue is, the things the Police want to deal with in regards to bad driving just can't be done to the extent they want to due to staffing, targets, performance indicators etc. I wonder how much things would change if over night a Dutch style cycle system appeared on British roads. Probably wouldn't do too much for the two idiots today though.

 

[jimboalee]

Next time there is a cyclist killed when cycling in the wrong direction along the cycle lane, cut the report out of the local paper and send it to the Darwin Awards.

 

[the_mikey]

So, I got into work and told a few people, some cycle and all felt the same as I did. We had a contractor in who wound me up though by saying cycling is pointless, does nothing for anyone but slow people down and cycling should be banned on the roads. This lead to an ear bashing and rant 2 which left the contractor embarrassed and in need to find some busy work.

Conrtactors! They think nothing of travelling hundreds of miles to get to the next job or working dangerously long hours, they're all about fitting in as many jobs as possible in a week, they earn more money that way, it's not a way of life that makes sense to me..

 

[jimboalee]

Who said bicycles are 'green'?

There are multiples of bikes made every day compared with motorcars. The machines that are used to manufacture bikes are similar to assembling cars. Alum welders etc.
The metals used in bikes is 'specialist' and goes through many processes to make it correct. Each process creates pollution.

Most bikes these days are made in Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia or India. They are transported round the world by the most polluting mode of transport known to man, ie container ships.

Take my Dawes for instance. The frame and componentry is from Malaysia and Taiwan. These are shipped to UK. The bike is assembled in Birmingham and then taken by truck to Harrogate. I purchase it and it is brought by truck to my house which is 6 miles from Dawes Cycles in Castle Bromwich.

When I go on an Audax, I specially cook a substantial meal to 'carbo load' for the event. I drive to the store where the food has been transported round the world in the same manner as the bike. I drive home and switch on my cooker.
2 hours of electricity later, I eat my meal.
On the morning of the Audax, I put my bike in my car and drive off to the event.
At the event, the organiser's wife and her friends have especially baked some lovely cakes and pastries for the riders, which use gas and electricity to cook.

Walk into any bike shop. There are Energy bars, nutrition mixes and power bars. How are these made and how did they get there? Are they really necessary?

Cycling is not so 'Green'.

 

[Eoin Rua]

Conrtactors! They think nothing of travelling hundreds of miles to get to the next job or working dangerously long hours, they're all about fitting in as many jobs as possible in a week, they earn more money that way, it's not a way of life that makes sense to me..

What a dumbass thing to say - obviously the reason they travel around and work insane hours is because they get a kick out of it and absolutely love their work...oh no, wait it's because that's required to make money and support their family, especially when jobs are scarce - I'm guessing not a lot about life makes sense to you.

 

[mark barker]

When I go on an Audax, I specially cook a substantial meal to 'carbo load' for the event. I drive to the store where the food has been transported round the world in the same manner as the bike. I drive home and switch on my cooker.
2 hours of electricity later, I eat my meal.

Nice to know that you only eat when you're doing an audax... maybe this explains the strange shape of so many roadies!

 

[jimboalee]

When I go on an Audax, I specially cook a substantial meal to 'carbo load' for the event.

I have worded it such so it differs from "When I'm just commuting, I prepare a light snack because commuting does not require a substantial meal."

 

[As Easy As Riding A Bike]

Who said bicycles are 'green'?

Well, compared to walking to every destination in shoes you have fashioned from bark, powered only by vegetables you have grown in your back garden, they probably aren't.


But compared to using motor vehicles as a means of getting from A to B, they most certainly are.


Everything's relative.

 

[swee'pea99]

Mine's blue.

 

[Peter10]

Who said bicycles are 'green'?

There are multiples of bikes made every day compared with motorcars. The machines that are used to manufacture bikes are similar to assembling cars. Alum welders etc.
The metals used in bikes is 'specialist' and goes through many processes to make it correct. Each process creates pollution.

Most bikes these days are made in Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia or India. They are transported round the world by the most polluting mode of transport known to man, ie container ships.

Take my Dawes for instance. The frame and componentry is from Malaysia and Taiwan. These are shipped to UK. The bike is assembled in Birmingham and then taken by truck to Harrogate. I purchase it and it is brought by truck to my house which is 6 miles from Dawes Cycles in Castle Bromwich.

