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I see that the result of the
I see that the result of the parliamentary debate was “meh, we don’t care enough to make a change”
I wonder if he’ll get the
I wonder if he’ll get the usual treatment in prison doled out to child-killers?
Never get between a bear and
Never get between a bear and her cub.
Buggies are a female dick extension – get used for all sorts. My favourite is mums edging buggies into the road to encourage drivers to stop, without a thought for their darling offspring. And of course, their use as juggernauts (the original meaning) on the school run, crushing all before them as they push them head down, one handed, catching up with Love Island and gramming duck faces to their literally tens of followers as little Tyler is into his tenth game of the day on Fortnite*
*most of this is literally true round here, except the kid is probably called Benji and the buggies are made Bugaboo or Stokke
Getting back on topic, never expect priority on shared-use paths. Most peds won’t have even spotted the signs, and if they have, they’ll be walking on the cycle section rather than the ped section, or whichever has the best desire line. What we actually need is some sort of AR app that highlights precisely what type of path they’re walking on or maybe a proximity sensor*
*alternatively, just paying fucking attention in once a while rather than walking around in noise-cancelling Beats headphones with ambient turned down to zero.
It’s an interesting moral
It’s an interesting moral dilemma – criminal psychologists are heading towards a conclusion that the person is not responsible for their behaviour. I seem to recall a Radiolab episode on the matter where someone’s personality had changed as the result of a TBI or something similar and they were acquitted of murder.
There are also long-term moves to consider non-custodial sentences for mothers because locking them up unfairly punishes their child – there have been guidelines on the matter for years.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-48663833
We also know from research that drivers behave very differently behind the wheel in comparison to when they’re not driving. People take insane risks and in general are much, much more aggressive.
Whilst driving this morning I got cut up on a two-lane on-slip by an Audi S3 doing what must have been close to 100mph. Had to slam on the brakes to avoid clipping him as he swapped from the outside to inside lane (where I was). Uphill sliproad, no armco, trees alongside with a steep drop into a small stream. If I’d clipped him he would be dead. And all that only to pull into the services at the next junction – for a Costa drive-thru no less – so clearly not an emergency. In my book that counts as completely irrational behaviour. On that basis, can any driver be responsible for their actions?
don’t actually need a car for day to day life. Maybe a hot hatch or Lotus EliseIf you genuinely don’t need a car for anything other than a bit of fun, get a Caterham. You’ll thank me.
My lad’s school does automotive engineering from age 12, thinking of funding a Locost build. Issue I’d imagine is finding a suitable RWD donor these days.
I’d love an Elise but even in my slimmer 30s I didn’t really fit them. Not a hope now.
Modern Caterhams are absolutely insane things – plus they’re built for the larger driver unlike the Elise. Turn of the century K-series Superlight would do very nicely thank you.
Cycling Proficiency c.1980
Cycling Proficiency c.1980
Passed my standard car test at 18 in the late ’80s. Two sets of three points for speeding on my license since then, three at-fault collisions – that was until I grew up and became sensible. Specifically didn’t include the right to ride motorcycles on my license – I passed before the rules changed about L plates for bikes and CBT and all that stuff. I was on the verge of doing my bike test when a workmate was killed (I was the last person to speak to him) and so I binned that idea.
Currently drive a 2002 Mondeo estate that’s more rust than steel. Forget Rule 12, the empty bike rack is worth more than the car 😀
In my 20s/30s I was a full-on Max Power boy racer, loads of modified cars culminating in an utterly dull Coupe Fiat Turbo (220bhp, 140mph on the Hangar Straight) which convinced me all cars were essentially the same, hence the family estate.
Genuinely loving the bangernomics approach, I have mates who pay more monthly for their cars on lease than I paid outright for the Mondy. I am tempted to get a trackday car once my son is old enough to drive on private land but I think I’d look at the cost and think “ooh I could get a nice set of carbon rims for that” and so not bother.
The great thing about old cars is that they’re cheap, and if they’ve got north of 200k miles probably well-cared for, and there’s a sweet-spot of technology around the early-2000s where they’re still fixable at home. Buy something that’s had clutch/water pump/cambelt done, with 4 good tyres, and you’re laughing. S-Class Merc with a towbar next on the list.
Have you had a proper,
Have you had a proper, professional bike fit? Or a saddle fit?
Where are you chafing? Legs or perineal area?
I would start with getting your sit bones measured as that will define the required saddle fit. And the bike fit will ensure that you’re actually sitting on those sit bones rather than on something else.
It might be that you’ll need to sacrifice the most efficient pedalling position for the one that generates least discomfort – might even mean that you need the geo of a hybrid.
Female-specific saddle might also help, or the current vogue for short nose male saddles.
