Journalism and cycling

Roadhawk

I was going to say "sure when was the last time an umbrella killed someone", thinking that they never have but after a quick google search Georgi Markov popped up. I nearly fell off my chair....

https://www.google.ie/search?q=Georgi+Markov&rlz=1C1VFKB_enIE663IE663&oq=Georgi+Markov&aqs=chrome..69i57.480j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Roadhawk

The way forward...?

rubadub

RobertFoster

CramCycle wrote: »

You cannot play toy swords with small umbrellas /discussion

The ones with the push button extendable arms make great lightsabers (and/or pump-action shotguns), and as we all know, space swords > broad swords.

Chuchote

Buncha letters in The Irish Times about cycling; some extracts:

http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/letters/cyclists-and-other-road-users-1.2997050

Rita Moore, Westport:
Here, in rural Ireland on the country roads we do not always have the mandatory 1.5m or 1m overtaking space, but I do know I always give as much space as possible. Neither do I follow closely behind a cyclist, although this doesn’t prevent some club cyclists, of which we get many, cycling side by side, determinedly staying in position after turning around to glare at the following motorist… When did common courtesy and respect for each other disappear from our roads?

Catherine Molloy, Dublin 3:
I don’t know how much they pay bus drivers in Dublin, but it isn’t enough. Heedless jaywalkers, cranky motorists and daft cyclists. Talk about stress!

Eve Parnell, Dublin 8:
When is a bicycle lane not a bicycle lane? When buses swerve in. When builders leave a skip on it. When trucks don’t fit in their lane. When a driver’s indicator “doesn’t work”. When vehicles pass on the inside. When the council doesn’t clean rubbish off it. When cars and vans race through a red light.

Pinch Flat

Its interesting how that one got drip fed to the Irish Times facebook page (I pick up their news there).

The title of the story is "Cyclists and other roads users" - "One Irish Times reader has called for some "common courtesy and respect" from club cyclists on rural roads"- tried to post the link here without luck.

The letter that's discussed is the one that's going to get the most traffic for the Irish Times and its car centrist bias - so whereas some motorists might be "held up" by cyclists travelling legally on the roads, there's no mention of the irresponsible behaviors drivers engage in when passing these groups. So whereas being "held up" might be a minor inconvenience, some drivers choose to turn this inconvenience into a potentially life threatening situation for them, the cyclists and other road users with their irresponsible and sometimes needless overtaking.

The letter that talks about cycling safety - cars blocking cycling lanes - is barely mentioned (it is linked in the article, but the focus of the comments remains cyclists travelling anywhere from 2 to 5 abreast and "holding up" motorists).

Couple of things:

It's back to the usual circular argument - a reasonable minority of motorists do not understanding that cyclists have a legal right to cycle two abreast - this is on the statute books for neigh on 50 years now.

Varying stories of cyclists cycling 1,2,3 4 and even 5 abreast are regaled on the comments section. The comment with the most likes is some guy who was held up by cyclists travelling 3 abreast when dropping his little girls somewhere.

Despite cyclists pointing out that they will 'single up', there's still this perception among motorists that they're being "held up". One poster thinks we still pay "Road tax" and a few think that cyclists should be banned off the roads or forced to travel in "pods" (like dolphins?) in twos ans threes on the roads. Ans one mentioned registration plates. Bless.

magicbastarder

heh. i was driving in NCD yesterday and found myself behind four cyclists who 'singled up' and started gesturing me to pass, on a twisty enough road with a solid white line. i got a vague impression they were annoyed with me for not passing them.

tomasrojo

I've more or less given up on most of the Irish media when it comes to travel by bicycle. I don't think the discourse is as poisonous as it can get in the UK, but I just don't have the headspace to deal with all the prejudice and weird logic.

I'm hoping we've got enough people now who travel frequently by bike to counteract the built-in bias in the media: the old thing of it being harder to be biased against a "minority" if you know a member.

tomasrojo

magicbastarder wrote: »

heh. i was driving in NCD yesterday and found myself behind four cyclists who 'singled up' and started gesturing me to pass, on a twisty enough road with a solid white line. i got a vague impression they were annoyed with me for not passing them.

Shows again that there are limits to how many concepts you can get across without speaking! I still don't know how to communicate to drivers that I want them to come closer to me at the red light so they can trigger the induction coil. I just look completely mad to them, I think.

magicbastarder

i should mention - i was taking a left about 100m or 200m after the point they singled up; so there was no way in hell i would have tried an overtake anyway.

Corca Baiscinn

@Pinch Flat, agree re inconvenience v life-saving so hope you've got on your bike down to your local TD to ask him/her to support the MPDL!

CramCycle

tomasrojo wrote: »

Shows again that there are limits to how many concepts you can get across without speaking! I still don't know how to communicate to drivers that I want them to come closer to me at the red light so they can trigger the induction coil. I just look completely mad to them, I think.

