Making life harder for yourself

I've applied to be a volunteer, or a "joy giver" as they are insisting on calling it. I'm surprised at the prices, generally in Scotland there's been good crowds anyway for events and they've been very inclusive. Last year the crit circuit for the final stage of the Women's Tour of Britain in Glasgow was kept closed for 3 hours after the race for the public to ride on (mostly, there were still pedestrian crossings with marshals) closed roads, and a wee circuit for younger riders or anyone unable to manage the full circuit.

@ChrisA - at sentencing lack of remote is indeed an aggravating factor which is why any advocate worth their salt is a pains to say how the incident has left their client tangled up in blue.

@Rendel Harris Whilst a large number of drivers who have killed & injured others may shed crocodile tears (your legal advisor will certainly advise you to do so). They all have to live with the consequences. This will obviously weigh more heavily on some than others. I know someone who was involved in an accident, in their youth, where someone was killed. They were not at fault. They have not driven since. They did not want to be in the position where they felt responsible for another injury or death, even if it wasn't their fault. Having said all that, I don't see why an expression of remorse (or hardship) is a mitigating factor in sentencing. Lack of remorse, I would suggest, should be seen to be an aggravating factor.

@the little onion Yep, there's a certain troll of this parish (not, to be fair, the regular idiot but another one who turns up occasionally) who, in addition to stating that there's no point in sending drivers to prison if they kill or maim cyclists unless they were speeding or drunk frequently asks us to "have sympathy for the driver who will suffer the trauma of this unfortunate event for the rest of their lives."

@the little onion You're right! I hope we don’t see this kind of garbage come to the UK, we are seeing the seeds being sewn already Yes, by the police. They're happy to send out the despicably insincere 'thoughts and prayers' when a cyclist is killed, but actively work against anything being done about the close-passing we're enduring day in, day out. They refuse to do anything about the hordes of vehicles being driven around without MOT, and this forgiving nature persists even when the vehicle has failed MOT for serious safety defects. ttps://upride.cc/incident/kv69ztm_vivaro_closepass/ etc. etc

@eburtthebike eburtthebike Don't forget how much airtime and how many column inches are devoted to climate change denial, despite the overwhelming scientific evidence to the contrary.

@eburtthebike eburtthebike Don't forget how much airtime and how many column inches are devoted to climate change denial, despite the overwhelming scientific evidence to the contrary.

It’s already here on a milder level. Every time someone holds cyclists mutually responsible for the behaviour of bad cyclists. Every time someone talks about how arrogant cyclists are, how they think they own the road, and other instances of projection. Every time some journalist makes a joke about beheading cyclists with piano wire, a joke that wouldn’t be made about any other road user, and every time someone goes ahead and stretches wire across a bike path.

I don't give a shit who's riding them, but I am definitely someone who would happily consign every electric motorcycle weaving around pedestrianised areas to the scrapheap and fine Deliveroo for the privilege at the same time.

@jaymack yeah it’s definitely not something you want to leave unattended. The larger 4-sucker version can be ‘secured’ via a think wire tether that gets shut in the rear car door, but a decent pair of tin snips will go through it in one go. I do like how compact this is - could easily go into luggage on a flight, and then be used on a rental car.