Sorry, I could only stomach a few posts. They were less rabid than I expected though.I like this one that raises a question that more cyclists should be asking about PPE on the roads:
“Was she wearing hi-viz”Why? Are we all supposed to wear hi viz now when walking on pavements in case a cyclist on the pavement wishes to speed along the same pavement? [confused]
That was me
Awavey wrote:
Im always surprised people say the road traffic is ok to cycle with around the Isle of Wight, as fair enough it was a very long time ago since I used to visit regularly on family holidays, but the roads always seemed fairly fraught to drive on, pretty much akin to being a newbie driving in London, let alone ride a bike on, as the way the locals used to drive it was like they were all secretly competing in an Isle of Wight TT race. Even now the Island has 2 roads in the top 10 worst rural roads for KSIs in the whole of the UK.
So whilst its absolutely something I want to do, one of these days, I am always slightly hesitant about commiting to do it, with that feeling the roads are still more how I remember it was.
It’s undoubtedly a bit crazier in the height of the season, and it’s worth avoiding the Middle Road if you can (runs to the north side of Afton Down). For a tourer you can always ride the old railway route – dead flat shared use path, with just a few yards on the road
Not sure that’s really the case. Quite common for part groups, particularly at the budget end, where manufacturers spec non-series brakes or chainsets.In the Shimano road world it used to be that the groups were less interchangeable, particularly on pull ratios for the mechs but that’s no longer the case. You can certainly freely mix between 105/Ultegra/Dura-Ace, and have been able to do so since they all moved to 11 speed. And now Tiagra has joined the party so you can use, for example, a 105 or above front mech with it. Ditto for brakes. I run 105 brakes, front mech, and chainrings on my Tiagra 4700 bike
Other way round actually, shimano used to be completely interchangeable with the same pull ratio and part groupsets were common until 11s and most recent 10s tiagra changed and made things awkward.
Ah thanks, I wasn’t aware of that. My experience of Shimano is 5800/6800/4700.
The climb up to the top of Down Lane from the Esplanade in Ventnor is great fun! I had a similar experience to the joys of the Island in May on a family holiday and have been planning a return (solo) trip ever since.Likewise – going to try and get a cheeky weekender bikepacking and do the whole island.
Not sure that’s really the
Not sure that’s really the case. Quite common for part groups, particularly at the budget end, where manufacturers spec non-series brakes or chainsets.
In the Shimano road world it used to be that the groups were less interchangeable, particularly on pull ratios for the mechs but that’s no longer the case. You can certainly freely mix between 105/Ultegra/Dura-Ace, and have been able to do so since they all moved to 11 speed. And now Tiagra has joined the party so you can use, for example, a 105 or above front mech with it. Ditto for brakes. I run 105 brakes, front mech, and chainrings on my Tiagra 4700 bike
I was surprised. Did a fair
I was surprised. Did a fair bit of driving too, necessarily pootly with three bikes on the back (Atera Strada DL – whatarack
) and just seemed to be far less rubbish driving. The roads were teeming with cyclists at the weekends and people seemed to be fairly relaxed about getting around them. Heading up Niton Down I couldn’t overtake a singled-out group for probably half a mile or so, no honking of horns or revving of engines or the like. There was a bloke in club kit doing the round the island on a Brompton 
who was leaving people on expensive pro bikes for dead. Also saw my first Fairlight Strael in the wild, nice as a Faran owner.Depends whether you’re time
Depends whether you’re time-rich or not. If you don’t clean your drivetrain regularly it will wear out and need replacing more quickly than if you do.
Replacement cassettes and chains are easy to fit and will take a lot of abuse, particularly if you run a heavy wet lube in the winter months. You’re looking at £50 and an hour to fit for a replacement cassette/chain versus say 30 minutes a week to keep everything spick and span.
Keep an eye on the pad wear as that’s critical to safety – and consider swapping pad compounds if it gets really wet before you’re back in your car.
You’ll probably find that your shifting will go out of whack in a few weeks as the cable outers bed down into the ferrules. Manifests as a slow shift and usually fixed by a quick (and small) tweak of the barrel adjusters. Do it in half-turn increments and test under load (with you riding, rather than on a workstand)
Mudguards if you can fit them go a long way to keeping you and your bike as free from grime as possible.
My renewal was due so weighed
My renewal was due so weighed up the pros and cons and cancelled. Now I have a Garmin I have most of the useful Summit features for free. Not so much anything to do with their treatment of Relive.cc (which I always liked, particularly for new routes) but also the fact they’re just not innovating. They haven’t really delivered anything new/unique for a couple of years, and the discounts weren’t relevant to me.
) and just seemed to be far less rubbish driving. The roads were teeming with cyclists at the weekends and people seemed to be fairly relaxed about getting around them. Heading up Niton Down I couldn’t overtake a singled-out group for probably half a mile or so, no honking of horns or revving of engines or the like. There was a bloke in club kit doing the round the island on a Brompton 
who was leaving people on expensive pro bikes for dead. Also saw my first Fairlight Strael in the wild, nice as a Faran owner.