La Flamme Rouge **off topic discussion**

Chips Lovell

Bus lanes are for life and not just for Christmas.

Weepsie

Leaving Northwood today, onto Santry Avenue there was a Garda car waiting to torn into Northwood. They had a filter light which only comes on when the light for approaching traffic is red. Car sped up and went through the red. Zero f*cks given.

magicbastarder

saw two people being ticketed by gardai today, plus a car clamped in the cycle lane on collins avenue yesterday. so about five times as much activity as you'd usually expect.

magicbastarder

outbound on the clontarf cycle path, only about 50m or 100m past the junction with vernon avenue, is this hump in the cycle path, which is matched by a hump running across the grass - but not on the road. anyone know what it is? a culverted river?

https://www.google.com/maps/@53.3586311,-6.1952763,3a,75y,182.26h,85.98t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sQhTBgxeNrpSMG6bjRx-eUw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

Wishbone Ash

magicbastarder wrote: »

outbound on the clontarf cycle path, only about 50m or 100m past the junction with vernon avenue, is this hump in the cycle path, which is matched by a hump running across the grass - but not on the road. anyone know what it is? a culverted river?

https://www.google.com/maps/@53.3586311,-6.1952763,3a,75y,182.26h,85.98t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sQhTBgxeNrpSMG6bjRx-eUw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

Possibly a storm drain to take water from the road during heavy rain.

magicbastarder

some night out there. (while driving) i passed a chap cycling in a thick bank of freezing fog, he had lights but they weren't exactly suited to those conditions.

Seth Brundle

magicbastarder wrote: »

some night out there. (while driving) i passed a chap cycling in a thick bank of freezing fog, he had lights but they weren't exactly suited to those conditions.

I'll never forget driving home from a cousins wedding in Mullingar and around Enfield the fog was so heavy that I was crawling along as I could barely see the edge of the road or the white line.
However, some drivers were able to use the force and drove at speeds unachievable by ordinary folk. They sped past me, gone as quick as they appeared.
Since then I'm amazed at the number of Irish people who have a gift for driving at speed in thick fog! Surely it must be an Irish gift, doubtful that other less mystical countries have these powers?

magicbastarder

that's an insanely patchy night out there too. when we were coming home (after 9) you'd drive through a thick bank, into air as clear as a bell, and back into thick fog after a few hundred metres.
the weirdest part was the stretch from kilshane cross (north of finglas) to the white house (a pub); the fog began maybe fifteen foot overhead and was thick, so it felt like driving down a corridor.

Wishbone Ash

Seth Brundle wrote: »

.... I'm amazed at the number of Irish people who have a gift for driving at speed in thick fog! Surely it must be an Irish gift......

Probably the same type of drivers who feel the need to illegally use front fog lights when there's no fog.

Remember as a lad having a near miss with my dad driving and a deer in fog between Slane and Drogheda. Learned everything I needed to know about driving in fog that night. Fright never left me.

Idleater

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Remember as a lad having a near miss with my dad driving and a deer in fog between Slane and Drogheda. Learned everything I needed to know about driving in fog that night. Fright never left me.

These fog posts reminded me of watching McRae/Grist and Grist telling McRae to leave the lights off and drive by his pace notes.

https://youtu.be/KAvQK4X5kWE

Not in any way suggesting not driving to the conditions on normal roads!

Harrybelafonte

Seth Brundle wrote: »

I'll never forget driving home from a cousins wedding in Mullingar and around Enfield the fog was so heavy that I was crawling along as I could barely see the edge of the road or the white line.
However, some drivers were able to use the force and drove at speeds unachievable by ordinary folk. They sped past me, gone as quick as they appeared.
Since then I'm amazed at the number of Irish people who have a gift for driving at speed in thick fog! Surely it must be an Irish gift, doubtful that other less mystical countries have these powers?

Have witnessed same in UK and France. Nothing to do with being Irish.

Macy0161

Drivers don't drive to a speed to which they can see and safely stop without fog, hardly a surprise they do it in fog.

"I came around the corner and had to serve to avoid a tractor/ pedestrian/ cyclist/ horse (delete as applicable)" posts and comments are pretty frequent. It's basically the root cause of the argument that every none motorised road user should dress like bob the builder on country roads.

buffalo

I wonder if this is the end for her as a "road safety" talking head too?