When I go on an Audax, I specially cook a substantial meal to 'carbo load' for the event. I drive to the store where the food has been transported round the world in the same manner as the bike. I drive home and switch on my cooker.
2 hours of electricity later, I eat my meal.
On the morning of the Audax, I put my bike in my car and drive off to the event.
At the event, the organiser's wife and her friends have especially baked some lovely cakes and pastries for the riders, which use gas and electricity to cook.

Walk into any bike shop. There are Energy bars, nutrition mixes and power bars. How are these made and how did they get there? Are they really necessary?

Cycling is not so 'Green'.

So, compared to almost every other method of transport except walking, bicycles create far less pollution.

 

[Piemaster]

Most bikes these days are made in Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia or India. They are transported round the world by the most polluting mode of transport known to man, ie container ships.

Wrong. Shipping is the most efficient way to mass transport goods. Marine diesel engines are (and always have been) more efficient than any motor vehicle or aircraft engine. How much pollution would it cause to move 20,000 containers around the world by any other means than a single ship? And remember there is no size limit for a ship as long as the ports at either end can accommodate it, unlike roads which have weight limits. Even moving stuff like road stone about the coast by small coastal vessels has an advantage over road haulage.

Shipping does cause pollution, yes, as does any fossil fuel burning transport. Regulation of emissions has been steadily tightening up (google for MARPOL annex VI if you want details).

I would agree though that part of the polution problem is containerisation. It has enabled the cheap transportation of massive amounts of consumer goods from the far east possible instead of local manufacture as in the past - globalisation has happened because of the humble container.

Ooh. I've come over all P&L.

 

[snailracer]

Who said bicycles are 'green'?

There are multiples of bikes made every day compared with motorcars. The machines that are used to manufacture bikes are similar to assembling cars. Alum welders etc.
The metals used in bikes is 'specialist' and goes through many processes to make it correct. Each process creates pollution.

Most bikes these days are made in Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia or India. They are transported round the world by the most polluting mode of transport known to man, ie container ships.

Take my Dawes for instance. The frame and componentry is from Malaysia and Taiwan. These are shipped to UK. The bike is assembled in Birmingham and then taken by truck to Harrogate. I purchase it and it is brought by truck to my house which is 6 miles from Dawes Cycles in Castle Bromwich.

When I go on an Audax, I specially cook a substantial meal to 'carbo load' for the event. I drive to the store where the food has been transported round the world in the same manner as the bike. I drive home and switch on my cooker.
2 hours of electricity later, I eat my meal.
On the morning of the Audax, I put my bike in my car and drive off to the event.
At the event, the organiser's wife and her friends have especially baked some lovely cakes and pastries for the riders, which use gas and electricity to cook.

Walk into any bike shop. There are Energy bars, nutrition mixes and power bars. How are these made and how did they get there? Are they really necessary?

Cycling is not so 'Green'.

The best way to avoid waste is to do nothing and not even be born in the first place, however not many have that choice (especially the latter).

Cycling is the most energy-efficient form of transport I know of - even more efficient than walking, by a factor of 3. You would need less food, overall, by cycling to work, than walking, which must offset some (or all) of the energy deficit required to manufacture the bike.

 

[Norm]

Cycling Plus this month says that a 10kg road bike of various materials would create the following carbon emissions:
Steel: 42kg
Aluminium: 72kg
Carbon: 114kg
Titanium: 400kg

By way of comparison, a 1,500 tonne Mondeo "costs" 6,260kg of carbon in its manufacture.

The amount of time prepping the food is irrelevant, only the marginal cost over and above what you'd do anyway.

Freighting the finished bikes from the East is actually the best way of getting them here, because many of the raw materials are mined there. It's better to turn the raw materials into finished products where they are extracted than to carry them round the world before refining and manufacturing. The marginal cost of shipping a bike to the UK from the Far East is around 10 litres of fuel, which is not even enough to drive most cars from London to Birmingham.

Driving for two hours to ride a bike seems illogical on ecological grounds, but it is pretty small fry and generally offset within a week if the same person commutes by bike rather than by car.