Rhianna goes aero; Breaking the Bianchi; Lorry driven through London bike lane; Jeremy Vine – not bright enough?; Bernals & Nibali skip Worlds; Liz Truss - helmet rebel…ish; Lorry drafting (again); Keeping your shed dry (comments) +more in the Live Blog

FrankH wrote:

"Another Law Liz has broken this week; it's illegal to cycle in Australia without a helmet."

I'm all for having a go at cabinet ministers but she doesn't appear to be cycling. Is it really against the law in Australia to sit on a bike without wearing a helmet?

It’s not illegal to cycle in Australia without a helmet. It’s illegal to cycle on a road or road-related area without a helmet. And in the Northern Territory, adults are exempt from wearing helmets when riding on footpaths or cycle paths. Furthermore, there are exemptions on medical and religious grounds in some states.

Sitting on a bike with a foot on the ground is not riding. But I know where that photo was taken, it’s near the ferry wharf at McMahons Point. Liz is clearly on a footpath, and it’s illegal to ride a bike on footpaths in NSW (and Victoria, it’s allowed in other states and territories). That’s another $114 fine in addition to the $344 for not wearing a helmet if we’re going to be sticklers for the rules… because as cyclists we always obey the rules. Don’t we?

Philh68 wrote:

FrankH wrote:

"Another Law Liz has broken this week; it's illegal to cycle in Australia without a helmet."

I'm all for having a go at cabinet ministers but she doesn't appear to be cycling. Is it really against the law in Australia to sit on a bike without wearing a helmet?

It’s not illegal to cycle in Australia without a helmet. It’s illegal to cycle on a road or road-related area without a helmet. And in the Northern Territory, adults are exempt from wearing helmets when riding on footpaths or cycle paths. Furthermore, there are exemptions on medical and religious grounds in some states.

Sitting on a bike with a foot on the ground is not riding. But I know where that photo was taken, it’s near the ferry wharf at McMahons Point. Liz is clearly on a footpath, and it’s illegal to ride a bike on footpaths in NSW (and Victoria, it’s allowed in other states and territories). That’s another $114 fine in addition to the $344 for not wearing a helmet if we’re going to be sticklers for the rules… because as cyclists we always obey the rules. Don’t we?

In Victoria it's  illegal to ride without a helmet on a bike path through a park! I got done last year. $200 fine if I recall.

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wrote:

In Victoria it's  illegal to ride without a helmet on a bike path through a park! I got done last year. $200 fine if I recall.

yes, considered a “road-related area”. Pretty much anywhere that resembles a path anywhere on public land and they’ll try and ping you for it. National parks, fire trails, you name it. Australian road rules reg. 13-1(c) defines it as “an area that is not a road and that is open to the public and designated for use by cyclists or animals”.  Which makes me wonder what happens if you just ride where bicycles are forbidden…

Philh68 wrote:

FrankH wrote:

"Another Law Liz has broken this week; it's illegal to cycle in Australia without a helmet."

I'm all for having a go at cabinet ministers but she doesn't appear to be cycling. Is it really against the law in Australia to sit on a bike without wearing a helmet?

It’s not illegal to cycle in Australia without a helmet. It’s illegal to cycle on a road or road-related area without a helmet. And in the Northern Territory, adults are exempt from wearing helmets when riding on footpaths or cycle paths. Furthermore, there are exemptions on medical and religious grounds in some states.

Sitting on a bike with a foot on the ground is not riding. But I know where that photo was taken, it’s near the ferry wharf at McMahons Point. Liz is clearly on a footpath, and it’s illegal to ride a bike on footpaths in NSW (and Victoria, it’s allowed in other states and territories). That’s another $114 fine in addition to the $344 for not wearing a helmet if we’re going to be sticklers for the rules… because as cyclists we always obey the rules. Don’t we?

If we're going to be sticklers for the rules, that's $0 fine for not riding a bike on a footpath in addition to the $0 for not riding a bike while not wearing a helmet.

Philh68 wrote:

I have some sympathy for the driver, they don’t make it easy for you when you’ve got 40ft of trailer behind you, and one way streets limiting your options. Still shouldn’t have done it, but maybe it’s not as clear cut as it looks.

