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hawkinspeter
Seems a bit selfish to me to
Seems a bit selfish to me to take up the whole shared path and not be on the lookout for others. Still, it’s not as bad as the parents with buggies on trains that ignore the instruction to fold them up and instead take up the only space available for bikes (it’s literally the only place on the train that bikes are allowed).
Still, could be worse…
hawkinspeter
That should be fine. It’s
That should be fine. It’s unlikely to cause any issue, but at the worst, you’ll get inconsistent gear changes which will alert you to any issue (i.e. if the cable outer exerts too much pressure on the housing and causes damage). It’s not like brake cables where the cable outer has to transmit significant force and a lack of ferrules can cause a nasty surprise if something suddenly gives.
hawkinspeter
Mungecrundle wrote:
Mungecrundle wrote:I’m beginning to think that adverts might just be full of bullshit.Except for this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtznmBe_T8w
and this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyxoDSz7pIk
hawkinspeter
Luckily, my noscript/ad
Luckily, my noscript/ad-blocking meant that I didn’t see the pictures.
I’ve got my doubts about whether he was going at 60mph and I wonder where he got that figure from (possibly from his ghostly grandparents who were watching him apparently).
Anyhow, at least he’s still alive and kicking, so I wish him all the best in his recovery and hopefully he won’t test out how effective or not a helmet actually is.
hawkinspeter
Legs_Eleven_Worcester wrote:FluffyKittenofTindalos wrote:…and what is it with the OP’s anger towards women in general? It’s irrational.Oh, dear.

Lazy, immature ‘thinking’.
I am absolutely in favour of equality between men and women.
Which is why I oppose feminism.
From Wikipedia:
Feminism is a range of social movements, political movements, and ideologies that share a common goal: to define, establish, and achieve the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes.What definition of ‘feminism’ are you using because as it stands you’re not making any sense.
hawkinspeter
There’s not enough info in
There’s not enough info in the report to judge, but I’m concerned about what steps have been taken to ensure that she can’t suffer another bout of mania and cause another incident. It’s not so much about extracting punishment but more about protecting the public.
Was she declared unfit to drive for a number of years in a similar fashion to other illnesses with a proper assessment before allowing her a retest?
hawkinspeter
Great to hear that you’re
Great to hear that you’re recovering.
You may be glad of ‘working’ from home this week with the hot humid weather – I felt wiped out after cycling yesterday even though I was deliberately not pushing myself.
hawkinspeter
Organon wrote:Rapha Nadal wrote:Griff500 wrote:BehindTheBikesheds wrote:The problem is helmet promoters/wearers won’t give it a rest…….Seriously??? You are very keen on evidence and stats, so just take a look at the various helmet threads and see who’s name crops up most.
He just enjoys screaming into the void and banging that oh so tired drum whenever his carer let’s him use the laptop.
It does seem that when ever this debate comes up again, the same few people are shouting down others, comparing helmet advocacy with compulsion, dismissing any personal experience as acecdotal. How many people need to tell you that a helmet saved them from injury or reduced their injury in a situation that was not of their own making to suggest there might be a link? Strange we do not hear from those that went without helmet and hit their heads. The stats quoted always seem to be a bit ‘off’ and aimed at proving points not related to hitting you head off metal or concrete. To me they sound like conspiracy nuts who think they have cornered to the board. One day reality is going to hit them, or a Ford Fiesta.
What bugs me about helmet advocacy is that it seems to concentrate on cyclists as being the only at risk group for accidental head injury.
Cyclists are already an out-group and demonised by the media and the focus on helmet use just seems an awful lot like victim blaming to me. It seems that rather than focus on what actually would make the roads safer, instead there’s far too much blaming ‘idiot’ cyclists that choose to not wear a helmet.
hawkinspeter
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hawkinspeter
Well I never!
Well I never!
hawkinspeter
Dingaling wrote:What James Burke showed, ie H and O combined and hey presto a rocket takes off is not really right. The first stage was fired by a solid fuel called RP1 (Rocket Propellant).I’m more than willing to cut him a bit of poetic license over that. The basic principle is the same – combine an oxidising agent with a reducing agent to expel mass at great speed.
Whilst we’re off topic, here’s a bit of James Burke reporting on Apollo 11 (the BBC wiped or lost most of its broadcast):
hawkinspeter
HowardR wrote:James Burke’s Connections deserves to be in the pantheon of ‘Good television‘ with the likes of Carl Sagan’s Cosmos. Seeing it mentioned has brightened my day – thanks!I’ve recently read “Three Men and a Bradshaw” the holiday diaries of a chap in the 1870’s. I don’t recall that the proto-bicycles of the time getting a mention but it does paint a vivid portrait of a world in which the ‘Cambrian Explosion‘ of bicycle design of the 1880’s & 90’s was imminent.
https://www.waterstones.com/book/three-men-and-a-bradshaw/john-george-freeman/9781847947444 (Well worth a read)
For a randonee through the evolutionary pathways of the bi/tri cycle “Bicycle Design: an illustrated history’ (Hadland & Lessing): https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/bicycle-design makes for an entertaining guide.
One of the things that it demonstrates is how ideas appear ‘before-their-time’ are then forgotten until they reappear when conditions are rather more propitious. Using designs that were appearing at the time it would have been possible in the later 1890’s to have produced an aluminium framed bike with full suspension & disc brakes ~ something that needed a century to pass before it became a marketable reality.
Thanks for those recommendations – I’ll see if I can add some more books to my ever expanding reading list.
I’d put James Burke’s Connections into the pantheon of ‘Great Television’ and a special mention has to be made of possibly the greatest shot ever in TV journalism. No green screen, no special effect, just one chance to get it right if you have the most incredible timing:
hawkinspeter
Bmblbzzz wrote:Another factor might be that, unlike clocks and mills, the bicycle doesn’t seem to address a need. We walked. If we needed to carry heavy loads, we used a horse and cart. To go quickly, we rode a horse. But mostly we walked. So transport wasn’t something we lacked. Whereas telling the time with any more precision than morning, noon, afternoon and night – and so being able to arrange meetings, for instance – was something we couldn’t do.By the way, I second the recommendation for the Herschel Museum.
I did read somewhere (can’t remember where) about how the Romans could possibly have invented bicycles much earlier, but obviously didn’t. There was mention of how Roman roads often had two smooth grooves in them to allow cart wheels to travel easily and a bicycle would be a natural shape (as opposed to a tricycle) to also use one of those smooth ruts.
By the way, the most important application of clocks was navigation – the easiest way to determine longitude is with an accurate timepiece.
Incidentally, if anyone is interested in how developments in one area spur developments elsewhere, then I can thoroughly recommend James Burke’s Connections series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XetplHcM7aQ
hawkinspeter
HowardR wrote:Re: “Americans who think Pluto should still be classified as a planet, because it was the only large solar system object discovered by an American“If I was witty I’d be able to craft a joke around the theme of the inhabitants of Bath & the discovery of Uranus …. sadly I’m not.
p.s – A museum recomend: https://herschelmuseum.org.uk/
Thanks for the museum recommendation – I might give that a visit.
hawkinspeter
ktache wrote:Thank you for that, good to know about the levels of choreography and planning.You’re welcome. I thought it was a well written article and really makes you appreciate how much effort they put into it – those pilots must be incredible.
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