Journalism and Cycling 2: the difficult second album

The safety is inherent in the nature of the car, not the facilities. Car needs a key, weighs a ton, can be locked, immobilised etc. etc.

But I do agree that with a bit more interest shown, supermarkets could provide much better bike parking facilities at very little cost. Even just the pretence of some security/ caring would make a difference - cctv, notices/ signs warning potential thieves and the various factors already mentioned above by other posters.

I don't think that you can escape from the fact that these are for-profit businesses. You might say that cars are subsidised, but only because cars give more money to the supermarket. Same with encouraging sustainable travel - it's an economics question... how do we support businesses (and all the people they employ, and all the ancillary services they pay) that we pull the rug from under? I agree with the broader sentiment, but I think that even with a concerted and thought-through national campaign it'll be a long time before the gradual process of easing people out of reliance on cars for the most basic of daily functions can be said to have been achieved. I think starting in the city centres and big urban centres is the best way to go about it. I'm f**ked if I'm investing in an eCargobike for the 15km round trip to my nearest Lidl/ Aldi/ Tesco/ Dunnes/ whatever for the weekly shop.

No, clearly not. My comments were in the context of the broader discussion of bike v. car and encouraging sustainable travel. My interpretation of the comments was that supermarkets have given over too much free parking to people with cars.

Agree. I think it will move that way. I think that for all the crap efforts at building infrastructure, the positive take on things is that we are on a definite trajectory towards encouraging more cycling. We've a long way to go, and unfortunately our urban planning and design over the past 50/ 60 years isn't going to help.

One way that could be true (car drivers spending more) [I assume pro rata as "cyclists also eat, drink and be merry"] is that cyclists choose to buy exactly what they need and possibly cheaper healthier produce than obese car drivers, who are caught in their high calorific high processed food choices.

So shops like car drivers with poor food habits, that have little concern about unnecessarily buying extra products because they can chuck it in the car.

That's a sort of nonsense oversimplification, tbh. Car drivers equals obese people? (Despite the fact that so many on here are quick to tell those who drop in the have a go at cyclists that cyclists are also drivers)

That's grand if you can walk or cycle to your closest supermarket

It tends to be more on holiday I do it (quid pro quo for getting the spin in!), and also far from healthy choices. But if mode of shopping was causation of obesity, our house would be way off the scale given we do home delivery!

Yeah, like I said, on a purely numbers basis, there has to be more people driving to supermarkets than cycling.

I drive to the supermarket to do my shopping. When I go, I try and make it worth my while, so it's normally a trolley shop.

It makes sense for IKEA to do that too. Their whole model is "I went in for a whisk, but I came out with a couch". They want to sell as much product as possible, and people driving cars can carry away more product than people cycling, walking, or on buses

Apologies, mine was a tongue in cheek posting, with just a hint of truth.

I am _well_ aware of the fact that 99% of cyclists also can drive, myself included. I know all too well about driving to the shop while hungry and buying unnecessary crap.

Stuff I would not have bought if I had walked or cycled.

I merely turned what the poster who said cyclists going shopping spend less into the farcical point that it is, because it cannot be true, as if cyclists didn't buy sufficient produce to support their lifestyle they would die.

Just because I choose to buy a few pannier full twice a week, walk to the local baker, veg shop, and newsagents, does not mean I spent less than a car drivers going to Dunnes Stores once a week.

That's why I reduced it to per calorie so to speak. I understand that a weekly shop in one go with the car is different. But the money is spent in the community by by the hypothetical cyclist shopper.

We can all take points to the farcical. It's amusing but not really helpful to constructive discussion though.

I don't know why I bothered trying to give a bit of counterbalance to the argument that motorists are over-accommodated in supermarkets and that subsidising should be cut back - I'll leave some supermarket owner/ angry motorist take up the mantle.

Will Fotheringham with a other nice article.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/aug/14/federico-bahamontes-obituary?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

Prize of €100 Gym+Coffee voucher? Shouldn't have to put much more than a 50 to it to buy a hoody 😄😄😄