Murphy confirms she will be deselected as a Fine Gael candidate

https://www.rte.ie/news/politics/2019/1218/1101919-donohoe-murphy-fine-gael/

Chips Lovell

Your naive optimism is touching...

magicbastarder

'she would take a break from politics over christmas'.
she's not a politician. and there are no elections scheduled.

McGrath5

Interesting video from BicycleDutch on Youtube,a nice roundup of the year, some lovely infrastructure on show. He even gave Dublin a (dis)honourable mention.

cdaly_

magicbastarder wrote: »

outbound on the clontarf cycle path, only about 50m or 100m past the junction with vernon avenue, is this hump in the cycle path, which is matched by a hump running across the grass - but not on the road. anyone know what it is? a culverted river?

https://www.google.com/maps/@53.3586311,-6.1952763,3a,75y,182.26h,85.98t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sQhTBgxeNrpSMG6bjRx-eUw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

I think it's part of a flood defence. You can see a wall at the far side of the grass which runs (I think) as far as the baths where there is another hump in the cycle path. The humps and wall protect the car park at Vernon Ave.

Edit- Actually, the wall does not run as far as the baths but there is a separate pair of humps protecting the car park there. You can see here where there is provision for a drop in barrier completing the other end of the Vernon Ave defence.

Harrybelafonte

http://www.muse-ette.com/2014/01/from-archive-santry-stadium-track-meet.html?m=1

This link may have been posted before, but I can’t find. Some nice historical pieces, the one I linked to being Santry Stadium in its velodrome years. I was stopped outside my local shops in santry a few years ago by an older man, who started asking me all about my track bike in the roof of the car. We chatted a bit and he let slip that he’d raced grass track and at Santry stadium. Then just walked away. He did. Not me. Odd experience.

Wow reminds me of a similar encounter I had with an old man on a bus in Rathfarnham about 15 years ago now possibly the number 17 bus and around this time of year. Stayed on way passed my stop chatting to him with him telling me about his Rás days which was initiated by my telling him I normally cycled to work but didn't fancy riding home in the rain that evening.

Love how life throws some great characters at you by chance sometimes.

magicbastarder

Outside chance it was the same chap I had an interaction with on Ballymun road a couple of years ago. I was waiting to take a right turn onto pappins road on my cheapo single speed when a car pulled up beside me and a chap in his 70s or 80s stuck his head out the window and I thought 'oh here we go'. (Following conversation is subject to the vagaries of time and memory)
'is that a fixie you're riding there?'
'nah it's a flip flop hub and I have it on the single speed side'
'Arrah would you ever stick it in the fixie side and get it over and done with'

eeeee

magicbastarder wrote: »

Outside chance it was the same chap I had an interaction with on Ballymun road a couple of years ago. I was waiting to take a right turn onto pappins road on my cheapo single speed when a car pulled up beside me and a chap in his 70s or 80s stuck his head out the window and I thought 'oh here we go'. (Following conversation is subject to the vagaries of time and memory)
'is that a fixie you're riding there?'
'nah it's a flip flop hub and I have it on the single speed side'
'Arrah would you ever stick it in the fixie side and get it over and done with'

He was right! :P

Decided to lose the beard this week. Now I feel the need for a buff or scarf or something as my face and neck are feeling the cold now.

magicbastarder

Strava has sent me my summary for the year. Uh, lads, there's still 10 days left.

Strobing

Few groups in Clontarf today taking up the whole cycleway cycling two abreast and forcing oncoming cyclists to slow down significantly, one lad almost went straight into them so not sure what happened there. Surely just go single file or move to the road? Or at least single out if you see oncoming cyclists.

magicbastarder

suggested cycling earworms for when out cycling and you can't shift a tune from your head?
'legs are burning' by midnight oil.
'help me zondas' by the beach boys.
'the sound of cyclists' by simon and garfunkel.
hello cunard my old friend
i've come to bust myself up you again...

Or when you want to be out on the bike but cant this is what I have in my head

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwvWtZl2ICY

MiskyBoyy

Just seen this on BBC News

West Lothian round-the-world cyclist injured in US crash

Poor guy, and of all places to need hospital aid. Probably bankrupt him! :eek::p

magicbastarder

i see GCN have a new presenter, Manon Lloyd, whose main discipline is track cycling, with a decent amount of success:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manon_Lloyd

I need a beer or 10 after the ordeal of putting the kids Santy stuff together ffs real square peg in a round hole stuff. It's done.

Looking forward to the excitement now in the morning and an hour or so on the bike afterwards before dinner.

Happy Christmas to all !!!!!