My partner stops before it everytime she is driving. no matter how many times I say it, it is always forgotten. I really think the driving test should explain the principles behind some of the behaviour they are trying to instil, rather than the attitude of, if you behave like this for 45 minutes you can drive how you want to afterwards.

robyntmorton

tomasrojo wrote: »

I still don't know how to communicate to drivers that I want them to come closer to me at the red light so they can trigger the induction coil. I just look completely mad to them, I think.

Pointing at them and waving my hand to them to "move forward" does work eventually. It may take a little bit for them to figure out exactly what you are doing. When doing so, I'd tend to sit just ahead of the line, so that there is less nervousness on their part that they're going to get too close.

tomasrojo

robyntmorton wrote: »

Pointing at them and waving my hand to them to "move forward" does work eventually. It may take a little bit for them to figure out exactly what you are doing. When doing so, I'd tend to sit just ahead of the line, so that there is less nervousness on their part that they're going to get too close.

Good point; I usually do manage to get them to reluctantly come closer, but they usually pass me once the the light changes with a furrowed-brow, "what was that all about?" look on their face.

Chuchote

tomasrojo wrote: »

I've more or less given up on most of the Irish media when it comes to travel by bicycle. I don't think the discourse is as poisonous as it can get in the UK, but I just don't have the headspace to deal with all the prejudice and weird logic.

I'm hoping we've got enough people now who travel frequently by bike to counteract the built-in bias in the media: the old thing of it being harder to be biased against a "minority" if you know a member.

I think it's a temporary thing, though it's dangerous, and as you say, poisonous. (There's a surprising number of poisonous people out there generally - for instance, an article in the Guardian about Martin McGuinness being very sick in hospital has truly disgusting comments hoping he dies in agony, etc.)

But as bicycle use becomes universal, the poisonous will take their malice to some new target; the universality is happening faster - I see today that UPC are starting bicycle deliveries in Dublin city centre. But it's not really going to show huge change until the councils get their finger out and facilitate Transport for Ireland's plan for a proper cycle network. And at the moment there are some antedeluvian crocks holding this back. Perhaps we should all get out on the canvass next council elections and canvass strategically to get pro-cycling councillors in our areas.

Roadhawk

http://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/six-nations/lets-break-the-cycle-and-drive-lycra-gaels-indoors-35504230.html

another article to throw to the lions...

ThisRegard

Hovering over the hyperlink tells me all I need to know with regards to if I should open it or not.

Chuchote

Roadhawk wrote: »

http://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/six-nations/lets-break-the-cycle-and-drive-lycra-gaels-indoors-35504230.html

another article to throw to the lions...

Bizarre piece; Con Houlahan wannabe without Con's poetry and insight.

Tenzor07

http://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/six-nations/lets-break-the-cycle-and-drive-lycra-gaels-indoors-35504230.html

Like the comment at the end of this text says.. "What the f - k is Billy Keane banging on about...!

Does the Indo actually pay people for this drivel? I've read better articles in the comments section of the Journal.ie! And that's saying a lot! :rolleyes:

magicbastarder

is he actually paid for that drivel?

magicbastarder

heh, beat me to it.

cjt156

This is the kind of drunken mumblings usually espoused on a closing-time barstool somewhere. He's no Myles na gCopaleen, that's for sure.

buffalo

ThisRegard wrote: »

Hovering over the hyperlink tells me all I need to know with regards to if I should open it or not.

I nearly linked to that article yesterday, but thought better of it. I didn't want to be responsible for any clicks to the Indo for that incoherent nonsense.

magicbastarder

paul kemp is not a boardsie, is he?

tomasrojo

Anyone got a one-sentence summary? I don't want to add to the click-through count.

Weepsie

tomasrojo wrote: »

Anyone got a one-sentence summary? I don't want to add to the click-through count.

Replace old man with middle aged though

Corca Baiscinn

http://www.newstalk.com/listen_back/9/34410/06th_March_2017_-_High_Noon_Part_1/

Lads this is the most amazing news in Journalism and Cycling since Paul's encounter on the road to Damascus . Yesterday George Hooke, the cyclists' nemesis interview a road safety researcher from Queensland re their 1.5 MPDL and he was civil even when she said it worked so well other states were introducing it! What do ye think, a magnum of champagne or should we send a jereboam!

Corca Baiscinn

http://connachttribune.ie/tds-loggerheads-proposals-overtaking-cyclists-999/

You win some, you lose some!

Pinch Flat

Corca Baiscinn wrote: »

http://connachttribune.ie/tds-loggerheads-proposals-overtaking-cyclists-999/

You win some, you lose some!

Making drivers overtake responsibly. Oh the humanity. Will someone not think of de poor motorist.

AndrewJRenko

Corca Baiscinn wrote: »

http://connachttribune.ie/tds-loggerheads-proposals-overtaking-cyclists-999/

You win some, you lose some!

Perhaps, just for a start, somebody could explain to Minister Canney about the metric system that we brought in 30-40 years ago, just in the vague hope that we could all talk the same measures when we're having this difficult discussion?