I expect he was delivering to Sainsburys

https://goo.gl/maps/KpruwsSMqAYdkyd56

And doesn't understand road signs or they were in his blind spot.

Lorries like that should simply be banned from such built up areas.

hirsute wrote:

I expect he was delivering to Sainsburys

https://goo.gl/maps/KpruwsSMqAYdkyd56

And doesn't understand road signs or they were in his blind spot.

Lorries like that should simply be banned from such built up areas.

sainsburys sell yorkstone do they? I’d be looking for a nearby construction site. Banning artics from built up areas isn’t realistic when it comes to construction supplies, but they should use traffic controllers if there’s access or egress issues. 

The outside turning radius for those  lorries is 12.5 metres, meaning you need at least 25 metres width to u-turn. Heavy rigids can have just as much difficulty though because of the wheelbase and overhang. If the choice was reversing back the way it came, doing a 3 point turn by reversing into a one way street or use the cycle way in crawl gear, I can see why they’d use the cycleway. Far safer than reversing a lorry that size. But I’d make sure I had a council permit and traffic control for it.

Philh68 wrote:

sainsburys sell yorkstone do they?

No doubt that will be his story

Quote:

I’d be looking for a nearby construction site. Banning artics from built up areas isn’t realistic when it comes to construction supplies, but they should use traffic controllers if there’s access or egress issues. 

The outside turning radius for those  lorries is 12.5 metres, meaning you need at least 25 metres width to u-turn. Heavy rigids can have just as much difficulty though because of the wheelbase and overhang. If the choice was reversing back the way it came, doing a 3 point turn by reversing into a one way street or use the cycle way in crawl gear, I can see why they’d use the cycleway. Far safer than reversing a lorry that size. But I’d make sure I had a council permit and traffic control for it.

 

Perhaps they could use smaller lorries and accept there will be more trips. Your numbers on the area required to use the vehicle simply illustrate its unsuitability for a dense environment.

ktache wrote:

I feel for you brooksby, there is nothing better than fixing, servicing or general fettleing in the warm and dry in front of the telly.  It makes it much easier to bring myself to do it, especially during the foul winter months, when you have to do more of it anyway.  Stripping down wheels and pedals in a big comfy chair, luxury it is.

Are you at least allowed to fix punctures to your inner tubes in the house?

Yes, but the bike stays outside 

When living in Edinburgh in the early 90s, drafting te local busses was normal practice, but there were 2 good reasons... Back then the drivers were nice and often flashed their hazard warning lights to let us know they'd seen us drop in behind, in return we made sure we let them see when we departed too.
Secondly, the brakes on the busses then were to put it mildly, crap. (Slipstreaming an empty artic was not advised as a friend found out they stopped rather quicker)
 . . . Ah the memories of screaming down North Bank St/The Mound looking back to see we had a Police van following at a "we might want a word" distance and simply hoping we made the lights at the bottom.... We did, and thanks to a black cab doing a quick U-turn the Police didn't. (Might be the last time I was glad to see a cabbie doing a quick U turn without looking.)

peted76 wrote:

I watched that bloke drafting that lorry through my fingers.. what a headcase, I do hope the lorry was aware of what he was doing.

 

ktache wrote:

A lot of sheds are terrible places to store anything, they get damp and everything put into them rots.  I have had to place a bicycle in them a points in my life and it's not good for it.  Any tools left in there start to die.  Often very unsecure too.  Some are good, but that's relatively rare.

Garages and basements are better.

I have two in the living room at the moment, right by the front door. One of them is to be mothballed.  The Ti XTRd hardtail is locked to the bed.  Luckily my better half is "accepting" of my habit.  Rented flat, security is always an issue.

I'm not allowed to bring my bikes through or into the house, not even to work on them 

ktache wrote:

A lot of sheds are terrible places to store anything, they get damp and everything put into them rots. 

To keep your shed dry, raise it up off the ground on bricks with a layer of plastic damp proof course on top of the bricks. That should keep out rising damp.  Add some miniflo guttering to get the water away from the cladding on the walls.   You could also add membrane inside to keep out further moisture.