Opinion piece SMH 23.08.12

[familyguy]

Opinion piece from this mornings SMH: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/ ... 24mni.html

Open comments. Flame on.

Jim

[Oxford]

usual crap responses, rinse and repeat from last time. oh to be so ignorant, its bliss apparently.

[find_bruce]

I particularly liked this one

I am so in agreement. I wish I had a dollar for the number of times I have seen cyclists nearly collect pedestrians at crossings as they either run a red light or just decide to go right through the crossing with complete disregard for anyone else.

It certainly equates with my experience. Pretty much every day I see pedestrians at crossings who run red lights with complete disregard for anyone else. Well technically they meander but you get the idea.

Somehow I suspect that that wasn't quite what that particular genius meant to say

[JohnJoyner]

Can't remember who said this... "It's deja vu all over again.. "

[bychosis]

So the comments come down to cyclist hate again, stemming from cyclists running red lights and scare pedestrians and generally breaking the rules. I know we all don't do that, so how, as cyclists, can we address that particular issue. I try to do my bit by following the rules but as we all know when it's bike vs car vs laws sometimes the bike comes first. When the car is ruled out of that equation then to preserve the bike the laws are what gets broken.

[familyguy]

It's a baseless argument, always was, always will be.

Count the minor breaches you see next time you drive/ride to work. Failure to indicate, fail to stop at stop signs, stopping anyplace at all and whacking the hazard lights on. You'll add them up pretty quick.

Now count the red-light running bikes.

The ONLY thing people say is 'bikes running reds'. Its not the red-running that gets people, its the fact that you've moved ahead of someone while they are still firmly entrenched in the traffic flow.

Jim

[g-boaf]

How to address it?

Ban lycra, ban bikes on the road, ban bikes on the paths, ban road-bikes - make bikes "recreational toys" only and I'm sure the naysayers will be happy. And then they'll complain about recreational use too. They'll only ever be happy once bicycles are permanently banned.

But I'll advocate for requiring pedestrians to have CTP and force them to wear registration plates. And when the pedestrian causes an accident, we can report them to the Police. Also, ban pedestrians from talking on the phone while walking, also ban then from listening to the portable music players while walking/running, etc.

I don't run red lights, I try not to scare pedestrians (impossible when they wear headphones). But they have to do their bit too and be aware of what is around them.

What really irritates the commenters to these articles is that you are moving, while they are stopped - steaming in the traffic jam, and they can't do anything about it. Simple as that.

I bet that IanF fellow has probably crossed lights against a red (as a Pedestrian)...

[bychosis]

Maybe. A decent public education campaign might help, but familyguy you are correct in saying it is hard to defend a baseless argument.

I the end it's probably more about driver education than cyclists.

[Ozkaban]

More Pro cycling opinion from the SMH!

Can only mean one thing - there's an election coming up, and they want Clover to win .

The ONLY thing people say is 'bikes running reds'. Its not the red-running that gets people, its the fact that you've moved ahead of someone while they are still firmly entrenched in the traffic flow.
Jim

This is it, right there. That is all there is to it.

I thought it was impressive to be pro cycling, yet divisive at the same time. Bashing 'lycra' cyclists, mentioning the negative health impacts of the "obsessional, racing-type cyclists" while stating that her type of cyclist "the health benefits far outweigh the risks".

I commute, I bunch ride, I wear lycra sometimes and I wear casual clothes sometimes. I don't get the need to differentiate. I head an expression the other day - "obsessive" is what the lazy call "dedicated"...

[Oxford]

Can't remember who said this... "It's deja vu all over again.. "

[Ozkaban]

Can't remember who said this... "It's deja vu all over again.. "

It was Yogi Berra. The guy whose comments were so stupid, he was a genius

Other quotes:
"It ain't over till it's over."
"90% of the game is half mental."
"Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded."
"Always go to other people's funerals, otherwise they won't go to yours."
"The future ain't what it used to be"
"I really didn't say everything I said
"If the world were perfect, it wouldn't be"

[KonaCommuter]

I don't "get" the TDF and the Lycra comments.

How many people bring up what Roger Huerta chooses to wear when he competes in his chosen sport?




Probably the same number of Greenies that have confronted these guys for wearing leather (dead animals) and for the same reason. Far easier to take cheap shots at those that take part in a sport that promotes lean body types and doesn't involve inflicting violence. There's a word for the sort of person that only targets easy targets.




Then you've got the comments about riders wearing team kit obviously thinking that they do so because they think that they're a part of the TDF. Well, why don't I hear similar comments about these guys?





