Saturday, February 18, 2012

frail bike stands



D - much like the ones in uptown Waterloo, but ours have a ring made of cast iron. Hmm, ought to look closer to see what kind of nut they use too.
Why would I lock my bike to something that can be easily broken?
This makes me stick to poles instead.

Friday, February 10, 2012

blog #100! paris bikers can treat red light as YIELD


http://inhabitat.com/french-cyclists-win-the-right-to-run-red-traffic-lights/

(see Treehugger)

Following a nationwide pro-cycling campaign, French lawmakers recently issued a decree allowing cyclists in some cities to disregard red lights at certain intersections, not merely because such regulations work against cycling physics, but because it actually makes roads safer for everyone.

The newly relaxed rules of the road for cyclists is now being tested across 15 intersections in Paris, though with it bike-commuters aren't given full liberty to blow through crossing points unreasonably. Law will continue to require that cyclists yield to pedestrians and opposing traffic, though that's quite likely consistant with the standards of etiquette and personal safety most cyclists abide to anyways.

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D - most of us do that anyway. Cuz it IS safer, and we're lazy. Being lazy is much more tempting when it is YOUR muscle power and not gasoline that powers you.

A red-as-yield for cyclists lets them clear those killer intersections faster.

Besides, while most cars are moving at c. 60kph approaching intersections, cyclists are more like 15-30kph. By coasting to 15kph, assuming decent sight lines, that intersection is perfectly safe to coast through. Even more so on an incline.

There are times when the law should sensibly be ignored.

http://inhabitat.com/nyc/nyc-cyclist-ticketed-for-not-using-bike-lane-highlights-the-perils-of-always-using-bike-lanes/

Funny vid.
The other thing that renders a bike lane dangerous is straight lines of road followed by sudden angular changes. A car will 'round out' this angle - and cut off the cyclist in the bike lane at the pitch point.
There are also all manner of (particularly in Cambridge, and on Caroline in Waterloo) easy-to-miss painted guidelines in which the bike line is not flush right with the curb. This results in a cyclist apparently suddenly swerving to cut off the car behind them to the left. In other words, it is suicidal.

Monday, February 6, 2012

bike and happiness link

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/relationships/news-and-views/sarah-hampson/why-cycling-can-make-you-a-happier-person/article2326191/

Denmark routinely tops the list of the happiest countries in the world. In Copenhagen, one in three people cycles to work or school.

In this country, a survey of more than 6,000 people found that 66 per cent of those who walk or bike to work say they’re very happy with their commute. That compares to only 25 per cent of public transit users and 32 per cent of drivers, according the Statistics Canada report.

I just wish it didn’t feel so suicidal. Cyclist fatalities may be relatively low in Toronto – averaging three per year – but there are 1,200 collisions, the highest percentage by population among major Canadian cities.

D - do keep in mind that before the rise of the automobile that bicycles caused dismay about where they should fit into traffic. If cyclists are too small to qualify as 'schoolyard bullies', they could be numerous enough to be problematic in swarms.