As for the comments about cyclists holding up traffic..... Look at 'em all. JUST LOOK

[find_bruce]

Kona that image is slightly misleading - if they panned back a bit you would see there is actually one cyclist at the front holding them all up

[JohnJoyner]

Can't remember who said this... "It's deja vu all over again.. "

It was Yogi Berra. The guy whose comments were so stupid, he was a genius

Other quotes:
"It ain't over till it's over."
"90% of the game is half mental."
"Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded."
"Always go to other people's funerals, otherwise they won't go to yours."
"The future ain't what it used to be"
"I really didn't say everything I said
"If the world were perfect, it wouldn't be"

Awesome Ozkaban...
One of my favourite quotes of all time... Totally off topic & I can't recall who said this either..
"I don't talk in cliches. Cliches to me are like a red rag to a bull."
Pure gold!

[g-boaf]

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/ ... 24mnl.html

The population clock is ticking! And not one mention of cycling as a solution to the problems. Now we have double-decker buses again (or is that a single bus for publicity and promo purposes). Talk of trams next? How about those green corridors with separate facilities for cyclists. Get out of their cars by giving them alternative options.

[familyguy]

Against better judgement I skimmed the comments. Surprisingly level-headed comments there.

Jim

[Alien27]

I thought it was a really good piece. Very nicely balanced.

There are a lot of people with a lot of bad experiences involving the 'lycra clad' brigade, likewise with bike couriers. That's just a fact and for her not to acknowledge that would not do justice to the piece. While i'm part of that lycra brigade and like to think i do the right thing all the time, I know there are a lot of aggro cyclists out there with big chips on their shoulders.

The piece was balanced and yet due to the simple facts of the situation overwhelmingly pro cyclist. However it's most important point for me was in outlining that we are all road users, car, bicycle, motorbike and even pedestrian, there are good guys and fantastic people in every one of those groups (and sub groups). We really shouldn't be thinking in terms of our chosen mode of transport and more in terms of everyone as road/path users.

Pedestrians do dumb things sometimes, cyclists do dumb and dangerous things sometimes as do car, motorbike and trucks. End of the day we are all human and being pit against one another based on merely a chosen form of transport isn't to anyone's advantage. We need to be able to show some maturity and be able accept criticism when it is balanced rather than defaulting to attack mode. Otherwise we lower ourselves to the level of the anti cyclists.

[DavidS]

I can't see the comments, aren't they normally just under the article?

DS

[KenGS]

End of the day we are all human

You're not

[Oxford]

I can't see the comments, aren't they normally just under the article?

DS

you are not missing much, same ignorant crap, different day.

[find_bruce]

Had to laugh, even though I quit BNSW in disgust earlier this year, they still send me crap emails. Yesterday's was a pearler

If you haven't seen it already, we recommend checking out this piece from yesterday's Sydney Morning Herald. It's a very useful narrative in support of Bicycle NSW mission to create a better environment for cycling.

Yep that's right, apparrently Elizabeth Farrelly is now writing on behalf of BNSW. Either that or it is a transparent attempt to claim credit for press articles you had nothing to do with

[The 2nd Womble]

Had to laugh, even though I quit BNSW in disgust earlier this year, they still send me crap emails. Yesterday's was a pearler

If you haven't seen it already, we recommend checking out this piece from yesterday's Sydney Morning Herald. It's a very useful narrative in support of Bicycle NSW mission to create a better environment for cycling.

Yep that's right, apparrently Elizabeth Farrelly is now writing on behalf of BNSW. Either that or it is a transparent attempt to claim credit for press articles you had nothing to do with

BNSW claiming the credit for the work done by others? Next you'll be suggesting all they have an active involvement in NSW cycling policy in general! Wait, they do, don't they? Theres a track record to boast about, true or otherwise.
BNSW Spokespuppet means if you squint, 1)the article promotes cycling on bike paths and 2) bike paths look like roads and thanks to us .000001% of roads even have immaginary bike paths painted on. Now everybody ride off into the sunset. On a bike path thankyou.

[The 2nd Womble]

If Sydney is anything like Brisbane, their City Bug and Sydney City Council have been almost entirely responsible for any of inner city Sydney's cycling infrastructure. BNSW merely publicise it.

[Kraeg]

She wrote a follow-up piece (tie-in with a blog).

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-a ... 250rk.html

[Oxford]

She wrote a follow-up piece (tie-in with a blog).

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-a ... 250rk.html

good piece, not often I'll read rag pages, but that was good And most of all balanced, very unusual for that today.